Well reviewed shows that ended as flops

I'm currently writing an article for my schools newspaper about the closing of shows due to big blockbuster musicals stealing away the commercial appeal from small well-received shows by both audiences and critics. I know this may sound stupid, and please, please, please don't post any mean or hateful comments. I would just really appreciate your help. Thanks so much.

Blaxx is right. Take a show like Grey Gardens. One of the best reviewed shows of the year, or any year. Had trouble finding an audience. Producer problems. Marketing problems.

Other shows had nothing to do with it failing.

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As Broadway becomes more and more (and more) of a tourist haven, I think you'll find that the show has to meet a number of basic criteria in order to be seen as "Broadway material". I posted this in another thread, so forgive me for repeating, but it seems apropos.

Look at the shows that have had enormous runs: WICKED, LION KING, PHANTOM, DROWSY, and you'll see a certain trend in all of them: a stylish approach, both in writing and music, a story that can cater to both children and adults (even if on different levels), and the somewhat uncanny ability to reinvent themselves when things start to go stale, either through re-casting or a new marketing approach or even rewriting part of the show. It's a serious balancing act, and few producers really know how to do it well.. which could explain why we've seen so many supposedly sure-fire hits drop by the wayside.

(Yes, I realize CHICAGO isnt kid-friendly, but what it has that people want to see is the sleaze factor — and one should never underestimate that for its potential.)

IMHO, it's all about focus: making sure that everything is following the same creative and production through-line, having the balls to cut what doesnt work and rework what does until the finished piece is about as close to perfection as you can get. Look at WICKED: first time I saw it, I really hated the show. But seeing it again and again (four times now), Ive come to appreciate the skill at which everything in that musical works together. Not many shows can claim that.

And it's not the subject matter: look at SWEENEY or NEXT TO NORMAL. You'd be hardpressed to call either of those typical Broadway fare — and yet they both worked because they had their objectives down pat, and everything contributed to that.

Just my 0.02.

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I dont consider DROWSY a blockbuster, but it *did* have the right combination of elements to lead to a successful run... even for something that lasted a year and a half and has since gone on to become a reasonable staple in the community theatre circuit, something difficult for CATS to pull off.

I'm hardly a fanboy, but thanks for playing. The shows I love closed decades ago, and I doubt we will see their like again. DROWSY is not one of them.

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