Despite Turnaround, ‘Beetlejuice’ Being Forced Out of Theater — Page 6

itsshowtime2 said: "The part I don't understand is why it appears to be such a big deal for BJ to move theaters. Touring productions around the country move every week. How hard would it be to pack up the set and haul it a few blocks away? I can't imagine it should cost more than 10-20 thousand dollars. Would appreciate if someone knows and could explain. Thanks in advance!"

For starters, the set at the Winter Garden was not designed or built to tour.

jo said: "Fosse76 said: "I think people are being a bit too quick to assign greediness and blame to Rudin and/or the Shuberts. At the beginning of Mockingbird's run, there were rumblings that the show would eventually move to another theater for Rudin's Music Man revival. However, I had heard in September thatit had beendetermined that the Shubert didn't have the size they needed. Since Beetlejuice had previously met the conditions to enforce the stop clause, and the Winter Garden was the size they needed, they decided to put it there. While a producer can request a specific theater, it's the Shuberts who decide where to put a show. Theymost likely believe that they will make more money with The Music Man than with Beetlejuice."

I remember in one of your recent messages that you mentioned Bettlejuice has been evicted from the WG, which has now been substantiated in official reports.

Someone posted on Instagram a photo of the lab work in September that was done by an ensemble related to Music Man, with Rudin, Carlyle and Sutton in the photo with a fairly large group. Could this lab work reported as month-long have been the basis for the decision on choosing WGarden (and not the Shubert) as what would be a more appropriate stage setting for them?

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3iTZDuprPo/"



The Music Man was designed for the WG from day 1. Designs were handed in mid summer so there was no switching of theatres. Rudin wanted the WG.. he got it.

dramamama611 said: "Plans submitted in mid summer is already AFTER BJ recd their notice that the owners were invoking their stop clause.
That happened in June.

He got it LEGALLY."

I interpreted the NYTimes article differently: The Shuberts informed BJ that they were below the stop clause in June, not invoking it, as a a warning that they could evict them at any point from then on. But that happens with dozens of shows, and if they turn it around then usually nothing happens. They didn't officially give them notice until October.

I mean at this point it's just speculation and interpretation. The contracts have been signed on the WG and BJ is either closing or will have to move.

Every producer has to accept that a stop clause may be invoked and a good producer should expect that it WILL be invoked. The common practices of the past are absolutely meaningless because they have nothing to do with the current contract in place. They are merely historical references, not procedural guidance. It doesn't matter if Music Man was "designed for the Winter Garden" or "planned for the Winter Garden" or even that Rudin approached the Winter Garden (approaching a theatre with a current tenant is common). The contract is between the producers of Beetlejuice and the Schuberts and the Schuberts chose to invoke the clause after having given the producers of Beetlejuice proper notice and it's nothing more than a wise business move. It's far more likely that Music Man will be a huge cash cow for the duration of Grant's involvement in the run than Beetlejuice would sustain profitability (much less recoup) after the holidays. I agree with magictodo123. Blaming Music Man for the eviction of Beetlejuice is senseless. I feel like those that believe this somehow taints the production of Music Man are just those who already took offense to it for whatever personal reason they feel justifies their hostility towards the show. I'm still hoping I get a chance to see it.

While this is sad for the cast, the show could have closed near the end of last summer. Thanks to luck and the marketing, the show has picked up and they now have steady work at least until the beginning of June.

I think the producers of the show handled this as well as they could have. By announcing the closing now they hopefully will create a sense of urgency to see the show (and they have also skillfully used the closing notice for another round of free publicity--I love the "Guide for the recently evicted" that will keep the show profitable in the winter months (something that wasn't guaranteed even with the recent uptick in sales).

As far moving the show to another theatre--the production now has a certain (but short) amount of time to judge the future potential and decide if the huge cost of a move could be justified. (Who knows, maybe the current set could be sold to a London/German production, which could make it easier to justify creating a new set to fit a different theatre.)

Updated On: 12/11/19 at 06:09 PM

DoTheDood said: "Apparently Alex Brightman changed the "F*** Brigadoon" line last night to "F*** The Music Man."

It was inevitable.

DoTheDood said: "Apparently Alex Brightman changed the "F*** Brigadoon" line last night to "F*** The Music Man." A neat little change, even as some people take very seriously. Curious if they will keep it in the show or if it was a one night thing.

https://twitter.com/ABrightMonster/status/1206037065667940353?s=19"



He needs to grow up.

I see this a lot differently.

In that Rudin never wanted the Winter Garden. But wanted the Shubert the flagship in the Shubert organisation. However the stumbling block is Mockingbird and who would have thought a play would run so long in a big theatre. So Rudin has a lovely problem. His own show doing much better than expected.

Mockingbird would have run just shy of 2 years, by the time The Music Man opened in a large theatre and survived original cast changes as well and no Tony and still held up at the box office.

Rudin has generally been faithful to the Shuberts over the years, he has used Jujamcyn houses, but all their houses are either tied up or too small. So the weakest performing show in the Shuberts gets elbowed, as they didn’t want Rudin speaking to the Nederlanders and building a relationship there.

Some people might say, well that’s Broadway!

JSquared2 said: "DoTheDood said: "Apparently Alex Brightman changed the "F*** Brigadoon" line last night to "F*** The Music Man." A neat little change, even as some people take very seriously. Curious if they will keep it in the show or if it was a one night thing.

https://twitter.com/ABrightMonster/status/1206037065667940353?s=19"



He needs to grow up."

Tacky and tasteless. Just like everything else in Beetlejuice.

ACL2006 said: "Saw what you want, but this eviction seems to be helping sales for Beetlejuice.“


You’re probably right, but how do you know? The announcement came out this past Monday. We won’t see the initial impact of the announcement until tomorrow, and in the coming weeks/months.

bwayphreak234 said: "JSquared2 said: "DoTheDood said: "Apparently Alex Brightman changed the "F*** Brigadoon" line last night to "F*** The Music Man." A neat little change, even as some people take very seriously. Curious if they will keep it in the show or if it was a one night thing.

https://twitter.com/ABrightMonster/status/1206037065667940353?s=19"



He needs to grow up."

Tacky and tasteless. Just like everything else in Beetlejuice.

"

I agree that the situation shouldn’t have happened, but for Beetlejuice and Brightman to be calling out Music Man makes me agree that it is tasteless. Their fans are already up in arms and very vocal. They should let their fans be their mouthpiece and rise above it all.