'Swept Away’ to Close on Broadway December 15- Page 6
'Swept Away’ to Close on Broadway December 15
keen on kean
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/1/06
#125'Swept Away’ to Close on Broadway December 15
Posted: 12/14/24 at 7:04pm
PLEASE change the title of this thread.
#126'Swept Away’ to Close on Broadway December 15
Posted: 12/15/24 at 9:14am
It really does look like they have overestimated the demand for this extension. My honest perception is there is a tiny minority of cult-followers of this show - I inform my claim also because someone with connections to the show (or so they claimed) asked me when I saw it why I was there and if I was a fan of the Avett Brothers etc. the guy was manically happy and impressed with the show you could feel the genuine love - BUT the size of the cult is just not enough for the scale of Broadway.
I just wish I could see the show one more time though :(. I have that kind of slightly tugging missing feeling of experiencing those melodies/harmonies, watching those actors and the staging etc. that I know I just won't see much outside of New York City. I'm listening to the title song right now from the "Mignoette" album and while it may be a jukebox musical I'd take the magic of that melody/harmonies any time over an 'original' but generic musical score ironically lacking originality.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
Sutton Ross
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/13
#127'Swept Away’ to Close on Broadway December 29th
Posted: 12/15/24 at 1:27pm
I caught this yesterday with an incredibly enthusiastic crowd. The set, lighting, art, and the direction are all fantastic. I don't think anyone needs to be familiar with the Avett Brothers to enjoy this show, the music is beautiful but generic. Everyone here is right saying this show is not for everybody and I personally thought the smaller space in DC worked better. The cast is working their asses off and they were clearly grateful for all the love they received. The extension was poorly handled though and the cast somehow blaming the audience reminded me of Billy Eichner screaming at straight people for not "showing up" for his movie Bros. How'd that work out?
Since Covid, unless a show is a hit RIGHT out of the gate, it's closed in weeks to just a few months for the most part. But, Some Like it Hot started off slowly and then numbers improved and it ran for a year. But, there are a handful of shows I can think of just this year that shut down so quickly, people weren't even given a chance to discover them. Shows (especially new works like Maybe Happy Ending) need some time to pick up steam and I know most people involved don't want to lose more money, but shutting them down in a matter of weeks to a few months seems wild to me.
Anyways, congratulations to this cast and crew. This has been in development for many years and I'm glad people in three cities got to experience it.
Ensemble1698878795
Stand-by Joined: 11/1/23
#128'Swept Away’ to Close on Broadway December 29th
Posted: 12/15/24 at 6:09pm
I’ve heard that the big demand for the original closing week came from Tony voters who needed to get in. A lot of those tickets were comped, but people trying to buy tickets couldn’t access them, which gave a false sense of demand.
It is never the audience’s fault a show doesn’t catch on. It’s on producers to pay attention to trends. Oh Mary!, Stereophonic, Hells Kitchen, etc. have all proven that building an audience and demand in 2024 starts Off-Bway for original pieces. Swept Away got a theatre, but had no buzz. That’s the producers fault, not ours.
yyys
Stand-by Joined: 6/29/14
#129'Swept Away’ to Close on Broadway December 29th
Posted: 12/17/24 at 1:35pm
majority of balcony seats are now $59
#130'Swept Away’ to Close on Broadway December 29th
Posted: 12/17/24 at 11:55pm
I was at tonight's show, which I guess was the first post initial cancelation performance, and from my vantage point in the mezzanine it looked like a full house.
There was a lot I liked about the show: John Gallagher's random Delco accent, I was really impressed with Adrian Blake Enscoe singing, the set was really cool if functionally limited, and The Avett Brothers songs generally worked for me.
But man, John Logan who is a super accomplished writer really frustrated me with the book. Every change he made in this fictionalized story is less interesting than what happened with the real Mignonette crew. The second half of show show is largely confined to sitting inertly in a life boat, when in real life they were fighting off a shark attack, hunting a turtle, and drinking their own urine.
Most importantly thought the death in the real life boat was straight up murder, which raises far more interesting moral questions than saying the cannibalism was an act of love and self sacrifice.
I'm glad I saw this but also get why the show didn't catch on more with audiences.
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