Chicago URINETOWN to close May 7

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 4/27/06 at 12:25am

This makes me sad. I was really hoping to see this run a long time...

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 4/27/06 at 12:27am

AW, are you serious? I was hoping to see it in December.

[chinkie azn jai]

Posted: 4/27/06 at 12:29am

Where's the article?

[TheActr97J]

Posted: 4/27/06 at 12:30am

I agree, what are you basing this on. Where can we get this confirmed.

I was hoping to see it over the summer.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 4/27/06 at 12:35am

I was told this tonight at rehearsal by a (reliable) fellow member of the Chicago theater community. Although an official announcement has not been made, this has been confirmed on the show listing on the Jeff Awards website (link below). I'm told the reason is poor audience attendance.

http://www.jeffawards.org/index.php?action=details&url_production_id=1514

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 4/27/06 at 12:38am

Yeah, I think I read somewhere that it wasn't doing to well money wise. If only it had opened when Urinetown was still a big "name" in the theater world. Like when it was up for Tony's and stuff. Oh well. I guess I'll still never get to see a production of this show.

[donna_darko_23]

Posted: 4/27/06 at 12:55am

Oh that's really sad. I was hoping to get down there to see show in a few weeks, but I don't think I'll get a chance to see the show before it closes.

[TheActr97J]

Posted: 4/27/06 at 12:56am

Well crap. That's a real shame.

Maybe I'll try to get tix to the new Martin Short musical instead.

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 4/27/06 at 1:03am

It's not a very good production... but there really is no reason it shouldn't run longer. It's a good fit for the theater and even though most of the cast doesn't really deliver... it's still pretty enjoyable. It's sad that Chicago can't sustain more long running productions... I hope Spelling Bee can pull the long haul.

kmc

[StephanietheStar]

Posted: 4/27/06 at 5:49am

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


that's CRAP


I can't even see it when I come back!! I come back from London the 11th.....grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr anger

[Lenexajones]

Posted: 4/27/06 at 9:24am

Darn. We were planning a trip in October and had this on the schedule.

Posted: 4/27/06 at 10:38am

Oddly enough I was wondering about this....I looked for tickets for this weekend and came up with second row, which made me worry. It's a shame. I've heard nothing but good about it. I think that name makes it a hard sell beyond the theatre insiders.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 4/27/06 at 10:42am

SH*T. My fav show and I can't even see it in the fall.

How about another TOUR?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/27/06 at 10:44am

How sad. I was hoping to take Jarico to the show in July. Well, at least he got to see the new Mack and Mabel in London last night, which he loved.

[buskeat]

Posted: 4/27/06 at 11:53am

I thought there was no way for this open run to last. Far too expensive to produce, and to rent the theater in the Wrigleyville neighborhood, and THEN to ask off-Loop theatergoers to pay way more than they normally do for tickets? Plus, foot traffic consists mostly of drunken Cubs fans who have no interest in musical theater.

It just wasn't going to happen.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 4/27/06 at 1:41pm

Yeah. It's a good show (I saw it shortly after it opened, and, um...actually recently auditioned to be a replacement), but tickets are/were vastly overpriced, and the location of the theater is terrible. It's a shame, but in many ways, not surprising.

[Tom1071]

Posted: 4/27/06 at 2:33pm

I thought it was only a limited run anyway. What kind of reviews did it receive? How was Michael Buchanan as Bobby Strong?
Updated On: 4/27/06 at 02:33 PM

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 4/27/06 at 2:39pm

i thought tickets were like $40? That's not that much.

[Tom1071]

Posted: 4/27/06 at 3:41pm

Any answers to my previous question?

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 4/27/06 at 4:16pm

Tickets are about $40 or $50, which really is too much for this show. It's good, but considering that half the cast is non-Equity, and it is (appropriately) done very-low budget, it's too much. Most shows in Chicago, even Equity productions (except for, you know, Wicked and stuff at the Steppenwolf, etc.) are available for under $30.

That said, the reviews were, I would say, "mixed to positive." Chris Jones of the Tribune had some reservations, but Hedy Weiss of the Sun-Times loved it. And the "lesser" critics were generally supportive, if not particularly enthusiastic.

Personally, I thought Michael Buchanan was a mixed bag as Bobby. He sings BEAUTIFULLY but cannot act, and has no sense of comedic timing. That's just my humble opinion though. I enjoyed the show very much overall, and am sad to see it close.

[AberJ01]

Posted: 4/27/06 at 5:05pm

I saw the show for the first time last weekend. I had mixed reviews on it myself. Overall I thought it was a good show. My boyfriend LOVED it, actually liked it alot more than he liked Wicked, but then again he isn't a big musical theater person.

I do agree that the $50 a ticket was a little over priced when you think of the shows like Wicked playing in the loop. It wasn't quite worth it. We actually got tickets for Saturday night, on Thursday night, which surprised me because we actually got 2nd row seats just two days before the show. When we got there though there wasn't an empty seat on the floor, the balcony I couldn't tell if it was full. The audience seemed to really like the show though.

Overall, the cast was ok. Michael Buchanan who played Bobby had issues. Didn't care for his vocals, and his comedic timing was all over the place, but like I said he was ok, and Saturday was actually his last show. The rest of the cast handled themselves better than he did. The ensemble I thought was quite strong, vocally and acting-wise.

It's a shame though that the show folded. It deserved to play for a while longer. I had a feeling though when they were handing out coupons for $5 off a ticket that it was on it's way out. Too bad, it might have lasted in a bigger theater, and more publicity, well at least for a little while longer...

[Tom1071]

Posted: 4/28/06 at 11:41am

Thanks for the info. That's too bad.

[TheBoyfromChi]

Posted: 4/28/06 at 1:52pm

I live just off of Southport, walking distance from the theatre and I couldn't imagine why they would think the show would be successful there. The area just isn't suited to theatre. It's all about Cubs, bars and Cubs. Also, the theatre is very close to a school, and I'm sure the name is a bit off-putting to parents. The show would have done much better elsewhere, although I applaud the effort to bring musical theatre to the area.