Look how long Cats ran. That's all I'm going to say.
They could still come up with some stunt casting ala Weissler.
I really do hope it closes soon. Having seen the show (on tour), I've NEVER understood what all of the fuss was about. I truly think "The Fully Monty" should still be running, NOT "The Producers"!
Broadway Star Joined: 5/8/04
Broadway Star Joined: 12/31/69
I believe that sometimes threads like this are started just to create a rumor.
Well this one was created for a legitimate discussion.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/11/04
It's really sad when someone starts a thread like this. I know I said something earlier about The Producers probably lasting a couple more years and that maybe Young Frankenstein will move in after, but alot of the negative feelings alot of people hold for The Producers is amazing.
Isn't a line in Goodbye, "If you think it stinks, keep your big mouth shut". I've seen it 6 times going for a 7th in April, and I still laugh. It's a great show, and it's just going through a little rough patch, but it's still making a good amount of profit.
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"Like that bunney on tv with the battery, I just keep going and going and going. Chasing the music, trying to get home."
-Jersey Boys
There is no denying it is a great show - the amount of Tonys won shows that! But i also think there is no denying the audiences are down...I'd give (IMO) about year to a year and half max left on Broadway
but alot of the negative feelings alot of people hold for The Producers is amazing.
Why is that so amazing? You can't please all the people all the time and people who don't enjoy The Producers might not appreciate the fact that the show cleaning up at the Tonys caused a lot of other shows to close.
Isn't a line in Goodbye, "If you think it stinks, keep your big mouth shut".
I don't know if it is or not, but that kind of reaction from people never fails to irritate me.
Hasn't "Young Frankenstein" been on hold since Anne Bankcroft passed away? Is Mel Brooks still in mourning?
If he is, he could just kill two birds with one stone and close his show. Then he could mourn both passings at the same time.
Wow, munkustrap178, that sounded a little harsh. Dang.
However, I too agree that I wish we could go back to how Broadway used to be where most shows didn't last for more than a couple of years.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
Is it possible that people are finally realizing that THE PRODUCERS isn't a bad show, but it's not the sensational hit that everyone thought it was when it first opened?
I'm not saying it's a a turkey, but it wasn't as great as everyone was saying.
I saw Nathan and Matthew in the original cast and found that the show was 2 hours of screaming. Nathan Lane proved himself to be a fine actor when I saw him in TRUMBO, but as Max he screamed throughout the show. Maybe that's why he had vocal problems. Dunno.
That same season saw THE FULL MONTY open. I though that MONTY was a cleverer show with better performances and a better score. I have the OBC of THE PRODUCERS and haven't been able to listen to it more than two or three times. MONTY is a recording I continue to enjoy.
The question is, "Why did the public go crazy about THE PRODUCERS to begin with?"
Being a fan this thread does make me a little sad but I don't think the Producers needs to run for decades, I really don't think that is any mark of whether a show is really 'good' or
'bad' anyway. For me Phantom doesn't do it, but I could see the producers over and over. It's not the best thing ever to hit broadway but it makes me happy when I see it and sometimes that's what I want.
Anyway I think the Producers has a couple of years left in it it wont be Broadway's longest running show, but hey it doesn't need to be to make it's mark, it already has whatever people think of it
I think another big problem with The Producers is that is just doesn't seem like the kind of show that inspires repeat attendance. It seems to me that the shows that last the longest are the ones that induce audiences to come back over and over again and not just one stop tourist ventures.
"I think another big problem with The Producers is that is just doesn't seem like the kind of show that inspires repeat attendance. It seems to me that the shows that last the longest are the ones that induce audiences to come back over and over again and not just one stop tourist ventures."
Tell that to Stephen Sondheim.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/9/04
The Producers suffered from OVERHYPE...
People could not get tickets to it for a solid 2 years, and that hurt it's long term longevity...
SPAMALOT has the Monty Python Factor, so, it will last for a long long time...
The Producers just had MASSIVE MASSIVE HYPE and Nathan and Matthew, both of which are no longer associated with the show (HYPE and both cast members)...
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
How is Spamalot better off than the Producers as far as Hype? Producers and Spamalot both hand known actors playing the parts, and had opening audiences that were huge fans of the original movies. Spamalot will last just as long on the Monty Python factor as Producers will on the Mel Brooks factor. In another year Spamalot will calm down a bit.
For my other two cents, I'd say that the thing about Producers when it first opened was that it was really an "experience". You're talking about entire audiences that clapped and laughed just when they heard lines from the movie they liked. Anybody who was a Mel Brooks fan and went to Producers during previews experienced this in full, lines that were hilarious then and not so much now because the audience isn't filled with the same crowd. The reviewers were sitting in that same audience.
By the way, don't get me wrong, I really did love the Producers with Lane back when. After they left, though, it did lose appeal and luster. I don't think Spamalot weighs as heavily on original cast, but after some time (as much time as Producers, I'd say) I really do think it'll fall the same as Producers is in attendance.
Broadway Star Joined: 2/7/06
Keeping Mel Brooks' type of humor in mind, I see it running for at least two more years or so- until it break's Hello, Dolly's record of 2,844 performences, since it already broke Hello, Dolly's record of most Tony wins.
Once it beats Hello, Dolly's record,, who knows how long it will run?
If it doesn't make money it wont run. Recors or no records.
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/5/04
Well, it's made money every week of the run except the last one (and made a LOT of money most weeks), so it wouldn't surprise me if it lasts long enough to pass Hello Dolly on the list.
MArgo.. are you a fan of the show?
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/5/04
I enjoyed it with Lane and Broderick. In 30+ years of theatregoing, I can only recall maybe once or twice (Maggie Smith in Lettice & Lovage, Noises Off) ever seeing an audience laugh that hard and that consistently at a show. People were literally gasping for air and had tears rolling down their cheeks and the show had to stop over a dozen times due to the laughter and applause. I can't speak for the show now or any touring version (I've only seen it with the original cast), but the couple of times I saw it in the early months of the run, it was remarkable and every friend and family member I knew agreed.
Regardless of that, my statements are not pro-Producers statements, but rather pure business ones. I detest Mamma Mia, but if business had been way off for that recently (as it is they're running in the 80s which is low for them) people were arguing that it SHOULD close for some reason, I'd be saying exactly the same thing -- it ain't going anywhere for a while. Same with Lion King (that I'm also not crazy about) which has dropped into the 60s as of late (this has been a tough winter). No, it's no longer a sellout, but it's still very profitable and will probably run another 5+ years.
With the Producers you have a show that up until three weeks ago was earning a $200,000 to 300,000 profit (and a $600K profit Xmas week) every single week. They've only started discounting regularly in the past year or so (and not to any great extent -- their average ticket price is still over $70). Love it or hate it, shows with numbers like that generally stick around for years.
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