Posted: 6/21/16 at 8:26pm
I also loved this show....it had a decent run and it made a real difference in the way it handled it's subject matter. It will remain a truly special show. You don't get those very often. We were lucky enough to be graced with its presence.
Posted: 6/21/16 at 8:34pm
"We were lucky enough to be graced with its presence."
It was lucky enough to to be graced with ours.
Damned lucky.
Personally, I felt anything but lucky to have been subjected to its presence. In fact, it was one of the unluckiest evenings of my entire theatregoing experience.
Posted: 6/21/16 at 8:36pm
Truly a great piece of theatre. I'm sad to see it go. I think they got their message out there though and touched a lot of people.
Posted: 6/21/16 at 8:51pm
So incredibly sad it's closing. Of course I'm selfish that I'll get to NYC 2 months after it's closed - but at least we have a gorgeous cast recording (and a ahem, sneaky video). Love this show with all my heart! Hope something else goes into Circle in The Square (I really really want to watch a show in that theatre).
Posted: 6/21/16 at 8:51pm
I saw it twice, the original company. It touched me so deeply. I still find "Telephone Wire" one of the most heartstopping musical sequences I've experienced in musical theater. But everyone has a favorite number. I may have to go back a third time (hey, it's on TDF). Probably one of the finest casts ever assembled, and for my money -- and I've seen a lot of shows there, dating to "Night of the Iguana" in the 70s -- the best use of Circle in the Square, ever. .
Posted: 6/21/16 at 8:51pm
I'm late to the party on this one and somewhat shocked, even though I expected it. It was truly something that changed my life and helped me to understand my own relationship with not only my sexuality, but my family as well.
It really is bittersweet because I'm so glad that many of the actors stayed with the show. We need to get something else for Beth Malone right away.
Posted: 6/21/16 at 8:51pm
It did not become a massive blockbuster for obvious reasons. The same reasons that many assumed it was not Broadway material to begin with, no matter admiration from critics and serious theatergoers at the Public. It is politically sensitive for wide audiences, it deals with serious subject matter, it is small in scale, it has children but is actually a rare musical for adults, and it is virtually unmarketable to tourists out for a fun night. It has nothing to do with the quality of the show, but what the show is DOING. And the fact that a production can have all those challenges and still be one of the few new musicals to turn a profit should be taken note of. We need more space for niche shows to succeed and reach their audiences. Not every success needs to be a Four-Quadrant machine that runs for years. This show reached its limited core audience, made money, and only then began to slow. On its terms, Fun Home was an unqualified triumph in every possible way.
Updated On: 6/21/16 at 08:51 PM
Posted: 6/21/16 at 8:52pm
After Eight said: ""Kind of interesting that it didn't pick up more steam..."
Very surprising, considering the gargantuan nature of the critical praise, awards, and media hype lavished upon it. One would think it was the greatest show ever written (surpassed only by you-know-what this year), and would surely run at capacity for five, ten years, at the least.
Apparently the public didn't share that view.
I wonder why.
"
Truly, because it by far has the smallest production of any recent Best Musical winner, or even past winners. It is an accomplishment in itself. The fact it did a lot better than big productions with flashy numbers, sets and casts puts it in a category of its own.
Keep wondering though.
Posted: 6/21/16 at 8:52pm
PT,
I don't hang out. I socialize. And I've been told I'm very nice company.
But to get back to the topic at hand, remember as well that it couldn't even sell out one of the smallest houses on Broadway for more than six months. It recouped? Its running costs had more than a little to do with that. Other musicals don't have that kind of advantage. Nor that of the media hype it received. With all that, it should have run for ten years --- if it deserved to.
Updated On: 6/21/16 at 08:52 PM
Posted: 6/21/16 at 8:53pm
Would love to see this great show taped for PBS before it closes.
Posted: 6/21/16 at 8:58pm
"It has nothing to do with the quality of the show,"
Yep. Just the line we were expected to be fed--- and will be --- for all eternity. That sure didn't take long, did it?
To the contrary, it has EVERYTHING to do with the quality of the show. Or more appropriately, to the lack thereof.
Updated On: 6/21/16 at 08:58 PM
Posted: 6/21/16 at 9:04pm
Thank you for including the comma in your quote to indicate that you were intentionally avoiding responding to a complete thought.
In return I will avoid pointing out how you are contradicting your own usual frighteningly delusional conspiracy theories.
Posted: 6/21/16 at 9:09pm
"Thank you for including the comma in your quote to indicate that you were intentionally avoiding responding to a complete thought."
You're welcome. Considering the value of your "complete thoughts," I did you (and us) a favor by not repeating all of it.
Posted: 6/21/16 at 9:13pm
Appreciate the two month plus lead time on the closing. Let people have the chance to see it again or see it for the first time.
Posted: 6/21/16 at 9:15pm
After Eight said: ""It has nothing to do with the quality of the show,"
Yep. Just the line we were expected to be fed--- and will be --- for all eternity. That sure didn't take long, did it?
To the contrary, it has EVERYTHING to do with the quality of the show. Or more appropriately, to the lack thereof.
"
By that logic, the better the quality the longer it runs. Well Mr. Lloyd Webber, you just wrote the best musical in history! Flawless.
Posted: 6/21/16 at 9:16pm
Sad about this news. I'll have to try to get in before it closes. One of the most gorgeous and moving shows I've had the privilege of seeing.
And to those sparring with After Eight: don't feed the troll.
Posted: 6/21/16 at 9:31pm
I'm glad this show found an audience. I recall not really knowing anything about it when I saw it at the Public and at the end, I sort of had to catch my breath and I couldn't applaud, then after a minute, I couldn't applaud hard enough. I walked 30 blocks afterward, both devastated and elated.
I am not female, a lesbian or coming of age, but this impacted me on so many levels. My family does not discuss "things," so I can relate, as I'm sure many can. Days and Days resonated in my head and still does. It is the story of my existence and the creators don't even know me.
I hope and pray that when a wonderful show like Hamilton makes so much money for it's producers, that they will take a chance on another small "non-commercial" show and we see, not only the next Hamilton, but the next Fun Home.
Thank you to everyone involved, for sharing this story with us, especially Alison Bechdel. I can't wait to see it one last time.
Posted: 6/21/16 at 9:46pm
I'm happy we have plenty of notice and hopefully they will have full houses this summer. I've seen it 3 times but I plan to go back this summer and give my regards.
Posted: 6/21/16 at 9:48pm
ChildofEarth said: "It really is bittersweet because I'm so glad that many of the actors stayed with the show. We need to get something else for Beth Malone right away."
She's fantastic on BrainDead, but agreed.
Posted: 6/21/16 at 10:00pm
If a show that After Eight hates flops or is only a modest success, it's because the audiences saw through the hype generated by the cabal of snobby tastemakers.
If if a show that After Eight hates succeeds, it is because audiences were taken in by the hype generated by the canal of snobby tastemakers and musical theatre as we know it has been forever diminished.
It must be so nice to hold opinions that ensure you are always correct!
Posted: 6/21/16 at 10:04pm
You guys, this thread can be about more than its most vocal detractor.
Posted: 6/21/16 at 10:10pm
It can't be said enough, but, man, After Eight is such an asshole.
On a lighter note, this show was one of my favorite nights of theatre. I'll be sad to see it go and I hope I get to make a return visit before September 10th.
Posted: 6/21/16 at 10:12pm
wolfwriter2 said: "I'm glad this show found an audience. I recall not really knowing anything about it when I saw it at the Public and at the end, I sort of had to catch my breath and I couldn't applaud, then after a minute, I couldn't applaud hard enough. I walked 30 blocks afterward, both devastated and elated.
I am not female, a lesbian or coming of age, but this impacted me on so many levels. My family does not discuss "things," so I can relate, as I'm sure many can. Days and Days resonated in my head and still does. It is the story of my existence and the creators don't even know me.
I hope and pray that when a wonderful show like Hamilton makes so much money for it's producers, that they will take a chance on another small "non-commercial" show and we see, not only the next Hamilton, but the next Fun Home.
Thank you to everyone involved, for sharing this story with us, especially Alison Bechdel. I can't wait to see it one last time.
Thank you for your beautifully expressed sentiments! I love Fun Home too, and it affected me similarly. From the first few lines of the first song, I knew I was in for something profound and new. Such a beautiful piece!
Posted: 6/21/16 at 10:17pm
I enjoyed this show so much! I went to see it when wanting to cover all of the shows that had a Grammy Nominated cast album this year. Ring of Keys on loop! The staging, the storyline. I enjoyed every aspect of it. I hope during its tour, that others find the same enjoyment many of us have. I'll need to urge other friends to go catch it before it closes.
Posted: 6/21/16 at 10:18pm
I'm surprised After Eight hasn't burst a blood vessel or two yet.
