Fun Fact: Shakespeare on Broadway

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/31/18 at 1:59pm

So I found myself with a bit too much time on my hands this week, and I discovered through careful research on IBDB that we are currently in the longest Shakespeare drought in Broadway history! 

The Mark Rylance Twelfth Night/Richard III closed on February 16th, 2014 (4 years, 3 months, and about 2 weeks ago), and no other productions of Shakespeare plays have opened since! 

This beats the previous record from the 60s, in which there was a gap of 4 years, 3 months between Hamlet and King Lear. There is one Shakespeare drought from the late 1800s that COULD have been as long 4 years, 5 months (the closing dates are unknown). But that's the maximum it could be - most likely it was less. In any case, it doesn't look like we're getting another Shakespeare production on Broadway within the next two months, so the record will be broken for sure regardless. 

I also just want to note that I'm deliberately not counting adaptations like West Side Story, Kiss Me Kate, or The Boys From Syracuse. And certainly not Something Rotten!! Nor am I counting Shakespeare "revues" (for lack of a better word) like "Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare." Only productions of Shakespeare's plays. And in case I didn't already make it clear, I measured it from closing night to the next opening night. Not from opening to opening. 

Personally, I don't see this as a particularly bad thing. I love Shakespeare, and I love seeing new interpretations of his plays. But those productions do just fine in the non-profit world. I'm not opposed to having them on Broadway, but there's no real reason for them to be taking up commercial space. 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 5/31/18 at 2:05pm

You’re forgetting The Lion King 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/31/18 at 2:07pm

Call_me_jorge said: "You’re forgetting The Lion King"

 

I certainly did! In the list of shows that don't count, that is :) 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/31/18 at 2:27pm

But a number of not for profits ARE on bway.  I'm not sure I understand your distinction.

 

That being said...I have no problem with Shakespeare being sporadic on the boards.   I love it too -- but doing "just" as a star vehicle annoys me. 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/31/18 at 2:29pm

dramamama611 said: "But a number of not for profits ARE on bway. I'm not sure I understand your distinction."

 

Yeah, sure, but most of them aren't. I was just generalizing. 

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 5/31/18 at 2:57pm

Isn't there a rumor that Denzel Washington is doing Lear soon?

[bfreak]

Posted: 5/31/18 at 3:00pm

GeorgeandDot said: "Isn't there a rumor that Denzel Washington is doing Lear soon?"

He said in an interview it was between this and Iceman to do this spring. They ultimately went with Iceman, but may do King Lear in another 4-5 years or so.

[Sauja]

Posted: 5/31/18 at 3:52pm

OP, I adore this kind of trivia. Thanks so much for sharing!

Now I’m curious what will be next. Maybe an As You Like It or Much Ado. I personally don’t need another Hamlet in NY for several years. I’m full up on Hamlet!

[Jarethan]

Posted: 5/31/18 at 4:44pm

dramamama611 said: "But a number of not for profits ARE on bway. I'm not sure I understand your distinction.



That being said...I have no problem with Shakespeare being sporadic on the boards. I love it too -- but doing "just" as a star vehicle annoys me."

Of course, the only way a Shakespearean production is going to make it to Broadway is as a star vehicle, via a MTC or Roundabout, or in a production that has already been a monster hit in London, presumably because of something unique about its production.  So, I wouldn't be too quick to disparage a star vehicle.  

I would point out that he last production IMO was both a star vehicle and a monster hit in London.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 5/31/18 at 9:18pm

Bonus Fact: Looking specifically at productions of The Scottish Play, the two most recent productions were only four *months* apart. Alan Cumming's look-at-me-do-all-the-roles-in-a-mental-hospital revival closed in July of 2013, and Ethan Hawke's I-had-to-Google-this-one-because-I've-never-heard-of-it-it's-that-bad revival opened in November of 2013.

[A Director]

Posted: 6/1/18 at 12:24am

dramamama611 said: 
That being said...I have no problem with Shakespeare being sporadic on the boards. I love it too -- but doing "just" as a star vehicle annoys me."

Except for those done Off-Broadway and beyond, most Shakespeare productions done in New York City have been star vehicles.

 

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 6/1/18 at 12:39am

Emmy Rossum HAS to play King Lear!

[JBroadway]

Posted: 6/1/18 at 12:39am

I don't have a problem with Shakespeare as a star vehicle, personally. We mustn't forget that Shakespeare was writing for Richard Burbage, the star actor of their company. Many of his plays quite literally were star vehicles. And it's kind of fun to see how great actors all take their "turn" in the great roles.

I just think, with the limited real estate on Broadway, and with so many great Off-Broadway companies putting on Shakespeare, we don't really need Shakespeare on Broadway. 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 6/28/18 at 9:51am

Well it appears as though the great drought will finally be broken with the upcoming King Lear! 

So the gap between Shakespeare productions on Broadway will be just over 5 years, the longest Shakespeare drought in Broadway history! 

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 6/28/18 at 12:04pm

Again, a star vehicle. But that makes sense with today’s Broadway - even most modern plays need a “star” to get produced on Broadway nowadays.

Now, with plays being almost entirely excluded from the Tony Awards telecast, does the average American even know that Broadway also has non-musicals? Or is it just Hamilton and Spongebob?

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 6/28/18 at 5:31pm

Drought's about to be over!