So sad to hear this! With so much talent, I had hoped it would last longer. I'm one of the people who's been pulling for this show from the beginning, and it's a shame it didn't get the praise and audience it deserved. I can just imagine how powerful Aaron's last Goodbye will be. Best wishes to everyone involved!
Word of mouth has been pretty mixed. Tourists who've never seen anything seem to love it... most new yorkers didn't like it much... been hearing it called "BORE ME IF YOU CAN" a lot lately. One of my friends is a producer on this show and she's been worried about it since day one... advance sales have never been big, and they often give comps and extra student tix to fill the house. Also ALL shows have a big september drop off so if there isn't advance sales... the future looks bleak... plus new shows are trying to nudge their way in...
Had he not tied up Jack O'Brien and Jerry Mitchell with Love Never Days, they would have brought Catch Me in last season, one of the worst in recent years. It would have easily beat "Memphis" and won Best Musical.
This year, there is no chance any new musical will survive besides Book of Mormon.
Updated On: 8/10/11 at 01:12 AM
Very surprised by the early closure, I thought Jan...
I'm surprised EVITA isn't opening here considering it was originally sized up for that theatre when ALW was bringing it in in 2007/8.
Priscilla, sadly will be next if CMIYC posted notices, it was doing better than Priscilla! Broadway have marketing Priscilla so badly, focusing on the divas and it being a girls night out show.
Sister Act/Addams Family I think will last thru to Jan...
Few big theatre's available for Spring... Ghost will grab one of them and Jesus C Superstar
A few people make poor comments and all of a sudden WE want shows to close?
Nobody WANTS shows to close, but we also aren't foolish -- the writing is on the wall, and shows DO close. That's how we get NEW shows.
To say a show "deserves" a longer run is silly -- if it DESERVED it, they would have figured out how to get more people interested in it and buying tickets. Sometimes its the fault of marketing (as seems to be the case with Priscilla) and sometimes it the fault of the material (CMIYC) or subject matter (Scottsboro Boys) or of the design team/director (Bye Bye Birdie). It is SELDOM the fault of the cast.
I'm not sad its closing, I didn't think it was a particularly good show. I feel bad for all the people that are once again facing unemployment, and I wish them all the best of luck landing a new show. A career in the theater is not a secure one, however, and they are all aware of the ups and downs. I daresay that MOST of them probably deal with it better than many of the fans. They're gypsies, after all -- its part of the lifestyle they have chosen. (Still, it sucks for them.)
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
>> "I'm not just talking about this thread in particular but the "which show will close next" thread."
Sometimes it's just pretty easy to look at the weeklies and figure it out. That's not saying anyone wants these things to close out of spite, just dealing with the harsh reality of it all.
Maybe there's a chance Norbert will do what he did for the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels tour and go with the tour for the first part or for some of the stops. I'm sure he's star enough that he could opt to do stops only on the east coast and something in the Pacific Northwest if it were to travel in that direction (though it might not since it debuted in Seattle). In doing so, he would be able to be near his wife/daughter and/or other relatives respectively and it would help sales.
I'm surprised that it didn't hang on a little longer but I didn't love it and I don't think it was very good - good, decent, but not exceptional.
If Jesus Christ Superstar is in fact in the Neil Simon: Sister Act - Broadway Theater - Broadway between 52nd and 53rd Jesus Christ Superstar - Neil Simon - 52st Godspell - Circle in the Square - 50th Book of Mormon - Eugene O'Neill - 49th
Hey Guys!! Need an honest opinion!! Had originally put Catch me if you can toward the bottom of my list of shows to see...to be honestly thought it woul'dve stuck around till at least Christmas....is it worth seeing?
Am wondering which is next to walk to plank? Priscilla? Sister Act seems to be doing well enough! To me itll be like adams family and get at least a solid year in! any thoughts?
I'm really betting that PRISCILLA will be next, but God knows I could be wrong. Still, it's looking financially like CATCH, and IIRC it's in a much bigger theatre.
With regards to the question of whether "Catch Me" is worth seeing in its remaining weeks, I would suggest listening to some tracks from the OBC. Marc Shaiman wrote brand-new 1960s TV variety and Sinatra big-band tunes for this show, along the lines of the brand-new Motown tunes he create for "Hairspray". I love that sort of thing and thus the score and show really landed for me. I've read several comments about the score sounding like "elevator music", no doubt from people less familiar with modern jazz.
On another topic, do you guys really think there will be a tour? Almost every show that flops goes out announcing a tour to save face for producers and investors. Are national presenters really dying to book a show that couldn't last 6 months on Broadway? I think this show could do well on the road with at least one big name celebrity or TV star in the cast, but I'm not sure otherwise.
Ray Romano as Frank Sr? Linda Lavin as Mrs. Strong? Miley Cyrus as Brenda?
Just snagged a TDF ticket for this coming Saturday. I've been trying for years to see Norbert Leo Butz in something live! He was out both times I saw Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, his understudy was wonderful, but I wish I could have seen him. So I'm extremely excited for this weekend!