HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
jacobsnchz14
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/13/06
#1HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 6:40pmUpdated On: 1/21/24 at 06:40 PM
#2HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 6:47pm
A shame. Unfortunately most of the new musicals this season won’t even make it 100 regular performances.
BdwyFan
Featured Actor Joined: 3/1/10
#3HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 6:50pm
It’s so sad and true. People just want to see the brand name shows. Things that are familiar and easy etc.
BETTY22
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/29/13
#4HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 6:53pm
Three of the new musicals that haven't open yet are seeking emergency loans. While the others have almost zero advance.
It's rough out there without a star, big movie title or score full of pop hits.
Islander_fan
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/25/14
#5HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 6:53pm
EDSOSLO858 said: "A shame. Unfortunately most of the new musicals this season won’t even make it 100 regular performances."
Might it be a bit too early to say that most new musicals won’t reach the 100 performance mark? I mean, most of the new musicals that are opening this season haven’t even started previews yet. So, it’s hard to tell. Not to mention that there are some in the mix that are based on known properties (Water for Elephants, The Notebook and The Outsiders.)
#6HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 6:54pm
At least this closing is finally confirmed. Was hearing Feb. 4, Feb. 11 & Feb. 18 as their last day. Surprised at the 11th though as the following week is a holiday weekend.
#7HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 6:54pm
Prices are so high, people need to know they’ll get bang for their buck. Be it in the form of celebrity, or spectacle. Quality is not relevant anymore.
BdwyFan
Featured Actor Joined: 3/1/10
#8HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 6:59pm
Islander_fan said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "A shame. Unfortunately most of the new musicals this season won’t even make it 100 regular performances."
Might it be a bit too early to say that most new musicals won’t reach the 100 performance mark? I mean, most of the new musicals that are opening this season haven’t even started previews yet. So, it’s hard to tell. Not to mention that there are some in the mix that are based on known properties (Water for Elephants, The Notebook and The Outsiders.)"
Known properties? maybe?? But not commercial IMO. People want to be guaranteed a good time. Or see a Star/Celebrity or something they can sing along to. Sadly.
#9HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 7:00pm
Quality is subjective and has never been a reliable measure for a show’s success, as we have seen in the lackluster original runs of many Sondheim shows or the lengthy runs of shows going back to Abie’s Irish Rose.
#10HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 7:05pm
Quality was never a guarantee of box office success, of course not, but it has never been less relevant than now.
#11HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 7:14pm
Jay Lerner-Z said: "Quality was never a guarantee of box office success, of course not, but it has never been less relevant than now."
It depends on by whose assessment of quality you're going by. Broadway has never been a place where challenging art typically flourishes- its foundational root has always been entertainment foremost and while there are many exceptions, they often just prove the rule and are in the minority of shows produced over the last century. And generally, in prolonged periods of strife or hardship, audiences tend to seek out light entertainment.
But of course, How to Dance is not particularly challenging art nor was it particularly well received by critics or audiences. Sometimes a flop is just a flop and not a bellwether.
Alex Kulak2
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/11/16
#12HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 7:18pm
The writing was on the wall, but it's still a shame. Hopefully this isn't the last we'll see of the cast, a lot of them are quite excellent.
#13HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 7:28pm
I also thought it would close Presidents Day weekend. Perhaps another production is eyeing this season and wanted that theater? Or perhaps if more people bought tickets after the closing announcement they might extend an extra week?
#14HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 7:30pm
True, Kad, true. I guess I just can’t miss a chance to rail against the Las Vegas/Disnification of Broadway. I do think even the very subject of OHIO is enough to make too many potential customers rule it out immediately.
#15HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 7:36pm
BETTY22 said: "It's rough out there without a star, big movie title or score full of pop hits.”
And even most of the movie titles fail - including this one. The films being adapted still need to resonate at least somewhat in our society.
It still befuddles me that Tina and Ain’t Too Proud ended up flopping too coming out of the shutdown.
#16HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 7:55pm
We can love Broadway, we can love the art. But we also need to acknowledge poor producing. Poor fans on the internet.
Updated On: 1/21/24 at 07:55 PM
Fordham2015
Broadway Star Joined: 4/3/17
#17HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 8:02pm
Kad said: "Quality is subjective and has never been a reliable measure for a show’s success, as we have seen in the lackluster original runs of many Sondheim shows or the lengthy runs of shows going back to Abie’s Irish Rose."
"I've danced in Ohio and I'm here"
#18HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 8:03pm
To blame ticket prices seems odd to me when people are paying $150 or more to see a low budget production like Merrily next door. In fact I think this disgrace of a show lasted much longer than it should have and it probably was able to sell a ton of a tickets since it is next to Merrily from people who couldn't get a ticket to see the coveted show. The artwork for Ohio was also very well done, it's unfortunate the show didn't match the great artwork.
#19HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 8:07pm
Merrily has star power. The high price of those tickets could use up the annual budget for some ticketbuyers, meaning they have no cash left to see anything else.
#20HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 8:13pm
This was the worst musical I saw on Broadway since New York New York. The score was so bland and boring and beige. Every song sounded like it had the same key and tempo. Generic musical theatre awfulness. I’m also not really that into this style of musical. It’s all so mushy and sentimental it makes me sick. And predictable. There were a few moments in the show where I knew a certain line was coming. Like when the father with the beard was telling his daughter to go to the dance. “When your mother died” I knew that was coming. And it was like this throughout. Also the kids going to the dance at the end and walking downstage. “Please clap for us”. Terrible direction, writing, scenery, frankly everything. Good luck to them.
#21HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 8:19pm
I found it well-intentioned, but the problem is that the show was just aggressively generic. Between the book and the score, I left the theatre remembering nothing worth calling home about. Roughly 100 performances is more legs that I thought this had (especially when other recent status quo-challenging shows like Ain't No Mo and KPOP flopped hard and fast).
I took A LOT of issue with the doctor character from an ethical standpoint, since it seemed like, however well-intentioned his actions were, in the real world, he would've gotten a major censure or license revocation for his violation of HIPAA laws when he invited reporters in to a therapeutic session without consent and also meddled in the one patient's college selection process. I actually DM'ed Caesar Samayoa on Instagram after the show because I was curious about his perspective and he mentioned that this approach was to (paraphrasing) highlight the flaws of the well-intentioned neurotypical characters instead of the show placing the onus of responsibility/blame on the neurodivergent ones. The redemption arc we did disagree on because I found it too pat (a la Dear Evan Hansen), but to each their own.
Could there be something here in the future? Maybe. But there needs to be some major fine tuning before it gets a second chance. I can already see this show having a bleak future in licensing because you're going to have a LOT of neurotypicals playing these characters and, if the Sia monstrosity "Music" is any indication, that won't end well...
emlo99
Chorus Member Joined: 11/23/23
#22HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 9:18pm
This is sad, but I am not personally sad about it. If that makes sense?
I noticed on the ticket site, many of the matinees are close to sold-out, but the evening shows are almost empty. Perhaps it’d have done well without the adult characters and instead produced as an autism-friendly musical at Vital Theatre where they also do Angelina Ballerina.
The show quality, along with some of the autistic singers, was not up to par with Broadway, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be worthwhile somewhere like Theatreworks USA or Missoula Children’s theatre.
ErmengardeStopSniveling
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
#23HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 11:03pm
ACL2006 said: "At least this closing is finally confirmed. Was hearing Feb. 4, Feb. 11 & Feb. 18 as their last day. Surprised at the 11th though as the following week is a holiday weekend."
One (or more) of the following could be a factor:
(a) the cash on hand will only get them through the 11th and running an extra week could result in further losses. Funds are held for closing costs, too.
(b) they lost money on MLK weekend so it's unlikely that President's Day would be any better.
(c) Shubert has another tenant ready to go and wants X weeks of previews before the Tony cutoff date.
#24HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 11:18pm
The blessing in disguise for locals like myself is that it’s much easier than you think to snag lottery, rush, or even comp seats for most of the newer shows, which often struggle. When the spring comes, you can bet I’ll ramp up my daily entries, follow up with connections, and see what I can catch. Barring a huge spike in lottery prices, of course.
#25HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO to close on February 11
Posted: 1/21/24 at 11:20pm
it's amazing that it ever got onstage, so that's something.
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