Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/25/25 — Page 2

The #SamMendes revival with #AlanCumming is still the best version for me, but I really enjoyed #CabaretAtTheKitKatClub recently. #OrvillePeck is very good as #Emcee & #EvaNoblezada is my new favourite #SallyBowles.

I realize this is the time of year when new, Tony-nominated shows should be doing well, but a lot of them are.

With the exception of Dead Outlaw, all the nominated musicals sold out or came really close. And Just in Time has sold out every performance, right?

Isn’t it a good sign for Death Becomes Her that it’s doing so well even with star absences? My impression is that theater aficionados care but that no one else does. That seems like it bodes well for the musical’s long-term health. (I didn’t see the show on my April trip.)

For all the understandable skepticism about Darren Criss’ drawing power, Maybe Happy Ending seems more dependent on his presence than DBH is on Megan Hilty or Jennifer Simard. I think the show is good enough to survive without him, but he feels hard to replace because of his uncanny ability to act as a robot while keeping the audience invested. A quieter show like that relies on the chemistry between its leads.

My concern for Dead Outlaw is that even an extraordinary good Tony night (book or score, a best featured actress win, a really good performance on the telecast) may not move the needle. The only award that would help is Best Musical and I would be very surprised if that happened.

bear88 said: "My concern forDead Outlawis that even an extraordinary good Tony night (book or score, a best featured actress win, a really good performance on the telecast) may not move the needle. The only award that would help is Best Musical and I would be very surprised if that happened."

Yeah I basically see no road to success for DEAD OUTLAW unless pigs fly.

The upside is it probably won't lose quite as much money as BOOP and REAL WOMEN, which just have embarrassing numbers.

OrchardAndRivington said: "Similarly to Wicked.. I'm sure the producers are trying to focus on making Death Becomes Her the star, in the way that Wicked is the star, so they probably aren't as concerned with Hilty/Simard missing shows as a show like Gypsy which is much more star driven.

Yes, Chenoweth and Menzel both received noms (with Menzel winning, obviously), but even after Idina's win they focused on selling the SHOW as the star, notwhoever was playing Glinda and Elphaba. I think Death Becomes Her is going to try and follow that model as closely as possible.. and obviously DBH isn't the same iconic IP as Wicked/Wizard of Oz with broad family appeal, but if they can bring in talented Broadway stars as Helen/Madeline replacements and star cast Viola with Pop Stars and Drag Queens, there should be no reason, IMO, thatthey shouldn't get a 4-5 year Broadway run, and a 5-6 year North American Tour out of it."

While this a very optimistic prediction, I don’t think it is crazy and tracks what seems to be the producers’ strategy. As you point out, this isn’t Wicked with source material that everyone knows and a family audience. But no show has gotten a larger post-nomination boost than Death Becomes Her and I have been puzzling over why.

A reminder: I don’t really know what I’m talking about, haven’t even seen Death Becomes Her yet, and am engaging in fun speculation.

My theory is that the nominations, along with its other promotional gambits, have established the show as a fun night out that’s actually good. Right now, a take-your-mind-off-the-world comedy seems like the sort of show that might thrive, especially with tourists.

The producers would love it, of course, if Death Becomes Her wins the Tony for Best Musical, but they’re planning on a future that doesn’t depend on a win - or a reliance on star performances. They want Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard to show up at every promotional appearance but care a lot less if they miss performances. Few people demand refunds when they’re out anyway. This isn’t Audra McDonald in Gypsy or Nicole Scherzinger in Sunset Blvd. or Jonathan Groff in Just in Time. As I wrote in another comment, Maybe Happy Ending might have a tougher transition when Darren Criss leaves.

If the DBH producers can succeed at this, they won’t need to find star replacements because the show itself will be the attraction. They’ll just need capable comic actresses and a pop star. That’s easier said than done, as comedy is hard, but it might work.

I’m not sure how long Death Becomes Her can sustain its momentum, and I guess they’ll have to keep it up for a while to recoup. But the musical should do very well on tour, as has been noted already, and it has a plausible model for a longer Broadway run.

Updated On: 5/29/25 at 03:24 AM