The Sound of Music at Lincoln Center — Page 3

I realize that singular solutions to complex problems can be irresistible, but it does not work that way, especially not in the theatre. Carousel was not successful because it wasn't good. Andre Bishop has become lazy and tired and has not excelled in the post-Gersten era. Going to the same director and (now it seems) the same writer/adapter is a formula for boredom. It is threatening the reputation of LCT. Also, these lesser, not that great, shows don't have the draw of the blockbusters. The older generations are either no longer with us or are substantially disinclined to come to the theatre for anything less than something wonderful. What is "beloved" to mainstream boomers is not that well known much less loved by even 60 year olds. And below 45 the associations are to high school, if that. You will be shocked by the lack of recognition Gen-Z (and all the way to millennials) has for Andrews, Goulet, et al. I said above it was sad and pathetic what we are witnessing at an institution that has the pieces to make great theatre repeatedly.

For anyone who's interested, here's the Times pan of the 1998 production directed by the underrated Susan Schulman. Ah, to see Jan Maxwell and Rebecca Luker...I might have gone to see this.

THEATER REVIEW; Sweetness, Light and Lederhosen - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Let's also remember that LCT doesn't need to be in the blockbuster business: If a musical can run for 9 months at a decent gross, win some awards, tour or transfer to London, and have a decent licensing life, that should be considered a success for a nonprofit. Roundabout has managed this deftly.

But Andre has big fears of change, as well as big blind spots, and the limitation of owning only one Broadway house. So we should not expect significant change under his leadership.

pethian said: "Perhaps if Andre Bishop could summon up the Andre of his Playwrights Horizons days when he did innovative pieces, many of which, went on to enjoy commercial success, and would likely find favor with the LCT audience. Remember, he was the producer of the initial production of SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, before it had a second act, which was the climax of a long string of artistic and commercial success during the golden age at PH. Perhaps that was his mission when he did FLYING OVER SUNSET. Hopefully that setback was just that, only a setback."

At Playwrights Horizons he was in his 30s-40s dealing with artists in their 30s-40s (Lapine, Wasserstein, William Finn, Ahrens & Flaherty, 53 year old Sondheim, etc). Now he's in his 70s, often working with artists in their 50s-70s whose quality of output is moving downward. Not that older artists CAN'T do great work, of course.

The only original works they've lead-produced on Broadway in the past decade are Flying Over Sunset, Junk, Oslo, Act One, and The Nance. And I would categorize all of those of having an air of stuffiness, even the ones that I liked a gerat deal. (I am not counting co-productions or works that they incubated that later made it to Broadway under the leadership of other producers.)

The failure of FLYING OVER SUNSET is particularly bad since they knew exactly what shape it was in when it shut down for the pandemic after their final dress rehearsal. A lot of work could have been done to attempt to salvage the show. But at least they're not the only producer who ignored the problems of their bad show during the 1.5 year break...

Updated On: 8/12/23 at 10:06 PM

UWS10023 said: "I think that is all very true. I had heard that if they run at 70% capacity they can stay in the black. But I suppose one has to factor comps and discount tickets into the equation."

Because of the way LCT operates, and the nature of non-profits in general, neither capacity nor grosses are really meaningful. How much the organization and the production got from donors, grants, subsidies, in-kind donations, covered expenses, etc. is the key factor. And with regard to LCT, expenses on quite a few line items either do not exist or are materially reduced because they are in house and/or without some middleperson. I'm confident you heard that correctly, but not everything we hear or read is correct. (Just look at the incorrect information routinely posted here. )

RippedMan said: "I feel like there are plenty of playwrights and creators that LCT could team with to make some new exciting works. Given the budget and space, there could be some really exciting shows. I loved ACT One and I love going to LCT to see how they’ve used the space (same for the Newhouse)"

I agree, Tony Shaoub...,seeing the original "A Man of No Importance " with Roger Rees in the Newhouse. Very pleasant. Give us something new. As long as they don't try to mount the fictional musical in which the wonderful Susan Hayward (Helen Lawson) sang "My Tree" and Poor Patty Dukes number was cut from,anything new and unmusty, vibrant and exciting would be most welcome. 😀