Posted: 1/9/21 at 11:29pm
Dollypop said: "Friends in the business tell me PHANTOM will be the next to shutter."
Sad, if true.
Though not surprising, considering what’s happened to the West End production.
Posted: 1/10/21 at 1:24am
Beetlejuice, perhaps?
While the news of Mean Girls closing shocked me at first, I wasn't too surprised after thinking about it. As someone mentioned, when they started stunt casting I (like many others) began to suspect that they weren't doing too hot. Regardless, I loved this show for being mindlessly fun and will miss it. I'm very much looking forward to the movie adaptation.
Re: Phantom, I'm sad to hear that it'll close (if true). I don't really keep up with the news too well, so I know nothing about what happened in the West End. That being said, I was a little surprised to see that it'll be next. While I know it's no Hamilton nowadays, I was under the impression that it was doing well enough to not struggle. Especially since it recouped ages ago. I got to see it live for the first time recently, and I regret that that may be the only time I saw it live.
As for newer shows, I really hope Mrs. Doubtfire doesn't shutter. It and Six were the two that I wanted to see most, and I figure Six is the safer of the two.
Posted: 1/10/21 at 1:35am
Phantom of London said: "I tried to touch on this earlier. Say theatre does open in the fall this year, with no masks/distancing(hopefully,)in March/April you get a slew of new shows open that fill every one of the 41 Broadway houses, I cannot see this happening next year, you need to give the existing shows the best chance of surviving, also the new show that nearly opened a hope too,competition will be counter productive, so all those those theatres that are dark will remain that way, until Broadway shows positive signs of recovery. Also would a producer want to put money into a new show in thisclimate?
So musicals like Michael Jackson or Britney Spears will be a long term aspiration, if at all.
At least on the flip side there are new show such as Company, Six, Groundhog Day, American Buffaloand the Lehman Brothers. Off Broadway will be the creative nucleus and will likely be the source of new shows eventually.
It will be a heavy lift to get Broadway running again."
Groundhog Day opened and closed in 2017...The Lehman Trilogy doesn’t seem likely to reopen and if it does, it wouldn’t be at the Nederlander where it played 4 performances
Posted: 1/10/21 at 1:35am
unclevictor said: "I guess I missed all your postings on this... which mainstay shows will probably not reopen? Phantom? Book of Mormon? Aladdin? The lion king?"
Could be any or all plus a few others and especially Chicago. I know people say oh this or that show has lots of money banked but producers are not in the business of throwing that money away. The sense seems to be that the Fall will support maybe a half dozen or so shows, and (contrary to what's said a bit above) there are multiple producers chomping at the bit with new shows and the money to make them. And then the same or maybe a few more in the Spring. Some of the older shows (or the newer ones) may wait and see but there is not going to be this switch that gets turned and everything will be "normal" again. It's just not in the cards. The advantage of new shows is that locals go to see them. How many locals are going to go see Chicago?
As with everything else, nobody knows, but the consensus is that it is a pipe dream to think Broadway is going to be "healthy" in 21-22.
Posted: 1/10/21 at 1:36am
Dollypop said: "Friends in the business tell me PHANTOM will be the next to shutter."
I’d be absolutely shocked if Phantom were to close - but I could see it being revamped and changed to the tour staging. It could be a way to “close” the original production and restart a new company, with a fresh cast (many of the cast members had been there over 15 years)
Posted: 1/10/21 at 3:55am
I think Aladdin's future is up in the air. Disney have a filmed production up their sleeve and the Broadway production, but they won't bank the two at the same time. Maybe they'll announce the release and, at the same time, the closing of the Broadway production?
Also Phantom will never change to the tour version. Cameron Mackintosh knows it's hated and haven't even tried it in the UK, bringing in the newer and cheaper "brilliant original" tour rather than the US tour.
Posted: 1/10/21 at 7:53am
ElphabaGoodman said: "Phantom of London said: "I tried to touch on this earlier. Say theatre does open in the fall this year, with no masks/distancing(hopefully,)in March/April you get a slew of new shows open that fill every one of the 41 Broadway houses, I cannot see this happening next year, you need to give the existing shows the best chance of surviving, also the new show that nearly opened a hope too,competition will be counter productive, so all those those theatres that are dark will remain that way, until Broadway shows positive signs of recovery. Also would a producer want to put money into a new show in thisclimate?
So musicals like Michael Jackson or Britney Spears will be a long term aspiration, if at all.
At least on the flip side there are new show such as Company, Six, Groundhog Day, American Buffaloand the Lehman Brothers. Off Broadway will be the creative nucleus and will likely be the source of new shows eventually.
It will be a heavy lift to get Broadway running again."
Groundhog Day opened and closed in 2017...The Lehman Trilogy doesn’t seem likely to reopen and if it does, it wouldn’t be at the Nederlander where it played 4 performances"
Ha, very embarrassed Groundhog Day came out, where did that come from. I meant to type Mrs Doubtfire. LMAO.
Posted: 1/10/21 at 3:35pm
One of the actors was on Stars in the House on Friday and talked about the closing. He basically said they knew it was coming, but didn't know when. Which makes you wonder why they performed on the NBC special?
Updated On: 1/10/21 at 03:35 PM
Posted: 1/10/21 at 3:42pm
^ Right? Those performances were the worst ones. What was the point? For the tour I guess?
Posted: 1/10/21 at 7:52pm
If you accept the notion that we will have herd immunity by some point in late '21, and you accept the notion that Broadway will only be able to support a half dozen shows in the fall and the same number in the spring, both of which I do, then taking the show on tour is a no brainer. Now why the performance was so bad (as folks seem to be saying it was; I did not see it) I have no clue.
Posted: 1/10/21 at 9:55pm
Dollypop said: "Friends in the business tell me PHANTOM will be the next to shutter."
I doubt that. I think it's too popular to close. I'm guessing that the big ones like Phantom, Wicked, Lion King, Book of Mormon etc. will stay.
Posted: 1/10/21 at 10:30pm
Theatre landlords will more than likely give cuts in rent or rent holiday to get shows back on their feet. Other concessions could be worked out with the Mayor and Governor. Maybe jettisoned some of the excessive, like why does a featured actor need a publicist? All the press representatives and lawyer.
Producers’ aren’t going to invest in new shows, until they have seen the lay of the land and existing shows do well. When new shows do come they will be likely from off Broadway (this isn’t a bad thing) with shows like Ride the Cyclone for example.
The most important thing is to get shows back safely and as I said earlier it is going to be a heavy lift.
Posted: 1/10/21 at 10:39pm
Big musicals won’t open until masks go away and tourists return.
Posted: 1/10/21 at 10:42pm
I don't think the closure of Mean Girls was a surprise @ all. There's been mumblings for quite sometime. Same with The Book Of Mormon - I think it'll definitely be another casualty. And Chicago - even though it's super cheap to run...it's time for it to close - LOL! I also don't think the shows that have promised to open - Six, Company, Doubtfire, to name a few, are gonna open. Money will be the main issue. it's all sad
Posted: 1/10/21 at 11:20pm
@disney...fan22 what is popular? The shows you list are popular with tourists.
@Phantom there is only so much a landlord can do. It's a pretty small line item. And publicists? HOw do you think you get bodies in the seats? LOL naiveté on display I'm afraid. And as I said producers are ready to invest in new shows for which there will be an audience without tourists. As I also said, expect 6 or so total: half new, half rock solid sellers.
@unclevictor agreed. I think 1-2 of the "promised" will open in the 6 or so. It's not going to look or feel like Broadway again for a while. As I like to say, patience all. We will get there.
Posted: 1/11/21 at 12:49am
Phantom of London said: "Theatre landlords will more than likely give cuts in rent or rent holiday to get shows back on their feet."
Broadway theaters aren't rented in the way people typically associate with renting a space. It's actually a license, though it isn't dissimilar to a lease, but it does have differences; chief among them is that the "landlord" is able to avoid typical landlord obligations. The flat rate only covers the basic costs and is minimal. Even the theater staff isn't covered under the "rental" fee. It's a separate line item.
"Other concessions could be worked out with the Mayor and Governor.""
I'm not sure what concessions you think they are empowered to make.
"Maybe jettisoned some of the excessive, like why does a featured actor need a publicist? All the press representatives and lawyer."
If an actor has a publicist, I'm pretty sure he is paying for it himself (unless negotiated as part of the contract). And shows absolutely need a publicist. How do you think these shows end up doing performances on morning shows and talk shows, etc? Or interviews? And do you honestly think that they won't need that kind of exposure when they reopen? And every business needs a lawyer. It'd be more costly not to have one.
Producers’ aren’t going to invest in new shows, until they have seen the lay of the land and existing shows do well. When new shows do come they will be likely from off Broadway (this isn’t a bad thing) with shows like Ride the Cyclone for example.
I'm not sure why you would think that. I doubt there will be an increase of transfers from Off-Broadway.
Posted: 1/11/21 at 12:56am
HogansHero said: "And as I said producers are ready to invest in new shows for which there will be an audience without tourists. As I also said, expect 6 or so total: half new, halfrock solid sellers."
A Broadway show usually "exhausts" the local market within the first 9 months, after which a show becomes reliant on tourists. As I said in another thread, I think domestic tourism will pick up pretty quickly (not normal levels, but better than what's being predicted). So new shows definitely have a better shot of survival than something like Phantom.
Posted: 1/11/21 at 9:31pm
HogansHero said: "@disney...fan22 what is popular? The shows you list are popular with tourists.
@Phantom there is only so much a landlord can do. It's a pretty small line item. And publicists? HOw do you think you get bodies in the seats? LOL naiveté on display I'mafraid. And as I said producers are ready to invest in new shows for which there will be an audience without tourists. As I also said, expect 6 or so total: half new, halfrock solid sellers.
@unclevictor agreed. I think 1-2 of the "promised" will open in the 6 or so. It's not going to look or feel like Broadway again for a while. As I like to say, patience all. We will get there."
I’m afraid not naïveté Lol. Someone did say on this forum that a few shows wouldn’t initially open, because of anti-trust laws and then completely backtracked on that. That is naïveté Lol. You have to be delusional if you think that shows will come back with a $650k to $800k a week running coat. Post Covid is going to be very different to Pre Covid..
There is always a queue of producers wanting to be their show, but they won’t get investors, those old ladies that write cheques, until they are confident of getting a return, which isn’t going to be in the short term.
Where Will shows come form apart from off Broadway?
Posted: 1/11/21 at 9:53pm
The naiveté comment related to press agents and it was a quintessential example.
Sorry, Phantom, but you really do not understand Broadway budgets. Will we see some smaller shows? Yes, but we were pre covid. Will we see stars work for less than 6 figures because they want to do shows too? Sure. But the stuff that makes Broadway happen is not cut-able. It's called cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Producers have a bunch of shows financed and ready when the time is right. 2-3 of those we will see in the first wave. PS Producers don't depend on LOLs anymore and the folks they do depend on made fortunes in 2020. And those folks invest because they think it's a good shot or something worthwhile. Just like pre covid.
There will indeed be a new normal but it will have to do with scope, not what you are talking about. Hide and watch. Off-b btw will come back to Bwy when it's time. Patience all.
Posted: 1/11/21 at 10:10pm
Where Will shows come form apart from off Broadway?
Like 50 shows just went through my head.
Posted: 3/21/21 at 4:53pm
Posted: 3/21/21 at 6:21pm
I have no idea if Doubtfire will eventually find its way back or not but it is most assuredly (and for a number of reasons) not in rehearsal in any way, shape, or form.
Posted: 3/22/21 at 11:44am
One of my close works backstage at Doubtfire. It is not back. It is planning on coming back. But only when they can sell every single seat.
Posted: 3/22/21 at 11:10pm
Sad to see any show close but it is not surprising.
