Shows that work better off-Broadway

[Kevn520]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 3:00pm

In the NYTimes post-mortem of "Carrie" I read this:

"Broadway buzz is still a benchmark of any successful Off Broadway show, and in this case the silence was deafening."

I don't think this is true. I think the smaller spaces bring an intimacy to some shows that would be lost in a bigger Broadway house, so I don't think Broadway buzz is a benchmark of success. I thought "Tribes" at the Barrow St Theatre was fantastic, but I wouldn't want to see it transfer to Broadway. I don't think it would be the same. Still, it was one of the best things I've seen this year

What are some great off-Broadway productions that transferred to Broadway, but shouldn't have done so?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 3:07pm

I remember this being the primary issue for The Human Comedy which received raves Off-Broadway and quickly folded once it transferred.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 3:08pm

title of show.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 3:10pm

I wouldn't go so far as to say "shouldn't have transferred", but for me, William Finn's MARVIN PLAYS work better in smaller theaters with each act on its own. (Full disclosure: I saw FALSETTOS not on Broadway but at the Doolittle in Los Angeles. Loved it, but still...)

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 3:27pm

Lysistrata Jones
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
The Lyons

[shomeika]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 4:40pm

Avenue Q, most def.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 4:49pm

Little Shop of Horrors

Parade

I agree with Gaveston2. I saw Falsettoland off-Broadway at the Lortel. It lost its intimacy when it moved to Broadway.

[newintown]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 5:00pm

At the moment, I can't think of any show that I saw in an intimate Off Broadway house that was as good an experience in a big Broadway house.

This includes Little Shop of Horrors, the individual evenings that eventually became Falsettos, Next Fall, Love! Valour! Compassion!, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Well, and many, many more.

It's the nature of the animal - if it works well in an intimate setting, you can't well turn it into something that sings out to the 20th row of the balcony.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 7:47pm

But I think it can be added that probably most any "good" show would be great in an intimate space. RENT works fine in a Broadway house, but if you re-staged it and whatnot, it could work just as fine in a smaller intimate house.

I think plays have a harder time with the transfers.

[Jane2]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 8:08pm

"RENT works fine in a Broadway house, but if you re-staged it and whatnot, it could work just as fine in a smaller intimate house."

RippedMan, RENT has been working fine in the off broadway house #1 at New World Stages for almost a year now.

[morosco]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 8:17pm

One Mo' Time. Anyone remember it? Fun show at the Village Gate in the early eighties. But the Broadway production in 2002 only lasted 3 weeks.

[rjm516]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 8:30pm

Bloody Bloody stands out for me.

[brian.klimowski]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 9:18pm

Assassins!

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 9:20pm

Godspell, Little Shop, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown. Three off b'way shows that have been disasters in their recent B'way revivals.

[Emmaloucbway]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 11:23am

title of show
Godspell
Avenue Q
Lysistrata Jones
The Scottsboro Boys

[Taryn]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 12:00pm

Well, to be fair, Broadway buzz for an off-Broadway show and that same show being suitable for Broadway are not mutually exclusive. Broadway buzz happens rather inevitably if an off-Broadway show is successful enough, which is why it's a benchmark. It doesn't mean the show would actually work in a big space.

[ajh]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 12:25pm

Would definitely agree re RENT; saw it recently at New World Stages and felt that the smaller scale of the space suited the piece better than the Nederlander. I was hugely moved and exhilarated all over again; it helped that some of the current cast (namely Arianda Fernandez as Mimi, Emma Hunton as Maureen and above all Justin Johnston as Roger, who is utterly sensational) are every bit the match of any of the performers I'd seen on numerous visits to the B'way version. Although I only saw BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON in it's Broadway transfer, and quite enjoyed it albeit mainly for Benjamin walker's performance, I could imagine that it would have worked way better in a more intimate space downtown. It just did not come across as a commercial B'way show to me.