Book of Mormon's Run

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 1/24/15 at 11:18pm

How long do you think Book of Mormon is going to run on Broadway? This is going on its 4th year and it's still a major hit. Do you think it will go as long as Wicked or Beauty & the Beast?

[haterobics]

Posted: 1/24/15 at 11:38pm

Another three years seems very safe to predict... beyond that, who can say?

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 1/25/15 at 1:48am

Happy to toss into the ring a 10 year plus broadway run prediction for Book of Mormon.

Why?

*Funniest book for a musical ever written IMO
*The songs in this show are really really strong and memorable, especially in the first act, and has great showstoppers at end of the first and second act.
*It does not need a "star" to carry the show...when you deliver a great funny short fat elder cunningham and a strong singing acting elder price with good chemistry, this show works fantastically (ive seen six different combos of actors, and they were all really great)
*It's the most Tony award winning show still on broadway and falls into the must see
category for many tourists now and is still a difficult ticket to get unless you plan ahead (running grosses at 115% of revenue capacity)
*Its a bit controversial and edgy and will continue to attract teens and young adults who are less religious now than any time in history
*Broad appeal to both sexes, all age ranges(above about 11 or 12 unless you were raised in a convert) and very entertaining to both serious musical goers and novices
its easily accessible as a musical vs. Les Mis or Rent etc.
*It is a great repeat show to see and I know lots of musical fans who go see this over and over with different casts(much like the wicked, phantom, and jersey boy hard core fan bases)
*the theatre is relatively small 1102 capacity vs wicked and phantom at 2000 seat capacity
* A Romney run in 2016 will fuel more curiousity about mormons for the next three years or longer
*its currently running in NY, London and two concurrent national tours, the only musical in the last fifteen years thats demostrated that much consumer demand is Wicked, which as passed the 10 year mark with no sign of slowing
here are the shows that have run ten plus years:
POTO
Chicago
Cats
Lion king
Oh Calcutta
Les Mis
A Chorus Line
Mamma Mia
beauty and the beast
Rent
Wicked
Miss Saigon
Jersey Boys

I've seen most of these shows multiple times, and book of mormon is one of the few on this list I enjoyed as much the second or third time as the first..

I personally rank it first on this list as the best overall musical, and beleive many others do too if you strip out personal biases. In fairness I never saw the Rent OBC and if I had, might have ranked it first, although rent drags in some places and I dont love all the songs, where mormon really moves along and I either enjoy or love all the songs...

Some of the shows on the list baffle me that they ran/ have run so long, but viva la difference
Cats
lion king
oh calcutta
miss saigon

shows that will or COULD do 20 years plus on broadway IMO:
POTO-done
Chicago-may happen in nov 2016 if they producers want to break the 20 year mark, grosses have been at 44-45% for a while in an 1100 person theatre
Lion king- will make it no problem
Wicked-will make it no problem
Book of mormon-can possibly make it

why?
mass appeal
timeless nature of the stort and "feel" of shows(none of them seem outdated)
doesnt necessarily make them a "great show" just a very profitable one and very unique when you think of all the fantastic musicals that lasted one season to 2 years....

i would still watch and enjoy a new york or london cast of any of these shows except
lion king 10 years from now....

[blaxx]

Posted: 1/25/15 at 1:51am

Some of the shows on the list baffle me that they ran/ have run so long, but viva la difference
Cats
lion king
oh calcutta
miss saigon

Shows don't succeed because of your personal opinion. When did you even see Calcutta?

[bfreak]

Posted: 1/25/15 at 8:41am

Any show that COMPLETELY sells out every single performance and carries an average ticket price close to $200.00 isn't going anywhere any time soon.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/25/15 at 8:43am

Heck, I'wd be surprised if it DIDNT make ten years.

Updated On: 1/25/15 at 08:43 AM

[bfreak]

Posted: 1/25/15 at 9:23am

Exactly!

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 1/25/15 at 6:12pm

I want to say it would have run similar to the producers or avenue q.

[South Florida]

Posted: 1/25/15 at 6:43pm

I don't get this either and I love South Park and Team America. 102% every week, it baffles.

[haterobics]

Posted: 1/25/15 at 6:54pm

It is interesting that the biggest, most profitable shows have no stars in them: Mormon, Wicked, Lion King, Phantom, Chicago (ok, current stars, heh), etc.

[BroadwayNerd24601]

Posted: 1/25/15 at 7:06pm

Also the show did very very well in Chicago and is coming back later in the spring.

[South Florida]

Posted: 1/25/15 at 7:09pm

Was the Lion King worth seeing?

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 1/26/15 at 2:35am

hey there-nice to see some interest in this topic of book of mormon run and the broader question: I mean why do some shows run 10 or 20 years???

to answer one poster, I did see a proshot film of the oh calcutta broadway cast, its always hard to put yourself back in the period something was popular....all i can say is as someone whos seen 100+ musicals live, 100 or so more on film, and own and listened to a few hundred soundtracks, oh calcutta didnt have much of a story and the songs were not memorable. A test of this is how many times has it been revived on broadway..none since the 70s revival...so it seems it was a period piece oddity of a bunch of people running around on stage naked simulating sex acts...

I was amazed by Lion King the first time i saw it on broadway in 1998 and anyone who loves musicals should see it at least once just for the incredibly imaginative costumes and a few standout songs...subsequent viewings it just didnt hold up for me.

Cats I loved Memory and enjoyed one or two other songs, the chopped together mini stories just didnt connect or hold my interest. I have friends I respect that LOVE this show ...maybe im just more of a dog person

Miss Saigon I really tried hard to love and also have friends that LOVE this show...didnt see the obc which is almost always the best and most invigorated cast, but just couldnt fall in love with most of the songs...
Yes its my opinion,, and yes there is also a lot of support from a lot of respected critics that the shows above were overrated...how many musical experts or critics list cats, lion king oh calcutta or miss saigon in their top 10 favorite musicals??
-none ive ever seen....

Coming back to Book of Mormon, it's about as close as you can get to a perfect musical in the 21st century where there are so many other options to be entertained...

I'll go see it in san francisco in April for my 7th time, enjoy the nuances each different actor brings to the role, and delight in all my favorite songs:
Hello
Two By Two
You and Me
Hasa Dega Ebawai
turn it off
sal tay ka siti
Man up
I believe
I am africa
making things up again
spooky mormon
tomorrow is a latter day

I mean how many musicals do you get to see where you have twelve favorite songs??????


thank you
thank you
thank you
to Matt, Trey and Robert Lopez......
may Book of Mormon have a happy 10th birthday in 2021!

[lovebwy]

Posted: 1/26/15 at 5:28am

Add me to the list of people who are utterly baffled.

It's an ok show. But not earth shattering by any means. South Park BLU was a brilliant movie musical. The songs in it are very strong. I don't think the score of BOM is close to being as good. No real memorable songs.

I saw it in May of 2011 with the original cast too. Alls I can do is shrug on this one.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 1/26/15 at 10:17am

As long as Wicked.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/26/15 at 10:18am

Ditto although you are being to kind.

[Everlast85]

Posted: 1/27/15 at 9:52am

It's for tourists who don't want to see a typical Broadway show, and the names attached are well known. This will run for years to come.