Despite Turnaround, ‘Beetlejuice’ Being Forced Out of Theater

[LLW2]

dmwnc1959 said: "Was looking for a good reason to return to Broadway. Bought my ticket for the 8pm June 6th performance. YAY!"

I just did the same.

 

[dmwnc1959]

LLW2 said: "I just did the same."

Since nothing else on Broadway running around that time currently appeals to me it might be a good time to hit Moulin Rouge! again. I’m sure the original cast will be gone by then? Anyways, maybe that or Hadestown one more time. Will have to do some homework this weekend to see what’s what. :)

[treblemakerz]

John Mulaney and Rachel Bloom have also just weighed in on twitter. This is getting some major pushback.

[SouthernCakes]

I mean the Winter Garden has the huge sweeping billboard. And I can see Rudin wanting that and the fact that most of the seats are good seats.

I don’t think anything will change though. Sucks.

[LLW2]

dmwnc1959 said: "Since nothing else on Broadway running around that time currently appeals to me itmight be a good time to hit Moulin Rouge! again. I’m sure the originalcast will be gone by then? Anyways, maybe that or Hadestown one more time. Will have to do some homework this weekend to see what’s what. :)"

Oh my gosh, you aren't interested in seeing Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Company, Six, West Side Story, Plaza Suite, or Diana?

[dmwnc1959]

LLW2 said: "Oh my gosh, you aren't interested in seeing Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Company, Six, West Side Story, Plaza Suite, or Diana?"

Nope x6. Well, maybe Company since I’ve read Etai Benson is in it.

 

[DaveyG]

I wonder if Alex will change “Brigadoon” to “The Music Man”.

[Mercades]

that stinks. That really stands out for me as a funny show . And everytime they appear they change lyrics and are so entertaining . Boo!

[Zion24]

i dont understand the controversy. there was a contract. the theater owners enforced it. GASP!

 

and it isnt even being forced out immediately- its got the opportunity to pack that house (with added urgency in advertising) for another *seven* months. if it does booming business from now to then, and has a healthy advance in the springtime, it could very well transfer to a different theater because...its a business, and if its a moneymaker the capitalists will find a way. shrug.

[Call_me_jorge]

treblemakerz said: "John Mulaney and Rachel Bloom have also just weighed in on twitter. This is getting some major pushback."

Major pushback? Wake me up when the pope gets involved.

[JBC3]

^ this!

[DiscoCrows]

saxpower said: "I'm glad Broadway's doing well enough for there to be THAT much competition for theaters but its still a shame.

Of course, we don't now whats going to happen with the upcoming shows- though they are using houses smaller than the Winter Garden, maybe there will be an unexpected closing freeing up a theatre Not to jump on the "judge before it opens" bandwagon, but if the West Side Story revival's changes prove unpopular, the Broadway may be free in time.

I'd be surprised if the producers and/or the Nederlanders don't reach out to each other about the Marquis- it would seem at least worth the discussion (unless there is something in the contract with the Shuberts that lets the Shuberts have first shot at finding a new theatre- I wouldn't think so but someone more knowledgeable on here can likely answer that)."

Technically speaking, I would imagine the show could move into the Broadway pretty easily. But like the Marquis, I don't think the show is financially sustainable there- it was lucky to have such a turnaround at the Winter Garden and is now doing reasonably well- but I can't imagine it would do anywhere near as well at the Broadway.

[Marway44]

Chicago moved twice but it was an easier move. I would hope they could find a theater that would accommodate the set. It is massive. It would be sad to see the show that seemed doomed from the beginning to close now, especially when it’s doing so well now. Plus, to close in the summer, which is one of their busiest times is a crime. While I didn’t think it was the best show ever, I had fun and enjoyed it for what it was. I also could tell the cast was having fun too.

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Didn’t this show just break a WG box office record? That has to speak for something.

I was traveling for the holidays, and has anyone noticed the incredible advertising all over JFK? My partner asked me if they had done a special appearance there or something. It was so aggressive but in the most impressive way.

I hope that there’s some future for this show, even if I didn’t care for it in DC. I think it would be perfect for a filming and release/airing (similar to SpongeBob) if not a Halloween special.

[dramamama611]

JDonaghy4 said: "i dont understand the controversy. there was a contract. the theater owners enforced it. GASP!



and it isnt even being forced out immediately- its got the opportunity to pack that house (with added urgency in advertising) for another *seven* months. if it does booming business from now to then, and has a healthy advance in the springtime, it could very well transfer to a different theater because...its a business, and if its a moneymaker the capitalists will find a way. shrug."

This.  And they've probably known about this for quite  some time. I would imagine they would  have had to be notified within a certain time frame around the offending weeks for the stop clause to be effective  (Just a guess, though). 

It's business,  the ugly side of business,  but business just the same.

[Jordan Catalano]

Again, when tickets for “Music Man” went on sale almost FOUR months ago, they were selling the tckets at the Winter Garden.

I just do not understand people being shocked, surprised, confused, anything over this.

[perfectliar]

The amount of faux outrage and pearl-clutching over this announcement is kind of hysterical. Yeah, it broke a theatre box office record last week (which I'm sure it will hold until... Oh, right, The Music Man is the next show, so until then), and then it dropped off by over half a million bucks this week.

I'm sure stuff like this happens all the time, we just don't get Times profiles written about it. And now Beetlejuice has the gift of free publicity and seven months more to run. None of us has anything to "feel bad" about.

[songanddanceman2]

Jordan, it has more to do with the fact that Beetlejuice has since turned things around after a lot of hard work. I and many others presumed that the theatre would change for Music Man due to this.

It's a nasty thing to do in my opinion, I don't care how that sounds. This is getting closed for a celebrity cash grab revival, that's what I think sucks.

[MrsSallyAdams]

Would this show benefit from a filmed and televised performance of the closing? That seems to have given Spongebob a good shot at future productions.

Between this and School of Rock it's a wonder that Alex Brightman has any voice left. I wonder if he'll do another musical or if he'll get a Law & Order type TV show and vanish for years.

I like Sophia Anne Caruso's voice on the cast album. If the timing is right she might make a good replacement in Dear Evan Hansen or Mean Girls.

[Jordan Catalano]

songanddanceman2 said: "Jordan, it has more to do with the fact that Beetlejuice has since turned things around after a lot of hard work. I and many others presumed that the theatre would change for Music Man due to this.

It's a nasty thing to do in my opinion, I don't care how that sounds. This is getting closed for a celebrity cash grab revival, that's what I think sucks. "

Then If the show continues to break those records and the producers see good reason to find a new home for it, then that’s what they’ll look into doing (if they’re not already). It’s hardly the first time a show has had to change theaters but it might be the first time it’s happened to a show with an under 14 following who don’t understand business and take everything as a personal affront to them because they “luv BTJ”.

[jo]

Who is being unfair here??

Per the NYTimes --

"The Shubert Organization notified “Beetlejuice” in June — after the Tony Awards — that it had hit the stop clause. By the time the show rebounded, however, the Winter Garden was already committed to its next tenant: The theater owners had reached an agreement with Rudin that would allow him, more than a year later, to run “The Music Man” there. The Shuberts sent “Beetlejuice” a formal letter on Oct. 1 informing them that they needed to vacate next spring...".

If the Music Man has already reached an agreement with the theatre owners about the use of the Winter Garden, then presumably, the planning and development for the revival ( they had a month-long lab in September) must have already taken the physical attributes of  the Winter Garden in its staging considerations.  It would not be fair to displace The Music Man production after work may have already been planned and possibly accomplished  (involving the initial development work). They only worked within their contractual rights.

If there is anyone to blame for the position that Beetlejuice has found itself in, it is their producers and creatives who may have overestimated their revenue flows vs their breakeven requirements. Maybe they should have rented more manageable-sized facilities or toned down the extravagant production  - less expensive. It's like renting a big house which you cannot afford on your income/cash flows. Ha, then they try to blame others for their own mismanagement! Broadway is commercial theatre, not subsidized art!
 

[Jordan Catalano]

Yeah but none of that matters, jo. BTJ is amazing and it’s unfair and I’m not seeing music man now because of how it’s treating this amazing show and if music man was being fair they’d find a new theatre or just not open because BTJ is love and all that ridiculousness.

[Islander_fan]

Jordan Catalano said: "songanddanceman2 said: "Jordan, it has more to do with the fact that Beetlejuice has since turned things around after a lot of hard work. I and many others presumed that the theatre would change for Music Man due to this.

It's a nasty thing to do in my opinion, I don't care how that sounds. This is getting closed for a celebrity cash grab revival, that's what I think sucks. "

Then If the show continues to break those records and theproducers see good reason to find a new home for it, then that’s what they’ll look into doing (if they’re not already). It’s hardly the first time a show has had to change theaters but it might be the first time it’s happened to a show with an under 14 following who don’t understand business and take everything as a personal affront to them because they “luv BTJ”."

I don’t think that that’s what’s happening here though. Far from it. Now, we all know that when it comes to things like casting or Broadway real estate etc, until there’s a press release it falls into the category of rumors and speculation. Doesn’t matter if it’s something we all knew was gonna happen and doesn’t surprise us one bit etc. It was talked about for a long time that Music Man would take the Wintergarden. People are upset, not about the closing of Beetlejuice or Music Man coming in. They are more upset with how Music Man got the theatre more than anything.

 

Personally, I am not a fan of how Scott  Rudin does things generally. This felt a tad dick ish to me. But, if anything, the producers of Beetlejuice most likely were a tad presumptuous with their thinking that them doing better at the box office would get Shubert to remove the stop clause from going into play and let them keep running. Clearly that didn’t happen.

[Jordan Catalano]

Jesus. Then don’t go see it. If “Beetlejuice” has been selling out every show and doing amazing business back months ago this wouldn’t have happened. But it wasn’t. Broadway is a Billion dollar business - this happens. And they’re not kicking the show out tomorrow. Not this winter Or even this spring but next summer. So if you want to clutch your pearls and rail against a show that you probably weren’t going to see anyway because their prices are so ridiculous then you have fun with that. Be sure to wave at everyone down here while you’re up on that make believe pedestal.

[magictodo123]

I understand that people seem to think this is unfair. I do. I'm not pushing those feelings to the side or saying they're irrelevant. But please read this carefully:

"The Shubert Organization notified “Beetlejuice” in June — after the Tony Awards — that it had hit the stop clause. By the time the show rebounded, however, the Winter Garden was already committed to its next tenant: The theater owners had reached an agreement with Rudin that would allow him, more than a year later, to run “The Music Man” there. The Shuberts sent “Beetlejuice” a formal letter on Oct. 1 informing them that they needed to vacate next spring...".

No matter how much money BTJ made, even if they recouped, this had already been set in stone. There were most likely contracts involved, agreements made, the cast most likely has known about this. You can be upset all you want, but saying like, "Eff the music man" is just wasting your energy. I wonder if there's a way to reach out to SOMEONE in a place of power to ask about the show just moving theaters instead of completely closing---a lot can happen between now and June...