The Teeth producer screwed the pooch

They squandered the opportunity to bring Teeth to Broadway.  All new musicals die at New World Stages.  A more skilled producer would have rode the wave from PH all the way to a small Broadway theatre this spring. They would have won musical, book, score, as well as leading actress EASY.  What a wonderful message that would have sent.  They truly robbed Alyse her Tony.  Teeth would have been an iconic Broadway moment that has now been reduced to cult off-Broadway flop status.  What a phenomenal, timely, and iconic musical and character they’ve created.  Bravo to Michael R Jackson, Anna K Jacobs and Sarah Benson.  Let this musical live on forever in theaters across America and across the world!!! It is desperately needed. 

Updated On: 1/28/25 at 05:48 PM

It could still be done! Since you have such faith in it, why don't you put up the investment for it and pay for it to open on Broadway this spring? I mean, since you're so sure of its success on Broadway, why not invest every penny you have into it? Seems like a surefire way to become rich!

GottaGetAGimmick420 said: "You also can't win a Tony on a money losing show."

Tell that to PASSION and A STRANGE LOOP!

But that's just nitpicking.

There is no place on Broadway for TEETH. Heck, there was barely a place Off-Broadway for TEETH.

Dirty Chestnut said: "People said the same about Book of Mormon. And that thing has been running strong for 14 years now."

I got an audible laugh at that because I was wondering if this was going to turn into an "only Scott Rudin knows how to produce hits on Broadway" discussion. 

The South Park guys were a bigger brand than either Michael Jackson (the one we're talking about) or the Teeth movie. While Book of Mormon talked about genital mutilation, Teeth actually showed it then hung the body parts from the ceiling. Teeth was not aiming to be a bring the whole family to see it show, which at least up to a point, Book of Mormon is. 

For what it's worth, I actually liked Teeth more than Book of Mormon, but that might just be I had unrealistically high expectations for Book of Mormon after years of listening to the soundtrack. 

Updated On: 1/28/25 at 08:42 PM

That’s funny, I actually was going to mention Scott rudin.  He pulled through for Nikki m James and the only reason Mormon didn’t get leading actor was because Rannells and Gad split the vote. Rudin would have run rough shot over Audra and Nicole to get Alyse over the finish line.  

Dirty Chestnut said: "Rudin would have run rough shot over Audra and Nicole to get Alyse over the finish line."

Just like how he ran rough shot over Cynthia Erivo to get Audra McDonald over the finish line?

Just like how he ran rough shot over Ben Platt to get David Hyde Pierce over the finish line?

Just like how he ran rough shot over Frank Langella to get Mark Strong over the finish line?

Just like how he ran rough shot over Tony Shalhoub to get Josh Henry over the finish line?

Just like how he ran rough shot over Andrew Garfield to get Denzel Washington over the finish line?

Just like how he ran rough shot over Alex Sharp to get Larry David and Bill Nighy over the finish line?

Just like how he ran rough shot over James Corden to get Philip Seymour Hoffman over the finish line?

Just like how he ran rough shot over Bryan Cranston to get Jeff Daniels, Nathan Lane, and John Lithgow over the finish line for their 3-way Tony win for Best Actor?

Dirty Chestnut said: "People said the same about Book of Mormon. And that thing has been running strong for 14 years now."

Nope. The first time I heard about Book of Mormon was a report about a backers' audition where Sondheim attended and thought it was hilarious and people left writing seven-figure checks. I don't remember any point in the evolution of the show where people predicted it would be a flop.

I remember the vibe around Book Of Mormon - it definitely was not predicted to be a catastrophic failure but as mentioned it had discount codes in early previews. I think it’s fair to say that at the time no one thought it would become one of the longest running shows on Broadway (or at least, no one wanted to say that publicly), although after a few weeks/months everything changed and it felt like an unstoppable force. It took Hamilton if I recall to take this kind of hype to the next level. 

I LOVED this show, but was absolutely perplexed by this show's marketing. I saw paid ads featuring Lupita N'Yongo on the red carpet on opening night, and several ads that featured audience members laughing or smiling, one of which seemed to be so low quality that I think it was a selfie from an iPhone?

Finally, a week or two before closing, or at least after closing was announced, did I start to see ads featuring actual images and video footage of the production itself. 

As the target demo and HUGE fan of this show, advertising by showing smiling audience members or an A list star on the red carpet would have been a HUGE turnoff for me. It screams of a marketing team that doesn't know it's own show and is grasping at straws to try and show people that someone famous attended the show and that audience members--at least at one point--laughed. 

This show was weird and wild but also smart. I just don't see how that marketing approach would bring in its target demo. Its marketing that appeals to tourists who don't know what they want when buying tickets to something. 
 

Completely agree with BroadwayGirl107, I was away when this was at Playwrights and until I was comped in at New World late in the run, I had no idea of what was good about the show. The marketing, outside the cool key art, was terrible and communicated nothing. Too late to recommend.