How much does a good theater effect a show?

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 9:18pm

How much does a good theater effect a show? Like, I noticed when I saw Wicked that it looked like the set fit the Gershwin like a glove. Or how the Nederlander is sort of run down which fits RENT perfectly. Do you think the success of some shows would be different if they were to open at different theaters?

[aspiringactress]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 9:19pm

Intimacy and size of a theatre have huge effects on the way one views a show.

Updated On: 5/2/06 at 09:19 PM

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 9:20pm

Like, I wonder if Wicked would be hugely popular if it opened at the Hilton? Or if Jersey Boys opened at the Eugene O'Neil, etc. I know there's no way to know, but do you think the size/location/marquee - effect a show that much?

[blaxx]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 9:23pm

Did you mean intimacy?

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 9:25pm

For what?

[aspiringactress]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 9:25pm

Haha, I actually cannot type. I'll edit.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 9:27pm

WELL would likely be playing much better in a much more intimate space. It's avant garde nature would lend itself more to a smaller non-proscenium theatre like Circle in the Square (where SPELLING BEE is playing -- and incidentally Circle in the Square is ideal for that theatre; it would be less effective in an 1100 seat proscenium house).

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 9:32pm

Yeah. Why don't they built more intimate spaces on Broadway? They cannot be that costly. And they don't take up that much space.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 9:33pm

Lack of room?

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 9:34pm

New theatres, even intimate ones, cost tens of millions of dollars to build (40?) and millions more to maintain.

[Kringas]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 9:45pm

Affect?

[chad2]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 9:48pm

and $$$? Intimate means less seats to sell. I hate going to big houses, I feel like an ant. I am nervous to go see Drowsy, I hate that theatre!

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 9:49pm

A show such as Avenue Q wouldn't do as well in a big theatre (like the Gershwin)

There are only a few people on stage and a stage like the ershwin would be way to large for Avenue Q.

Also, I think the songs in Avenue Q would not be good in a huge theatre; just like Wicked's "Defying Gravity" would not work in a smaller theatre such as the Golden.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 10:53pm

I remember when Pirates of Penzance played the Uris (Gershwin). That theatre was way too big for such a small show.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:05pm

Yeah, it seems like there's a lack of "big" theaters and a lack of "small" theaters on Broadway. There are plenty of theaters in between, but not many that go to the other extremes. Which makes sense, but at the same time, a lot of shows just get swallowed up in a Broadway house. Which sucks because there are plenty of shows that deserve to be on Broadway for the sheer recognition that comes along with it, but they can't because of the theater size.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:05pm

WICKED is one of the only shows to have ever played successfully in that barn of a theatre. Few shows are big or epic enough to fill it and not be dwarfed by it, and also popular enough with the public to fill that many seats on a regular basis.

[Katurian2]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:06pm

The Nederlander was purposely re-done to look "run-down" to fit the atmosphere for RENT. The green paint outside the theatre, the lobby paint splotches were all done in design.

[Katt]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:36pm

It's funny that people don't understand that though. When I was there a few months ago, the people next to me commented on how they must be renovating the theater because of the scaffolding, and how they needed to fix it up, but they were probably waiting until they had more money, because the show was only a year or two old.

They were very suprised when I told them it was 10 years old, and that it was supposed to look like that.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:55pm

Truth be told, although Rent did distress the interior of the Nederlander Theatre, it wasn't exactly a glamour pit pre-Rent.

[Katt]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 12:01am

I heard it a lot worse actually, and it smelled weird.
Updated On: 5/3/06 at 12:01 AM

[emg_sound]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 1:02am

As a caveat to this discussion (Especially for the out of towners) how much does a show change on the road, especially as most road houses are much larger than broadway houses (Not just number of seats, but how far the balcony is from the stage for instance).

Think about this, two of the bigger tours going out next season will be the Doubt and Spelling Bee tours which will be playing houses which are at times 4 TIMES larger (Especially with Spelling Bee) than their Broadway counterparts. I personally haven't seen a touring production since I started exclusively seeing shows on broadway or in the out of town try-out phase 6 years ago, but I'll might bite the bullet and report back for research alone!

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 1:56am

Yeah, i was thinking that too. Here in Birmingham, RENT plays the same theater as Lion King. That's what sort of started this whole discussion. I was just wondering how much is lost when I see RENT in a this huge barn of a theater with 3 balconies, instead of seeing it in a more intimate setting.

And thanks for the RENT tidbit. I didn't knwo that, though I sort of guessed about the painting on the exteriror.

[stage_door76]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 6:55am

this is a question to anyone really, but it's kinda in response to Margo's last comment...

"WICKED is one of the only shows to have ever played successfully in that barn of a theatre. Few shows are big or epic enough to fill it and not be dwarfed by it, and also popular enough with the public to fill that many seats on a regular basis."

What shows have played there that should have or have otherwise gone well but may have been undercut/lost by the size of the Gershwin?

[FeelingElectric]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 7:08am

Following the Nederlander/Rent comments, isn't it true that when the producers of a show book a theater for a show on Broadway, they have the right to renovate/decorate the exterior as they see fit for that show? That is what I was told on the Broadway open house tour.