Shows We're Still Waiting for Return News- Page 5

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/25/21 at 7:43am

I don't get this. People thinking that there won't be enough audience members has NO effect on people actually buying tickets.  Do you think there are tourists that are going to decide NOT to come because what a FEW posters here (or anywhere) might think about the sustainability of it all coming back so quickly?

The thought IS a practical one: if only 60% of the tourists return before the holiday (Christmas) season - there will be problems.  I don't involve myself in these kind of predictions - but talking about isn't negative, it's concern.

 

That being said, I can't wait to come back  - my first trip is scheduled!

[ACL2006]

Posted: 5/25/21 at 8:48am

The majority of the shows that are re-opening in September are seeing excellent ticket sales so far. So the demand is clearly there at first.

[BroadwayGuy12]

Posted: 5/25/21 at 8:55am

dramamama611 said: "I don't get this. People thinking that there won't be enough audience members has NO effect on people actually buying tickets. Do you think there are tourists that are going to decide NOT to come because what a FEW posters here (or anywhere) might think about the sustainability of it all coming back so quickly?

The thought IS a practical one: if only 60% of the tourists return before the holiday (Christmas) season - there will be problems. I don't involve myself in these kind of predictions - but talking about isn't negative, it's concern.

That being said, I can't wait to come back - my first trip is scheduled!"

Nowhere in my original post did I suggest that what people are saying on these boards is actually going to have an effect on ticket sales or the sustainability of these shows. It would be absurd to think that anything said on BWW has any significant bearing on Broadway's success (or failure) as a business.

As to your second point, you're correct: the thought is a practical one. If NYC struggles in regaining tourism, Broadway will struggle, too. I know that. The point I was trying to make, however, is that it's just that: an "if." We've all spent the past year-plus talking in ifs, and, as I tried to point out, it's shown that few (if any) of us have a solid idea of what the future holds for NYC and for Broadway. So, to me, it seems kind of silly to greet the news of these reopenings with speculation that many of them won't be able to survive past their first few months. I find it to be rather pessimistic, so I suppose I'd disagree with your assessment of negativity vs. concern.

All that said, I'm well aware that these are discussion boards, where people can and will talk and argue and speculate about whichever topics they choose. And I'm aware that speculating closings has long been part of BWW culture - heck, I've probably joined in a time or two myself! But after a long year without theatre, I wish we'd all take a moment to stop thinking about the ifs that could derail it any further.

I hope you enjoy your first trip back. I'm looking forward to mine, too. As I said, this has been a long, hard year, and I'm eager to once again sit in a theatre, and have my heart filled with optimism and joy.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/25/21 at 9:15am

I'm really hoping that West Side Story comes back.

[Wee Thomas2]

Posted: 5/25/21 at 10:02am

bwayphreak234 said: "I'm really hoping that West Side Story comes back."

I posted about it earlier

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/25/21 at 10:37am

Jordan Catalano said: "I just want to say how insane it is that in a worldwide pandemic that shut broadway down for A YEAR AND A HALF, we only lost, what, 4 shows, not counting the handful that were already set to close?"

 

I think we have to assume that the facts of the situation behind the scenes are not what we thought. Last year, we were all operating under the assumption that these shows would have to continue paying full rent to the landlords throughout the shutdown, and that was the main reason we expected to see closing announcements popping up every few months. At this point, there's no way all these shows have been hemorrhaging money the way we expected, right? It seems like the landlords cut them a break, or they got the insurance payout they needed, or some combination thereof. Through that lens, it's not very surprising that we only lost a few shows, especially when you look at which shows they were:

Hangmen and Virginia Woolf had casts that consisted of majority UK-based actors. They pulled the plug early presumably because there was no way they could keep the actors in the US waiting for the "30 day shutdown" to end, only to do a severely truncated run that wouldn't give them an opportunity to recoup (presumably it wouldn't have been practical in this scenario to try and reschedule the run with the UK-based cast intact). I guess you could say the same about Lehman, but after 3 (?) previous runs, and more planned, maybe the producers had more confidence that these 3 actors would be able to be flexible with their schedules. 

And then we have Frozen - rumors had already been circulating that Disney was looking for an excuse to close it, since it wasn't quite the cash-cow they hoped. Which wouldn't make sense for a normal show that was still turning a profit, but has historically been in line with Disney's corporate model of producing Broadway shows. 

Not sure about Mean Girls - it might have been a more straightforward case of not feeling confident enough in their pre-pandemic numbers to re-open. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/4/21 at 10:13am

Original Post updated!

[Moreski93]

Posted: 6/5/21 at 12:51pm

Telecharge has removed the 1/21/22 show of Mockingbird. I wonder if we’ll get an announcement this coming week? 

Updated On: 6/5/21 at 12:51 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/5/21 at 2:20pm

Maybe those shows will wait for next Spring when the weather is better. Shows that reopen in the dead of January usually don't do well financially.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 6/5/21 at 5:23pm

Sutton Ross said: "Maybe those shows will wait for next Spring when the weather is better. Shows that reopen in the dead of January usually don't do well financially."

Here's hoping Company steers away from this trend.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/5/21 at 7:19pm

I think Company plays well a very NYC crowd and less to the tourists, so I think it'll be fine. It's got a great cast and great word of mouth. I've already seen it and I'd go back in a heartbeat to see it again. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/5/21 at 7:25pm

Jordan Pretty sure Sutton is referring to the shows that haven't announced reopening dates.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/5/21 at 8:00pm

Correct.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/9/21 at 10:16pm

Updated OP wiith news of Mockingbird.  Maybe WSS is next!

[ACL2006]

Posted: 6/10/21 at 6:04am

Still surprised that Book of Mormon hasn't announced their return dates.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/10/21 at 7:05am

^ Yes, I agree - but perhaps the re-writes aren't done yet, and I'm guessing because of those rewrites, they might want a longer rehearsal period before lighting the lights.   (You would have thought with the last year and a half,the updates would have been complete.)

 

 

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 6/10/21 at 11:45am

Not sure where else to put this thought, but Disney has scrubbed their site of any indication that there was a tour of Aladdin. I wonder if it has closed.

[ElphabaGoodman]

Posted: 6/10/21 at 11:55am

fashionguru_23 said: "Not sure where else to put this thought, but Disney has scrubbed their site of any indication that there was a tour of Aladdin. I wonder if it has closed."

The ALADDIN tour played its final performance on March 12, 2020.

[njf1003]

Posted: 6/10/21 at 3:06pm

ElphabaGoodman said: "fashionguru_23 said: "Not sure where else to put this thought, but Disney has scrubbed their site of any indication that there was a tour of Aladdin. I wonder if it has closed."

The ALADDIN tour played its final performance on March 12, 2020."

Wasn't it supposed to come back smaller in 2022 (pre-pandemic)? I wonder if that's still the case. It didn't hit many first run sites on that tour.

[quizking101]

Posted: 6/10/21 at 3:37pm

Telecharge just emailed out that TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD will be coming back with Jeff Daniels and Celia Keenan Bolger rejoining the cast.

Bummer that Ed Harris couldn’t finish out his run or Greg Kinnear step in, though either could still happen

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/10/21 at 4:26pm

FYI...this info was released yesterday - it even has its own thread (in case you want to see what others said about it.)

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 6/11/21 at 9:28am

ElphabaGoodman said: "fashionguru_23 said: "Not sure where else to put this thought, but Disney has scrubbed their site of any indication that there was a tour of Aladdin. I wonder if it has closed."

The ALADDIN tour played its final performance on March 12, 2020."

I don't know how I missed that information...although it was called in October 2019! But, to confirm with someone above, in the article I read about the closing, the "retooled" tour of Aladdin was announced to begin Fall 2021...so I'm going to go ahead a say maybe into 2022. But yes, it is being retooled to "entertain new audiences in cities and venues which couldn't previously accommodate the production". Was the set that big? I don't remember it being too bad, but I could be wrong.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 6/11/21 at 9:45am

fashionguru_23 said: "Was the set that big? I don't remember it being too bad, but I could be wrong."

It was a fairly large set that stayed true to the Broadway production with the exception of the trap doors. However, I thought that with the exception of the Cave of Wonders, the set was pretty cheap looking. The village set units were extremely shaky and flimsy. 

[Det95]

Posted: 6/12/21 at 10:24am

Issac posted this on his insta story. Really wondering about the fate of West Side Story now. 
https://instagram.com/stories/isaaccolepowell/2593956539664910478?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&utm_medium=copy_link
 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/12/21 at 10:48am

Can you copy/paste or summarize? I dont do insta.