"John Proctor" closing to make room for "Bear Ridge Road"

[Auggie27]

Posted: 8/21/25 at 9:24am

I can anticipate the number of posts schooling me in the economics of B'way and the booking of theaters. Yet the exit of John Proctor is a Villain is just a strange collateral damage in this practice. At yesterday's Wednesday matinee the full Booth was brimming with something we Wednesday afternoon folks seldom see: a house with every demographic, at least half of the theater occupied by a mysterious group: people under 40 at a straight play. If you've seen this production you know that a decided electricity crackles in the air. Before and after, but particularly as the play unfolds and offers up its cascade of plot revelations.

The play and its audacious staging have touched a nerve, and the full house gasps at two points in the storytelling are stunning moments. Attending this play becomes an all too rare event: a genuinely shared experience. This production has continued to play at 100%+ capacity, even after its star (in an ensemble piece) exited circa 4th of July. It seems to me that it could've easily extended until January 1. Because it has the most coveted attribute: word of mouth. Talk to people in the rest room lines (and this play attracts so many women, they use the Booth's men's room both before and after the intermission-less show.) Some people were back for a third time, bringing BFFs, parents, in one case, a beloved teacher. Yes, I know, it's August. September Wednesday matinee would look different. But I'm an old white male boomer seeing Gen Z and Gen X folks racing to get seats because of a close and I despair. We can't get those people to shows with enough regularity to be cavalier about the occurance. 

I am delighted to see another Samuel D. Hunter play on B'way, and to have Laurie Metcalf back. How wonderful it might've been to see that production running next to John Proctor.

Updated On: 8/21/25 at 09:24 AM

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 8/21/25 at 1:16pm

There are always shows that attract new audiences and generations. There will be another one by this time next year that they’re hyper fixating over and saw multiple times.

This practice and younger people’s interest in theatre/Broadway is not going to stop because this one show is closing. These people will find & experience other shows that speak to their interests just as we all have. 

[quizking101]

Posted: 8/21/25 at 1:30pm

Economically, they had a hard time lifting this show off the ground in the beginning - all the previews had at least the first two rows of the orchestra and the last row of the mezz for $20. That got butts in seats and then word of mouth and good reviews pushed it upward.

I honestly don’t think they expected to make it the entire run based on how the initial sales looked so I think closing while they are ahead, while a bit of a bummer, is smarter than overstaying their welcome and getting potentially cannibalized by new shows coming in.

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 8/21/25 at 4:23pm

Broadway shows are like investments--the smart move is to get your money out BEFORE the downswing. As others stated, Proctor is doing great right now during the tourist-heavy summer when younger audiences are out of school (and going on vacation) and there are only 7 non-musicals running on Broadway. That doesn’t mean that in the Fall, when there is an influx of new openings, kids are back in school, and the tourists aren't visiting as much, that Proctor would continue to do well. And so they're making the smart decision of closing while they're ahead instead of straggling on and slowly dying over the next 3 months.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 8/21/25 at 6:09pm

Plus, a lot of reason why it is succeeding is BECAUSE it is a limited run. 

[Auggie27]

Posted: 8/21/25 at 9:09pm

All sound arguments I anticipated, as per my OP. I know the intimate booth on Shubert Alley is a coveted house and earns its bookings.  I'm still remembering the audience response yesterday, the number of women who had returned with friends and family. I was at the gym tonight and two women who had seen the play were talking about it, disagreeing about a plot point in Miller's foundational masterpiece and how it's interpreted. Plays by young women playwrights that sell out on Broadway and inspire vociferous response are still rare in 2025,  I'd like to think Broadway has enough room for John Proctor and Bear Ridge this fall. Bear Ridge, beginning October 7, has barely sold a seat. I just checked. It will need  (and get) TDF and TKTS sales to launch. It runs 15 weeks. I wish it well.

Updated On: 8/21/25 at 09:09 PM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 8/21/25 at 9:35pm

5.5 months is a good healthy run for a play nowadays. They might not make much, if any, profit on Broadway, but the play will have a massive life in licensing, and eventually that film adaptation might happen.

They took a gamble on extending when Sadie Sink's contract ended, and it worked. But that doesn't always work out this well. This show's lead producers saw that firsthand on DOLL'S HOUSE 2 and to a lesser extent VANYA & SONIA: Sigourney Weaver and Laurie Metcalf left, Julie White came in to replace, and the grosses dropped. (They dropped for PROCTOR, too, but to a sustainable level.)

It's better to close before you have to start hemorrhaging money on more advertising and discounting to the extreme

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 8/22/25 at 4:02am

Let me preface this by saying that John Proctor Is the Villain is personally my favorite play of all-time. Both times I saw it on Broadway were out-of-body experiences, that I will treasure for the rest of my life. I would love nothing more for it to continue to run on Broadway.

As others have said, economically speaking, it could not be ending its run at a more viable time. End it as people go back to school, so that those who are headed back can end their summer on a high, and tell all their friends about it, and be excited for the next shows to hit Broadway. I think it's reasonable to expect that, were the run to stretch into the fall, their numbers would start to go down, as new shows hit the boards. As someone who treasures the show, I would much rather see them go out with a bang, than with a whimper.

I would also challenge the notion that John Proctor is closing with the express purpose of making room for Little Bear Ridge Road. Remember, this was always a limited run. And it was initially expected to be even more limited of a run than it has been. If it had been open-ended, and gotten slapped with a closing date, then sure, that discussion could be had. But what I think is clearly the case here is that the Booth had a limited occupant in spring 2025, Ridge Road saw an opening for the fall, and grabbed it. Everything has an element of cause-and-effect, but I don't think the cause/effect is quite what is being insinuated here.

I'll just end this by repeating how immensely grateful I am for John Proctor Is the Villain, and will never forget my time spent in the Booth Theatre this summer. I hope everyone involved with this production has thriving careers in the months and years ahead.

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 8/22/25 at 7:01am

I think the play is okay at best? Surely the topic is urgent and relevant, and some performances are commendable. But it does feel heavy handed and focuses more on telling than showing, more on messaging than communicating. Do I regret paying 200 bucks for my seat? Not really. But it surely lacks the oomph that I enjoyed while watching other remarkable plays in recent seasons. 

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 8/22/25 at 7:49am

Auggie27 said: "Bear Ridge, beginning October 7, has barely sold a seat. I just checked. It will need (and get) TDF and TKTS sales to launch. It runs 15 weeks. I wish it well."

To be fair, tickets only went on sale a week ago (which did seem very late) and there hasn't been much advertising yet. As noted above, John Proctor wasn't selling well at all either before it started previews.

 

[witchoftheeast2]

Posted: 8/22/25 at 9:01am

I saw a post on reddit whining about how this show is closing, asking why they couldn't extend, saying Scott Rudin is kicking the show out. 

This show, from the get go, was always supposed to be a limited run. Always. I agree with a poster above who said they should go out on a high note. Just because a show is doing well doesn't mean it has to extend again, or move to a different theater, or extend and show that's supposed to go in needs to find a different theater as well. Let it be, move on, and find another show to be excited about. 

[bandit964]

Posted: 8/22/25 at 5:56pm

I believe this just adds to the argument that a 600-800 person flex space on Broadway would be beneficial. 

Some magic combination of St. Anns, TFANA, and the Armory.  

It wonder how it would have worked it they would have carved out space for something like this in The Torch, with an entrance on 46th St.?