What are some shows that would have been better in different theatres? Which theatres should they have taken? What are some shows that picked the perfect theatre.
Book of Mormon is perfect in the O'Neill. The relatively small house (in comparison to other theaters) keeps demand high, which is a huge contributor to its success.
Kinky Boots at the Hirschfeld..just the right size. Waitress at the Brooks...also the right size (and Fun Home as noted earlier)
I don't think there is anything really wrong with Matilda at the Shubert but I think it would be better in a slightly smaller theater...you lose a lot when you are way up top.
Annie (the recent revival) at the Palace...the WRONG size, way too big.
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella was in the Broadway which turned out to be the wrong theater commercially. The capacity of the theater was simply too big, and thus supply exceeded demand. Cinderella was selling an enormous quantity of tickets per week, as many as almost any show on Broadway, but its percentage of seats sold generally hovered in the 60-70% range. If the show had been in a 1100 seat house instead of a 1600 seat house, demand would have been very high, which would have meant more premium tickets sold and less seats sold at discounted prices. Many people have described the Broadway and other huge capacity theaters as places where good shows go to die. (Mega hits like The Lion King and Wicked are a completely different story.)
In terms of the artistic presentation, there was nothing wrong with the show at the Broadway, so this is only an economic analysis.
CZJ at opening night party for A Little Night Music, Dec 13, 2009.
Hedwig @ Belasco worked really well. I'd have liked an even smaller venue, but this still worked well.
I agree that Fun Home fits really well in it's current home, but it would have really benefitted from Belasco too. It's soo gorgeous, and very very much in line with Bechdel's obsession with tiffany lamps. The things designers and director could have done with that space!
Wicked did everyone a major favor by picking Gershwin. It's too huge for most other shows.
Call_me_jorge said: "Can a show pick a theatre though? I thought they just come in once a theatre is available.
That is true but producers can also wait if their is a particular theatre they want. Some producers simply wait for a house, others wait until their ideal theatre is available.
devonian.t said: "Sunday in the Park was a beautiful fit at the Booth
Phantom picked just the right home (even though Cameron wanted to go to the Martin Beck- as it was back then)
A very interesting piece of information here, I never realised that the Phantom of the Opera nearly didn't play the Majestic and was heading for the Minskoff or Martin Beck, so I Googled this and saw the original New York Times interview, with Cameron Mackintosh, I wonder what changed Cameron's mind? History says that Cameron was wrong and the Majestic proved to be the perfect fit. Also Cameron Mackintosh has only ever worked with Shuberts, the only time has hasn't and that is coming up, when Cats plays the Neil Simon, but this is a joint collaboration between the Nederlanders and Shuberts.
Incidentally where Phantom plays in London and still does, it plays quite a small theatre (1100 people) Her Majestys, Andrew Lloyd Webber wanted to move this to the London Palladium over twice the size, but Cameron vetoed this as he said it would spoil the show and history proves he is right, as it is still playing nearly 30 years later. So I am saying that Camerons decision to play the Majestic wasn't based on economics, so very curious what changed his mind?
Gerald Schoenfeld re-told the story of Cameron kind of stabbing him in the back over Phantom, but Hal Prince had it in his contract that he could approve the theatre. He picked right for everyone because they made more money at the Majestic.
The Al Hirschfeld is absolutely perfect for Kinky Boots. The current Color Purple revival also does really well in the Jacobs. Wicked also comes to mind as having gotten it right with the Gershwin.
Somehow I don't think The Richard Rodgers is quite right for Hamilton. It's not awful, but I would prefer it be in a theatre that feels more...open. I think it would have felt better at the Lyric (I know it was occupied when they opened) or the Lyceum.
Adding to the above, I really like the St. James for Something Rotten because I think it's a great show to see from the mezzanine and the mezzanine there is so close.
joined:5/9/15
joined:
5/9/15
Posted: 4/19/16 at 11:05am