West Side Story???

Was hoping to bring a group of students to see this production before the lockdown, and had heard it was going to come back from multiple performers, but now it's silence. Has anyone heard what the holdup is, now that the other Ruden shows have found a replacement? I feel like a closing would have been announced by now, but who knows? Thoughts?

I'm waiting with baited breath for an announcement. I saw it three times in previews, and really want to see it again. Next to Company, WSS is the show I am most excited to see again when Broadway is back.

My very uninformed thoughts: I would think that while the show was selling out pre-pandemic and reportedly had a solid advance, most of that probably had to be refunded. And with the Rudin fiasco, it may be harder finding a new producer to come aboard, especially since they'd have to raise money for a show that had polarizing reviews and the controversy over Ramasar. That's a lot of risk exposure for fundraising. Mockingbird and Mormon were already well-established hits, so finding a new producer was probably easier. Perhaps WSS is eligible for some of the Save Our Stages funds to cover costs of reopening - although I've been reading that almost nobody has actually received those funds yet. I feel for the company who is still in limbo, and all of the people working at the Broadway whose jobs are still hanging in the balance. Perhaps the producers feel it's better not to make any kind of announcements or speculation, rather than dangle the carrot in front of their company and then have to yank it away. The truly sucky part of "business" in "show business".

OhBoy17 said: "My very uninformed thoughts: I would think that while the show was selling out pre-pandemic and reportedly had a solid advance, most of that probably had to be refunded. And with the Rudin fiasco, it may be harder finding a new producer to come aboard, especially since they'd have to raise money for a show that had polarizing reviews . That's a lot of risk exposure for fundraising. Mockingbird and Mormon were already well-established hits, so finding a new producer was probably easier. Perhaps WSS is eligible for some of the Save Our Stages funds to cover costs of reopening - although I've been reading that almost nobody has actually received those funds yet.I feel for the company who is still in limbo, and all of the people working at the Broadway whose jobs are still hanging in the balance. Perhaps the producers feel it's better not to make any kind of announcements or speculation, rather than dangle the carrot in front of their company and then have to yank it away. The truly sucky part of "business" in "show business"."

Rudin's producing partners were Barry Diller and David Geffen -- so I doubt money is the issue.  Between the 2 of them they could re-open the show with the loose change in between their sofa cushions.

 

A lot of these reasons are simply projections of folks' issues or reservations about the production.

In the end, if the advance sales were good and they think they can get them back to where they were, it'll re-open.

It seems the Rudin shows are taking longer to announce, for obvious reasons. So, it may not mean anything, since a blockbuster like Book of Mormon announced only a week ago. Or, it does. But it won't be because of that small controversy, absences, or divisiveness of the production on this board. It'll just be money.

I'm assuming you can't divulge much, but did it sound like good or bad news?

I figured they were returning because they were in the Fallon thing.

The scene in the rain is not an issue because everyone will be vaccinated. (And in any event, wouldn't the rain actually strip away any virus that happened to be floating through?)

http://broadwayjournal.com/west-side-story-hangmen-get-sba-funds-to-reopen-hamilton-secures-50-million/

GREAT NEWS. Wish Virginia Woolf had been saved.