Sandy is behind the low attendance at SCANDALOUS?

And the ANARCHIST?

I have been among a thimble-full of Kathie Lee Gifford defenders, for mysterious reasons (okay, she's as entitled as anyone to put in the work on a show, then find out how it lands and is received). But her TODAY announcement that her show was closing, though classy in tone and without bitterness, was built on an odd thesis: That Hurricane Sandy played a critical role in the early demise of her musical and other non-hits of this wildly erratic (euphemism) fall season on Broadway. SCANDALOUS and THE ANARCHIST have zero in common other than some of the worst press ever. And both are, uh, leaving the NY stage. Ahead of time? Somehow, that critical reception is ignored, and audience ... timidity? Fear of a wind called Maria? What? ... tied to a couple of cancelled performances all in one week kept people away? Sandy wasn't a terrorist attack. Are people supposedly failing to buy seats to those shows -- and CHAPLIN, also noted by Gifford -- because they fear more storms will block their reaching row H center? Shall we call them fair weather theatergoers? I suspect SCANDALOUS will turn up at Bob Jones University, Liberty, Brigham Young ... in theater departments, come rain or shine, where its earnestness and lack of daring will be savored, not judged.

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Updated On: 12/6/12 at 02:41 PM

She's one of those people (like Donald Trump) who have a tremendous need to be seen as SUCCESSFUL.

It must be the closest thing to impossible for her to realize and admit that she's just not a good writer.

This statement is a bit of a stretch.

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I think it's a bit of a stretch but I do actually think there's some truth to the statement. The show would've gotten poor reviews and closed early anyway, but if she was aiming for a bridge and tunnel audience, they absolutely would have trouble getting to the show.

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Well since 9/11 has been used frequently to talk about the demise of shows on Broadway in 2001, it's not entirely without precedent to say that something on the scale of Sandy also was damaging to business.

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Then why is it no other shows were "damaged" by the storm?

There are certainly still people in Staten Island with no power and no heat, Marianne. There's also limited public transportation in and out of the city in the evening (the PATH is only running until 10 PM, for example). For a show that was probably aiming for the bridge and tunnel crowd, with no real solid hold on that audience yet (like something like Mamma Mia might have), a storm that did that much damage to the infrastructure in the area is devastating.

Like I said, the show still would've gotten bad reviews and probably would've shuttered early, but I do think that it might've held on a little longer had Sandy not hit the way it did.

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9/11 is not comparable to Sandy in terms of impact on the city's future. Sandy was awful and many died and I don't mean to belittle the tragedy but the ripple effects of 9/11 lasted for years. Tourism was down throughout the city and people weren't going to shows. Tons of shows closed and New York felt like a ghost town for a while afterwards.

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Jeez, hurricane Sandy did not contribute to the short runs of either Scandalous or The Anarchist or Chaplin or The Performers.

Everyone knows that gay marriage is causing shows to close.

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Sandy is an easy scapegoat. Henry Winkler was on MSNBC a few weeks ago and he said that Sandy singlehandedly closed The Performers. "We had to close because of the hit we took after Sandy" sounds better than "Our reviews stank and no one is coming."

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This would make sense if the show was doing well BEFORE Sandy or if other shows took a bit of a hit. But they haven't. Every other show is chugging along except for these two. Why? Because nobody wanted to see them.

Well, she should probably listen to someone who could tell her the truth. It's not like this show suddenly became terrible.

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I do admire Kathie Lee in the way that she didn't seem to want her own name plastered all over most promotional materials (maybe because everyone knew that Carolee would be the only one getting positive reviews). She tried to make Carolee the focus. At least that's what it seemed to me.