MR. SATURDAY NIGHT will close September 4

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 7/17/22 at 6:04pm

A surprising and sad financial bomb — and I think had he done an actual GOOD show (or a revival), it would have been a hot ticket. Too bad. 
 

https://www.theatermania.com/broadway/news/mr-saturday-night-closing-broadway_94043.html?fbclid=IwAR37zpb2wHaisABY51Nb1kyWvsUuTk3C7Aw6lzaJDuD3GY1r16BLfDu4Mn4&fs=e&s=cl

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 7/17/22 at 6:08pm

Glad I saw it… too bad it didn’t “stick around” that long. 

[quizking101]

Posted: 7/17/22 at 6:08pm

NAILED IT! I predicted it on Monday in the Grosses thread.

I think the biggest problem was the obscene prices out of the gate and grossly overestimating Crystal’s draw. Most people I know, when they see a show with high prices they aren’t inclined to pay out of the gate, they aren’t really interested in going back to look again. The financial hubris was their downfall

[lightguy06222]

Posted: 7/17/22 at 6:22pm

the biggest problem is the show was bad.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/17/22 at 6:25pm

Enjoyed the Tonys performance. 

And I'm surprised it didn't do better given how well 700 Sundays did.

[David10086]

Posted: 7/17/22 at 6:27pm

I doubt this surprises anyone. Crystal gave it his best shot, did the publicity for it - but the interest just wasn't there. 

 

That said, his official statement about the show closing sounds more like the speech he would have given a month ago, had he won the Tony. 

 

"Bringing Mr. Saturday Night to the Broadway stage and experiencing the laughter and tears this show generates has truly been one of the high points of my career," said Billy Crystal. "It has been a joyous experience to make my musical comedy debut at the age of 74, and I thank everyone involved: my co-writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel; director John Rando; our composer and lyricist, Jason Robert Brown and Amanda Green, and our music director David O; my vocal coach David Stroud; our choreographer Ellenore Scott; Scott Pask and our entire design team; our musicians and crew; the best producing partner you could ask for, Jimmy Nederlander; and the fantastic cast, each of whom I have great affection for and who made me so proud to act with every show. The character Buddy Young Jr. has been part of my life for many decades and I'm honored that I was able to share him with the audiences at the Nederlander Theatre."

Updated On: 7/17/22 at 06:27 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/17/22 at 6:30pm

I thought this would be more successful since Broadway audiences skew white and older, perhaps things are changing! Or, it just wasn't good....

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 7/17/22 at 6:44pm

Not too surprising given recent grosses. Billy Crystal was fun to watch and the cast was strong in general. But the material and design elements was just so-so. Nothing terrible but not very memorable.

[ElephantLoveMedley]

Posted: 7/17/22 at 6:55pm

Does this mean Once Upon a One More Time will go to the Nederlander later this fall, as has been rumored?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/17/22 at 6:57pm

Man, I love this show. 
 

Also, this means Shoshana is free should (insert any problematic actress’ name here) need to leave a show early for any number of reasons that might arise. 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 7/17/22 at 7:16pm

Sutton Ross said: "I thought this would be more successful since Broadway audiences skew white and older, perhaps things are changing! Or, it just wasn't good...."

I would say it just wasn't good! Broadway audiences still skew white and not just older.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 7/17/22 at 7:35pm

Anyone thinking he might do a short tour of this? Just on the West coast?

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/17/22 at 7:42pm

Robbie, oh I know people of all ages enjoy Broadway but in terms of the demographics, white and older audiences have been the standard for decades, and the average household income is around $275k nowadays. 

[yyys]

Posted: 7/17/22 at 7:54pm

I hope that doesn't happen cause it's awful.

ElephantLoveMedley said: "Does this mean Once Upon a One More Time will go to the Nederlander later this fall, as has been rumored?"

 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/17/22 at 7:57pm

The musical with the worst title ever needs a lot more work and there has been no announcements made regarding New York. So, I sincerely doubt it's coming this Fall. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 7/17/22 at 8:41pm

I would have loved to see Chasten Harmon as Susan in Company. But alas, both shows are closing soon.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 7/17/22 at 10:14pm

Did anyone expect it to run beyond the end of the year? Six months feels like exactly as much time as this show was ever going to get. Billy Crystal great, the rest (including the music) a snooze. 

Wonder who will be in the Nederlander come fall.

[bk]

Posted: 7/17/22 at 11:34pm

PipingHotPiccolo said: "Did anyone expect it to run beyond the end of the year? Six months feels like exactly as much time as this show was ever going to get. Billy Crystal great, the rest (including the music) a snooze.

Wonder who will be in the Nederlander come fall."

So, you think the producer of the show went out and raised the millions of dollars to put it up knowing it would only get six months and that they'd lose every cent of their investment?" Think that's how it works?

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/17/22 at 11:37pm

quizking101 said: "NAILED IT! I predicted it on Monday in the Grosses thread.

I think the biggest problem was the obscene prices out of the gate and grossly overestimating Crystal’s draw. Most people I know, when they see a show with high prices they aren’t inclined to pay out of the gate, they aren’t really interested in going back to look again. The financial hubris was their downfall"

I have always thought that was the case.  I remember going to purchase tickets and being appalled by the prices…deciding to skip it.  Subsequent feedback on this board, as well as really mediocre reviews, meant translated to zero further interest.  I also thought the Tony’s number was really uninteresting…mildly amusing at best.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 7/17/22 at 11:53pm

bk said: "PipingHotPiccolo said: "Did anyone expect it to run beyond the end of the year? Six months feels like exactly as much time as this show was ever going to get. Billy Crystal great, the rest (including the music) a snooze.

Wonder who will be in the Nederlander come fall."

So, you think the producer of the show went out and raised the millions of dollars to put it up knowing it would only get six months and that they'd lose every cent of their investment?" Think that's how it works?"

Another pleasant interaction with an internet stranger that is hostile and angry for no reason. I hope tomorrow is kinder to you. 

I was suggesting that the show, unlike most others, turns *entirely* on Billy Crystal, since it has zero other redeeming factors that would compel people to buy tickets. The investors clearly thought he was enough, or that the score was a winner, or who knows, and they were wrong. But I saw it in previews, thought he was brilliant, and didnt see this lasting beyond his initial 60+ fan base. Thats all. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 7/18/22 at 2:52am

bk said: "PipingHotPiccolo said: "Did anyone expect it to run beyond the end of the year? Six months feels like exactly as much time as this show was ever going to get. Billy Crystal great, the rest (including the music) a snooze. Wonder who will be in the Nederlander come fall."

So, you think the producer of the show went out and raised the millions of dollars to put it up knowing it would only get six months and that they'd lose every cent of their investment?" Think that's how it works?"

We don't know how long Crystal's contract was, but I can't imagine they had him beyond January 1, possibly more like 9 months –– which would be a long run for a star. Hence high ticket prices to begin with and the hopes that this would sell 80%+ per week. But yes, this is closing at a massive loss, and Nederlander and its investors cannot be happy that it turned out this way, despite them knowing the limitations of the material to begin with.

I sort of place a lot of the blame on John Rando here, who wasn't able to be the leader that this rudderless production so desperately needed. A stronger director might have created a more cohesive production, put their foot down about the budget limitations, and had a greater hand in shaping the show into something actually good.

The most depressing thing: at 116 performances, it will be Jason Robert Brown's longest-running Broadway musical. (I am not counting that revival of You Can't Take It With You for which he provided some instrumental music, which did 169 perfs.) Bring It On remains Amanda Green's longest-running show at 171 perfs.

 

[bk]

Posted: 7/18/22 at 3:22am

PipingHotPiccolo said: "bk said: "PipingHotPiccolo said: "Did anyone expect it to run beyond the end of the year? Six months feels like exactly as much time as this show was ever going to get. Billy Crystal great, the rest (including the music) a snooze.

Wonder who will be in the Nederlander come fall."

So, you think the producer of the show went out and raised the millions of dollars to put it up knowing it would only get six months and that they'd lose every cent of their investment?" Think that's how it works?"

Another pleasant interaction with an internet stranger that is hostile and angry for no reason. I hope tomorrow is kinder to you.

I was suggesting that the show, unlike most others, turns *entirely* on Billy Crystal, since it has zero other redeeming factors that would compel people to buy tickets. The investors clearly thought he was enough, or that the score was a winner, or who knows, and they were wrong. But I saw it in previews, thought he was brilliant, and didnt see this lasting beyond his initial 60+ fan base. Thats all."

I was responding to your post. Every day is kind to me, but thanks for caring. There was not a single hostile or angry thing in my post. I hope tomorrow is kinder to you.

 

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 7/18/22 at 7:18am

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "
We don't know how long Crystal's contract was, but I can't imagine they had him beyond January 1, possibly more like 9 months –– which would be a long run for a star. Hence high ticket prices to begin with and the hopes that this would sell 80%+ per week. But yes, this is closing at a massive loss, and Nederlander and its investors cannot be happy that it turned out this way, despite them knowing the limitations of the material to begin with.

I sort of place a lot of the blame on John Rando here, who wasn't able to be the leader that this rudderless production so desperately needed. A stronger director might have created a more cohesive production, put their foot down about the budget limitations, and had a greater hand in shaping the show into something actually good.


"

Exactly; its closing at inflection point #1 (labor day) instead of inflection point #2 (new year); i dont think Crystal ever planned to do it much longer than that. Of course, the producers wanted to make money, but this was always going to be a limited run. If the producers had any fantasies about replacing him with some other star (an interesting concept now that I type it), they should have disabused themselves of that the moment they first heard this insultingly bad score. I dont think Rando, or anyone else, would be able to overcome that fundamentally flaw at the core of the show.

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 7/18/22 at 8:48am

ACL2006 said: "Anyone thinking he might do a short tour of this? Just on the West coast?"

I think if Crystal wants to, a tour could happen. I could see his name bringing in enough of an audience for brief stops.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/18/22 at 11:04am

bk said: "So, you think the producer of the show went out and raised the millions of dollars to put it up knowing it would only get six months and that they'd lose every cent of their investment?" Think that's how it works?"

Your premise is faulty. Producers raise money (in this case they did not have to go out very far) because they think they have the right formula, but most often they are wrong. In this case, they were wrong for several reasons that are pretty obvious. First, they thought Crystal would sell tickets for months on his good name. Second, they thought everyone would love this material as much as they did. Third, they thought their "team" was solid even though it was basically assembled via the schmooze model of producing when in fact most of those involved have no track record of success (or in the case of Rando, none in 20+ years). But Broadway is paved with shows that fail that have far less going for them than Billy Crystal. Maybe next time you might consider condescending less.