TOMMY To Close on July 21, 2024- Page 2

[quizking101]

Posted: 6/25/24 at 10:43pm

bigbelterbaby said: "I have a feeling this would have benefited from an outsiders viewpoint and the creative team from the 1993 original, while making some big changes like cutting the Uncle character, didn’t manage to make magic on stage to win over new fans of the show. My mom is in her 60s and knows the album by heart, I’m in my 30s and have no interest in this type of music, or shows that are abstract and have muddy plots. I would say this will probably never be revived on Broadway again, so def check it out if you’re interested. The creators are all in their 80s (Des McAnuff, Pete Townshend) etc and won’t be with us forever."

Nobody was going to get away with cutting anything that major.

Also, McAnuff is 72 and Townshend just turned 79. Neither are “in their 80s”

To my understanding, BVSC has its eyes on a Shubert Theatre to be announced for Spring, possibly the Broadhurst, Booth, or Golden pending how things shuffle with Stereophonic (if it becomes an open run) and Operation Mincemeat

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 6/25/24 at 11:00pm

Broadhurst is booked 

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 6/25/24 at 11:55pm

The entire run of shucked was in the 700s.  I’m assuming Tommy was making some money but felt it wouldn’t last in the fall.  Wouldn’t be surprised if they extend a few more weeks through the summer. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 6/25/24 at 11:58pm

BroadwayNYC2 said: "Broadhurst is booked"

Correct, and I hear Buena Vista is all set to succeed Hills of California.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 6/26/24 at 12:13am

i enjoyed parts of this production but its hard to feel sorry for them: without bringing in anyone to look at the show with new eyes, this show was performed for solely for an audience of revisiting fans, and not anyone approaching it for the first time. thats malpractice, but predictable if you let the same person egomaniacally put on "his" show again and again...

 

a cast album would have been nice though, because those voices were mostly sublime.

[Dreamboy3]

Posted: 6/26/24 at 8:53am

As others have suggested, I think the Boomer and Gen X crowd (which includes me) who grew up loving the Who and Tommy may have bought tickets early on. I did. I wonder what the advance was at the time the show opened and what it is now. But it was a real disappointment — a misguided production about trauma that seemed afraid to take on the topic. If McAnuff was the only reason this revival got off the ground then I would have preferred a replica of the original which was far superior in every way. 

[EvanstonDad]

Posted: 6/26/24 at 9:48am

Have to admit I feel a little bit of validation over this news. I saw the original and to this day remember it as one of the best things I've ever seen on stage. This revival was so "meh." I didn't understand the point of reviving something and keeping the staging almost exactly the same, except less colorful, less dynamic, and with cheaper, minimalist design. It was like, "let's stage a replica of the original show, but make it worse on purpose in almost every way." But then all of the praise for it was making me wonder if I was being too harsh in comparing it to the original. Now I see that plenty of others must also feel "meh" about if they're deciding to close up shop.

[BentleyB]

Posted: 6/26/24 at 9:54am

I am also of those groups and we brought 10 people with us from age 13 to 66 covering pretty much every generation alive.   Only one person actually liked this show and he is 17 and a huge fan of Townsend and an aspiring musician.  For me, who grew up with the album and The Who, it was muddy and lacked anything to say.  I was truly bored out of my mind and could not believe they took “Shucked” out of the theater to bring in “Tommy.” 

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 6/26/24 at 10:35am

I will say that having only known Pinball Wizard going in, I did enjoy this show a good amount and I'm debating whether I want to catch it again before it closes now that I know more of the music.  It was an interesting spectacle, even if the storytelling seemed to kind of disappear at the end, but I'm glad I saw it and it was interesting seeing how many people had jumped to their feet before Listening to You had even officially started.

I'm wondering though that if they're close to their breakeven (and presumably could've afforded to run for a few more weeks) that if that means there's another show already lined up for the theater.  It could also just be that they want the sets/costumes for the tour and everything but closing in the middle of summer (when there would be a lot of tourist traffic and I assume nostalgia buyers) seems a little odd to me, since I figured most shows would hold steady until at least Labor Day.

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 6/26/24 at 11:48am

chrishuyen said: "I will say that having only known Pinball Wizard going in, I did enjoy this show a good amount and I'm debating whether I want to catch it again before it closes now that I know more of the music. It was an interesting spectacle, even if the storytelling seemed to kind of disappear at the end, but I'm glad I saw it and it was interesting seeing how many people had jumped to their feet before Listening to You had even officially started.

I'm wondering though that if they're close to their breakeven (and presumably could've afforded to run for a few more weeks) that if that means there's another show already lined up for the theater. It could also just be that they want the sets/costumes for the tour and everything but closing in the middle of summer (when there would be a lot of tourist traffic and I assume nostalgia buyers) seems a little odd to me, since I figured most shows would hold steady until at least Labor Day."

Could The Last Five Years or Left on Tenth be going there?

[LoveThoseMusicals]

Posted: 6/26/24 at 11:55am

What sucks even more is that this production everybody was so excited about forced Shucksd out of its theatre and closure when it was finally getting traction and making money. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 6/26/24 at 12:27pm

chrishuyen said: "I'm wondering though that if they're close to their breakeven (and presumably could've afforded to run for a few more weeks) that if that means there's another show already lined up for the theater. It could also just be that they want the sets/costumes for the tour and everything but closing in the middle of summer (when there would be a lot of tourist traffic and I assume nostalgia buyers) seems a little odd to me, since I figured most shows would hold steady until at least Labor Day."

The tour doesn't begin for more than a year.

They probably had financial projections that indicated losing weeks coming up without a bump in advertising spend, which might not have been worth it. Sometimes producers fight to keep a show going at the risk of losing money, sometimes they pour money into a show that will never make money, sometimes they close it before the going gets really bad. There's no one "right" way to do it and those decisions aren't made lightly.

One would think that with a better advertising campaign this could have scratched the itch for bridge-and-tunnel people who liked BEAUTIFUL NOISE or BRONX TALE or JERSEY BOYS.

I will also add, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey are about as prolific as any rocker of their generation. If you paid $200 to see them live, or to see the "symponic tour" of the Tommy album just a few years ago, why spend big bucks on a stage musical?

[yyys]

Posted: 6/26/24 at 12:32pm

Did Tommy really force Shucked out? Didn't think Shucked was making money so they had to close. 

Updated On: 6/26/24 at 12:32 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 6/26/24 at 12:45pm

LoveThoseMusicals said: "What sucks even more is that this production everybody was so excited about forced Shucksd out of its theatre and closure when it was finally getting traction and making money."

Shucked saw its grosses increase after it announced its closing- it announced its closing date about 3 months in advance, a period which included the holidays, one of the busiest times of the year. Shucked was not "forced" out of anything, it was struggling to stay afloat.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 6/26/24 at 1:00pm

yyys said: "Did Tommy really force Shucked out? Didn't think Shucked was making money so they had to close."

The reality of SHUCKED is that if it had not closed on January 14, its grosses probably would have continued to dwindle throughout the winter and into the busy spring months, and it would have ended up closing in March or April at a greater loss than when it actually closed. So the Nederlanders might have pushed the SHUCKED producers' hands in favor of TOMMY, but not every show can burn money, and this is a business run on goodwill and compromises.

Something can look good on paper and not succeed; something can also look bad on paper but still make it to Broadway. Thats the gamble of being a landlord or producer. I don't know if any of us would have predicted SUFFS and STEREO outgrossing NOTEBOOK before these shows opened.

[Mr.Liir]

Posted: 6/26/24 at 1:17pm

Shucked didn't close because of money. 

Tommy was originally supposed to go to the Lunt, then Sweeney extended, so Tommy needed a new home. So Shucked was closed prematurely in favor of making space for Tommy. The bet was that Shucked's numbers would dip during the winter and Tommy would go in and make more money.

Shucked was pushed out for Tommy, but it was really because of Sweeney. The bet was put on the future of Tommy vs. the continued existence of Shucked.

[thirtythirtyninety]

Posted: 7/21/24 at 5:24pm

Anyone attend the final show? 
 

I still can’t get over the fact that there wasn’t a cast recording of this production. Truly a missed opportunity 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 7/21/24 at 6:10pm

Final moments were captured on one of the young Tommy’s Instas:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9s082ZPffA/?igsh=MTg4eDNyMXMzbWh6Ng==

Updated On: 7/21/24 at 06:10 PM

[scripps]

Posted: 7/21/24 at 6:14pm

I was there. It was electric. Des gave a lengthy speech at the end.  All the best to this cast, especially Ali. I cannot wait to see what he does next. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 7/21/24 at 9:06pm

Full Des speech, including a charming misspelling anecdote and a message from Pete Townshend:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9tHVp2vxae/?igsh=MXZ5MnVhdGZxMHV6bQ==

[markypoo]

Posted: 7/22/24 at 12:47pm

scripps said: "I was there. It was electric. Des gave a lengthy speech at the end. All the best to this cast, especiallyAli. I cannot wait to see what he does next."

I can see him starring in Dear Evan Hansen, as Barnaby in Hello, Dolly!, and as the wannabe boyfriend in Next To Normal.

I'll try to come up with some others.

I think that he's extremely talented.

[someoneinatree2]

Posted: 7/23/24 at 3:03pm

scripps said: "I was there. It was electric. Des gave a lengthy speech at the end. All the best to this cast, especiallyAli. I cannot wait to see what he does next."

Let's finally bring Chess back to Broadway - Ali would sell the hell outta that score

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 7/23/24 at 3:17pm

someoneinatree2 said: "scripps said: "I was there. It was electric. Des gave a lengthy speech at the end. All the best to this cast, especiallyAli. I cannot wait to see what he does next."

Let's finally bringChessback to Broadway - Ali would sell the hell outta that score"

Wasn't there a rumor awhile ago that Chess would come back with Lea Michele?

[scripps]

Posted: 7/23/24 at 3:20pm

I pray Ali's future is brighter than singing "Hey #2."

Chess crossed my mind but this is a special and sexy voice that I hope can tackle something new.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/23/24 at 3:38pm

Ali would be perfect for Chess. I don’t think he’s Russian but I don’t think anyone would complain if he was cast as Anatoly. I’d love to hear him sing “Anthem.”