Shows you believed closed prematurely...

[quizking101]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 1:39pm

NEXT FALL should've ran a little longer since it got glowing reviews, but simply couldn't find an audience either due to the subject matter or heavy competition from other productions...

9 to 5 also could've run a little longer than it did, but it would've had to transfer to a smaller theatre, which was not possible due to the large set.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 1:45pm

Both the revivals of Ragtime and Finian's Rainbow.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 1:45pm

Again? OK, sure, I guess...

URINETOWN
TABOO
CAROLINE, OR CHANGE
RAGTIME
ENRON/RED/NEXT FALL

If memory serves me correct -

URINETOWN closed only because the theater it was it was going to be demolished and a hotel built in its place.

TABOO closed for more than one reason, despite it being a GREAT show, but the major reason it closed was because of the bad press associated with Rosie.

CAROLINE, OR CHANGE was lost in a strongly competitive season. If it had opened this season, it would have won every single award.

The RAGTIME revival still had an audience. Instead of extending, it closed. The producers really screwed this production over.

ENRON, RED, and NEXT FALL closed too early simply because I haven't seen them yet as I move to NYC later this month.

Updated On: 7/3/10 at 01:45 PM

[philly03]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 1:48pm

A Tale of Two Cities, which had the backing funds to run through New Years at the Hirschfeld, but Hair's producers & the theatre owners kicked them out, only so Hair would be delayed by a month or two... ughh. Not sure if it would've caught on, but I would have liked to have seen a longer run and that huge budget ($16 MIL) and all that talent deserved to be around more!

Also: Ragtime revival, nd not that that it had a short run, but Beauty and the Beast could have ran a few more years had it not been for The Little Mermaid!

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 2:11pm

I guarantee you Disney now regrets closing Beauty and the Beast in favor of the financial and artistic disaster that was The Little Mermaid.

[AngusN]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 3:30pm

Chess - a wonderful show, with one of the greatest scores ever written.

[AudreyTwoTwo]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 3:31pm

Yes, adamgreer. I wish Beauty and the Beast was still open.
I also think Drowsy Chaperone closed too soon, it was a great show.

... Wait, didn't Bob Saget play Man in Chair for a while?

If so, it should have stayed open (with someone else as MIC).


There are a lot of shows that I love that had a pretty good run on Broadway, and I wish they were still there just so others could see it. Like Spring Awakening, for example.

[bryan]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 3:59pm

cry baby because i wanted to see it.

[Q]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 4:03pm

THE GOSPEL AT COLONUS, 1988 (starring Morgan Freeman)

Pulitzer nominee in '85.
Tony nominee for best book.

Only 61 performances (and 15 preview)

It had just too much overhead with that huge cast.

[secondarycharacter2]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 4:09pm

ragtime (revival and original)
[title of show]
Urinetown

[secondarycharacter2]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 4:09pm

ragtime (revival and original)
[title of show]
Urinetown

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 4:55pm

Ragtime
Smile
Side Show
Grey Gardens

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 4:58pm

It's hard to say what Prematurely is. NEXT FALL was my favorite production of the past season and I wish more people would have seen it but it had a pretty good run for a straight play with no names in it. So, I can't say that it is closing "prematurely". GREY GARDENS is another show that had a nice run. CAROLINE OR CHANGE though closed far too early for a production I'll say was one of the top 3 musicals I've ever seen.

[backwoodsbarbie]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 5:05pm

I also think Taboo closed too early. I believe it was a great show that could have had a longer life without the Rosie O'Donnell bad publicity.

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 5:39pm

Caroline or Change
Taboo (I didn't see it but I love the score and heard nothing but good things about it)

An aside...Q I am watching "..Colonus" now. Didn't know "How Shall I See You Through my Tears" was from this show. I love that song and it was quite a nice surprise when they sang it. I knew it from the first two notes and sat up on the couch! I seem to remember when it played Philly. I am enjoying it. And loving Javetta! Thanks again!

[castlestreet]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 6:39pm

With a lot of the shows mentioned in here, Taboo being one of the top, I think the bad press scares so many people off from buying a ticket, which truly is an investment of time and money.

For those of you who have seen the Showbusiness docu on the Wicked/Avenue Q/Taboo/Caroline or Change season you'll see just how adverse bad press really can be.

Even marginally good shows end up closing because they get lost in a very competitive year, or bad press or a combination of both. I remember leaving the Marquis last summer and hearing person after person remarking that they didn't understand why the show couldn't find an audience and was closing so soon. Critics and my good buddy Mr. Riedel need to remember that sometimes a show needs to be just dumb fun- everything musical can't be a pulitzer!

I wish Grey Gardens had a longer run, and also deeply regret not getting the chance to see In My Life- a campy hot mess can be a lot of fun on stage!

[BroadwayBound17]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 6:40pm

Without a doubt, 9 to 5. Sure it did not have the BEST score nor book, however it still could have made it throughout the year if it went into another theater/=.

[My Oh My]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 6:56pm

BackwoodsBarb, Rosie gave Taboo bad publicity? I could swear I remember her raving about it in between swoonings for Tom Cruise.

[Wishing Only Wounds]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 6:58pm

Beauty and the Beast
Ragtime
Curtains

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 7:01pm

It was a shame the Rosie court case was going on at the time and then Reidel and his crap about the behind the scenes drama with Rosie and George. The show should have had more of a life and i hope one day we see it again.

We did however have a feeling that once it left London it woud have a bumpy time on Broadway.

[jagfkb]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 7:07pm

Though the Ragtime Revival was pretty obvious, I also feel Shrek (in a MUCH smaller theatre) could have easily become the next BATB. Though I agree it needed some pruning/ additions...

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 7:09pm

Shrek
A Catered Affair
The Woman in White
The Pirate Queen
Chess

[smodel11]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 8:03pm

All Shook Up. It's kind of amazing that a show that has become almost standard rep at regional theatres only ran about 2.5 months on Broadway. The original production was GREAT too. The part when the entire cast turned downstage on "take my hand..." during "Can't Help Falling in Love" gave me some fierce goosebumps!

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 8:15pm

Ragtime.
Taboo.
Passing Strange.

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 8:29pm

Legally Blonde.
9 To 5.
Little Mermaid, re-tooled of course :)