Ghost Quartet: could it go to Broadway?

[gypsy101]

Posted: 5/19/17 at 4:50pm

i was actually kind of surprised when Great Comet finally arrived on Broadway simply because of the long wait, and because it's not your typical show especially because of the staging and a pretty complex score that's not usual Broadway taste.

i'm also a big fan of Ghost Quartet, Malloy's musical about ghosts and whiskey and a camera and a bear. it's also very strange and complex (probably much moreso than Comet), but i think it's terrific. anyone think it could go to broadway? or is it too small and weird?

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/19/17 at 4:58pm

Too small and weird. But I'd love to see a non-profit pick it up for a limited run. I know it ran in Brooklyn, but I'd love to see what it could be like with some budget behind it.

[yknot]

Posted: 5/19/17 at 5:10pm

The best productions of it were the outdoor/in the woods ones. The only "big" theatre I'd love to see it in is the Delacorte.

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 5/20/17 at 1:57am

It's too small for broadway, but I would love to see it return to the city.

[MadonnaMusical]

Posted: 5/20/17 at 6:01am

  No way

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/20/17 at 9:52am

I don't think it had nearly enough commercial appeal. HOWEVER, I actually think it could conceivably work in a larger space. It's fairly sound-based, so I don't think losing intimacy would be an issue. Physically, they wouldn't have much trouble filling a Broadway stage with all the rugs, sound equipment and musical instruments, especially if they have onstage seating like Comet. 

In fact, come to think of it, this would be a perfect candidate for one of Second Stage's new Broadway seasons at the Helen Hayes. It would have to be a non-profit. No way would this show go commercial on Broadway. 

Updated On: 5/20/17 at 09:52 AM

[showchoirguy]

Posted: 5/20/17 at 10:09am

Way too small. I saw the show at the Edinburgh Fringe last year and they presented a condensed version in a tent in the round and it was stunning. They should bring back the tent like off-Broadway Natasha.

[Fan123]

Posted: 5/21/17 at 4:48am

The closest thing thus far to a 'big theatre' production of this show, to my knowledge, was a version held at the Curran Theater in San Francisco. Although, in that case it sounds as though the intimacy was preserved because the players and relatively-small audience were both onstage, with the usual seating area kept empty as a sort of eerie backdrop. This was part of special series of productions held during that theatre's renovations. Sounds like an interesting way to do it, although obviously not economical in normal circumstances. https://theatrestorm.com/2015/10/27/review-ghost-quartet-at-curran-under-construction/

I haven't seen any production myself, but from the albums and other known details I'm having trouble imagining it staged well with a vast audience. Unless they just did the entire thing in the dark and used sound design to make every audience member feel close to the action, heh. (Only having heard the albums, that's a fair approximation of how I 'experience' the show anyway!) But it would be nice to be proven wrong.

[Kad]

Posted: 5/21/17 at 11:56am

I had the pleasure of seeing Ghost Quartet at the Bushwick Starr and the album is perfect for the autumn. 

But it is not really a musical. It's more like... at best, a presentation of a concept album. It lives in that downtown place of works that are called "music theatre"- essentially things that are more staged and plotted than a concert but not enough to be considered a musical. 

And Ghost Quartet in particular was conceived to be an intimate piece that's something like a campfire ghost story meets living room jam session. It has no place on Broadway. 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/21/17 at 12:10pm

Kad said: "But it is not really a musical. It's more like... at best, a presentation of a concept album." 

 

I might also describe it as a song cycle - or is that not quite right?