Rob Madge's MY SON'S A QUEER... at the Lyceum February 2024 — Page 4

Would be really nice for the production to say something about this, one way or another.

I was just refunded by Telecharge an hour ago, for the opening preview performance (2/27). Sad to say this show, as we currently know it, is cancelled.

Well that's sad, but I think it was just an unrealistic vanity project. It should have started off Broadway or gone to St. Ann's or something. But these producers now have 2 cancelled shows under their belt.

pablitonizer said: "JSquared2 said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "The Broadway run has beenpostponed to next season, not cancelled entirely as wasrumored. New dates and a theater to be announced later.


Sure it is. It'll open the same week thatREBECCAandNERDS open.

"

'Postponed'

Sure, Jan!



It's a bit unprofessional to announce it 10 days before previews start but it's just my opinion


They would have had to post cash bonds with AEA and the other unions by this week -- as well as give a cash deposit (at least $500,000) to the Shuberts in order to take possession of the building this week and start load-in -- so they obviously waited as log as they could, hoping for some "miracle investor" to step up. Bob Wankel is no doubt incredibly pissed off at them (and they've burned a major bridge).

"Postponed" is what it said in the press release, probably to try and soften the blow. It likely won't end up opening anywhere, but stranger things have happened. A lot of us didn't think Purlie Victorious would make it to January.

I appreciated how honest BWW's writeup was (Deadline's article simply parrots the producers saying they're aiming for next season):

"The show will face an uphill battle to capitalize a second attempt at a Broadway run next year following widely acknowledged poor ticket sales by Broadway standards, and investors shaken by a run that never made it to first preview.

This is also the second project by producers Tom Smedes, Heather Shields, and Peter Stern to be postponed before opening in New York. The producing team also postponed their run of the Drag-Comedy musical Death Drop which had been slated to run at New World Stages last year. No further production details have been announced since the postponement."

EDSOSLO858 said: ""Postponed" is what it said in the press release, probably to try and soften the blow. It likely won't end up opening anywhere,but stranger things have happened. A lot of us didn't thinkPurlie Victoriouswould make it to January."



Surely you can't be suggesting those 2 situations are similar in any way, shape or form? Shows run longer than generally expected all the time. It's rare that shows that are announced and on sale cancel their runs a few days before they are scheduled to begin load-in.

Just for my own curiosity...

If the team (theoretically) said "okay, Broadway was clearly too ambitious, let's do something more realistic..." and tried to book an Off-Broadway/much smaller house, is that something that would now be made more difficult due to this cancelation [announcement] and it being seeing as a kind of "tainted" production, or does that not really matter either way?

SomeOtherMe said: "Just for my own curiosity...

If the team (theoretically)said "okay, Broadway was clearly too ambitious, let's do something more realistic..." and tried to book an Off-Broadway/much smaller house, is that something that would now be made more difficult due to this cancelation [announcement] and it being seeing as a kind of "tainted" production, or does that not really matter either way?"

My guess is it would be near impossible to raise money for this again?

SomeOtherMe said: "Just for my own curiosity...

If the team (theoretically)said "okay, Broadway was clearly too ambitious, let's do something more realistic..." and tried to book an Off-Broadway/much smaller house, is that something that would now be made more difficult due to this cancelation [announcement] and it being seeing as a kind of "tainted" production, or does that not really matter either way?"

If the GIF that ardiem posted on page 3, showing the very-few sold seats vs many production hold seats is anything to go by, I can’t imagine any off-Broadway theatre wanting to touch this show.
And no Broadway theatre owner will ever touch it again either.

SomeOtherMe said: "Just for my own curiosity...

If the team (theoretically)said "okay, Broadway was clearly too ambitious, let's do something more realistic..." and tried to book an Off-Broadway/much smaller house, is that something that would now be made more difficult due to this cancelation [announcement] and it being seeing as a kind of "tainted" production, or does that not really matter either way?"

There will certainly be a whiff of failure surrounding it. It's hard to come back from something like this.

I can't speak to the specific steps that would have to occur for an existing entity to switch from a Broadway show to an Off-Broadway or touring production. It would be quite challenging: People invested in this as a Broadway show, playing in a theatre with a certain number of seats for a certain number of weeks with $X running costs, and they believed in this show's potential (whether that belief was misguided or not is kind of irrelevant). If the same commercial entity mounted it Off-Broadway or on the road, the capitalization, running costs, gross potential, recoupment sched, etc. would be wholly different.

There will be cranky people either way, especially with this being a "fool me twice" situation.

Updated On: 2/8/24 at 01:56 PM