No YANK this year- Page 2

[binau]

Posted: 9/4/10 at 8:54pm

"And the flop transfers? Falsettos, Little Shop of Horrors (I know, not really a transfer, but it does fit the small-to-large category), Grey Gardens, Passing Strange, Glory Days, Caroline or Change, [title of show], Spring Awakening, and lots of non-musical plays." "

I don't get it. Are you saying that Grey Gardens et al. flopped because it didn't successfully go 'small>large'?

Updated On: 9/4/10 at 08:54 PM

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 9/4/10 at 9:25pm

Box office aside, did those shows work or not, artistically speaking, in their Broadway houses? The ones I saw that were done well most definitely did.

What we really have are two questions:

Will the show have a Broadway sized audience?

Will the show work in a Broadway sized space?

The first question is always a valid question. The latter is one I always have trouble with. If one person shows and intimate plays can work in a Broadway house, why can't intimate musicals? Of course, they can work in a small Broadway house. There's no suggestion that Yank would play the Gershwin if it were available. Of course, Yank could fit in a Broadway house. I believe any show can.

The question for any show is whether the show is done well and has the audience to justify the huge risk of mounting and running a Broadway show..

[TulitaPepsi]

Posted: 9/4/10 at 10:18pm

SPRING AWAKENING recouped, and I think FALSETTOS and URINETOWN did as well.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 9/5/10 at 12:09am

Who cares?! It's not our money and it gives me a chance to see these shows because typically they're Off-Broadway runs are sold-out and don't allow those of us who can't afford a full-priced ticket to see these shows!

[newintown]

Posted: 9/5/10 at 10:42am

"I don't get it. Are you saying that Grey Gardens et al. flopped because it didn't successfully go 'small>large'?

Partly, yes.

I'm interested in hearing from those who saw these shows both in their small theatres and after their large transfers. Did you think they were as good as or better than they were in the smaller house?

For all the ones I saw in both incarnations (Falsettos [in both Playwrights one-act versions, which to me were superior to the combined version], Little Shop of Horrors, Grey Gardens, Passing Strange, Caroline or Change, [title of show], Spring Awakening) they were much more effective in their smaller space.

[WestwardHoHo]

Posted: 9/22/10 at 2:36am

You must not have had a very good seat then.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 9/22/10 at 8:28am

Yes, Urinetown and Falsettos also recouped.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 9/22/10 at 2:59pm

But I don't think this is a valid argument. I think most shows are better in an intimate space because you are closer and can see facial features, gestures, etc that you probably can't see from the Rear Mezz. Most people forget, but most touring houses are HUGE. The theaters on Broadway are tiny and intimate compared to those. Spelling Bee played at 3,000 seat theater here in Birmingham, AL and it was still hilarious and awesome.

[Kad]

Posted: 9/22/10 at 4:33pm

Little Shop of Horrors is a bit different from those other shows, which basically just moved their off-Broadway incarnations in a larger space. The Little Shop revival was forced into being a Broadway spectacle, which the show at its heart can never really be.