Surprised Newsies hasn't extended

Given that Newsies has 8 Tony noms, I am surprised that they havn't extended the show. Could they possibly be changing theaters? Could they afford to wait until June 10th to make that call?

Thanks for the info. I understand that Disney runs things a little differently than the rest of BW. Do they own some of their own theaters? I know the Nederlanders own about 11 of them.

The Nederlanders own 9 Broadway Theatres:
-Nederlander
-Marquis
-Palace
-Minskoff
-Rodgers
-Lunt-Fontanne
-Brooks-Atkinson
-Gershwin
-Neil Simon

Disney owns the New Amsterdam (When they first acquired it they took out a 99 year lease). Outside of that theatre, Disney operates similarly to most other producers and productions.

Also, outside of the New Amsterdam, Disney exclusively uses Nederlander theatres for their productions.

Updated On: 5/15/12 at 07:12 PM

It could be -- just guessing -- that Jeremy Jordan's agents are waiting to see if he wins a Tony for NEWSIES (I think he will) so they can re-negotiate his contract for an open-ended run.

Yeah, Disney's control over the New Amsterdam ensures that they will have at least one show on Broadway. If it wasn't for Disney, the New Amsterdam might not even be operational at the moment. They paid for its entire gut and renovation. Now it is one of, if not the, most beautiful theatres in the Theatre District( or all of New York, for that matter). Disney doing this was also detrimental to the redevelopment of the 42nd Street area.

Updated On: 5/15/12 at 07:21 PM

Detrimental? How so.

I do wonder whether Disney considered other Nederlander theatres before settling for the Nederlander although I think they were offered it by the Nederlanders, it's perfect for Newsies despite not being in a desirable location.

Didn't The Lion King move due to Cameron Mackintosh wanting to have Mary Poppins at the New Amsterdam. In hindsight, it was a good move as Lion King is still packing them in at the Minskoff, not that it was struggling at the New Amsterdam but they actually have better gross potential due to only having two levels and slightly less seats,

Slightly off-topic, but maybe not ...

I'm surprised producing companies are allowed to own the Broadway theatres. This is the same thing that ultimately destroyed the Hollywood studio system. The federal government broke up the "monopolies" and said studios couldn't own and control the theatres.

So why isn't that rule still in place today? Why doesn't it apply to the Broadway theatres?

By the way, the government said they could own one or two "flagship" theatres. That's why Disney can own the El Capitan in Hollywood. But it's a fraction of a percentage of the theatres that are out there. With Broadway, you have a much smaller number to work with. I would think it would be illegal to own more than one (at the very most).

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Some of us miss the seedy Times Square. At least there weren't people dressed like Elmo back then. Well, maybe people DID dress like Elmo, but they weren't wearing Elmo costumes.

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I honestly would not be surprised if this show moves theaters at some point, but I think the Nederlander is the perfect home for it. I don't know what it is, but it just feels right. Size-wize it is perfect, in my opinion.

The Neaderlander Org had to literally beg Disney to take the show to broadway, i have a friend in the cast who told me he didnt find out about the transfer till they were told they were going to be in the Macys Thansgiving Day Parade....a full 2 months after Papermill...if i had to bed though Disney probably wanted the Lunt Fontanne (back) after they had occupied it for 10 years, but Ghosts producers leterally "called" it in June of last year forcing Addams Family to post since the producers publicly said they wanted to instal the tour version, whoch was much better received, but the Neaderlanders forced them out for Ghost....its only a couple hundred seats more than the Neadrlander and it is right off Time Square and doesnt have to deal with the over crowding of 44th and 45th but gets just as much foot traffic...i would possibly guess Disney on waiting for Ghost to flop which it likly will to move Newsies to the Lunt Fontaine aka disney is praying for Ghost's closing Notice to come soon and if it doesnt post a notice right after the Tony's Newsies will remain in the Neaderlander

Disney is expected to announce Newsies as an open-run by the Tonys. Trust me on that.

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I wouldn't surprise if they announce the national tour on Tony night in addition to the open run which we know is going to happen, they're not closing a show that is making $900,000 a week. I still think they should stay put at the Nederlander rather than risk losing momentum by moving the show to a bigger theatre.

Updated On: 5/15/12 at 11:27 PM