New Broadway Theater — Page 2

RippedMan said: "It does seem odd that it's just sitting there in all its glory and not used. Maybe ATG could talk to them? It just seems a waste. A church doesn't need a theater like that."

I reckon the Times Square Church grosses more than most Broadway houses.

Jarethan, you ask a lot of interesting questions but I'm just going to focus on one:

The producers who put musicals in small houses WANT to play small (1100 seat) playhouses. It's not for lack of a larger venue. But why a smaller theatre? It reduces the need to fill as many seats, it allows for a tighter ticket (higher price) for a hit, and it potentially allows the show to run longer. And, for shows that have started off-Bway or regionally, it's not as big a jump up. Of course, a show with a cast of 20+ and orchestra of 12+ is going to have a harder time with a playhouse –– and titles like Hadestown and Come From Away would work equally well in the St. James or Imperial –– but producers are leaning towards smaller houses whenever possible. Maybe the happy medium is 1200.

One more venue in the 1500 range could also be helpful, but reducing capacity and creating intimacy in the Broadway or Palace would be better than adding an entirely new musical house.

Do we think the Liberty will ever come back? Doesn't seem like they can get anything to stick in that house - restaurant/store - so why not convert it back? Or is it too far gone?

I'd love for their to be an investor/producer who promises lower prices to make theater more available for others. I know this isn't realistic, I don't work in the business and am not acting like I do, but man I really wish this would happen. So many people my age (22) don't attend or even think to attend theatre because of the prices it takes to go see it. Millennials simply don't have the $$$. I worry about the future of broadway because of this.

Do we think theres ever a chance, whether its at a new theater or a current one, we could see producers stepping in and making a certain theatre more affordable for its patrons? It'd be nice to see a place like the Marquis, New Amsterdam, Broadway, Gershwin, Hellinger hypothetically, it'd be really nice to see more tiered pricing added in. I know, it won't happen, but a poor boy can dream.

Mike Barrett said: "I'd love for their to be an investor/producer who promises lower prices to make theater more available for others. I know this isn't realistic, I don't work in the business and am not acting like I do, but man I really wish this would happen. So many people my age (22) don't attend or even think to attend theatre because of the prices it takes to go see it. Millennials simply don't have the $$$. I worry about the future of broadway because of this.

Do we think theres ever a chance, whether its at a new theater or a current one, we could see producers stepping in and making a certain theatre more affordable for its patrons? It'd be nice to see a place like the Marquis, New Amsterdam, Broadway, Gershwin, Hellinger hypothetically, it'd be really nice to see more tiered pricing added in. I know, it won't happen, but a poor boy can dream."

Doesn't this system already exist in pretty much every production (both on and off Broadway)? There are almost always low (or lower) priced options available -- whether they be 30 Under 30, student rush, regular rush, "cheap" balcony or rear mezz seats, $25 seats (like Betrayal and the recent productions of Twelfth Night and The Play That Goes Wrong). What type of tiered pricing are you asking for?

JSquared2 said: "Mike Barrett said: "I'd love for their to be an investor/producer who promises lower prices to make theater more available for others. I know this isn't realistic, I don't work in the business and am not acting like I do, but man I really wish this would happen. So many people my age (22) don't attend or even think to attend theatre because of the prices it takes to go see it. Millennials simply don't have the $$$. I worry about the future of broadway because of this.

Do we think theres ever a chance, whether its at a new theater or a current one, we could see producers stepping in and making a certain theatre more affordable for its patrons? It'd be nice to see a place like the Marquis, New Amsterdam, Broadway, Gershwin, Hellinger hypothetically, it'd be really nice to see more tiered pricing added in. I know, it won't happen, but a poor boy can dream."

Doesn't this system already exist in pretty much every production (both on and off Broadway)? There are almost always low (or lower) priced options available -- whether they be 30 Under 30, student rush, regular rush, "cheap" balcony or rear mezz seats, $25 seats (like Betrayal and the recent productions of Twelfth Night and The Play That Goes Wrong). What type of tiered pricing are you asking for?"

I think you are grossly oversimplifying. When I was a teenager, I started attending the theatre pretty regularly. I could always get tickets in advance for even hit shows for around $3. That is not possible today, even after adjusting them for all the real inflation that has occurred since those days. The cheap seats, which you could buy in advance, cost about 30% of the best seats (and there weren’t even premium tickets). The cheapest tickets for Hamilton are still $199 in the last row of the rear mezzanine, which is not much less than the price of non-premium seats in the orchestra. There is no good option to see Hamilton for a kid just starting out who wants to see Broadway shows...I know people who have tried the lottery 100s of time with no success. BOM was the same way for the better part of a decade

I could buy $3 tickets in advance to see Carol Channing in Dolly the first time, Barbra in Funny Girl, Zero In Fiddler, Lansbury in Mame, original Company cast, original Follies cast, Lansbury in Gypsy, Dreamgirls, Nine, Sweeney, Les Mia, Phanton, Chicago (both times), Evita, and a lot more recent shows etc., where you could get cheap seats for a fraction of the highest price tickets. I think this all may have started with BOM (we can thank The Producers for premium seats). If it had moved to a slightly larger theatre, maybe they would have left some cheap seats... but probably not...due to greed.

I know someone will shout supply and demand... historically, they still managed to have some affordable seats that you could buy in advance, even for hot shows.

I think it is terrible that younger people do not have that option. When the cheapest seats are well over $100, it is hard to argue that the theatre is not getting more elitist.

amoni said: "" Not having been in Manhattan for almost 4 years I have to ask. What happened to the old Times Square which was to have been used for a few different projects all of which died on the vine."



From everything I have heard The Times Square can't go legit because when Garth Drabinsky took over the space occupied by the The Apollo and Lyric, he took up the block on 43rd St. and left no room for a loading dock to the Times Sq. Apparently the city won't allow a loading dock on 42nd St."



Also, the Times Square doesn't even have a stage house anymore. I can't remember when, but they got rid of it and a store was put in there. That and the loading dock issue makes it a no go and that's too bad.

Updated On: 12/18/19 at 05:29 PM

AEA AGMA SM said: "RippedMan said: "Do we think the Liberty will ever come back? Doesn't seem like they can get anything to stick in that house - restaurant/store - so why not convert it back? Or is it too far gone?"

From what I was told the way the Liberty was boxed in by the developments around it they ended up cutting off too many of their emergency exits to have a capacity of 500+. Assuming that's true, it could be redeveloped into an Off-Broadway space (there was that immersive burlesque show that ran there a few years back, but I'm guessing they also kept their capacity well under 500)"

Isn't street access blocked for the Liberty now? (I mean having any lobby). How could people even get in if it were rehabbed? It's a shame it just sits there surrounded.

Updated On: 12/18/19 at 05:44 PM

I wonder if the soon-to-be-closed Play Station Theater could be re-purposed and scaled down into a Broadway House.



(I say this having never set foot inside it, only knowing it's a LARGE performance space with with too-many seats for a Broadway house in its current design.)

Here's a question: If you were the architect and/or designer for a completely new and modern theater, with a generous footprint and money-is-no-object approach, what new elements would you include? And what current elements would you change or delete?

PatrickDC said: "Here's a question: If you were the architect and/or designer for a completely new and modern theater, with a generous footprint and money-is-no-object approach, what new elements would you include? And what current elements would you change or delete?"

First off, dynamic seating, so the space can be reconfigured from standard proscenium to thrust to in the round by moving the seating platforms as needed, with a stage itself that has a built in elevator system that's constructed on a grid system so you can do anything from a single actor to a complete set.

Second, a flexible fly grid that can work to the needs of the seating as well as the production, one designed so a section can actually turn 90 degrees as needed without changing the rest of the grid structure (I've seen something like this in Paris, and it's pretty awesome.).

From there? A space that isnt completely dependent on head mics but allows a more natural sound by a judicious use of microphones around the performing area. Decent sized changing rooms (How do any performers get used to those little closets?). Proper backstage maintenance space for both sets and costumes.

I'm sure there's more, but that's a start.