Breaking News: AFTER MIDNIGHT to Close on Broadway in Late June — Page 3

I have never known news to come out on a Saturday before?

With unions like that, who needs bad reviews?

I'd still like to know which unions said yes and which ones said no.

---

Updated On: 6/15/14 at 10:02 AM

're the unions

If there are no profits the show closes and they are out of work

It is,a musical revue much like Contact. They were both song and dance pieces. If a show needs a name to keep running.....

---

"If a show needs a name to keep running..."

You seem to think that star vehicle deserve to close for some reason? What is wrong with a business plan or marketing strategy being based on the presence of a star name? It's a bit like complaining that certain dishes are only tasty because of the sauce.

Perhaps the producers could be blamed for not ensuring the necessary star presence was in place, but not for subscribing to a well-established commercial tradition.

"Great contribution to the discussion."

The unions didn't close the show the producers did, it is good the unions stuck by there guns on this, how long would it be before shows close after NewYear and re-open end of March, when the tourists are back?

I wouldn't be surprised if Nederlander group were very hostile towards this as well, losing a weeks rent, plus liquor sales.

I'm as sad about this early closing as some of you, but I think it's a bit premature to be blaming anyone for the show's financial failure - producers or unions. While it's tempting to blame the hold-out unions, at the end of the day, if the only thing that could save the show was a one-week hiatus, it was already in a lot of trouble.

And, as sad as it makes me to say this, perhaps the audience for a revue of great music from legendary early 20th century composers just isn't there anymore. It seems that when re-purposing songbooks for new musicals - be they revues, jukebox shows, or book musicals - they are most successful when tapping into the nostalgia and musical roots of babyboomers. See: Mowtown and Beautiful. In fact, I think you could argue that the signing of guest stars like Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight and even Natalie Cole was to appeal to those babyboomer sensibilities.

Perhaps music from the 20s-40s is just considered too old fashioned for the average audience member. Anyone who's seen After Midnight knows how raw and vital and alive this music sounds with this company of supremely gifted musicians/singers/dancers, but the problem was never with the audience reaction to the show itself, but with getting people in the door in the first place.

As much as I ADORED Fantasia in this show, if they'd been able to open with stars that appealed to that babyboomer demo, like LaBelle, Knight and Cole, perhaps they would have been off to a stronger start.

Quick look through the lead producers credits, only Roy Furman has real cred. We're talking wonton Marsalis, Candy Spelling and a couple of groups with 1 or 2 credits

If the reason is truly the absence of a star a few weeks out then it is just poor planning. A shame.

I just checked Ticketmaster this morning and they are still selling tickets past the closing date in June. Is this common?

"Wow! This news really caught me off guard....was all set to see this next month. Any idea if there is a chance it could move off Broadway (like Million Dollar Quartet did)?"

Needs a much bigger space than you can get at Dodger Stages or similar

I'm surprised that they are closing before the expected Gladys Knight engagement, but it's understandable. Look at the gross potential percentages, they haven't been doing too well.
https://www.broadwayworld.com/grosses/AFTER-MIDNIGHT

That's irrelevant. It does not shift the onus of responsibility. The party ultimately guilty of shutting this one down was the unions. They'd rather lose a paycheck for multiple weeks (or months) than lose it for just one week. Absolutely ridiculous.