Better Luck Next Year Broadway: Melody Simpson
2009 has not been a very successful year for Broadway. 16 shows closed in January alone and over the past few months, a significant number of shows have unexpectedly had to make announcements of their shows closing as well.
Gypsy, Grease, Young Frankenstein, Spamalot, Boeing-Boeing, 13, The 39 Steps, August: Osage County, Hairspray, and Spring Awakening are just a few titles of the shows that closed in January. Spring Awakening won 8 Tony Awards in 2007 and was one of the biggest shockers when the announcement came of its closing. Not too long after the closing announcement was made for Hairspray was when original Broadway cast members Harvey Fierstein & Marissa Jaret Winokur reprised their roles for the very last time as Edna Turnblad and Tracy Turnblad. What a treat that was for hardcore Hairspray fans!
This month, The Little Mermaid is due to close on August 30, 2009 after running for just one year and 8 months. Another new addition to Broadway that will have its time cut short is 9 To 5 The Musical which just opened earlier this year and is due to close on September 6, 2009. Based on all that is put into the show’s production…if you get to see the show before it closes, you will see just how much is put into this show. Unfortunately, the show was not receiving as much as it was putting into itself, so many people are hoping for a revival when the economy gets back on its feet. In this terrible economic crunch, even many students are unable to afford lottery and student rush discount tickets. Hopefully 9 To 5 and Avenue Q (closing September 13, 2009) will sell out the remainder of their runs.
The top grossing Broadway shows from August 10 – 17, 2009 were Wicked, Jersey Boys, and The Lion King. It’s safe to say those shows won’t be closing anytime soon. Today, fan favorites include Next to Normal, Hair, and Billy Elliot…all three winning Tony Awards this year. The weekly grosses for Next to Normal are not as high as Billy Elliot or Hair, so hopefully this show can stick it out through this Broadway slump.
September marks the new season of Broadway, where many new shows will make their debuts between now and 2010. Some of those shows include A Steady Rain (Opens September 29, 2009 at Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre) with Daniel Craig & Hugh Jackman, Hamlet (Opens October 6, 2009 at Broadhurst Theatre) with Jude Law, Bye Bye Birdie (Opens October 15, 2009 at Henry Miller’s Theatre) with John Stamos, Gina Gershon, and Matt Doyle, and Ragtime (Opens November 15, 2009 at Neil Simon Theatre). Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark is slated to open on February 25, 2010 although it would be smart to buy your tickets once previews began because if you buy them now, you might end up having to change your tickets or refund them. There have been many issues with this show from casting to a “cash flow problem” so it is best to buy your tickets once everything is set is stone and the Hilton Theatre has all of the Spider-Man promotional posters up.
With September being the start of the new Broadway season, Back 2 Broadway http://www.ilovenytheater.com/events.html is holding a list of annual events from September 9, 2009 – September 30, 2009 including Broadway Tweet-ups, Broadway Open Call Karaoke, Broadway Open House Theatre Tours, Sirius XM Radio Live on Broadway Lunchtime Concerts and Talent Panels, Broadway Dance lessons in Times Square, Kids Night on Broadway, and so much more. Let’s not forget the annual Broadway Flea Market http://www.broadwaycares.org/events/auction.cfm on Sunday, September 27, 2009 in Shubert Alley which brings out some of the biggest stars from Off-Broadway and Broadway.
With all of these annual events to keep the Broadway community alive and united and a number of Broadway shows opening, let’s hope that 2010 is a better year for Broadway. After all, Broadway survived the Great Depression, so in a way, this year was still a success. It’s up to you! Buy your tickets today http://www.ticketmaster.com/broadway to one or many Broadway shows and enjoy!
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What a great update! I am hoping to go to Broadway in mid-Spring. Hopefully some of the new shows will be doing well and I’ll get to see them.
I’m not a Broadway fan, nor do I know anything about how it works in the slightest. But to me it seems everything is just a translation of some movie or tv show. Why pay extra to see something I can put in my netflix cue in the comfort of my home? Now if it was something original only at broadway I think you would get more people. This is just my uneducated opinion though.
There’s also a lot of Broadway shows that were successful and then turned into movies, such as “Rent,” “Chicago,” and “Phantom of the Opera” (which yes, I know was a movie first, but the Andrew Lloyd Webber-scored one wasn’t a movie). Broadway’s awesome and I wish that it wasn’t so expensive still; it’s what’s killing it. Then again, I forked over $180 to sit center orchestra for one of Idina Menzel’s last performances in “Wicked” so I’m not exactly the most objective. I think “Rent” did so well for so long not because of just its plot/music, but because it was always offering discount prices.
However, there are also Broadway shows that don’t get turned into movies, or their movies are inferior. I would love to see/have seen Cats, Spamalot, Jersey Boys, or Wicked. Even though the reviews were terrible, I am a big enough Anne Rice fan to want to see Lestat. Since some of these shows have closed, that means I’ll never ever see them. Ever. I’ve seen The Lion King and I have to say it’s definitely a good experience outside the movie. Also, I loved Les Mis as a teen and think my daughter would get right into it. However, I’m not dropping hundreds of dollars down for tickets.
I am a Broadway fan and a professional actor, and Jay I agree with you — it all feels like stuff we have seen a million times on TV and film. But it’s not just Broadway. Feature films and TV as well have all been suffering in over the past 4-6 years from regurgitation. Everywhere you look there’s another TV show that was popular in the 90s and is now back with the same format and title! (hello 90210 & Melrose Place!) And how many feature films have come out in the last decade that are just the film versions of popular TV shows? (Charlie’s Angels, Dukes of Hazzard, etc.) The entertainment industry has invested so much money into these productions because there is less risk — the film or TV show or Broadway play will immediately have a cult following which will churn out what’s really important to the entertainment industry: Money.
As for Broadway shows, writers ARE coming up with new and original shows and producing them wherever they can, but they just don’t have the big dollars to get them to Broadway. The big budget Broadway companies (like Disney) know that they can invest millions of dollars into turning one of their extremely popular films into a stage play and it will sell big because people are familiar with the material (Mary Poppins, Little Mermaid, etc.) I have to hand it to Disney though — they do have a successful musical theatre workshop in LA that helps writers from all over the US develop their new musicals, but unfortunately it’s a very long journey from getting those great new musicals from workshopping to Broadway due to the enormous amount of funding needed. That’s why you’ll see a lot more new musicals opening in regional theatres like Chicago, Minneapolis, etc. so they can find financial backers and get their show moved to off-Broadway or Broadway. Unfortunately, that often brings with it the cost of having to make changes to the show to make producers happy, which often removes why the show was so great in the first place, and then often results in a flop.
Can you tell I feel very strongly on this subject?
I was involved in a very successful, critically-acclaimed Chicago production of an original musical that was moved to Off-Broadway, completely changed to make a bunch of producers happy, and promptly flopped. It’s no wonder it’s so hard to get anything creative and new out there!
Boo.
Of the Broadway shows mentioned in the article above, those that have not been made into a movie or have any ties with a movie include 13, August: Osage County, and Spring Awakening. One could argue 13 resembles Thirteen the movie, but if you have actually seen 13 on Broadway…also AOO & SA both have movie deals as of this year but both originated on stage.
As Colleen mentioned, there are so many Broadway shows that originated on stage and were then made into films, including The Sound of Music, Rent, etc… so if you do your research, you will definitely be surprised to see what Broadway shows ARE original and were then made into films.
Broadway shows that are currently out now and have no relation to films are Avenue Q, Jersey Boys, Next to Normal, and Rock of Ages.
Broadway shows that have closed but had no relation to films include
Cats, Miss Saigon, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Aida, Dancin’, Movin’ Out, Lightnin’, Sugar Babies, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk, They’re Playing Our Song, Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope, Contact, Big River, The Will Rogers Follies, Sunset Boulevard (movie being made in 2010), Urinetown (movie rights bought), Hats Off to Ice, Follow the Girls, Blood Brothers, and La Plume de Ma Tante.
Broadway shows that will open this/next year that have no relation to films include A Steady Rain, Wishful Thinking (based on a memoir), Memphis, In the Next Room, Fela, Race, and Collected Stories.
Anybody, feel free to correct me if I am wrong on any of the above shows…I’m listing these shows off my memory lol
As Julie mentioned, there are original ideas out there…many of them Off-Broadway - so definitely check out Off-Broadway when you get the chance.
Last year I went to an off-off-Broadway production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and got picked to go on stage. Unfortunately, I was like the third out on a misspelled word. I was doing good, but the thing is fixed to have a certain audience member become the champion, so they threw a word at me that I think had three x’s and 2 q’s or something utterly ridiculous like that. But it was a ton of fun! Went and saw the same company perform Carousel this year….. not so fun. Pretty darn depressing actually.
Sunset Boulevard is based on a classic movie actually…
I can’t imagine why a show named Urinetown would close! Who’d want to see that??
Robin, Urinetown is hilarious, and it usually does great in smaller theatres. It’s about a society where water is in such shortage that you have to pay to pee. And everyone is broke, so if you are caught peeing without paying, you’re thrown in jail! It’s a very quirky and interesting look at what happens when our basic human needs are taken away. I’m looking forward to seeing what they do with the film version!
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