'Swept Away’ to Close on Broadway December 15- Page 4

[ACL2006]

Posted: 12/8/24 at 11:11am

Closing on December 29 would make more sense and the show would capitalize on the bump in sales from the holidays. Even January 5 could be viable.

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Posted: 12/8/24 at 6:29pm

Maybe jukebox musicals really work only when the jukebox they're choosing has a baked in guaranteed enormous big money paying audience.

I also feel like if we're not doing a guaranteed butts in seats tourist fare of Taylor Swift: The Musical or something, why not just have composers write original music for this story?

I saw the title "Swept Away" which sounds like musicals that already exist, and "featuring the songs of the Abbott Brothers" and I just didn't bother. 

People will show up for complicated interesting theatre if you give them a reason to. Jukebox musical on the poster and you just lost half your "complicated interesting theatre" goers. You either sell out the easy low hanging fruit show, or you take the risk and offer your audience "here is something NEW" 

 

Updated On: 12/8/24 at 06:29 PM

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 12/8/24 at 6:38pm

rattleNwoolypenguin said: "Maybe jukebox musicals really work only when the jukebox they're choosing has a baked in guaranteed enormous big money paying audience.

I also feel like if we're not doing a guaranteed butts in seats tourist fare of Taylor Swift: The Musical or something,why not just have composers write original music for this story?"

Girl From the North Country ​​​​​​did well, considering it was playing during the pandemic. But that might be the exception that proves the rule.

Updated On: 12/8/24 at 06:38 PM

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Posted: 12/8/24 at 6:43pm

KevinKlawitter said: "rattleNwoolypenguin said: "Maybe jukebox musicals really work only when the jukebox they're choosing has a baked in guaranteed enormous big money paying audience.

I also feel like if we're not doing a guaranteed butts in seats tourist fare of Taylor Swift: The Musical or something,why not just have composers write original music for this story?"

Girl From the North Country​​​​​​did well, considering it was playing during the pandemic. But that might be the exception that proves the rule."

 

Dylan is MASSIVE. Wealthy boomers shell out for Dylan like young people shell out for Taylor Swift. Night and day compared to Abbott Brothers.

Also Bob Dylan, it's always been iconically about his lyrics more so than his voice.

People will show up for better singing on Dylan songs and to hear the beauty of the songwriting.

Updated On: 12/8/24 at 06:43 PM

[ACL2006]

Posted: 12/8/24 at 7:19pm

If they are to extend, it needs to be announced ASAP tomorrow.

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 12:15am

I had a ticket for 12/22 and telecharge already refunded us, if they were going to do a stunt and "extend" the closing notice they wouldn't have done refunds like that, this show is sadly going to go out on 12/15 but atleast with full houses

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 1:43am

I wouldn’t consider this a straight-up jukebox musical. It’s based on a concept album that is inspired by the Mignonette shipwreck. It’s not like someone thought, you know whose catalogue we should turn into a musical: the Avett Brothers. I mean, sure, I’d still see that, but the story was baked into their original album.

I saw this tonight and liked it more than a lot of people on this board, I’m gathering. I wish it were given more of a chance. It’s definitely not a show that people are going to flock to for some holiday cheer, but if this opened late April, it would be getting that post-Tony noms crowd. And maybe it’s just me, but not all folk music sounds the same, and this didn’t sound as samesy to me as others have mentioned. The music was appropriate for the storytelling moments and offered just the right amount of relief when the story gets heavy. Count me a fan.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 2:46am

I understand the idea of “taking a chance” on something, but most people don’t have the expendable income to shell out $100+ to see if they’d like something.

[inception]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 7:33am

It took them too long to start offering discounts for previews.  I got a decent mezz seat for around $80 because I kept waiting.

It still seems weird to me that there seemed like a concerted effort to create bad word of mouth for this - like the super negative post on Reddit  from someone claiming to have been at the invited dress.  Either that or the marketing team did a very poor job vetting who got invited.  The continued use of the word cannibalism by some people to describe the theme of the show,  when that is not at all the focus...again probably another marketing error to not be upfront and advertise this as being a drama about a shipwreck & survival.  I would have also used Stark Sands more in promo artwork instead of just the drawing of a ship, since he's a recognizable face from his previous work.

Updated On: 12/9/24 at 07:33 AM

[SingingEachtoEach]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 7:53am

inception said: "It took them too long to start offering discounts for previews. I got a decent mezz seat for around $80 because I kept waiting.

It still seems weird to me that there seemed like a concerted effort to create bad word of mouth for this - like the super negative post on Reddit from someone claiming to have been at the invited dress. Either that or the marketing team did a very poor job vetting who gotinvited. The continued use of the word cannibalism by some people to describe the theme of the show, when that is not at all the focus...again probably another marketing error to not be upfront and advertise this as beinga drama about a shipwreck &survival. I would have also used Sark Sands more in promo artwork instead of just the drawing of a ship, since he's a recognizable face from his previous work."

Eh, I'm someone who liked the show but I think this is a bit much.  The cannibalism is something you uncomfortably build up to and is the big note you walk away with.  And not everyone invited to.the dress will like the musical.

Some of the marketing choices, like sharing audience reactions like it's a horror film, were really poor.  They didn't seem to know how to market this thing.  

[keen on kean]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 8:54am

I get the impression that much of the bad word of mouth has come from people who know neither the show nor the Avett Brothers. And the statement that the show is about cannibalism which I have heard repeatedly baffles me. The show is actually about devotion and sacrifice in a time of threat. The ending demonstrates redemption by love. A dark story with a meaningful end. I loved it.

[SingingEachtoEach]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 9:41am

keen on kean said: "I get the impression that much of the bad word of mouth has come from people who know neither the show nor the Avett Brothers. And the statement that the show is about cannibalism which I have heard repeatedly baffles me. The show is actually about devotion and sacrifice in a time of threat. The ending demonstrates redemption by love. A dark story with a meaningful end. I loved it."

So I don't know how to engage in this discussion without going heavily into spoilers.  If you want to see this show and don't want to be spoiled, please go on.  Please note I saw this last year so I don't 100% remember my immediate impressions.

The problem is then the final focus, why's it on the mate instead of the brother.  We hear that the brother lives on and had this full life, but not necessarily how he was impacted specifically by his brother.  The Captain doesn't seem to really mentally recover and while the Mate sings about it, it doesn't seem like his life really changed that much either.  Ultimately, for the Mate, who is the frame of this story, would the other brother dying really have changed anything?

So what are we supposed to walk away with here.  There's an argument it's subtle, you don't want to be too on the nose, but if audiences are walking away not fully getting it, that's a problem.  Many of these shows with sad endings pretty much explicitly tell you their thesis (Hadestown, Sweeny Todd).  The show wasn't terribly subtle up to the ending, so the end wasn't the place to do it.

Again, I'm someone who on balance actually liked this musical.  The performancs were fantastic and it had some excellent moments.  But I think it needed some work on the book from what I saw in DC and from what I understand, it didn't get it.

Updated On: 12/9/24 at 09:41 AM

[Kad]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 10:01am

The show may not be about cannibalism, but when you seriously depict cannibalism, that's what people are going to talk about. Swept Away became "the serious show about shipwrecked sailors who resort to cannibalism." Is that fair? Probably not. But it's also not inaccurate and I imagine it turned off many ticketbuyers- particularly women, who make up 65% of Broadway audiences per the League's 22-23 demographic report.

 

 

[witchoftheeast2]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 10:30am

The way Christine Dwyer went off on social media about the shows closing really put a bad taste in my mouth.

In good news, the final week is almost all sold out 

[yyys]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 11:23am

Still a jukebox since none of the songs really advance any of the plot.

HeyMrMusic said: "I wouldn’t consider this a straight-up jukebox musical. It’s based on a concept album that is inspired by the Mignonette shipwreck. It’s not like someone thought, you know whose catalogue we should turn into a musical: the Avett Brothers. I mean, sure, I’d still see that, but the story was baked into their original album.

I saw this tonight and liked it more than a lot of people on this board, I’m gathering. I wish it were given more of a chance. It’s definitely not a show that people are going to flock to for some holiday cheer, but if this opened late April, it would be getting that post-Tony noms crowd. And maybe it’s just me, but not all folk music sounds the same, and this didn’t sound as samesy to me as others have mentioned. The music was appropriate for the storytelling moments and offered just the right amount of relief when the story gets heavy. Count me a fan."

 

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 11:45am

yyys said: "Still a jukebox since none of the songs really advance any of the plot.

HeyMrMusic said: "I wouldn’t consider this a straight-up jukebox musical. It’s based on a concept album that is inspired by the Mignonette shipwreck. It’s not like someone thought, you know whose catalogue we should turn into a musical: the Avett Brothers. I mean, sure, I’d still see that, but the story was baked into their original album."

The other caveat is that of the 14 songs in the show (with one new song), only 5 are from the Mignonette album, and the story has been rewritten a good amount from the original historical event that the album was based on, so it does feel more like a jukebox than something like Tommy.  A lot of the criticism of the book definitely lies with how the songs don't always fit the scenes that they appear in.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 11:47am

witchoftheeast2 said: "The way Christine Dwyer went off on social media about the shows closing really put a bad taste in my mouth.

In good news, the final week is almost all sold out"

 

What did she say?

[ACL2006]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 12:00pm

witchoftheeast2 said: "The way Christine Dwyer went off on social media about the shows closing really put a bad taste in my mouth.

In good news, the final week is almost all sold out"

They really could have managed to run for two more weeks.

[bdn223]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 12:19pm

ACL2006 said: "witchoftheeast2 said: "The way Christine Dwyer went off on social media about the shows closing really put a bad taste in my mouth.

In good news, the final week is almost all sold out"

They really could have managed to run for two more weeks."

They were running out of cash and the way the holiday's fell this year they were not likely so see much of a benefit from playing through 12/29 if they were going to allow investors to take advantage of the tax write-off for their investment this year. 

Remember Broadway has gotten significantly more expensive in terms of capitalization post Covid, and more and more producers are turning to first time investors to raise funds. These first time investors are much more likely to need the write off to justify the investment. Add to that they way the Holiday's fell this year likely means a weaker year for ticket sales.

[witchoftheeast2]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 1:25pm

TotallyEffed said: "witchoftheeast2 said: "The way Christine Dwyer went off on social media about the shows closing really put a bad taste in my mouth.

In good news, the final week is almost all sold out"



What did she say?"

It was in her stories so I can't find that again, but check out  her most recent post. She was blaming audiences for seeing other things, not Swept Away. I just feel like everyone is forcing everyone else to see other shows that they might not even be interested. I read the plot. I do not want to see it. But in her eyes that makes me an awful person because I want to see other shows? It's justified anger, but telling audiences we're seeing the wrong shows, just being very, very rude. 

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 1:44pm

Christine Dwyer needs to blame the producers and the marketing team because I've literally heard more about this show since the closing notice last week than I have since it was announced. 

[Duckie4]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 4:33pm

I'm not very good at figuring out why some shows close early and others don't. I'm a 63 year woman who doesn't live in NYC but manages to take enough trips up there to see an awful lot of shows. This is what I DO know....

1. I love new theatre and love to support it. And I do like edgy, dark material and love to support that, too. 

BUT

2. I have no earthly idea who the Avett Brothers are so it wasn't high on my list of things to see. I don't disparage jukebox musicals, but it's not tempting to see a musical that has one bands' songs when I don't even know if it's music I'd like.  And expecting a ticket buyer to research a band to see if it's even music they WOULD like is expecting too much. (Someone mentioned Girl from the North Country....people, that's the music of a whole generation of theatre goers that will pay full price for a ticket.)

3. I know the shows want us to support them early in the run but Jesus, we don't all live nearby. I probably would have eventually seen the show on my next trip, but it's the holidays, after all, and this isn't local theatre for many of us. Ranting on social media about theatre goers needing to see a show in the first four weeks is a bit....I don't know, presumptuous? Yes, I know it comes from their frustration, but sheesh...

[JasonC3]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 4:54pm

Duckie4 said: "3. I know the shows want us to support them early in the run but Jesus, we don't all live nearby. I probably would have eventually seen the show on my next trip, but it's the holidays, after all, and this isn't local theatre for many of us. Ranting on social media about theatre goersneeding to see a show in the first four weeks is a bit....I don't know, presumptuous? Yes, I know it comes fromtheir frustration, but sheesh..."

It is not particularly presumptuous given that almost 20 million people live in the greater New York metropolitan area and tens of thousands visit weekly,  Maybe that's who the message was for instead of someone in your situation. 

 

Updated On: 12/9/24 at 04:54 PM

[keen on kean]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 4:59pm

SingingEachtoEach said: "keen on kean said: "I get the impression that much of the bad word of mouth has come from people who know neither the show nor the Avett Brothers. And the statement that the show is about cannibalism which I have heard repeatedly baffles me. The show is actually about devotion and sacrifice in a time of threat. The ending demonstrates redemption by love. A dark story with a meaningful end. I loved it."

So I don't know how to engage in this discussion without going heavily into spoilers. If you want to see this show and don't want to be spoiled, please go on. Please note I saw this last year so I don't 100% remember my immediate impressions.

The problem is then the final focus, why's it on the mate instead of the brother. We hear that the brotherlives on and had this full life, but not necessarily how he was impacted specifically by his brother. The Captain doesn't seem to really mentally recover and while the Mate sings about it, it doesn't seem like his life really changed that much either. Ultimately, for the Mate, who is the frame of this story, would the other brother dying really have changed anything?

So what are we supposed to walk away with here. There's an argument it's subtle, you don't want to be too on the nose, but if audiences are walking away not fully getting it, that's a problem. Many of these shows with sad endings pretty much explicitly tell you their thesis (Hadestown, Sweeny Todd). The show wasn't terriblysubtle up to the ending, so the end wasn't the place to do it.

Again, I'm someone who on balance actually liked this musical. The performancs were fantastic and it had some excellent moments. But I think it needed some work on the book from what I saw in DC and from what I understand, it didn't get it."

CONTINUED SPOILER ALERT:

 

I saw the show during previews and then this last weekend, and even at this relatively late date in the run, I feel that they have tightened up the final scene when they have stepped away from the boat. The captain had a sad short life, the Little Brother a good long one. The Big Brother took the captain's part - the decision maker - and gave his brother a chance to go back to Melodie Anne as he had dreamed to do, once he understood where his happiness was. And the Mate? The show is his confessional: he finally tells the secret he has lived with, and although he is already dying, he has left that burden behind. It isn't Shakespeare but it isn't all that obscure either.

I am not surprised, I guess, that people in all walks of entertainment are dealing with audiences that are so very concrete and literal about what they see. Even WICKED how seems to have capital letters and underlining in its content.

Thank you for your thoughtful comments.

 

[MezzoDiva47]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 8:07pm

quizking101 said: "The word swirling among the cast (as stated at the stage door) was that the response to the closing was overwhelming enough where they may add a week or two of additional performances if they feel there is true demand for it."

ok boomer