ENRON to Play the Broadhurst Theatre; April 2010

[jacobtsf]

Posted: 12/10/09 at 6:24pm

Lucy Prebble's new play ENRON will play The Broadhurst Theatre (235 W. 44th St. between 8th and Broadway), beginning previews on Broadway on April 8, 2010 and opening on April 27, 2010.

Inspired by the real-life financial scandal of 2001, ENRON, which was commissioned by Headlong Theatre, premiered this past summer at the Minerva Theatre Chichester, and then moved for a six-week run at The Royal Court Theatre where it played through November 8, 2009. The play will transfer to West End's Noel Coward Theatre in January, 2010

Inspired by real-life events and using music, dance and video, ENRON explores one of the most infamous scandals in financial history, reviewing the tumultuous 1990s and casting a new light on the financial turmoil in which the world currently finds itself.
More Here

[MusicSnob1]

Posted: 12/10/09 at 6:32pm

I've heard fantastic things about this new play.

[madlibrarian]

Posted: 12/10/09 at 8:08pm

So is the Broadhurst just gonna sit empty for almost four months? What a "challenging" aspect of theater management that must be, having prime real estate empty even as the taxes must be paid, upkeep, insurance, etc.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/10/09 at 8:14pm

Theatres stay empty in between show frequently. Certainly it's not ideal...but what can you do?


I was JUST talking to a former student that saw this in London...and she loved it.

[Pgenre]

Posted: 12/10/09 at 8:16pm

Is this just a placeholder for CATCH ME next fall? I know ENRON got great reviews, but I don't see it lasting forever.

Seems that CATCH ME is ideal for the Broadhurst, particularly with LND going to the Neil Simon and AI most probably going to the St. James.

P

[jeffmiele]

Posted: 12/10/09 at 8:22pm

i really dont think AI should go to the st. james if that is true.. it needs such a more intimate space.. if anything throw that into the broadhurst and catch me into the st. james

[madlibrarian]

Posted: 12/10/09 at 9:04pm

Empty theaters produce no income. Am I correct or hopelessly naive in wondering if, perhaps, we would see lower ticket prices if shows were booked more efficiently so that Broadway houses were not idle for months? Really, I don't know; but I would welcome intelligent, informed discussion. No snark, please. But how would McDonald's stay in business if it were closed eight months a year? So how does the Shubert Organization do it?

[bjh2114]

Posted: 12/10/09 at 10:16pm

More proof that the Broadhurst should be renamed the West End Theatre. Ah the trend continues. 5 out of the 6 last shows there have been transfers from the West End, the one exception being the Les Miserables revival (which sorta counts anyway).

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 12/10/09 at 10:47pm

Am I correct or hopelessly naive in wondering if, perhaps, we would see lower ticket prices if shows were booked more efficiently so that Broadway houses were not idle for months?

No. Producers set ticket prices, not theater owners. Different groups of people.

Updated On: 12/11/09 at 10:47 PM

[averagebwaynut]

Posted: 12/11/09 at 12:38am

It is definitely a challenge for the theatre owners, but also keep in mind that they figure their costs as an organization overall rather than on a theatre-by-theatre basis. And a theatre that is lit with a hit show for a full year can pay for itself several times over.

For example, the Shuberts know that the Belasco, Lyceum, Cort and Longacre will very often be dark for more weeks than they are lit in a given year. On the other hand, the Jacobs, Schoenfeld, Booth, Golden and Music Box (50% Shubert-owned) are rarely dark for long (and some have recently or are currently home to longer running shows). And certainly the Majestic, Winter Garden, Ambassador and Imperial have been generating sufficient revenue over the last 5-20 years to subsidize the expenses of the less-populated theatres.

In all honesty, the Shuberts aren't an entirely fair example since their antiquated and ludicrously favorable structure as a for-profit organization that is allowed to partially operate under the aegis of a "Foundation" lessens its tax burden in certain areas.

But you get the basic idea and the premise still holds true.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 12/11/09 at 3:58am

Why would CATCH ME go into such a small house? No way. And AI in the St. James? No way.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 12/11/09 at 4:26am

AI does indeed want the St. James.

Agreed though that the Broadhurst is too small for Catch Me.

To an earlier point, the Shubert Organization now owns the Music Box outright. The Berlin Estate sold their half interest to Shubert in 2007.

Updated On: 12/11/09 at 04:26 AM

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 12/11/09 at 11:51am

I'm sorry Smaxie..."AI" is what, exactly? I'm not hip with the acronym.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 12/11/09 at 11:53am

AMERICAN IDIOT.

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 12/11/09 at 12:01pm

Thank you.

[madlibrarian]

Posted: 12/11/09 at 2:23pm

Thank you, averagebwaynut, for your response. Corporations (and foundations) have their financial ways. Still we, the audience, remain aghast at ever-rising ticket prices and the ongoing assaults on middle class existence. Theater will survive; Broadway might.