Right Show, Wrong Theatre

[JerseyBoy25]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 9:54pm

So recently, I saw the revival of Fiddler on the Roof, and I thought it was absolutely magnificent. But what I was most taken by was how huge the Broadway Theatre is (I had been there twice before for Sister Act and Shrek, but had never paid that much attention to the theatre's size before this trip.) I thought back to that dreadful production of Dr. Zhivago from a while back. Obviously the reason why it closed was that people didn't buy enough tickets and it wasn't that great of a show. But I thought "in what world would any producer think that show could fill this huge theatre? Would it have done better if it was in another theatre"

Which begs me to my question: Is there any Broadway show that you think should have been put into another theatre, whether it not being the right fit in your opinion, or had too many seats and not enough public interest to sell them? What show do you think would have ran longer if it was in a different theatre?

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 10:00pm

Pretty much every show that's been at the Broadway Theatre since Miss Saigon closed may have faired better elsewhere. Same goes for the Lyric.

[gypsy101]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 10:01pm

fun topic that was recently discussed in this thread 

[rangersrule132]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 10:01pm

And normally the shows that should be in those large theatres take on the medium to rather small theatres.

[MichelleCraig]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 10:10pm

I think the Lyric and the Gershwin are similar in size. The Gershwin was formerly the Uris and housed a number of successful shows; both in the past and now with WICKED. The Lyric seems rather cursed...

[StephieElise]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 10:37pm

Not Broadway, but 5 years ago Xanadu was performed in Melbourne here:



There wasn't a theatre available so they just decided to stage it in a giant circus tent in a car park right on the outskirts of the city. After evening performances they had an 80s tribute band play in an area outside the tent and sold popcorn, cotton candy, drinks, etc. It was a great production with a fantastic cast but the worst possible venue. It was under a flight path to the Melbourne helipad and close to the busy Bolte Bridge (you can see it in the background) and docks, all of which were audible in the tent. It was difficult to access by public transport and the car park area you had to walk across was so bad I wore sneakers the last time I went. Plus, it opened in autumn so the weather was steadily getting colder.

Needless to say, it flopped big time. Apparently they lost a fortune on it. Every cast member I have spoken to laments the fact the producers didn't wait for the Comedy Theatre, where Rock of Ages had just opened, to become available as it would have been perfect.   

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 8/3/16 at 12:32am

MichelleCraig said: "I think the Lyric and the Gershwin are similar in size. The Gershwin was formerly the Uris and housed a number of successful shows; both in the past and now with WICKED. The Lyric seems rather cursed...

 

"

There's I believe only a four seat difference between these two theatres, yet the Lyric always seem to be problematic. Is it the shows they pick, or the auditorium setup? Neither venue has sight line issues, and I find distance from the stage feels smaller in the Lyric. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/3/16 at 12:37am

Hm. You'd think the Lyric has better street traffic. Not sure. I'm not sure a theater has a ton to do with a show. If a show is good, people will find it or want to see it. 

I think The Winter Garden is the worst set up for a show like SOR which is a traditional proscenium show. The side Mezz is an extreme partial view. 

[gleek4114]

Posted: 8/3/16 at 1:22am

I think the Side Show revival would've done much better if it had opened somewhere like the Booth or the Helen Hayes. Also if it had opened later in the season.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/3/16 at 1:41am

You have to realize the size of the cast/orchestra and the size of the theater. Just because it's an intimate show doesn't mean it will do well in a smaller theater. Side Show would have to run 4 years to make any sort of profit at The Booth. But, it might have done better at, say, the Broadhurst? But even then, the demand wasn't there, so it didn't matter. It was a bland version of a very cult show.

[BroadwayMan5]

Posted: 8/3/16 at 1:48am

I think Wicked proves that even the exact right show can change a theater's fortunes. I was reading The Untold Stories of Broadway and it was talking about how show after show struggled in the Gershwin until Wicked was the absolute perfect show to come in and it's been selling out ever since.

Same could happen for the Lyric with the right show, I think but a show like "On the Town" which was well received, struggled mightily in a theatre that was far too big for that type of show.

Updated On: 8/3/16 at 01:48 AM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/3/16 at 2:09am

Agreed! I'd have thought Spider-Man would have been perfect, but... maybe Cirque will realize they don't need a "Broadway" show to survive!

[Smaxie]

Posted: 8/3/16 at 6:32am

Pre-Wicked, the Gershwin's longest run was the Garth Drabinsky Show Boat, at around 25 months. Given his accounting, it probably lost everything. That theatre housed tons of flops, as well as some decent shows that didn't pay back. It was probably just as "unlucky" as the Lyric. The Minskoff, similarly, had a string of spectacular flame outs, pre The Lion King. Save for Me and My Girl, Annie Get Your Gun and Drowsy Chaperone, I think every other show at the Marquis has been a failure. The Lyric needs a hit, but it's no more unlucky than the other modern musical houses.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 8/3/16 at 6:32am

Pre-Wicked, the Gershwin's longest run was the Garth Drabinsky Show Boat, at around 25 months. Given his accounting, it probably lost everything. That theatre housed tons of flops, as well as some decent shows that didn't pay back. It was probably just as "unlucky" as the Lyric. The Minskoff, similarly, had a string of spectacular flame outs, pre The Lion King. Save for Me and My Girl, Annie Get Your Gun and Drowsy Chaperone, I think every other show at the Marquis has been a failure. The Lyric needs a hit, but it's no more unlucky than the other modern musical houses.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 8/3/16 at 9:18am

The 2009 RAGTIME revival that played at the Neil Simon. For such a scaled down production, it really would have benefited the show to play a smaller house like the Schoenfeld, Jacobs or Barrymore. It also would have likely ran longer, possibly until the Tonys at least.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 8/3/16 at 10:19am

Producers also have to take into account the weekly running costs. It's great to think that a show may have played longer in a smaller theatre, but it may not have been the same show. Say Side Show, for example, had a weekly running cost of $650,000 (just a random example, I don't know what their weekly costs actually were). They actually could not afford to go into a smaller theatre like the Booth, which under its past few tenants seems to have had a weekly gross potential of $823,000 (and looking back over the past few years many tenants had a weekly gross potential much lower than that).

[Dysquith13]

Posted: 8/3/16 at 12:02pm

While not the WRONG theatre per se, I'm surprised Book of Mormon plays in such a small house. Then again, it must be nice to have consistently sold out audiences.

[broadwayguy91]

Posted: 8/3/16 at 12:40pm

victor/ victoria at the marquis

[¿Macavity?]

Posted: 8/3/16 at 2:45pm

Dysquith13 said: "While not the WRONG theatre per se, I'm surprised Book of Mormon plays in such a small house. Then again, it must be nice to have consistently sold out audiences.

 

"

Same type of thing with Hamilton. It's a business tactic to keep demand high.

[wonkit]

Posted: 8/3/16 at 5:06pm

I agree completely with the OP - I saw FIDDLER in July and felt that any warmth generated by the production was lost in that cavern of a house. And I was in the front part of the orchestra.

[luvcaroline]

Posted: 8/3/16 at 6:03pm

I loved the recent Follies revival, but found it odd that a show involving a decrepit theater played in a modern theater (the attempts they made to make the Marquis look older didn't work for me). Almost any other theater would have been better.