I’m glad I saw Here Lies Love, especially for $35 rush tickets, as it was a unique, well-directed and performed musical that I was never going to see anywhere else. But I don’t know why anyone thought it would be a financial success. There were a million reasons why it wasn’t going to work as the Broadway smash hit that it needed to be based on its costs.
The relative struggles of Back to the Future, which I admittedly have no interest in seeing despite enjoying the movies, are a concern. Having every new show fail is, uh, bad. What are the post-pandemic successes, aside from starry revivals (musical and play) and Leopoldstadt? And maybe Parade? & Juliet, I guess. It’s not a long list.
And no, the success of MJ doesn’t surprise me. At least you know the music and can anticipate good choreography. On our last trip, the people we met had seen the show and highly recommended it. (They are not regular theatergoers.) It’s a safe bet even if it’s not great theater.