I think the Shucked marketing folks have tried to shift the focus to cast members and performances. The release of the Alex Newell video, Andrew Durand's performance on the Today Show, et cetera. But they have a tough challenge trying to promote an original musical without any stars. It worked for Six but this show is even more out of the blue. A lot of the people who might be charmed by the show are out-of-town tourists, but they have to know it exists and that they would enjoy it.
Things look pretty grim for the new musicals, with the exception of & Juliet. Its only problem might be the incoming summer musicals, especially Once Upon a One More Time. But people are showing up for the musical and paying good money to see it.
That cannot be said for the others. A Beautiful Noise has OK average ticket prices but can't fill the theater. Most of the others aren't playing to empty houses but the average ticket price is below $100, sometimes well below that. Some of these shows will get boosts from Tony nominations, but part of me wonders how much of an assist that will provide.
Are teenagers and young adults really going to be clamoring to see Kimberly Akimbo? The star is a woman in her 60s playing a dying teenage girl - and not even in the present day. The score works well enough in the context of the show, but that's not a big selling point either. Its likely Best Musical win will help, but I'm not sure it's going to help enough. I can see it getting a box office boost for the summer, then fading in the fall, especially if Victoria Clark leaves.
It's too soon to draw sweeping conclusions about Shucked and New York, New York, but both musicals are tricky to market. The other new shows are unlikely to last beyond the summer unless Andrew Lloyd Webber wants to keep Bad Cinderella open to maintain his streak.
The only new musicals my 20-something daughter - who is planning a trip to New York City in June - knew anything about was Parade and Sweeney Todd, both because of social media, the cast recording in Parade's case, and star power. I had to tell her about the others.
It seems like tourists this summer will see old favorites, a few of the high-profile revivals, the new shows that are opening in the summer, and newish musicals like MJ (no dropoff without Myles Frost) and Six that they may not have seen in person yet.
