Are There More New Musicals Coming? - Page 4

[brdwybound04]

Posted: 11/28/25 at 6:49pm

It just opened last week with rave reviews, could the Off-Broadway revival of Putnam County Spelling Bee” transfer to Broadway this spring? It’s only on sale until April currently…

[Kad]

Posted: 11/28/25 at 7:11pm

EnsembleXX: I have no idea what bee is in your bonnet but I’m not engaging with you on this topic any further. Others here seem perfectly able to get what I’ve been trying to say. 
 

And yeah, I do think shows like Galileo and Pussycat will struggle were they to come in. Hardly an outlier prediction given the unenthusiastic reception they’ve had. 

Updated On: 11/28/25 at 07:11 PM

[Ensemble1711444445]

Posted: 11/28/25 at 7:36pm

But you haven't seen them or any of the others apparently. And I am hearing people excited about both and others.  No one was raving about the shows you praise (Outsiders, Happy) so it makes me wonder what your agenda is in tearing shows down. One person saw your point and that is probably your burner account. Later. 

Kad said: "EnsembleXX: I have no idea what bee is in your bonnet but I’m not engaging with you on this topic any further. Others here seem perfectly able to get what I’ve been trying to say.


And yeah, I do think shows like Galileo and Pussycat will struggle were they to come in. Hardly an outlier prediction given the unenthusiastic reception they’ve had."

 

Updated On: 11/28/25 at 07:36 PM

[SteveSanders]

Posted: 11/28/25 at 7:49pm

Kad's relatively benign criticism hardly qualifies as "tearing shows down" despite the best efforts of EnsembleRandomNumberString's attempts to exaggerate and/or misrepresent it.

[Ensemble1711444445]

Posted: 11/28/25 at 7:56pm

benign..."None of the shows kicking around is even an on-paper decent bet, the out of town tryouts are either uninspiring or have faceplanted, there isn’t even a prestige piece waiting in the wings." 

Exaggerate or misrepresent..I quoted him!!! lol later haters. 

SteveSanders said: "Kad's relatively benign criticism hardly qualifies as "tearing shows down" despite the best efforts of EnsembleRandomNumberString's attempts to exaggerate and/or misrepresent it."

 

[bear882]

Posted: 11/28/25 at 8:31pm

I can’t speak for every out-of-town tryout but I have seen several that debuted in the San Francisco Bay Area with obvious Broadway ambitions: Galileo, Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical, and Goddess (which already has debuted since off-Broadway). All have their merits (usually some standout performances or fun choreography) but none is a new musical I think will succeed on Broadway.

Of course, shows can be improved and my reaction might have been too critical. But I didn’t come away from any of them thinking: This is ready for a healthy Broadway run.

[GirlFromOz68]

Posted: 11/28/25 at 8:48pm

brdwybound04 said: "It just opened last week with rave reviews, could the Off-Broadway revival of Putnam County Spelling Bee” transfer to Broadway this spring? It’s only on sale until April currently…"

Not everything needs to transfer. From what I had read about Spelling Bee they weren't ever eyeing coming to Broadway.  Its just the sort of show that could settle into a long run off Broadway and do well like Little Shop of Horrors.

[violetsandroses]

Posted: 11/28/25 at 9:12pm

I kinda think we need a come-to-Jesus moment about producers and investors producing the wrong things. As frustrating as Versailles is - how on EARTH did it make it past the first reading/workshop? It seems that development these days is too insular, and perhaps there are just too many "yes" people in these rooms. SMASH is another one that appeared to be the victim of too much yes-anding and creative confusion. 

[corninthesky]

Posted: 11/28/25 at 9:20pm

Anyone have any info on Millions since their out of town run? I know it had rough word of mouth, but any Adam Guettel musical has my interest. 

[darquegk]

Posted: 11/28/25 at 10:02pm

Everything is expensive, and ten times as expensive in NYC. This is why I pivoted away from a regional premiere for my new show entirely; we’re going to launch it as a podcast with animation elements, and do a concept album first. It’s estimated at $10k since I have access to studio and everything already, as opposed to $30k-2m to do it either regionally or Off-Broadway.

I don’t think I’ll be the only one exploring new media in the post Versailles world, especially with the big splash Epic made online despite being Hamilton Lite.

[Peronista]

Posted: 11/28/25 at 10:03pm

Millions in Atlanta was sadly not strong.  It was a last minute replacement in their season - just before the season announcement - and while they probably benefited from the run and learned a lot, it’s not likely to be in NYC without another developmental run.

[Kad]

Posted: 11/28/25 at 10:06pm

violetsandroses said: "I kinda think we need a come-to-Jesus moment about producers and investors producing the wrong things. As frustrating as Versailles is - how on EARTH did it make it past the first reading/workshop? It seems that development these days is too insular, and perhaps there are just too many "yes" people in these rooms. SMASH is another one that appeared to be the victim of too much yes-anding and creative confusion."

I think it’s less about producing/investing in the wrong things- people have done both since Broadway began- and more about addressing how costly and frequently ineffectual development has become. It’s one thing to just mount a bad show on Broadway, it’s quite another to spend time doing readings, workshops, labs, and productions with a show and  wind up having just pushed problems around rather than ever fix them. There is a lack of skilled development leadership in the industry. 

Updated On: 11/28/25 at 10:06 PM

[Ensemble1711444445]

Posted: 11/28/25 at 11:01pm

ugh. Totally agree. And oft times now theater owners are committing to shows after table reads and promising theaters on a time table that make it less of a motivation to really fix the material. Purple Rain, Smash, Boop, Dolly Parton, Lost Boys, all were promised specific theaters and timing and then the theaters had filler programing to kill time. Dolly doesn't have to make big changes because they already have the theater. Theater owners need to get better at identifying strong creative and budgets that make shows financially viable not just stars or producer relationships. 

Kad said: "violetsandroses said: "I kinda think we need a come-to-Jesus moment about producers and investors producing the wrong things. As frustrating as Versailles is - how on EARTH did it make it past the first reading/workshop? It seems that development these days is too insular, and perhaps there are just too many "yes" people in these rooms. SMASH is another one that appeared to be the victim of too much yes-anding and creative confusion."

I think it’s less about producing/investing in the wrong things- people have done both since Broadway began- and more about addressing how costly and frequentlyineffectual development has become. It’s one thing to just mount a bad show on Broadway, it’s quite another to spend time doing readings, workshops, labs, and productions with a show and wind up having just pushed problems around rather than ever fix them. There is a lack of skilled development leadership in the industry."

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 11/28/25 at 11:09pm

corninthesky said: "Anyone have any info onMillionssince their out of town run? I know it had rough word of mouth, but any Adam Guettel musical has my interest."

Last I heard MILLIONS is still a season or two away, if it even makes it. Sonia Friedman & Jeffrey Richards feel more revisions need to be done, with possibly another workshop and/or out of town. (imo I don’t know if it will ever be a commercial property.)

[Chaz Hands]

Posted: 11/29/25 at 12:47pm

I think after reading the past couple of pages, what Ensemble is trying to get at is that sometimes word-of-mouth pre-Broadway does not have any indication of how well a show will do on Broadway.

I distinctly remember how harsh this board was to The Outsiders at La Jolla and everyone thought it was insane at how fast it was transferring in. However, despite word of mouth on this board specifically, it has become a success on Broadway.

I also don’t think there’s a lack of quality shows waiting to transfer in- rather a lack of producers willing to take a risk on new shows.

Come Fall in Love, Regency Girls, 42 Balloons, Knoxville, and Becoming Nancy all had more positive than negative reviews in their out of towns. However, none of those have commercial IP attached, making them riskier choices for producers/investors. And those are just the ones off the top of my head. I’m sure there’s plenty PLENTY more.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/29/25 at 1:20pm

I think after reading the past couple of pages, what Ensemble is trying to get at is that sometimes word-of-mouth pre-Broadway does not have any indication of how well a show will do on Broadway.

Exactly. People thought The Outsiders and Gatsby were not ready for Broadway (specifically Gatsby was torn to shreds in Jersey) and yet, it's a very successful show and will be extremely lucrative on tour. I thought Almost Famous (great reviews in CA) would be a success here and it closed in just a few months. You never know what's going to succeed which make things really interesting, especially in a year like this,