Despite Turnaround, ‘Beetlejuice’ Being Forced Out of Theater — Page 3

dmwnc1959 said: "Was looking for a good reason to return to Broadway. Bought my ticket for the 8pm June 6th performance. YAY!"

I just did the same.

dmwnc1959 said: "Since nothing else on Broadway running around that time currently appeals to me itmight be a good time to hit Moulin Rouge! again. I’m sure the originalcast will be gone by then? Anyways, maybe that or Hadestown one more time. Will have to do some homework this weekend to see what’s what. :)"

Oh my gosh, you aren't interested in seeing Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Company, Six, West Side Story, Plaza Suite, or Diana?

Updated On: 12/10/19 at 09:17 PM

i dont understand the controversy. there was a contract. the theater owners enforced it. GASP!



and it isnt even being forced out immediately- its got the opportunity to pack that house (with added urgency in advertising) for another *seven* months. if it does booming business from now to then, and has a healthy advance in the springtime, it could very well transfer to a different theater because...its a business, and if its a moneymaker the capitalists will find a way. shrug.

JDonaghy4 said: "i dont understand the controversy. there was a contract. the theater owners enforced it. GASP!



and it isnt even being forced out immediately- its got the opportunity to pack that house (with added urgency in advertising) for another *seven* months. if it does booming business from now to then, and has a healthy advance in the springtime, it could very well transfer to a different theater because...its a business, and if its a moneymaker the capitalists will find a way. shrug."

This. And they've probably known about this for quite some time. I would imagine they would have had to be notified within a certain time frame around the offending weeks for the stop clause to be effective (Just a guess, though).

It's business, the ugly side of business, but business just the same.

Would this show benefit from a filmed and televised performance of the closing? That seems to have given Spongebob a good shot at future productions.

Between this and School of Rock it's a wonder that Alex Brightman has any voice left. I wonder if he'll do another musical or if he'll get a Law & Order type TV show and vanish for years.

I like Sophia Anne Caruso's voice on the cast album. If the timing is right she might make a good replacement in Dear Evan Hansen or Mean Girls.

Updated On: 12/10/19 at 07:17 AM

Who is being unfair here??

Per the NYTimes --

"The Shubert Organization notified “Beetlejuice” in June — after the Tony Awards — that it had hit the stop clause. By the time the show rebounded, however, the Winter Garden was already committed to its next tenant: The theater owners had reached an agreement with Rudin that would allow him, more than a year later, to run “The Music Man” there. The Shuberts sent “Beetlejuice” a formal letter on Oct. 1 informing them that they needed to vacate next spring...".

If the Music Man has already reached an agreement with the theatre owners about the use of the Winter Garden, then presumably, the planning and development for the revival ( they had a month-long lab in September) must have already taken the physical attributes of the Winter Garden in its staging considerations. It would not be fair to displace The Music Man production after work may have already been planned and possibly accomplished (involving the initial development work). They only worked within their contractual rights.

If there is anyone to blame for the position that Beetlejuice has found itself in, it is their producers and creatives who may have overestimated their revenue flows vs their breakeven requirements. Maybe they should have rented more manageable-sized facilities or toned down the extravagant production - less expensive. It's like renting a big house which you cannot afford on your income/cash flows. Ha, then they try to blame others for their own mismanagement! Broadway is commercial theatre, not subsidized art!

Updated On: 12/10/19 at 07:39 AM

Jordan Catalano said: "songanddanceman2 said: "Jordan, it has more to do with the fact that Beetlejuice has since turned things around after a lot of hard work. I and many others presumed that the theatre would change for Music Man due to this.

It's a nasty thing to do in my opinion, I don't care how that sounds. This is getting closed for a celebrity cash grab revival, that's what I think sucks. "

Then If the show continues to break those records and theproducers see good reason to find a new home for it, then that’s what they’ll look into doing (if they’re not already). It’s hardly the first time a show has had to change theaters but it might be the first time it’s happened to a show with an under 14 following who don’t understand business and take everything as a personal affront to them because they “luv BTJ”."

I don’t think that that’s what’s happening here though. Far from it. Now, we all know that when it comes to things like casting or Broadway real estate etc, until there’s a press release it falls into the category of rumors and speculation. Doesn’t matter if it’s something we all knew was gonna happen and doesn’t surprise us one bit etc. It was talked about for a long time that Music Man would take the Wintergarden. People are upset, not about the closing of Beetlejuice or Music Man coming in. They are more upset with how Music Man got the theatre more than anything.



Personally, I am not a fan of how Scott Rudin does things generally. This felt a tad dick ish to me. But, if anything, the producers of Beetlejuice most likely were a tad presumptuous with their thinking that them doing better at the box office would get Shubert to remove the stop clause from going into play and let them keep running. Clearly that didn’t happen.