bear88 said: "For those who know the economics of Broadway better than I do, a question:
Is the Head Over Heels saga unusual? The show never found an audience, or enough of one, pretty much from the moment it hit Broadway. (It wasn't a big hit in its San Francisco tryout either, though I thoroughly enjoyed it and my wife loved the musical.) But someone decided to keep it open, despite losing money month after month, all the way into January.
Has this happened in the past, where some deep-pocketed individual or individuals either keeps ashow going due to blind hope or because they hope to make money down the line? Has that ever worked?Don't get me wrong. I'm happy the talented cast and crew gotmore work and exposure, but I can't think of how this show makes back its money on a hypothetical tour or on licensing because it stuck around on Broadway through the fall."
One recent case that comes to mind is that of the show In Transit (2016), which was selling at around 35% of its gross capacity since it premiered in November, but it stayed open until mid April. People thought it'd close much sooner due to its rather poor box office performance, but it kept going. When it closed, people on this board were actually surprised by it, because we thought the producers were keeping the show open in hopes of a Tony nomination to help boost sales, but it closed a few weeks prior to the announcement of the nominees.
Yes, it's unusual, but it's not the first case and I doubt it will be the last one.
Updated On: 11/28/18 at 07:08 AM