The Theatres They Didn’t Get

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 5/28/21 at 6:08pm

I am thinking of successful shows, when the 3 big theatre owners bid for a show.

Take Broadway’s longest running show, The Phantom of the Opera, obviously the Shuberts were successful in the Majestic. This didn’t stop the Nederlanders offering the Minskoff, this got struck down very quickly, however Jujamcyn offered the Al Hirshfeld rent free until they recouped. Cameron Mackintosh wanted the Al Hirshfeld. However the Shuberts pitched on the extra seats in the Majestic and how this will make a different to the weekly nut, this swayed Andrew Lloyd Webber (the one smart producing decision he has made.)

So what other theatres have been offered but politely turned down?

[A1st]

Posted: 5/29/21 at 2:32pm

Recently I remember Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was a hot commodity for theatre owners

https://nypost.com/2016/10/13/broadway-theater-owners-all-want-the-harry-potter-play/

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 5/29/21 at 8:47pm

I remember Rebecca wanted the broadhurst but never got it.... I think it had commitment issues and got cold feet.

[7thbighero]

Posted: 5/29/21 at 8:57pm

Originally Next to Normal was supposed to go to the Longacre, but according to David Stone. "When the Booth Theatre became available... we knew it was the right space for Next to Normal"

[Wick3]

Posted: 5/29/21 at 9:54pm

Originally Dear Evan Hansen had the Belasco and even started selling tickets for that theatre but they then changed to the Music Box theatre after it was available.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 5/30/21 at 12:45am

“ I remember Rebecca wanted the broadhurst but never got it.... I think it had commitment issues and got cold feet.”

WAYYY more than that.

Chicago was offered Richard Rodgers for a few weeks before Steel Pier came in, with the Shuberts offering their namesake after. Once it became a hit, the Nederlanders offered to ditch Steel Pier, but they were already had a contract with the Shuberts.

[ElphabaGoodman]

Posted: 5/30/21 at 12:56am

The Prom was supposed to go to the Cort

[Smaxie]

Posted: 5/30/21 at 7:36am

>I remember Rebecca wanted the broadhurst but never got it.... I think it had commitment issues and got cold feet.<

The Rebecca story is far too complicated for me to delve into, but they had the Broadhurst. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/30/21 at 8:17am

The 2013 revival of Jekyll & Hyde had the Rodgers booked, but ended up at the Marquis instead. There's a couple pages on it in the first volume of Jennifer Tepper's book series.

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 5/31/21 at 12:20am

Phantom of London said: "Iam thinking of successful shows, when the 3 big theatre owners bid for a show.

Take Broadway’s longest running show, The Phantom of the Opera, obviously the Shuberts were successful in the Majestic. This didn’t stop the Nederlanders offering the Minskoff, this got struck down very quickly, however Jujamcyn offered the Al Hirshfeld rent free until they recouped. Cameron Mackintosh wanted the Al Hirshfeld. However the Shuberts pitched on the extra seats in the Majestic and how this will make a different to the weekly nut,this swayed Andrew Lloyd Webber (the one smart producing decision he has made.)

So what other theatres have been offered but politely turned down?"

I re-visit this NY Times article from March 1987 quite often because I love the history of the New York production of Phantom:

https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/20/theater/shubert-signs-phantom-of-the-opera.html?smid=url-share

It was between the Hirschfeld, the Majestic, and the Hellinger for Phantom. The Hirschfeld seemed like it was going to be the winner because it was most similar to Her Majesty's in London. One thing I always wonder about that is the giant pendulum-looking thing in the ceiling of the Hirschfeld. Would that have been removed if Phantom moved in?  I think the look of the theater is all wrong for Phantom anyway. 

The Hellinger was favored because it had 400 more seats, but that was about the only thing it had going for it. 

The Majestic, believe it or not, was pretty much a non-starter because the show simply could not fit inside the theater and because so many rows in the back of the orchestra did not have a view of the chandelier. So the Majestic was pretty much ruled out. 

But then, the Shuberts offered to pay mega bucks to dynamite the heck out of the stage so there would be room for the candleabras, among other things, to rise out of the stage. That, coupled with the 400 extra seats, sealed the deal for the Majestic. 

Also interesting that the show as due to start in November 1987 but did start until late January 1988. With the amount of construction needed, that is understandable. 

 

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 5/31/21 at 12:45am

Another fascinating article from the NY Times about bringing Miss Saigon to Broadway:

https://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/10/theater/miss-saigon-weighs-postponing-opening-as-it-seeks-a-theater.html?smid=url-share

Some interesting tidbits:

-This article is from early 1990 and Mackintosh laments the fact that Miss Saigon may not open on Broadway until spring 1991 because there were no available theaters. It would ultimately open in April 1991 and close in January 2001. 

-Mackintosh wanted Saigon to go into the Hellinger. However, there were plans at the time to build a hotel over the Hellinger and the Neil Simon, and that would require the Hellinger's dressing rooms, which were not original to the theater, to be demolished while they build the hotel, then rebuilt with the hotel. But that would mean that Miss Saigon would have to be delayed over a year. The other catch is that the Times Square Church was already renting it and had a lease for the next 4 years or so. The craziest part was that Mackintosh offered to buy the theater from the Shuberts and they said no way. And we all know what happened next. The Shuberts sold it anyway to the Times Square Church and now it will probably never be a theater again. Here is a link to an article about that hotel: https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/23/nyregion/developer-plans-52-story-hotel-atop-2-theaters.html?smid=url-share

-A reminder of the way Mackintosh used to produce his shows: ''I'm not going to put 'Miss Saigon' on in New York in any less of a way than it is appearing in London,''  And now he does the opposite. 

-Another theater under consideration was the Gershwin. Mackintosh said it was too big. 

-Rumors started to spread about moving Les Miz out of the Broadway to make room for Miss Saigon (which is what happened in November 1990).  The Shubert Theater was a possibility, if Chorus Line were to move out. That show ending up closing that year. 

-Mackintosh said no to the idea of moving Les Miz because it wouldn't save on running costs (wow there's some foreshadowing of his future cheap ways) and he thought it would shorten the New York run of Les Miz, which Mackintosh predicted, at the time, to run until 1992 or 1995. It would go on to run until 2003, and again 2006-2008, and again 2014-2016. 

-the Imperial, which would become Miz's home from 1990-2003, was offered, but Mackintosh wasn't sure if the stage was deep enough. 

Updated On: 5/31/21 at 12:45 AM

[Timon3]

Posted: 5/31/21 at 5:49pm

Thanks for that enjoyed reading both NY Times articles.

The Mark Hellinger Theatre got sold by the Nederlander Organisation, as in the eighties all the big shows were going to the Shuberts, at the that time the Nederlanders were in trouble, now they’re the most successful operator on Broadway, so hindsight says they made a mistake. A legendary theatre that is lost for years to come.

Im Michael Riedel’s first book Razzle Dazzle he says that Phantom was earmarked for the Minskoff, albeit Michael Crawford did appear there, not in the Mark though but in the mega flop ‘Dance of The Vampires.’

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 5/31/21 at 6:28pm

I don’t think they were trying for it, but I REALLY wish that Company was getting the Sondheim theater.