Motown to close January 18th, 2015

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

"I honestly think they're saving New Amsterdam for Hunchback if they can't find any other theater. TLM and Tarzan only lasted a year, so I won't be surprised if this closes next year (which would be too bad, I really loved it)"

Personally, I think Aladdin will be able to last a nice few years and maybe close around the time Frozen will be ready for Broadway...

Plus with Hunchback having two try-out productions within the next year, I think a Broadway run starting in the 2015-16 sounds more likely.

[Princeton Returns]

Plus Hunchback is meant to be on the smaller scale so won't need as big a theatre

[Nateben2]

Well, I too think Hunchback and the New Amsterdam might be a wrong fit - and Aladdin does has a good three or four years in in, even with the high costs.

But . . . fans of Hunchback ... other Nederlander theaters exist

Lunt/Fontaine might go to Finding Neverland
Brooks would be available after Love Letters
Rodgers would be available if and when If/Then closes.
Palace depending on how long American in Paris runs.
Marquis ????

They may be a lot of Nederlander theaters available

[Phantom of London]

Just done some number crunching:

Motown has grossed so far: $91,949,093
Show initial costs: $17,000,000
Money show has made, minus initial costs: $74,949,093
Weeks show has run: 75
Money show has made, minus initial costs divided by weeks run: $999,321

Therefore weekly nut is north of (as show hasn't recouped yet): $999,321

So last weeks grosses was $968,020 so Motown lost money last week.

I can understand why Motown is closing in January as it is going to cash in for the very lucrative Thanksgiving and Christmas week, but possible with lean weeks in between the show may close without recouping. But will be good knowing that the show has nearly payed for the furniture and should when the set is shipped and begins in London.

The shows producers need their heads examined, why they went with a show with an astronomical nut, which is more than $1m a week.

[Smaxie]

Running costs top out at $850,000 - which, once again, is in The New York Times story.

[CurtainPullDowner]

I thought Reidel proclaimed NEVERLAND Dead!

[MarkBearSF]

"Just saw the tour tonight in SF. The house was crazy.

Really?
https://twitter.com/AllisonSemmes/status/502708567708033024


Well, to be fair, "Diana Ross" DID have to scrounge to find someone to sing "Reach Out and Touch" with - BUT, the blocking was a bit confusing whether she was coming down or not and when she did, on the far house left, in her Miss Ross whisper, said something that wasn't immediately clear. Once it became obvious that she was looking for someone to sing with, the moment had passed and it was a bit awkward.

...and am I the only one that flashed on the Eddie Murphy's old SNL routines of "Buckwheat Sings" and wanted to sing "Make this a better worl ip do tan"

[Liza's Headband]

If the a**hole with the obnoxiously long signature would take the time to actually read the NY Times article, it states what their capital costs were and a general approximation of what their weekly nut is. The numbers posted by Phantom of London are completely inaccurate.

[Mr Roxy]

What happens if the show is not a success in London?

Will they wait a long time before bringing it back to Broadway or will they scrap plans to resurrect it?

[East Village]

This is the school of Barry Gordy economics -- if anyone else is making a buck, he's not happy.

[Phantom of London]

'If the a**hole with the obnoxiously long signature would take the time to actually read the NY Times article, it states what their capital costs were and a general approximation of what their weekly nut is. The numbers posted by Phantom of London are completely inaccurate.'

You are really a nasty piece of work, there is professional help out there for troubled people like you, you should seriously consulting a therapist, that specializes in anger issues. How do you know my figures are wrong? If you think you're so smart prove my calculations wrong?

[LizzieCurry]

Seriously. Your sig is longer than your posts.

[qolbinau]

Phantom, if you take out tax and make it 18 mill instead of 17 million the new calculation ends up being approximately 860k per week. This might be slightly higher than the NYTimes quoted figure but it is still pretty close. With some degree of error, it is still a good ball-park calculation we could use to estimate other shows.