Posted: 11/5/23 at 7:15pm
Are there no plays trying to get to Broadway this season? Why is he filling his theatres with 10 new musicals, over saturating the market, and surely more to come with the Shubert. It’s sad only non for profits are doing plays these days. And the other landlords are only doing musical revivals this season.
Posted: 11/5/23 at 7:39pm
It's harder to justify sky high ticket prices for plays.
Posted: 11/5/23 at 7:45pm
The landscape for plays is bad, but Bob Wankel is not the problem.
There's pretty much 0 chance of recoupment without a star, spectacle, and/or IP. As discussed before, there are some plays that received acclaim off-Bway that might have moved to Bway in a different climate. That impacts producers who sign on to a play to begin with, and it impacts landlords giving a theater to a play led by a producer who they trust.
Shubert and other landlords see the most gross potential in musicals & star vehicles –– and they probably haven't had as many star-driven plays pitched to them (and guess who used to produce a lot of those). A situation like ROOM last season puts a lot of fear into people, as does the failure of shows like Fat Ham, Topdog, Life of Pi, Ain't No Mo, Pictures From Home, Sidney Brustein, etc.
We're also seeing a number of musicals coming to Bway now that had pre-Bway productions prior to Covid. So there's still a backlog there. Lempicka, Heart of Rock n Roll, etc.
7 commercially-produced plays have been announced & have a theater for this season (Grey House, Just For Us, Shark is Broken, Purlie Victorious, The Cottage, My Son's A Queer, and Enemy of the People). Two of them are only 1-person shows, 4 are closed or about to close, and none have had stellar box office (JLU exceeded my expectations but didn't recoup). More will come. But it's a sign of where the industry is right now.
Updated On: 11/5/23 at 07:45 PM
Posted: 11/5/23 at 7:54pm
Everything in entertainment exists in a continuum, not a vacuum. Low-spectacle, intimate writerly straight plays (with or without a celebrity lead) are feeling less essential right now, because of Peak TV. Remember how the rise of the smart, rapid-fire sitcom in the early eighties made Broadway comedy straight plays of the Neil Simon/Ken Ludwig variety feel a little inessential? If you could see something that good at home for free, you have much less need to pay a premium ticket price to see it in New York City. But musicals gave you something you didn't get at home.
Nothing lasts forever: radio/audio was an outdated and obsolete format until podcasting revitalized it. Plays will have their moment again, this just isn't it.
Posted: 11/5/23 at 8:05pm
My proposed solution is to give all theatre equal respect. Forget how big a house is, how much a production costs, where the location is... who cares? Let the capitalist producers worry about those things. We as audiences have no need to. Why should we care even a little if Here We Are OR a play makes it to Broadway? Audiences can see it where it is now. If there is further demand, let it run where it is. Change cast if necessary. Is it really so hard for people to veer off a little from Times Square? No. Is there any rational reason why "Broadway" deserves more prestige and respect than "Off Broadway"? No.
Open up the Tony Awards to everyone, they have no merit whatsoever if they are based on location or size. Ridiculous.
Problem solved, you're welcome.
Updated On: 11/5/23 at 08:05 PM
Posted: 11/5/23 at 8:18pm
Leave it to ATG as it's their plan to dominate the producing market plays--musicals on Bway. Shuberts don't produce plays anymore like when Gerry and Bernie were involved.
Posted: 11/5/23 at 8:27pm
Jay Lerner-Z said: "My proposed solution is to give all theatre equal respect. Forget how big a house is, how much a production costs, where the location is... who cares? Let the capitalist producers worry about those things. We as audiences have no need to. Why should we care even a little if Here We Are OR a play makes it to Broadway? Audiences can see it where it is now. If there is further demand, let it run where it is. Change cast if necessary. Is it really so hard for people to veer off a little from Times Square? No. Is there any rational reason why "Broadway" deserves more prestige and respect than "Off Broadway"? No.
Open up the Tony Awards to everyone, they have no merit whatsoever if they are based on location or size. Ridiculous.
Problem solved, you're welcome."
I tend to agree with is, though I don't know if it's a solution or an answer or the future. Maybe it was the Sondheim patina or the fact that it's his last piece, but seeing HERE WE ARE in an out of the way, but very beautiful space felt much more special than being treated like cattle by security and house staff at a Broadway house for what will likely be a shallow evening (or afternoon). And going to an Off-Broadway theatre for a casual evening of playgoing feels like what Broadway used to be ten years ago, and what it still should be.
There's money to be made, and money is very necessary and a lot of it is very nice, but nothing about Broadway feels special or joyous, or hospitable for a person who just likes going to the theatre. As for prestige? It doesn't feel prestigious anymore. It feels like a giant pain in the neck, and hopefully the show is good.
Theatre is theatre, and it will always be there, but the Broadway of our childhood dreams, I think, is dead.
Posted: 11/5/23 at 8:28pm
Robbie2 said: "Leave it to ATG as it's their plan to dominate the producing market plays--musicals on Bway. Shuberts don't produce plays anymore like when Gerry and Bernie were involved."
Jacobs & Schoenfeld produced by necessity because there wasn't enough product in the marketplace to fill their theaters. They were also trying to make a name for themselves and build trust (not unlike what ATG is doing rn). Same with Jujamcyn in the 80s-90s.
I don't expect we'll see Shubert lead-producing many shows in the near future after the failure of SOME LIKE IT HOT. They don't do it often, nor are they great at it. There are some who are of the belief that a landlord is better off when they aren't regularly lead-producing their own shows; a little separation of church & state can be good. Let them kick in $250-1mil for shows & producers that they feel particularly passionate about.
Posted: 11/5/23 at 8:36pm
Schoenfeld and Jacobs also had Michael Bennett, and while I'm not sure his two big blockbusters post-SEESAW hold up as well as pieces of writing, the man knew how to put on a damn good show. And in terms of plays, they had Peter Shaffer, Tom Stoppard, Mike Nichols, and so on and so on. I do think talent has something to do with it, and it's not that people are less talented now, but they seem to, especially in the past five or seven years, be rather... fettered rather than un.
