SHUFFLE ALONG Sets Sudden Broadway Closing After Audra McDonald Departs

[gypsy101]

NJ_BroadwayGirl said: "Sad news! I'll definitely be seeing this again before it closes. Did they ever end up having merchandise?"

they did have merchandise tonight. the show really wasn't about her, but I understand that she was the draw. the energy in the audience when she was onstage was just a different, higher energy.

[Jordan Catalano]

Did they have window cards?

[brian1973]

Wow there are a lot of dumb responses on here.

Its not rocket science- Rudin sees the advance sales and once Audra leaves, THE star of the show- bookings plummet. At least this way he's giving people more advance warning to go see it , than come July- she leaves and he announces an almost sudden closure. It's not selling enough tickets- Simple. Also- reading between the lines- I suspect her replacement is not good enough in rehearsals , and who really could follow Audra anyway. It's a mediocre part in a mediocre show and only someone with Audras star quality could elevate it.

 

[bear88]

I can only assume the producers have some sort of insurance policy in case McDonald was unable to perform for any reason, outside of the three months she was going to be in London. 

I enjoyed the show when I saw it in previews, but I did notice the focus on McDonald in terms of marketing. When she was sick before we arrived, they stopped having previews for a week. It created the impression that the show was all about her, which it wasn't. Don't get me wrong. She was the star, and I thought she was wonderful - a compelling actress with a wonderful voice. But there was a lot of talent on that stage. 

Shuffle Along didn't seem well thought out. The star was going to be gone for three months shortly after the show opened. Rudin made a rather pathetic effort to avoid the Hamilton juggernaut and failed miserably. I assume they didn't postpone the show until fall in the first place because of people's schedules; if not, that's just idiocy. 

 It felt like the creatives were scrambling and making things up as they went along during the preview season. It's a tribute to their talents that I enjoyed the show as much as I did, but the second act was flawed, and it doesn't sound like the fixes were good enough. 

It's just weird. In a non-Hamilton year, this show would have been fighting it out with Waitress, I guess, for the top musical awards at the Tonys and winning a lot of them - including best musical. Now it will be gone. 

 

[aaaaaa15]

True, Shuffle Along would have most likely won Best Musical without Hamilton. However, who knows if musicals scheduled for next season (of which a couple are generally known to be stronger than Shuffle Along) would have rushed to get in this season instead and won anyway?

[GreasedLightning]

Maybe we'll get a revival in a few years. 

[justoldbill]

I suppose it's all a matter of timing. Certainly FOLLIES would have won Best Musical in a year without TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA.

[Wilmingtom]

I don't understand what the pregnancy has to do with anything.  It was announced ages ago that she would be out all summer, although not for this reason but still.  I think Rudin playing the pregnancy card is disingenuous and unfair to McDonald.  Rudin knew when he hired her that he'd be losing her for at least three months.

[VintageSnarker]

I thought I was somehow misreading the headline. This makes no sense. I just don't believe they could be selling that poorly during Audra's previously scheduled absence. The Visit and Honeymoon in Vegas can hold on for months but Shuffle Along can't? It's not a perfect show but it's a very good one and of the shows this season that have announced closing dates (American Psycho, Bright Star, etc.) I easily found it to be the best. It's a shame more people won't get the chance to see this very talented cast. Not just the ones who have their names on the side of the Music Box but the wonderful dancers as well.

[hork]

This sucks. This is the current show I was most looking forward to seeing in the fall, and the one I felt like I didn't have to worry about it closing. I knew I wasn't going to get to see Audra, but I didn't expect not being able to see it at all.

[Hellob]

They should have given more information about Savion's part and as soon as they knew Audra was pregnant, tried to move the focus from the big names to the dancing since it's the real star. 

Eta it's time for Wolfe and Glover to revive Jelly's Last Jam 25 years is long enough 

[HogansHero]

VintageSnarker said: "...This makes no sense. I just don't believe they could be selling that poorly during Audra's previously scheduled absence. The Visit and Honeymoon in Vegas can hold on for months but Shuffle Along can't? "

What didn't make sense was keeping The Visit and Honeymoon open. Unlike those shows, Shuffle has a real producer and a good one. You may not believe Shuffle could be selling that poorly, but that certainly doesn't make sense. Do you seriously think Rudin would close the show at an enormous loss if the handwriting was not on the wall? 

[Robbie2]

Nobody was expecting SA to close so suddenly but Rhiannon Giddens & Savion Glover were not selling tickets...but what happened to the advertising campaign marketing them as the "new" stars starting July 24?

Nada! Nobody knew?

Perplexing, they never gave it a chance but maybe Rhiannon was not impressing them during rehearsals and obviously not gonna be a big enough draw with Savion. Audra is the star featured-attraction in a show that has electrifying tapping, stunning design elements, a wonderful supporting cast and the best dancing ensemble on Broadway!

I LOVED the show and Audra resplendent! Have tix again for next week!

 

[gypsy101]

Jordan, I don't recall specifically, I was rushing out to the lobby cause my phone was dead and my boyfriend was assaulted on 39th street while I was in the show. I know there were various t-shirts and also a zippered sweatshirt.

[aaaaaa15]

I hope your boyfriend is okay.

[aj88]

Gypsy101, I really hope your boyfriend is okay.

I, too, was at the show tonight and when I found the article during intermission I was really surprised. They either needed to promote the replacements more or they should've chose someone with bigger name value...and to be honest, I hadn't even heard of Rhiannon Giddens until this.

Someone said maybe they should've just cast someone other than Audra McDonald to begin with ....either that or they should've prepped for a killer replacement.

[davet7462]

Robbie2 said: "Nobody was expecting SA to close so suddenly but Rhiannon Giddens & Savion Glover were not selling tickets...but what happened to the advertising campaign marketing them as the "new" stars starting July 24?

Nada! Nobody knew?

Perplexing, they never gave it a chance but maybe Rhiannon was not impressing them during rehearsals and obviously not gonna be a big enough draw with Savion. Audra is the star featured-attraction in a show that has electrifying tapping, stunning design elements, a wonderful supporting cast and the best dancing ensemble on Broadway!

I LOVED the show and Audra resplendent! Have tix again for next week!
 
"Not to be 'that guy' - but if you or anybody else going to the show would see if they're selling magnets and if they are - wouldn't mind getting one and mailing it to me - I'd really appreciate it.  We live in Phoenix and flew into New York for a Broadway weekend over Memorial Day.  They weren't selling merchandise then and we collect magnets from shows we see as a souvenir.  We'd naturally repay you for your costs (paypal, check, some other way).  I did check the show's website - and they're still not selling merchandise online.  Thanks!

[dramamama611]

Wow, what a shame.  And what a blow to the remaining cast...this must hurt more than an ordinary closing.  

I'll agree with those thinking about how wise it was for the production itself moving forward when they knew Audra was going to be out for the summer.

As for holding on, maybe that was feasible when her leave was only a few limited months for the UK gig, buy perhaps her maternity leave was going to be much longer.  (Did we ever hear a return date for her?)

[gypsy101]

thanks to both of you, he is okay now. He's a photographer and was taking a photo on the street and some man thought he was taking a photo of his girlfriend (and not...of the city which tourists do) and asked him about it and then proceeded to choke him. I wasn't there but it sounded terrifying.

something I found unintentionally amusing: her character mentioned at the end that she never had children while Audra was visibly pregnant all night long. "perhaps Lottie suffered from a calcified fetus?" I jokingly thought.

[Jish]

I would also pay somebody the cost of a magnet plus shipping and tip! 

If anybody is going in the next month and is willing please PM me. I went four times but no merch!

[adamgreer]

The amount of people on here who seem to think Rudin is running a charitable organization and should have kept the show running at a significant loss out of the goodness of his heart is hilarious. 

Either he (astronomically) underestimated the box office appeal of this Rhiannon Giddens (who for the record I've never heard of), or she was the biggest name they could get. Either way, the advance after July 24 was clearly very dismal. 

I also agree with whomever said that the fact that Audra had an announced return date probably didn't help. I'm sure a lot of people simply said, "we'll just wait until Audra returns in the fall."  The only way to have prevented that would have been casting a significant name that people would want to see (someone along the lines of Jennifer Hudson). 

[Huss417]

Many will disagree but Rudin is a very smart/shrewd producer. As many would keep a show running at a loss he decides to just close it. 

[CurtainPullDowner]

I guess the cast's baby shower for Audra is cancelled?

[DottieD'Luscia]

The gist of what I'm getting reading this thread is people are shocked because it was seemingly doing well at the box office since the show opened.  I don't begrudge Scott Rudin for closing the show if it's not financially feasible.

[NJ_BroadwayGirl]

I think Rudin clearly made the right and responsible business decision here. I had gotten a discount code emailed yesterday for shows through 7/24 saying "see Audra before she's gone." So it seems that sales through late July weren't exactly skyrocketing. I'm sad it's closing and somewhat surprised but it seems like it was the fiscally necessary thing to do. 

The thing that bothered me, as I said before, was the language about Audra's pregnancy in the official statement. 

[Smaxie]

Those of you who don't know who Rhiannon Giddens is, you owe it to yourself to do a YouTube or Spotify search.  She's one of the most exciting and talented singers to appear on the scene in the last 10 years.  It's sad we won't get to hear her take on the Shuffle score, as I'm sure it would have been exciting to hear. She truly can (and does) sing anything.