BLUEBERRIES eyeing Broadway?

[jacobsnchz14]

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

BROADWAY NEWS EXCLUSIVE: "Pulitzer Prize finalist ‘Here There Are Blueberries’ is eyeing Broadway" by Broadway News' Andy Lefkowitz - "Commercial producers Sonia Friedman and Brian and Dayna Lee are teaming with TectonicTheater Project, which developed the play, for a 2025 international tour followed by a hopeful Main Stem transfer. ... 

“It exposes a side of Holocaust history that is not widely known,” Moisés Kaufman, Tectonic’s founding artistic director who also conceived, co-wrote and directed “Blueberries,” said in a phone interview. “The Holocaust is one of the most written-about things in the history of literature, and because these photos are new, they’re showing us something that wasn’t known before. And there’s something powerful about that.” ...

“I think one of the things that excites me about the possibility of taking it to Broadway is the fact that there are a lot of audiences that will go to Broadway who will not come to Off-Broadway,” added Kaufman. “And I think the fact that you couldn’t get a ticket at New York Theatre Workshop bodes well for a future on Broadway.” June 30 will mark the end of the play’s twice-extended Off-Broadway run, which has now become the highest-grossing production in NYTW’s 45-year history." https://bway.ly/of7kw0

[Wick3]

Posted: 6/26/24 at 9:35am

I'm surprised Blueberries beat Merrily in the grosses at NYTW but I'm guessing Blueberries probably had a longer run with these 2 extensions. Regardless I'm happy for NYTW!

Updated On: 6/26/24 at 09:35 AM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/26/24 at 9:43am

To his point, I didn’t even know it was running nor that it had extended. Good for them! 

[JoeW4]

Posted: 6/26/24 at 12:18pm

Wick3 said: "I'm surprised Blueberries beat Merrily in the grosses at NYTW but I'm guessing Blueberries probably had a longer run with these 2 extensions. Regardless I'm happy for NYTW!"

 

I was surprised to read that too -- but yes, it looks like this run was 2 weeks longer than Merrily's. Merrily also straddled Thanksgiving, Christmas, AND New Years, leading to a reduced performances schedule in those weeks.

I'd also guess it's because of subscriptions: when Merrily was at NYTW, they had sold an extraordinary number of subscriptions for that season (party because of Merrily, and party because of the Three Sisters production that would've been included if it hadn't been canceled)

If the gross from Merrily's subscriber tickets are counted proportionately as 1/5 the total cost of the subscription package (something like $60/ticket IIRC), that puts a big dent in the gross compared to a show like Blueberries which likely sold more of its tickets a la carte.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/26/24 at 12:28pm

Count me in on the surprise that this has been NYTW’s highest grossing production- this is after all the theater that had Once, Peter and the Starcatcher, Slave Play, Merrily, Rent, Hadestown, and more. I feel like I haven’t seen a ton of buzz about Blueberries.

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 6/26/24 at 1:44pm

JoeW4 said: "Wick3 said: "I'm surprised Blueberries beat Merrily in the grosses at NYTW but I'm guessing Blueberries probably had a longer run with these 2 extensions. Regardless I'm happy for NYTW!"



I was surprised to read that too -- but yes, it looks like this run was 2 weeks longer than Merrily's. Merrily also straddled Thanksgiving, Christmas, AND New Years, leading to a reduced performances schedule in those weeks.

I'd also guess it's because of subscriptions: when Merrily was at NYTW, they had sold an extraordinary number of subscriptions for that season (party because of Merrily, and party because of the Three Sisters production that would've been included if it hadn't been canceled)

If the gross from Merrily's subscriber tickets are counted proportionately as 1/5 the total cost of the subscription package (something like $60/ticket IIRC), that puts a big dent in the gross compared to a show like Blueberries which likely sold more of its tickets a la carte."

Can Confirm I definitely bought a subscription just for Merrily 

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 6/26/24 at 5:02pm

Surprised too.  Blueberries did run longer but it also had many nights with empty seats according to their website.  interesting...

[Fordham2015]

Posted: 6/30/24 at 7:31pm

I was at the final NYTW show today (my first time in that space). Moises Kaufman was in the house.

I thought the show was extraordinarily powerful. If it were to come to Broadway it would do well in one of the nonprofit houses, with less pressure to stunt cast.

The existing company is terrific, especially Elizabeth Stahlmann in the lead (I saw her in Grounded at Westport Country Playhouse, she was fantastic)

Updated On: 6/30/24 at 07:31 PM

[Mitch101]

Posted: 6/30/24 at 7:59pm

Oh no. I slept through some of the beginning. It’s not a good play. Those two things are not necessarily related. I didn’t find “the twist” very compelling.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 6/30/24 at 8:11pm

Bought a last minute ticket as well and…well, this show was not it for me. Felt like an AI composition of what people in 1999 wanted to see, without any real substance. Would not recommend. 

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 6/30/24 at 8:49pm

Jewish plays sell.  After the success of Leopoldstadt and French Republic, I’m not surprised this is coming to broadway 

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 6/30/24 at 9:07pm

I wish this was in the same league as Leopoldstadt or Prayer/Republic.  It wasn't even close for us after seeing it this weekend.

Updated On: 6/30/24 at 09:07 PM

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 7/1/24 at 1:05am

BroadwayFlash again running headfirst into a wall: I can think of many "jewish plays" that flopped on/off Bway, but we dont even have to look all that far- Harmony flopped just a few months ago. Its *almost* as if good plays are generally more successful, jewish or not. Fool.  

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 7/1/24 at 1:26am

Those flops were not as acclaimed as Blueberries or French Republic or Leopoldstadt.  I think if its a good Jewish play, it will sell better than if it was a Christian play.  

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 7/1/24 at 2:10am

This is a very good piece of Documentary theater, it is very dry but very well done and if you enjoyed Laramie Project this is in the same vein.

I think a commercial run would be a mistake, one of the non-profit doing it would make more sense.