Runs that have NOT been re-scheduled - some unscientific data

[JBroadway]

Posted: 11/21/21 at 12:23pm

I looked back at my "to see" list from the 2019-2020 season - a Google Doc which I chose to leave as a kind of artifactual document, to remember the shows that got cancelled or cut short.

There were roughly 45 limited-run shows that I had on my list for the remainder of the season. Here is some rough data from that list, but keep in mind this is skewed significantly because it's MY "to see" list. So it doesn't include shows I wasn't interested in, or shows that I did manage to see before COVID. 

--Out of those 45, about 23 of them have since been rescheduled, either for this season or next season. 

--Out of those 23, I've actually managed to see 5 of them already. 

--Of the 22 shows that have NOT been rescheduled, about 6 of them were already in the middle/end of their runs, so it makes sense why they wouldn't be rescheduled. 

From the remaining list, here are some notable shows that have, surprisingly, NOT been rescheduled:

-Ragtime Reunion Concert 

-Lungs (BAM - was filmed w/o an audience instead) 

-Tell Me If I'm Hurting You (a new Jeremy O. Harris play, which he said was dropped by Playwrights Horizons. Which is very surprising considering it would've certainly generated revenue and attention for the theatre. Some may say it's because he's "difficult" to work with, but it doesn't seem on-brand for a theatre like PH to drop such a promising project) 

-Nurse Becky of Salem (a new Sarah Ruhl play, which was supposedly about to be announed for a summer run at LCT)

-Thoroughly Modern Millie (at Encores)

-Poor Yella Rednecks (new Qui Nguyen play, slated to have its NYC debut at MTC)

-Waiting For Godot (TFANA - even when they lost their big-name stars, they insisted that they were still planning to do the production. But maybe when COVID hit, they figured it wasn't worth it)

-Perry Street (MCC - new Lucy Thurber play, with Thomas Sadoski as the director) 

-Tuvalu, Or the Saddest Song (Vineyard, written by "Pass Over" playwright Antoinette Nwandu) 

-A Play is a Poem (written by Ethan Coen - maybe he's too in-demand to reschedule being in rehearsals?) 

-Blue (at the Apollo, directed by Phylicia Rashad)

 

Will we see another flood of return announcements when the non-profits announce their 2022-2023 seasons? I would expect so. But I'm surprised that some of these shows still didn't make the earlier cut. 

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 11/21/21 at 12:42pm

Ethan Coen is taking a break from film to focus on theatre (that's why the new Macbeth movie is only directed by Joel), so I don't know what other projects he would have going on to delay his play

[ACL2006]

Posted: 11/21/21 at 1:40pm

BLUE is still being planned, just working on a theater and availability of the cast and crew.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 11/21/21 at 1:44pm

FWIW, I had heard from multiple people in the know that JOH was an absolute nightmare to work with when they were developing that play at Playwrights Horizons, and that it was not a work ready to be seen by paying audiences.

I expect MILLIE will happen, either at Encores or elsewhere, as the main reason for it was to revise the show for licensing since the Asian stuff is so so problematic (and it has been since the show premiered in 2002). I'm actually surprised it hasn't been announced yet.

I hope BLUE happens somewhere in some capacity, but probably could never work commercially without a real star.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 11/21/21 at 7:48pm

JBroadway said: "-Poor Yella Rednecks (new Qui Nguyen play, slated to have its NYC debut at MTC)

-Tuvalu, Or the Saddest Song(Vineyard, written by "Pass Over" playwright Antoinette Nwandu)

Interesting. I just read the synopsis for PYR. I had mixed feelings about Vietgone. Good performances but the writing felt rather cheesy/sitcom-y with just a few sprinklings of drama. Distinctly unthreatening to the MTC subscriber base, if you know what I mean. This sounds similar. 

Tuvalu sounds great. I hope it gets rescheduled.

I feel like there was something at 59E59 but I can't remember it. Though it's nice to see they have finally scheduled some shows.

I can't remember if there was something else at Soho Rep besides Wolf Play.