Posted: 3/3/16 at 7:24pm
Surprised to see this closing so early. I know they weren't doing so hot but for some reason I expected the producers to try and stick with it a few more weeks and see if word of mouth were to increase.
Posted: 3/3/16 at 7:28pm
This is crazy...I would have assumed that the star-power alone would have brought in more people!
Posted: 3/3/16 at 7:29pm
I wonder how many producers are gonna be going after the Booth Theatre now...
Posted: 3/3/16 at 7:29pm
Note that the link I posted says its extended in its URL but that's because Broadway world initially made a mistake in its headline when it first posted the article.
Posted: 3/3/16 at 7:36pm
Here is Michael Riedel's hilarious new column...
http://nypost.com/2016/03/03/forest-whitakers-broadway-embarrassment-hughie-is-closing-early/
Updated On: 3/3/16 at 07:36 PM
Posted: 3/3/16 at 7:38pm
Yeah, what's going into the Booth next? Might it simply be vacant for a while? A March 27 closing certainly doesn't permit another show to wedge its way into this season...
Posted: 3/3/16 at 7:39pm
Surprised as well. Saw it last weekend and although it wasn't great, I thought Forest Whitaker was decent and star power will usually extend the life of the run. Short play was enough though. Any longer and I'm sure the lady sitting next to me wouldn't have been the only one snoozing.
Posted: 3/3/16 at 7:39pm
Jeffrey Karasarides said: "Here is Michael Riedel's hilarious new column...
http://nypost.com/2016/03/03/forest-whitakers-broadway-embarrassment-hughie-is-closing-early/"
YIKES! He literally skewered the entire production, especially Whitaker!
Posted: 3/3/16 at 7:40pm
Smokey Joe's is supposed to be a summer opening and doesn't have a theater yet- could it go here?
Posted: 3/3/16 at 7:41pm
There's been some competition, but I don't think any other show has had more wretched and one-sided word of mouth than Hughie. Word of the water cooler spread quickly and became a joke the production couldn't live down.
But even before any of us knew about the water cooler ticket sales were extremely poor; Hughie was all over tdf and various papering services from the get go.
Posted: 3/3/16 at 7:49pm
There's an upcoming off-broadway show that was counting on transferring to that theater later this year. This will probably change that...
Posted: 3/3/16 at 8:22pm
Could Barbara Cook move her show from New World to Broadway? She's certainly enough of a legend to deserve a Broadway theater.
Posted: 3/3/16 at 8:28pm
Is Forest Whitaker really that big of a star?
Posted: 3/3/16 at 8:32pm
He's known. I don't know how many people remember what he won an Oscar for or his recent work, but he's a name that people say, "Oh, yeah. I know that guy! He was in that one thing!"
Posted: 3/3/16 at 8:33pm
Well, I can't say I'm surprised. This was truly one of the worst things I have sat through.
Posted: 3/3/16 at 8:38pm
I would say Forest Whitacker is overall very well known and a pretty bankable box office star for movies. I'm a big fan of his but even that couldn't get me to see this unfortunately, personally.
Posted: 3/3/16 at 8:52pm
It just goes to show that just because you have a big star carrying a movie and/or a show, doesn't guarantee success.
Posted: 3/3/16 at 8:57pm
Exactly. To succeed you really need the full package. A good cast, play, director, and production all have to work in motion to create a successful product critically and financially (not that there aren't exceptions to every rule).
Posted: 3/3/16 at 9:05pm
Any chance that Lazarus could swoop in? Would love to see it again and it would fit perfectly in the Booth.
Posted: 3/3/16 at 9:14pm
I was confusing Forest Whitaker with Forest Tucker. One of those two guys is dead.
Updated On: 3/3/16 at 09:14 PM
Posted: 3/3/16 at 9:14pm
Plus it's a 60min rambling monologue. People want more for their money.
Posted: 3/3/16 at 9:18pm
While it's not unheard of for a production to swoop in and take a theatre this quickly, I've only heard it being feasible in a subscription house with built-in ticket buyers (See 2010 - "Lips Together, Teeth Apart" yielding to "Everyday Rapture"
There is no way, even if announced tomorrow, a full-scale show could swoop in quickly enough to generate ticket sales and get its act together. The only feasibility would be if Barbara Cook's show took the Booth.
Posted: 3/3/16 at 9:23pm
