Is Movin' Out the most successful show ever to have to close?

[devonian.t]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 7:40am

With its weekly sales, can anyone tell me if any other profitable shows have been forced to moved out?

When it is still out-selling much more recent openers, what are the producers thinking?

[Smaxie]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 8:12am

I know someone who is working on the show. It's doing a lot of business with heavily discounted tickets right now. From about May on, the show slipped from the $500,000-600,000 range, into the $400,000 range. Last week, it had an average ticket price of $47.00. (The average ticket price is probably the best true indicator of a show's health. In this case, people are paying less than cost of a half price ticket to see Movin' Out). While the show has recouped, it still has 30 dancers and a band, and is probably grossing just slightly above breakeven each week, or making a little money. When the average ticket price for even a mid-sized musical like Movin' Out is in the low $50s or $40s, it's near the end of its shelf life.

[bare_nakedlady]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 9:04am

Plus when Twyla's Bob Dylan inspired Dance show hits broadway she wants all of those MOVIN OUT fans to move to that show so it doesn't flop!

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 9:33am

I don't know about EVER...THE BOY FROM OZ was pretty noteable as well. ASSASSINS also closed out of the blue.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 9:44am

CATS was a pretty successful show that closed. Ditto, LES MIS.

[timote316]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 9:47am

Just because its closing doesnt mean that it was forced to close. Sometimes, producers just know when its time. As a previous poster said, Twyla has another show coming out. Two heavy dance shows (assuming the Dylan musical will be somewhat similiar to Movin' Out) could harm sales of both.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 9:51am

The "long running" musical is kind of an interesting phenom. Up until about the mid 80s, shows that were hits -- rarely ran longer then five or six years years. They made back their money. They had touring companies. Then they went regional.

Frankly, I think thats the way it should be. Things run FOREVER these days, and I suppose I don't begrudge producers for making a profit, but it's just changed the way the industry works. Frankly, I think the real reason for the long runs is that during the 80s and 90s there werent very many new shows coming in. And theatre owners went to extraordinary lengths to keep tenants around.

But now, shows are desperate to find theatres, and they can't open because BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is milking every last penny they can out of that hideous show.

So, as much as I adore MOVIN OUT and hate to see it close (especially for another Disney show) -- I admire it for leaving while its still doing well and is still heavilly respected.

Updated On: 10/8/05 at 09:51 AM

[Smaxie]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 10:42am

If general audiences hated Beauty and the Beast as much as the cognoscenti, don't you think it would have closed by now? I don't think it's an issue of Disney "milking" it. People still want to see it.

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 10:50am

*applauds Michael Bennett*

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 11:06am

Urinetown

[twogaab2]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 11:38am

No, but it may be the most sucessful ballet to close.

[Urban]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 11:53am

Michael, you are a God amongst us pigeons.

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 4:02pm

Long running shows give lots of people steady jobs. It's very easy to take your point of view because you don't like a show. I agree it sucks when a show goes stale but if people still pay to see it... why wouldn't you let them?

kc

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 5:55pm

I completely agree with Michael_Bennett and his Beauty & the Beast comment. I also remember reading somewhere that the closing of A Chorus Line was very controversial and abrupt but I dont know if anyone could elaborate on this.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 5:58pm

Michael Bennett, I also completely agree with you.

[heaja123]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 6:10pm

aida and 42nd street

[hak]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 6:45pm

Mister Matt beat me to it:

URINETOWN had to close as they sold the theatre!

[Smaxie]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 6:58pm

It's true that Urinetown probably had another 9 months to a year left in it. But still, it had an excellent, profitable run of 965 performances. Amazing, considering the pundits who predicted the show would never last on Broadway.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 10/9/05 at 12:01pm

Thanks to everyone for some enlightening comments.

Let's hope the Dylan project offers a show as thrilling as Movin' Out!

[NightLaughs]

Posted: 10/9/05 at 2:19pm

Why would the theater be sold when a sucessful show is still running? I know very little about Broadway business and am curious....

[Smaxie]

Posted: 10/9/05 at 2:26pm

The construction of an office building was always planned for the site adjacent to where Urinetown's theatre stood, so the threat of an eviction always hung over the production. The show looked like it would only be able to spend six months at Henry Miller's Theatre before having to move, but six months turned into two and a half years, until the show truly had to shut down for the impending demolition. By that point, the producers had made a profit on the production, and decided to shutter, rather than possibly losing money on an expensive move to another theatre.

Updated On: 10/9/05 at 02:26 PM

[NightLaughs]

Posted: 10/9/05 at 4:10pm

Ah, I see. Thanks.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/9/05 at 6:46pm

What about Crazy for You closing so that Big could move into the Shubert?

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/9/05 at 11:40pm

BIG mistake!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/9/05 at 11:48pm

BIG mistake, indeed.

MOVIN' OUT is a fantastic show and I will be sad to see it go, especially to let something as ridiculous as TARZAN (one of Disney's worst films) move in. I also don't really care for the idea of shows running 20 years. They get stale and boring. Anyone here catch LES MIS around 2002? I have never in my life seen a cast look that bored on stage. In my ideal world, shows would have their run and leave gracefully, making room for something fresh and new. However, I do know that as long as WICKED (which has now also become a talentless money making machine) is raking in the dough, it's not going anywhere anytime soon.