Chicago Open-Ended Runs

[lavieboheme04]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 12:14am

So they have Wicked, and I hear they are getting PC Spelling Bee and Urinetown. What other shows do you think that they should get???????

-Chicago
-The Color Purple

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 12:17am

PC?

I think Chicago would have a good run, considering their marketing would be like "come see Chicago in chicago" or something cheesy.

[Chicago74]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 12:27am

CHICAGO has played in Chicago several times through tours and regional productions. I don't think an open run would last.

However, if THE COLOR PURPLE does well at the Tony Awards, I predcit that when they send it on tour, they will also create an open run in Chicago since it has so many home-grown roots in Chicago (Oprah Winfrey, Gary Griffin, Felicia Fields).

I actually think URINETOWN could run in Chicago longer than SPELLING BEE because it is cheaper ticket price, it's in a hipper/cooler theatre, (and it is a better musical).

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 12:29am

Oh, true Chicago, never thought about all the connects Color Purple has. I mean if Oprah plugs it after all of her shows to the stuido audiences, i'm sure they'd pick up tickets. Do you have a link to the Urinetown site? or do they have one?

[Chicago74]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 12:34am

I read that they will be using the urinetown.com site, but it not updated yet. I searched for site for the Mercury Theater, but couldn't find one.

Chicago actually has a good history of healthy long runs.

-Blue Man Group
-Naked Boys Singing
-Joseph
-Shear Madness
-Forever Plaid
-Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind
- and Wicked is breaking Chicago box office records.

It would be cool to add The Color Purple to that list.

[Stagerage2003]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 12:38am

My friends were just cast in two open ended shows in Chicago, my friend Christine is playing Logianne in Spelling bee, and my friend prescott is playing a few roles in Urinetown.

I think that Piazza would be great in Chicago, because think about it....it was only supposed to be a limited engagement in NYC, but the kept extending it....I think it would do VERY well. Perhaps bring Victoria Clark along with you.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 12:43am

I doubt Vicki would go, but I could see it coming to chicago. Its not a HUGE type production like Wicked is, so I think it could sustain itself. But are there enough theaters for these shows? where would CP play if Wicked is still running. Another question, when do Spelling Bee tickets go on sale and how close is the Mercury Theater to the Oriental?

[Chicago74]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 12:44am

PIAZZA has already played in Chicago. It played at the Goodman Theatre before it went to Broadway.

[Chicago74]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 12:49am

RentBoy,

The Oriental is downtown, but the Mercury is a little bit north of the city, by Wrigley Field.

The theaters downtown are pretty large (2,000+ seats), but I could see The Color Purple playing at either the Shubert Theatre or the Royal George Theatre (across the street from the Steppenwolf).

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 12:52am

Oh okay. I've been to Chicago a couple times cause I have family there, but never with the intent to see some theater. Although I wish I had w/ all the great theater companies there. I was just wondering if I could see like Urinetown for a matine and make it to Wicked for a nite show. how far is the Watertower theater w/ Bee?

[Chicago74]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 12:55am

The theatres are about 15-20 minutes away from each other. You could totally catch a matinee of Urinetown or Bee then head to Wicked.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 12:56am

is it walking distance or taxi?

[Chicago74]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 12:57am

taxi or el train.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 1:01am

"el train" is that spanish? jp. thanks for your help. I hope i get to make it up there. I can't wait. I've been wanting to see Urinetown for like 4 years. You think RENT could ever sustain and sitdown? just wondering what your ideas on it are.

[BroadwayChica]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 1:13am

"El tren" is Spanish for "the train". I'm nitpicky. :p

[Fosse76]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 2:11am

Technically, it's the "L" train. It's shorthand for "Loop" , not "elevated," as is commonly believed. Also, Chicago has a long history of long runs:

Sheer Madness
Forever Plaid
Flannigans Wake
Naked Boys Singing
CATS
Joseph
The Phantom of the Opera
Les Miserables
Miss Saigon
Show Boat
Ragtime
Wicked

Also, the Mercury is not "north of the city". It's in the heart of the city in Wrigleyville/North Lakeview. North of the City is a 30-minute drive away, in Evanston. The Mercury would be north of the comercial theatre district. Most of the theatres in Chicago are not-for-profit.
Updated On: 2/6/06 at 02:11 AM

[Chicago74]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 8:50am

Cubs game followed by a performance of Urinetown, anyone?

I am counting the days until it opens!!

[Jon]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 9:35am

By the way, in case you all don't know, this production of URINETOWN will NOT have the Broadway sets, costumes, direction, choreography, etc. - unlike WICKED and SPELLING BEE.

And in the case of URINETROWN - the "sit-down" could be eight weeks, if ticket sales are slow. Inlike WICKED and SPELLING BEE, the show is not affiliated with "Broadway In Chicago", which spends tons of money on advertising.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 10:12am

"And in the case of URINETROWN - the "sit-down" could be eight weeks, if ticket sales are slow. Inlike WICKED and SPELLING BEE, the show is not affiliated with "Broadway In Chicago", which spends tons of money on advertising."

It's not going to have an 8-performance week, if I recall correctly. That said, Chicago open runs tend to last quite a while, so that statement is wrong, entirely. Since most shows that are produced are not-for-profit, they run until they start seriously losing money. The initial "investment" isn't an investment that has to paid back, since most is raised through fundraising..

[liotte]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 10:18am

Count me in for a Cubs game/show day!

[Jon]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 11:35am

The open-ended run of "Fully Committed" starring Bronson Pinchot at the Royal George a few years ago closed after six weeks. No one wanted to see it. In NYC, the show ran over two years.

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 12:15pm

Yea. Chicago is kinda iffy with long runs. Shows that you would think would catch on in Chicago... often don't. At least not recently. A lot of the stuff Fosse cites is older. There were attempted long runs of Hedwig and Rocky Horror that closed pretty quickly...not all that long ago... it's sort of hit and miss... I guess all theater is. Sigh. Also. Since it was mentioned. It is the 'L' train... but that is not short for loop... it's short for elevated. And that's according to the CTA. Um. And I think they know their stuff.


kmc

[Fosse76]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 12:16pm

The Royal George, however, is a rental house. It's also a commercial theatre.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 12:20pm

"It is the 'L' train... but that is not short for loop... it's short for elevated. And that's according to the CTA. Um. And I think they know their stuff."

Nope. "L" stands for loop, not elevated, despite what the CTA currently claims (they change it every few years...there was a time they posted it as "el" but had to be corrected). "L" is short for Loop, because the elevated tracks made a loop in the downtown business district. When other lines were built, they were also elevated, only to submerge in the downtown business district. But since the system was commonly referred to as the "L", it stuck, and therefore people assumed it meant elevated, since all transit lines in Chicago are elevated.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 12:27pm

"Yea. Chicago is kinda iffy with long runs. Shows that you would think would catch on in Chicago... often don't. At least not recently. A lot of the stuff Fosse cites is older. There were attempted long runs of Hedwig and Rocky Horror that closed pretty quickly...not all that long ago... it's sort of hit and miss... I guess all theater is."

The long-run bookings stopped the moment Broadway in Chicago took control of the commercial venues downtown. All the shows I mentioned were in the 902 (except for Cats. Les MIz I believe was 1989). Also, Ragtime's financial woes from Livent caused it to shutter prematurely. Broadway in Chicago is partially owned by Clear Channel, who presents tours in practically every major market. As such, they have no vested interest in keeping a show in any of its markets for long periods of time. Wicked and Spelling Bee are open runs because David Stone insisted on it. BIC books shows into four downtown theatres, yet rarely are any two ever occupied at the same time. Despite the success of Wicked, if it were not for Stone, BIC would probably not even have booked a return engagement of the tour for another couple of years. I'm concerned for Spelling Bee ONLY because of its location. It's a tourist heavy area, but the theatre itself isn't exactly out in the open for walkers-by, unlike the others.