The Big Five

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 11/19/23 at 8:49pm

Palace, Broadway, St. James, Majestic, Marquis.  Don't they need a big mega-musical to fill these theatres?  I'm assuming they're looking for something that will turn into a long runner?

[JSquared2]

Posted: 11/19/23 at 8:55pm

They need a hit -- just like every other theater.

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 11/19/23 at 9:02pm

Yea, but i'm wondering if they're soliciting Disney or any other company to produce a big show.  I heard Jordan Roth is producing Gatsby with the hopes of turning it into a long run at the St. James.  Didn't he fight hard to get Frozen so that he didn't have to worry about that theatre.  I guess he thought NYNY would be a hit too.  I wonder what the other landlords plans are.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 11/19/23 at 10:50pm

Broadway Flash said: "Palace, Broadway, St. James, Majestic, Marquis."

Since when have those houses ever been viewed as "the big 5" of Broadway????

The Broadway is a mess of a house because it's so vast. The Marquis is a flophouse and I'm sure any producer would prefer Nederlander's Lunt, Neil Simon, or Palace instead.

Shubert considers the Shubert their most enviable house for a large musical. The Winter Garden is also a perfect home for a big musical because it has a lot of orchestra seats, it's fairly shallow (the mezz views are good even from the back), and it has the (rentable) billboard space.

Of course every landlord wants hits in all their houses, especially their big ones because it can be so hard to fill all the seats, but they fill them with whatever they can. It's pretty normal to have turnover and dark times even in the most desirable of houses.

Looking forward to revisiting 2 of your 5 when they're done being renovated.

Updated On: 11/19/23 at 10:50 PM

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 11/20/23 at 3:37am

I'm calling it the big five because they're the five biggest theatres that don't have a long running show in them

[Seb28]

Posted: 11/20/23 at 3:58am

JSquared2 said: "They need a hit -- just like every other theater."

Tourists keep Broadway alive. They want a Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon and Les Miserables.