Caroline, Or Change to Close 8/29

[Kicks8567]

Posted: 8/4/04 at 11:58pm

I am depressed. Just heard from a friend affiliated with the show that Caroline will close 8/29, one week after Little Shop of Horrors closes. She said the closing notice is being posted in the morning. Sad to see such a powerful show close so soon.

It's official:
http://www.broadway.com/template_1.asp?CI=40840&CT=38fficial: Updated On: 8/5/04 at 11:58 PM

[Matt_G]

Posted: 8/4/04 at 11:59pm

WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA.

Who is your friend and how EXACTLY does she know this?

[Kicks8567]

Posted: 8/5/04 at 12:02am

She works for Rent and Caroline, or Change (Don't mind me for not knowing her position). She said closing notice will go up 2morrow in the AM.

[Matt_G]

Posted: 8/5/04 at 12:03am

That is enough to make me physically sick.

[bythesword84]

Posted: 8/5/04 at 12:04am

While I can say that it wouldn't in the least make me sad to see it close, I can also say that I am surprised that it would close so soon. I didn't think it was doing that poorly.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/5/04 at 12:06am

This is a shame. I didn't think it was doing that poorly either!

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/5/04 at 12:06am

No official press release anywhere on this yet (if it's true). Seems odd that they would have hired new understudies and standbys just last week and Pinkins would have scheduled a vacation (to end on 8/29) if the show were going close when there hasn't been any significant drop off in box office (the box office figures have held steady at roughly $350K and 70% attendance for the last several weeks).

Updated On: 8/5/04 at 12:06 AM

[marebare]

Posted: 8/5/04 at 12:10am

If this is true...I will be visiting NYC ASAP!!!!! Good news for me but still...this is depressing.

[Dolly_Levi]

Posted: 8/5/04 at 12:11am

Oh no, I needed to see Caroline once more ...

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 8/5/04 at 12:13am

Read Margo's post. Don't take anything too seriously yet unless it is official and has been posted. Who is this "friend"?

Updated On: 8/5/04 at 12:13 AM

[NuggetMonkeys]

Posted: 8/5/04 at 12:15am

i was wigging out until Margo's post. thanks again, marg. o....


bah, it had better not.

-d.b.j-

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/5/04 at 12:35am

I'm not saying it's not possible (the numbers have been marginal), just odd considering the cast replacements and Pinkins' vacation. But then, as we all know, not everything has made total sense in terms of closings for the last few months, so I can't say I'd be completely surprised. August and September are especially difficult with so many folks leaving town on vacation (not sure how the Republican Convention August 28th thru the 2nd factors into any of this, if at all).

It's also possible that the closing notice is a provisional one - a precautionary measure by the producers so that if the numbers take a big drop heading into Labor Day, they can close quickly without having to sustain any major losses (but, if the box office holds steady, they can take it down and keep running).

One question (for anyone out there that knows): why is that "Wonderful Town" - with twice the cast-size, twice the orchestra-size, with significantly higher weekly running costs, but roughly the same box office numbers as "Caroline" (in a theatre with nearly 400 more seats) can apparently keep running (and I'm not wishing for it to close), despite months of 50-60% (heavily-discounted) attendance numbers, while "Caroline" has to close despite a far healthier (though not great) economic situation? Are the Weisslers simply propping it up until the tour takes off?

Updated On: 8/5/04 at 12:35 AM

[Thoroughly Modern Cara]

Posted: 8/5/04 at 12:52am

This is really dissapointing! I know there's a chance it's not true but this just kills me. I haven't seen the show yet and I don't have any huge attachment to it I just can't believe how many things are closing! It's really upsetting and I think that if the producers don't start giving some shows a little more of a chance than we will end up with nothing on Broadway except The Lion King, Mamma Mia, Phantom, and Wicked! I don't even totally blame it on the producers though I know that when tourists come they want to see one of these big shows but I think that the others are marketable as well and that this should be done!

I am a huge fan of Tony Kushner and while Caroline wasn't first on my list it was definitely a must see! I enjoy my entertaining, flashy musical as much as the next girl but I don't think that is by any means the best medium of theatre.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/5/04 at 12:57am

Well, it appears to be official (or as official as we're likely to get at this late hour) --

From Tonya Pinkins' Official Site:

"CAROLINE OR CHANGE will close on August 29, 2004. If you haven't seen it yet. Rush out a get your tickets. They won't last."

I think I'll have to make the closing matinee performance if I can.
http://www.tonyapinkins.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

Updated On: 8/5/04 at 12:57 AM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/5/04 at 1:00am

No offense, but if it is a must-see to you then it should be first on the list. I talked this show up like crazy around here after I saw it at the end of October 2003 and there was a lot of "eh, I don't know if it sounds like something I would like" talk in a world of people who had been hypnotized by Wicked. Not to mention one of the reviewers from this site posting in the threads about how dour and awful the show was -- more than SIX MONTHS before he actually saw it!

True there were people who had seen the show and didn't like it and people who loved it too. And we talked it up. Then we endured weeks of people who hadn't seen the show saying Wicked "deserved" the Tony over it in the weeks leading up to the awards.

Just last week somebody raved about the recording and somebody who has been on these boards a long time said, "Oh, now you're making me want to see it." HELLO?

Smart people with reliable opinions (sorry, that counts you out J) have been talking up this show for 11 months. Before opening on Broadway, most every article written about it said it was going to be a long-shot that it would run for a significant length of time.

So if it goes, it's gone. Sorry you didn't listen and make your plans given how much information there was out there about the show's quality and the possibility of a short run. How you managed to miss all that is beyond me. You have only yourselves and the ill-informed opinions of blowhards who hadn't seen the show but thought nothing of contributing to bad word of mouth to blame.

Updated On: 8/5/04 at 01:00 AM

[Thoroughly Modern Cara]

Posted: 8/5/04 at 1:05am

Wow Namo...I was sorta dreading looking at this once I knew you posted after me but hey not too much criticism, I'll take it! But anyway, I really do need to see it I just don't have the money at the moment and at this point I haven't even seen Ave Q yet(which is what is first and then comes CoC)!

[tmz814]

Posted: 8/5/04 at 1:28am

I was trying to stay positive about this and say "It can't be true" but then I saw the headline on the front page of Tonya Pinkins website. I can't believe this is happening. This is such a great show. It makes you think. It makes you feel. And it has some of the best performances out there onstage right now. I am completely in shock!!! First Assassins and now Caroline... At this rate there will be nothing left on broadway by the fall...

[LittleBroken]

Posted: 8/5/04 at 1:53am

Wow, Im basically speechless. This ruins everything. Im from all the way in California and actually saved up enough money to get to NY before fall classes start. I was going (well besides looking inot grad schools as my cover up) to see Kristin Chenoweth's concert and to see Caroline, or Change. I was in NY like, a month before it opened, and now I dont go back until Sep 9th...just a few days after it closes. I really wanted to see this show.

[Copeman63]

Posted: 8/5/04 at 1:55am

Well said Namo... Wicked is a good show... But it turns out there are other shows on BWay, who'd have thought?

[MyNameInLights]

Posted: 8/5/04 at 1:58am

At the rate these shows are closing I will never see anything mildly entertaining by the time I get to New York.

[DiRrTy_ReNtHEAD420]

Posted: 8/5/04 at 2:03am

whats the deal with all these shows closing anyway


AIDA
Lil Shop
"Caroline or Change"


whats goin on

[Chip1012]

Posted: 8/5/04 at 2:12am

I am going to throw up. I'm in shock and in tears.

AND F*CK the garbage that tourists support, when real art can't have a chance.

[sweetiedarlinmia]

Posted: 8/5/04 at 2:18am

*shakes head* I just don't understand. I guess after all the great things that I've heard about it, I thought it would last longer. I guess I better make the most of going to see it for the first time(finally!)next week since I won't be able to come back later and see it again. I really wish I lived in NYC so I could've had months to enjoy this show. Updated On: 8/5/04 at 02:18 AM

[chinkie azn jai]

Posted: 8/5/04 at 2:19am

ahh! This seals it that I will never witness COC live...but i shall cherish my CD. That's very depressing news, but new shows will come and now that leaves the Eugene O'Neil Theatre available. I highly doubt there is going to be a National Tour...but one can dream!

[magruder]

Posted: 8/5/04 at 2:37am

I'd suspect that a few other shows doing marginal business will throw in the towel as well around the same time as Caroline. September has turned into one of the worst months for business for Broadway shows, with the September 11th anniversary, Jewish holidays and lack of group business wreaking havoc at the box office. This year with the Republican National Convention right before Labor Day, the security for which will likely keep many tri-staters from venturing in to the city, and the city on heightened alert as it is, business should be even weaker than usual, starting around August 29.

It's too bad about Caroline, and if you haven't seen it, do try to catch it before it goes. As I said previously, it's a true original.