Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 6/26/22 — Page 2

BroadwayGuy12 said: "ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "I’ve heard producers have been considering pushing back closing based on 1) popular demand, and 2) the fact that they want to end up with a longer run thanDear Evan Hansen."

LIVING for the pettiness. Would love to see it outrun DEH simply for the chuckle factor."

Except they don't need to extend in order to outrun DEH. According to IBDB, as of June 19, 2022Come From Awayhas played 25 previews and 1,550 performances toDear Evan Hansen's 21 previews and 1,466 performances. And with Come From Awaycurrently scheduled to close two weeks afterDear Evan Hansen, a longer run is pretty much an inevitability (barring any COVID cancellations and/or any other unforeseen circumstances)."

Apparently, Dear Evan Hansen will close after 1,678 regular performances, while Come From Away is currently set to shutter after 1,670.

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "The POTUS problems:

3) It's just not a very good play. It's funny and well-performed, but it's complete fluff, and that's not enough to sell tickets these days."

Correct. It's not a very good play at all. I seem to be in the distinct minority at least on this board, but I didn't even find it that funny. Ridiculous overreactions, screaming profanities at the top of your lungs, anal wart and puke jokes. It's just 3rd rate sitcom humor. Rachel Dratch was really the only worthwhile part of the show and it made me appreciate what a gifted physical comedienne she is. No question people like Vanessa Williams and Julie White are very talented but they are largely wasted here. Others may disagree.

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "As of the currently-scheduled closings, when all is said and done DEH will have run 8 performances more than CFA. Those numbers were widely reported so I'm not sure why some grown adults weren't checking their facts."

I'm not sure if this is directed at me, but I did try to check my facts by referencing IBDB, although it appears as though the information listed there may be incorrect. I did some more digging after looking at the information you provided, and while the numbers for CFA check out, it looks like IBDB is undercounting the number of performances for DEH. According to this list they had played 1,363 at the time of the shutdown, and I estimate they've played about 200 performances since reopening (I don't remember how many performances they've had to cancel). Given that they have about 100 more to go until closing, this puts them at the number quoted in their closing notice press release, so I'd imagine their current total higher than the 1,466 currently listed on IBDB.

Apologies for spreading any misinformation and for getting my facts wrong.

DEH will play its 1,583rd performance tonight.

JBroadway said: "Macbeth took a nasty hit. As I mentioned in last week’s thread, I’m really curious to know whether it will recoup; if so, it would be one of the few plays this season that makes it, and it’s an interesting case study of mega-star casting in an otherwise inaccessible and poorly-received production(Funny Girl is in a similar boat, and I’m similarly curious about it, but it’s not on as tight of a time frame as Macbeth).

It seems like it’s probably gonna be a photo finish either way, but this week’s gross really makes me wonder if they’re stumbling at the finish line after a really strong “head start.”

Also, happy to see Company getting a nice bump, even if it was (at least partially) for an unfortunate reason.

And Beetlejuice continues to prove, as least for now, that they didn’t midjudge the demand for a return engagement."

Advanced sales eventually run their course. This explains both Macbeth's and FG's sagging grosses, although FG is still doing surprisingly well. I would love to know what is advanced sales were at the start of previews. I assume you were referring to the Funny Girl property as the 'mega-star'. While there were undoubtedly some 20 something young women who purchased tickets to see Beanie, I don't even think she is a star, let alone a super-star.

quizking101 said: "DrMonicaDeMoneco said: "It's curtains for Paradise Square, The Minutes and POTUS."

I mean, people have been saying that for weeks and here we are. I can't imagine The Minutes and POTUS won't finish out their runs with only a few weeks left (especially POTUS, as I'm sure the Shuberts don't want their flagship empty during the hot tourist months).

Paradise Square seems to have defied all prognostication and financial common sense - so it seems like a fruitless effort to actually bet they will close any time soon since we've been doing that since late April/early May when the 10 Tony Award nominations did diddly-squat for the show itself."

I would also imagine that POTUS is exceeding its weekly nut, unlike The Minutes (and Hangmen, and Colored Girls, Girl from the North Country, to name a few highly acclaimed recent productions. Given that Broadway is recovering, I think there is still a Covid? hole around non-musicals without box office attractions, which POTUS fits into. Re North Country, maybe it was just too serious to attract a sizable Broadway audience.

Due to the cancelled show last Tuesday, CFA would need to extend two more weeks to surpass DEH.

ACL2006 said: "There's rumors going around that Come From Away may extend it's closing by a few weeks. They appear to be doing well now since they announced it. Anyone know if it might be true?"

Grosses keep dropping despite the increase in attendance. So I really wouldn't say it's doing well.

How is the Shubert stage handing the orchestra pit for POTUS?

JBroadway said: "@CreatureKitchen

Speaking more broadly, it seems like there’s a grudge on this board surrounding Beetlejuice’s return, which partly stemmed from how annoying the fandom was about it.

Haha yeah, I did a search for Beetlejuice after I posted my comment in this thread to get a sense of what the discussion around it was, and I absolutely agree with your assessment.

I can relate to people who are grumpy with the fandom, because I felt the exact same way about the Be More Chill fandom. Not gonna lie, I was somewhat smug when the fans who had been screaming about the show didn't turn up in great enough numbers to keep it open. With Beetlejuice, though, the fandom does seem to be putting their money where their mouths are (for now). When I saw the show, the audience was full of teens/ young adults who were dressed up and who were clearly fans. I think the publicity team also deserves some credit for embracing the fans both via social media and with the fanart wall outside the theatre. Like it or not, social media is only going to become more integral to drumming up hype for a show. If your show is already aimed at a young audience, it behooves you to appeal to the TikTok/Twitter/Tumblr crowd. It may be annoying, but it's clear the strategy is becoming increasingly effective (just look at Six, too).

Whether the hype is sustainable remains to be seen, and I won't be that surprised if Beetlejuice closes once the current cast's contracts are up, or if it can't make it through the fall/ winter. But, as I said, it still managed to rake in nearly $900,000 in a week with 56% capacity, so I don't think it's necessarily doomed.