Right Show, Wrong Theatre
Right Show, Wrong Theatre
Right Show, Wrong Theatre#1
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?
Right Show, Wrong Theatre#2
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.
Right Show, Wrong Theatre#3
Posted: 8/2/16 at 10:01pm
fun topic that was recently discussed in this thread
Right Show, Wrong Theatre#4
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.
Right Show, Wrong Theatre#5
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...
Right Show, Wrong Theatre#6
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.
Right Show, Wrong Theatre#7
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.
"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
Right Show, Wrong Theatre#8
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.
Right Show, Wrong Theatre#9
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.
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
Right Show, Wrong Theatre#10
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.
Right Show, Wrong Theatre#11
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.
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
Right Show, Wrong Theatre#12
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!
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
Right Show, Wrong Theatre#13
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.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
Right Show, Wrong Theatre#13
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.
Right Show, Wrong Theatre#14
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.
Right Show, Wrong Theatre#15
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).
Right Show, Wrong Theatre#16
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.
Right Show, Wrong Theatre#18
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.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/30/08
Right Show, Wrong Theatre#19
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.
Broadway Star Joined: 10/19/05
Right Show, Wrong Theatre#20
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.
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