'Curtains' to Broadway

#1

'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 1:53pm

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/101027.html

Roger Berlind, Daryl Roth, Roger Horchow, and the Center Theatre Group are ready to find a suitable (and empty) Broadway house, for the show to open in late fall. If not, they'll hold off until the spring.

#2

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 2:09pm

I am extremely excited over this news. A fresh, new musical with a great cast.

#3

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 2:20pm

"Scott Ellis (Twelve Angry Men, The Little Dog Laughed) will direct the debut at Center Theatre Group's Ahmanson Theatre."

It could have been a decent musical.

Let's review:

Scott Ellis = K&E's original musical Steel Pier = BORING!!

Scott Ellis is no good with original musicals.

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If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.

#4

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 2:25pm

What theatres are not being used now?

If Pirate Queen flops in under a month, the Hilton will be up and High Fidelity could go to the Cort

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Let us milk the cow that is theatre-Monica Trausch

#5

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 2:28pm

I put about 50% of the blame for STEEL PIER on Ellis, the other 50% on Tommy Thompson's awful book. They managed to sabotage a great score and cast.

#6

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 2:30pm

Anything can happen by spring of next year. I'm hoping The Producers would close.

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"Hey, you! You're the worst thing to happen to musical theatre since Andrew Lloyd Webber!" -Family Guy

#7

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 2:32pm

High Fidelity wants the Beck. They're considering postponing until the Spring, when Wedding will close.
Curtains has their sights set on the Imperial.
And with DRS's new cast...they're time is limited.
Cort is Little Dog Laughed.

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"Mutate or perish."

#8

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 2:50pm

"They managed to sabotage a great score and cast."

I'll only agree with a partial cast. They managed to cast Karen Ziemba who is a bland performer. She's a great dancer, great singer, cute as a button, but she can't fill a Broadway stage.

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If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.

#9

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 2:51pm

I enjoyed Steel Pier & all its aspects including the book

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Poster Emeritus

#10

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 2:57pm

And by the "Beck" I assume you mean the Hirschfeld? I wouldn't plan on Wedding Singer closing on anytime soon enough for High Fidelity to open there this season. Maybe next season though. Also, DRS still has some time left, so Curtains and High Fidelity should really start looking at the O'Neill for when Sweeney closes. And Pirate Queen isn't going to be a flop, or anything even close to one.

#11

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 3:04pm

Hooray! An ORIGINAL musical heading for Broadway!!

#12

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 3:07pm

I love Wedding Singer, but I don't see it lasting until the Tony's next year. So I'm sure High Fidelity could open there maybe in March/April. I guess that would give them an ample amount of time to tweak the book & score from tryout - to Broadway.

#13

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 3:08pm

bjh, people said the same thing about The Woman In White, when The Drowsy Chaperone was looking for a house...

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Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.

#14

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 3:08pm

Seeing this August 11! So excited!

I think this show might work at the Eugene O'Neill. Sweeney's gone any week now.

#15

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 3:12pm

"bjh, people said the same thing about The Woman In White, when The Drowsy Chaperone was looking for a house..."

Said what? That Woman in White wouldn't close in time? But Woman in White's ticket sales were way below where Wedding Singer's are now. I don't believe the two scenarios are comparable. And like volleyballer said, Sweeney is gone any week now.

#16

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 3:23pm

Woman in White had mostly $700,000-$800,000 weeks until it fell off a cliff after New Year's. Wedding Singer has never grossed more than $660,000, in a house where it could do $1,000,000+ We'll see how its doing in September/October, and then in January, after New Year's...

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Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.

#17

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 3:28pm

The book this show is based on is a SCREAM! Can't wait.

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Mind is Mantra.

#18

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 4:13pm

Wedding Singer just had another sub-600K week -- its third in a row (isn't its break even close to $600K?). Bad news for the show, but good news for all those shows lined up for the Hirshfeld.

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"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie [http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/] "The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney

#19

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 4:18pm

Like Smaxie said though, we really need to wait and see how it does at the end of the summer, through September/October and then around New Year's. I can't imagine that the cost of running that show is terribly high. But it might close sooner if numbers continue to dwindle. I just have this feeling that it will last longer than everyone expects. One of those "holding on by the skin of their teeth" musicals.

#20

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 4:24pm

Well, Wonderful Town and Sweet Charity didn't do a lot better than The Wedding Singer at the same theatre and remained opened for a while. Hopefully it will happen again with The Wedding Singer. I am glad a new Kander & Ebb musical will open soon.

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"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one". -Felicia Finley-

Updated On: 7/24/06 at 04:24 PM

#21

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 4:39pm

I too am very excited for this show! So excited that I bought my Grandmother a ticket to see the "pre-broadway engagment" in LA just so that she could give me an early review!

#22

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 5:27pm

And both Wonderful Town and Sweet Charity lost several million dollars a piece (nearly their entire investments). Staying open for months losing money is no accomplishment given the wealth of the people and corporations involved (look at Transamerica and Hot Feet). A flop is a flop and for producers losing money it's just a tax write-off. Frankly, I'd rather see a show with mixed to mediocre reviews and a demonstrated extremely limited appeal at box office simply close and make way for another, potentially better and more popular show, than have it take up very valuable real estate struggling on month after month when it clearly has zero chance of ever recouping its enormous initial investment.

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"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie [http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/] "The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney

#23

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 5:34pm

Oh I agree Margo, but there is often a big difference between what will happen and what should happen.

#24

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 5:47pm

"Well, Wonderful Town and Sweet Charity didn't do a lot better than The Wedding Singer at the same theatre and remained opened for a while. Hopefully it will happen again with The Wedding Singer. I am glad a new Kander & Ebb musical will open soon".

I am hoping this show stays open because I'd love to see it again. That's it, and Im happy Wonderful Town stayed open for as long as it did, because it was a fabulous show. I am just hoping, not saying the way it should be or anything, just expressing my wishes.

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"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one". -Felicia Finley-

#25

re: 'Curtains' to Broadway

Posted: 7/24/06 at 6:04pm

The more I hear about this show the more I want to see it!

I wish it well. Hopefully it'll find a b'way theatre to play in when the time comes.

(PS - the Hilton is TAKEN, and will be for a long time! )