Here Lies Love to Transfer To Broadway But Only If...

[PlayItAgain]

Posted: 5/3/13 at 12:25am

Spoke with a trusted source today, The Public would very much like to transfer Here Lies Love to broadway, but ONLY if they can secure Circle In The Square. If that falls through they are looking at several off site options to keep it open past the summer including doing something in the vain of Sleep No More or Comet of 1812.

[rougeduck]

Posted: 5/3/13 at 12:34am

This would be terrific. I doubt I can see it before it closes but I'm obsessed with the concept album.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 5/3/13 at 12:40am

This sounds exciting...I hope it works out! We need a Filipino Broadway musical!

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/3/13 at 1:18am

I with Circle in the Square had a better marquee and better "curb appeal" in general. I'd love to see this show, but I think it would thrive at an off-broadway club space as opposed to a Broadway house. So much more pressure when it's on Broadway.

[ZiggyCringe]

Posted: 5/3/13 at 4:02am

Honestly, this show sounds terrific.

I just don't want to disco dance for 90 minutes.

[WOSQ]

Posted: 5/3/13 at 9:37am

Best Musical of this season,
and that includes Kinky Boots and Matilda.

And you don't dance for 90 minutes, but the chorus works their collective fannies to the core. You are on your feet, but not in one place.

The hardest sell will be to convince an audience to try something different. However the audience that was there last Thursday was cross-generational and was willing to go with it including a man with a cane. Of course most of us were members of the Public so we're primed for different.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 5/3/13 at 11:26am

I'm not sure (though I'd love to see them try) that you could successfully ask an entire Broadway audience (1200 people) to stand for an entire performance. My guess is that if they did this at Circle, most of the audience would remain seated and there would be hundred or so 'floor' tickets.

I can't wait to see the show, but it saddens me a little bit that Broadway HAS to be the goal for everything --

Frankly, I hope this resurgence of environemental theatre does the opposite -- and makes the case for more commercial Off Broadway (site specific) productions. This and NATASHA/PIERRE would definitely loss some of their magic trying to 'conform' to a Broadway house.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/3/13 at 11:32am

^^^ Yes. Sí. Oui. Ja. Sim. Ken. Sea. Jes. Hai. Ndiyo. Haa'n. Na'am.

Updated On: 5/3/13 at 11:32 AM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/3/13 at 12:01pm

Agree. Why not do what EMPIRE did, and build a little site up in the Theater District and have the show up there. Could be a fun little summer/fall destination thing.

[emg_sound]

Posted: 5/3/13 at 1:59pm

Having seen it, I completely understand why that is the only space on Broadway where this could feasibly work (although I'd still wish for it to go into Studio 54 in some sort of modified form).
The Circle in the Square is perhaps the quirkiest space on broadway, but able to keep the audience size manageable. I'd think the most important thing would be to keep a slightly non-traditional schedule (late night shows on Saturday, for instance)...
Here's hoping! (Fingers crossed!)

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/3/13 at 2:34pm

I'm sure Equity would find a way to squash that.

It would be interesting to keep the outter rim of seats and keep the floor area for the show. Might be nice to have both options. Make the student rush tickets the "floor" seats, etc.

I'm just not sure this would turn a profit on Broadway. It's cool but I think it's a little too "out there" for most tourists. But it could probably survive for a few months on NYers. It would just be a horrible show to see at 40% capacity.

[maila]

Posted: 5/4/13 at 9:01pm

"This would be terrific. I doubt I can see it before it closes but I'm obsessed with the concept album"

some of the cast members are tweeting today that david byrne announced last night that they are definitely going to have a cast recording. i can't wait for that!

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 1:08am

My friend worked at Arena Stage and said they only way they'd bring their Oklahoma to Broadway was if they could get the Circle in the Square. But I guess that never happened.

I wish Broadway had at least one more theater that was interesting and could be used as a large black box.

[Up In One]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 11:08am

They were able to convert The Broadway Theatre into a modified space twice for Candide and Dude, they could easily build out over the orchestra seats with platforming to create a flat dance floor like space - that was what they did to create Studio 54 and Xenon, no? But it sounds like they want a quick move and all of what I described would take time. How about the Edison Ballroom, that was a theatre space for Oh Calcutta and Don't bother Me I Can't Cope, probably still qualifies as a Broadway house and its already set up as a dance floor.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 11:24am

Interesting. I doubt Edison Ballroom would still qualify as a Broadway house?

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 11:35am

I wish Broadway had at least one more theater that was interesting and could be used as a large black box.

And yet, with one exception (spelling bee) no production has been able to maximize the potential of the space. Oklahoma would have perfect at Circle in the Square, however.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 11:43am

Not sure Edison Ballroom would still qulaify as a Broadway house, though it would seem (assuming they were able to meet the current union Broadway rules regarding number of seats, etc) that a case could potentially be made for it.

I would love to see more producers taking this type of approach. If these things need to be on Broadway, then why not petition for more unique Broadway theatrical spaces.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 12:35pm

Agreed. I mean, it's right there in the middle of Times Square. If you could get the seats and stuff configured, why not make it work? It doesn't really have a marquee though.