Thoroughly Modern Millie Closing- Page 3

[secret-soul]

Posted: 5/13/04 at 10:15pm

I'm sad to see it go. It's a very uplifting and happy show. I'm sadder, though for my sister...she's been dying to see it since it began but now she won't be able to...very sad. I hope those who lose their jobs cuz of the show will be able to get back in there soon. Summer can be very brutal.

[junglered]

Posted: 5/13/04 at 11:10pm

I really enjoyed seeing TMM and am glad that it had a great run at The Marquis. It was a fun, old-fashioned style musical that had a lot of great comedic moments and fun songs. Loved Harriet Harris, Ann Nathan, and being introduced to the talents of Sutton Foster and Gavin Creel. Thanks for the great memories!

[Sheri]

Posted: 5/14/04 at 12:08am

I'm so sad to hear this news! I loved "Millie" - it was one of my favorite shows before Kevin even joined the cast. What a wonderful cast, ensemble, and group of people involved with the show! I'm heartbroken.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/14/04 at 12:15am

One wild thing to consider is that Urinetown, the thoroughly original new musical that lost the Best Musical Tony to Millie (the show with interpolated songs), ended up having a longer run than that working-so-hard-to-make-you-love-it-crowd-pleaser! Urinetown would still be going strong if the theater wasn't forced to close. Who'da thunk?

[Matt_G]

Posted: 5/14/04 at 12:17am

Namo, I couldn't agree more. I was actually going to type the exact same thing.

[NativeNewYorker]

Posted: 5/14/04 at 1:23am

Does anyone know what theatre Little Women is coming to? I would love to see Sutton back in that theatre...

I love Millie, listen to the album constantly and saw it three times over the past two years. The last time I saw it was right before Sutton left, and I didn't think I could ever see it without her. Still, it's a great, bubbly, happy (even though it made me cry like an idiot every time) show and good for families.

Awe, don't want to let go of Millie AND Aida at the same time!

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 5/14/04 at 1:57am

From Friday's On Stage and Off column in the Times:

"Thoroughly Modern Millie," the 2002 Tony Award-winning musical based on the 1967 film, will be performed for the last time on June 20. The show will have played more than two years, spawned a road tour and a London production and recouped 80 percent of its $9.5 million capitalization. Ticket sales for this Broadway musical have been declining steadily, and the producers were not optimistic about its prospects.

"I don't know that the summer is going to be a bonanza, especially with the Republican National Convention," said Hal Luftig, one of the producers. "With all the security in New York, I don't think it will help business."

Following up on Namo's comment, it's quite ironic that URINETOWN which "everyone" predicted would be a flop on Broadway (too "edgy," too "downtown," it belongs off-Broadway, it won't appeal to the tourists, and as Little Sally said, it has a "terrible" title) ended up recouping its entire investment (at the much smaller Henry Miller) and finished its run with a respectable profit, even though it didn't have the benefit of the Best Musical Tony, while MILLIE -- the commercial "feel good" "tourist" show -- will end up losing millions (the amount left unrecouped + advertising and marketing expenses).
Times Story on Millie Closing

[DAME]

Posted: 5/14/04 at 2:23am

Namo;
Didn't Urinetown loose to The Producers? When I saw Urinetown was the Saturday before it was suppose to officialy open for its broadway transfer. Then September 11 happened. wait a minute.. no Namo I think you are right. Producers was the season before. Anyway; I just saw the National tour of Urinetown here in Los Angeles tonight. Brilliant. But I will write my review tomorrow on a different post.

[shira467]

Posted: 5/14/04 at 2:27am

Ah, another LA person - I'm going home in 9 days - and I don't have time to check out Urinetown at the Wilshire Theater. But I did call every one of my friends and tell them to see it! Or I will force them to listen to somethig classic broadway (which they hate!) as punishment for not seeing this great comedy!

[~FloweryFriend~]

Posted: 5/14/04 at 3:16am

I'm really surprised. I've always assumed that praise from the Tonys guaranteed a run of at least a good 4 or 5 years. I only wish that I'd gotten a chance to see TMM. Oh well.

[junglered]

Posted: 5/14/04 at 9:59am

I enjoyed "Urinetown" very much, also. Saw the it on B-way with Hunter Foster, Jeff McCarthy, John Cullum... and also saw the tour last fall. Very original and clever. Personally, I was rooting for Urinetown to take the Tony for Best Musical, but was not disappointed with Millie winning. Both shows were enjoyable and had their own merits. I'm very glad that Broadway fans supported them both and that both shows are having successful tours!

[PB ENT.]

Posted: 5/14/04 at 10:09am

I haven't read through all the threads, but agree that Mille had as good a run as anyone can expect these days. I, too wish it would hang on through summer for the tourists. And I agree with Namo about Urinetown. It's original, unique and well done!

There's an intersting and intelligent thread on this topic at TalkinBroadway, worth looking at especially this post:

http://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/display_message.php?id=14000

RE>http://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/display_message.php?id=14000>http://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/display_message.php?id=14000

RE: "Little Women" When I interviewed Robert Meffe , musical director for LW, he was reluctant to say which theater was promised, but indicated that a few shows would be closing ( no exploding revelation there) to make room for Little Women and others and it that will likely open around March on Broadway.

Happy Weekend!

[rlbgbc]

Posted: 5/14/04 at 10:18am

This time next year -- or a year and 1/2 from now -- dinner, stock, school, and community theatre productions will abound.

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 5/14/04 at 10:34am

Awww, that is sad. Everything is closing...

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

Posted: 5/14/04 at 11:35am

What will the Republicans do?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/14/04 at 1:07pm

So the common wisdom at the time was that Millie took the Tony because the road producers have such a strong voting block and they need something they can sell in the hinterlands. The Broadway production of Millie never even ended up recouping its investment. Urinetown, however, did.

Lots of times, producers count on the tour to help recoup. However, just to pick one city on the Millie tour as an example, in Boston the show played for one week and simply hemmorhaged money. It played at the non-profit Wang Center for the Performing Arts, and the Wang lost $300,000 in one week. As a result of this, the Wang was forced to make the purely economic decision not to renew its contract for Boston Ballet's annual production of The Nutcracker, which has played at the Wang forever. Instead, the Wang will host The Radio City Christmas Spectacular road version in the hopes of big commercial success. This has caused much scrambling in the world of Boston theater.

So, one week of Millie in one city has had a negative ripple effect throughout the Boston arts community. And the reverberations will be felt for years.

But Urinetown, the little show that could, made back its money and didn't seem to disrupt anything, anywhere.

[Missy37]

Posted: 5/14/04 at 1:36pm

I heard a while ago that the Nederlanders wanted La Cage to go into the Marquis, but the producers of La Cage wanted the Palace. Nederlander might have something to go in there.

[LetsGo]

Posted: 5/14/04 at 2:21pm

I don't think it's necessarily true that Urinetown would still be going strong if it hadn't been forced to close. If it had been so super-strong, it wouldn't have closed. Other shows had to vacate theaters -- Les Miz, Chicago, Beauty & Beast -- and they didn't close.

Millie was not fantabulous, but it was entertaining. I personally thought Urinetown was overrated. It was okay, just not that great. And writing a musical spoofing musicals is not an original idea anymore (or then). Also, I think the producers/promoters deliberately made a fuss over the title, when really it wasn't that big a deal. In fact the word "urine" in the title was about the most offcolor thing in the show. Now that we've had to watch gorilla masturbation and conversations about cunnilingus, who would object to Urinetown?

[Ilive4nyc]

Posted: 5/14/04 at 2:34pm

I know this won't happen, but it'd be neat if Sutton came back to close the show.

[DAME]

Posted: 5/14/04 at 2:38pm

That Hussy needs to get her hair styled and stop looking like she has always just gotten out of bed. And if I were her agent ; I wouldn't let her go anywhere near Millie again. She has done it. It is done. She needs to move on.

[WindyCityActor]

Posted: 5/14/04 at 2:45pm

to play Millie!!!

[ChildOfEden]

Posted: 5/14/04 at 3:11pm

It's all about Sutton!!! It's just not the same without her!

[DAME]

Posted: 5/14/04 at 3:14pm

Therefore the show must close. Cause it is crap.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 5/14/04 at 5:12pm

Namo, you bring up an interesting point. However, remember that Millie didn't pay back it's investment and Urinetown did because Millie cost MILLIONS more than Urinetown did. I don't know how closely you pay attention to Broadway grosses, but Millie almost always nearly doubled (if not more) Urinetown's weekly gross and total attendence. People generally were willing to pay more money to see Millie, and more people DID see Millie. The problem is Millie costs more. From the theatre it plays in to the number of people it has to pay to the people themselves; it all cost more.

In the end Millie was probably seen by more people and it probably made more money, but since its output was MUCH larger than Urinetown's it's closing sooner. So it WAS a bigger show than Urinetown.

And what you said about the tour is interesting. But besides that...the tour is total crap compared to the Broadway production.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/14/04 at 5:38pm

But of course it didn't make more money because it ended up losing money. And remember, people excused the Tony voters because they have to vote on the show that will be the money-maker on the road. If the Boston experience is any indication, doesn't look like that worked out either.

Remember, people on this site are often reminding each other that it's called "show business," because it is a business. Apparently, a show like Millie that exists to sell audiences the idea and notions of "old fashionedness" turned out not to be a money maker while Urinetown, the show people thought would close quickly did in fact not. So, so much for the predictors of business. Just looking at the bottom line, Urinetown was the success and Millie was not. And that's the bottom line.