Breaking News: MARY POPPINS to Close on Broadway March 3, 2013; ALADDIN Next at the New Amsterdam Theater? — Page 4

People, give it up. Hunchback will not becoming to Broadway. It's not a hit for Disney. Let's all move on.

I think the issue most people have with Mary Poppins closing and the way it was leaks including myself, is that it was done with poor taste akin to Bonnie and Clyde's producers telling telecharge to yank ticket sales after December 30, 2011 without notifying the cast, and letting them find out via message boards. We all knew Mary Poppins was going to close in the next year or so to make way for Aladdin since the New Amsterdam is already equipped with all the riggings for flying, but we did not expect it to happen like this. I don't think we have ever hear of a ong running show to closing in March especially when a new tenant is not expected for at least a year. If Disney were to currently annouce a closure for June or August I think we would all be more accepting. Another thing that surprises me is that they are not waiting a year for Newies to establish itself as a long runner if it can, before throwing all of their ad money into Aladdin. We all know that Disney can sit on a show for years and the show can still retain all of its buzz unlike the typical Broadway show, so the fact they are not waiting and working on Aladdin is a surprise especially since it was panned in its out of town tryout.

The only senario I can currently see for Aladdin is Disney pulling a Spiderman on purpose and doing an extra long preview period starting in the fall, closing down post Christmas to rework the show then reopen come March officially opening in April. Just like Spiderman I don't think with the size of special effects they want will be feasible in doing a true out of town tryout because it would be to it being to expensive to install in another theater for a month jus to have to take it down and move it into the New Amsterdam.

That just makes a bad problem worse, with cast members saying on social media that they're not closing. It also makes this thread sad that it's been left open, when normally they're yanked immediately for the same reason (cast not notified yet).

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Some new info…
Aladdin not a transfer of Seattle production

I suspected that the Seattle production of Aladdin wasn't going to transfer to Broadway in its current form, it is similar to Aida which had a tryout in Atlanta then reworked then had another tryout in Chicago before transferring to Broadway.

Updated On: 11/8/17 at 03:19 PM

Actually Phantom I wouldn't be so sure on London getting Aladdin, unless they pull something truly special out of the hat. Unlike America, we have versions of Aladdin (ok not the Disney version) performed in panto every Christmas at half the cost of West End prices complete with flying carpets. When Beauty opened in London it suffered some panto comparisons (unfairly in my eyes) and only managed 3 years (i think). The Disney name, while big, is not AS big as in America. The Lion King offers something truly unique in terms of staging and storytelling. Would a family of four spend nearly £400 on tickets to see something not a million miles from what they could see in their local theatre at a fraction of the cost, I'm not so sure.

Interesting:
"My heart is sick for my friends in Mary Poppins. Playbill & Facebook is not the way to find out you are loosing your job."
https://twitter.com/JoshLamon/status/288734342165958656

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'Newsies is West End bound for 2014 if all goes to plan and a theatre found'

That's good to hear, I imagine Disney will want to get the National tour up and running first before concentrating on the West End plus finding a theatre as well.

I'll second what Josh Lamon has said. If Disney had known about this getting leaked yesterday, I imagine they might have told the cast on Sunday. Still wondering when it's exact closing date will be and if Disney would possibly transfer it to a different(slightly smaller) theater.

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Ashley also retweeted Josh Lamon. Ugh, poor cast.

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I'm hearing that Poppins will close, the theatre will undergo renovations, and Aladdin will emerge NEXT spring.

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