Toronto's "The Producers" closing early?

[sabrelady]

Posted: 5/30/04 at 4:01pm

Interesting sidebar here. The big show which started only in Dec 2003 is already announcing a scheduled closing of July 2004 only 9 months from the opening! The investors feel that they can get the return on their money by then if they have near sell outs for each show. ( supposedly financed @ 10 million!) The question posited then is: Is the Toronto Market oversaturated? ( remember the overflow of Stratford & Shaw festivals) OR is it that the show itself really ISN"T the grand tome its been cracked up to be? (Incidently URINETOWN also just opened to a rave review)Opinions pls. Updated On: 5/30/04 at 04:01 PM

[DAME]

Posted: 5/30/04 at 4:11pm

producers is just not all that. Plain and simple.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/30/04 at 4:11pm

What a shame, I was hoping for a Canadian cast recording, but it's not Nathan and Matthew, and the audiences know that... the show looses half of it's spark without them..... we get to see it for what it really is, which is serviceable at the most.... Updated On: 5/30/04 at 04:11 PM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 5/30/04 at 5:57pm

I think the performances of Nathan and Matthew blinded people to the fact that THE PRODUCERS is merely and entertaining bauble. It's not the greatest musical comedy ever written.

[judy_in_disguise]

Posted: 5/31/04 at 12:43am

It's a marketing gimmick.
Advance tickets aren't selling well right now. So Mirvish says they're closing the show, and people will rush to get tickets as soon as they can. We've seen this in Toronto over and over again wtih Lion King, Mamma Mia, Phantom (which was here for what, 8 or 10 years?). Take it easy .
And yet, I do occasionally hear comments from old ladies that they "don't like being made fun of", and maybe some people have a hard time handling singing Nazis.

Posted: 5/31/04 at 2:35am

They have done it before but never so early in a run. Updated On: 5/31/04 at 02:35 AM

[DAME]

Posted: 5/31/04 at 2:49am

Judy;
You look like such a happy hussy in that picture

[judy_in_disguise]

Posted: 5/31/04 at 10:14am

hehe I AM a happy hussy :)

[sabrelady]

Posted: 6/5/04 at 1:09pm

Interesting article in NOW magazine this week blaming the Producers "failure" on the Nazi subject matter being too unsuitable for the "minivan" set and wait for it... the homophobic portrayal of the steriotypical gay characters!? Apparently the reviewer felt that it was only the presence of the "out" Lane that made it supportable on B'way and that B'way was also more accepting (sophisticated?) to accept the Nazi's stuff.
So, as a Jew I am not bothered by the Nazi stuff cos its supposed to be ludicrous but how do those members of the "gay persuasion" find this commentary? Valid, or what? Just curious. Updated On: 6/5/04 at 01:09 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/5/04 at 1:13pm

Lemme just say, I was the loudest laugher when I saw the non-Lane production of The Producers and the spotlight stayed on the slowly moving hand of Carmen Ghia as he made his exit. The gay jokes seemed so loving and so "insider" that there was absolutely nothing to be offended by. I remember thinking the Carmen Ghia character in the movie seemed more mean-spirited when I saw it decades ago. I don't know if I'd feel the same way if I saw it again.

[Craig]

Posted: 6/5/04 at 1:40pm

It is a shame it's closing already..

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/5/04 at 1:43pm

I wish they would move the production to Broadway to please Kramer.

[krisjoseph]

Posted: 6/5/04 at 1:49pm

I'm sure there will be tons of speculation on why The Producers is "closing early" in TDot. I have always maintained that without Nathan, Matthew, and with the bad timing of the Toronto opening (far too long after the Broadway debut, and long after Nathan and Matthew's departure in NYC began to expose how "average" the show really is), it wouldn't last very long.

At some point down the road, I think Broadway historians will look back and see the runaway success of "The Producers" at Tony time, 2002 as a symbol of the city looking for a pair of rose-tinted glass with which to view the world after 9/11. Had The Producers opened in almost any other year, it would not have swept up as many awards as it did... all IMHO, of course.

And here's one more prediction: Brooks' upcoming adaptation of "Young Frankenstein" is doomed from the get-go, based on expectation alone.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/5/04 at 1:49pm

Or not.