SHUCKED will close January 14, 2024; TOMMY rumored for the Nederlander

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/12/23 at 10:08pm

Per the NYTIMES:

“Shucked,” a musical comedy fueled by corn puns and country music, will end its run at Broadway’s Nederlander Theater on Jan. 14.

The show’s lead producers, Mike Bosner and Jason Owen, are not calling the step a closing, apparently because they are hoping that they will find another theater at which the show might continue its run. But the current Broadway season is shaping up to be fairly robust, and it is unclear if there will be an empty theater available for it.

“Shucked” is vacating its theater as its grosses have remained consistently middling. Theater owners make money both by charging rent to producers, and by getting a percentage of the box office, and if Nederlander can find a higher-grossing tenant, it will make more money. (A leading candidate to take over the theater: a revival of “Tommy” that was well-reviewed and sold strongly at Chicago’s Goodman Theater.)

 

The reviews have been ok, but evidently not strong enough for Nederlander to let it limp along indefinitely. This does feel like a show that might be able to find some success Off-Broadway. Weird landscape right now.

Updated On: 10/12/23 at 10:08 PM

[MollyJeanneMusic]

Posted: 10/12/23 at 10:16pm

Noooooo!  Loved this show and am hoping to see it again - definitely sad to see it go, especially as a new, original comedic musical.  

Could this potentially transfer off-Broadway, like to New World Stages or something?  I feel like this show feels very in line with a show like Avenue Q that was able to find great success with its brand in a smaller theatre.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/12/23 at 10:17pm

Oooooh, I hope the at “Tommy” rumor is true!!!

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/12/23 at 10:25pm

It strikes me as unusual that Paulson noted the TOMMY possibility, heretofore unreported, in the hallowed pages of the NYT alongside the closing announcement for this show. 

Updated On: 10/12/23 at 10:25 PM

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 10/12/23 at 10:28pm

Will Tommy sell any better…?

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/12/23 at 10:33pm

BorisTomashevsky said: "Will Tommy sell any better…?"

Well they're very different shows. But TOMMY's music is classic and beloved by a wide range of people, and it may be catnip for the demographic that's currently keeping BEAUTIFUL NOISE afloat. With luck it will be a great production, too. The original ran more than 2 years (30 years ago).

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 10/12/23 at 11:37pm

Good run.

This now frees up Izzy McCalla for Water for Elephants in the spring.

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 10/12/23 at 11:38pm

I'd be really surprised if it can find another theater so this seems likely to be the end of the road for the show in NY.

I feel like it had a moment in the zeitgeist somewhere in its very early days of previews and initial weeks. It seemed to be this little unknown show that was exceeding expectations. However, it never really took that next leap forward that it seemed like it might. It didn't do terrible of course. But it felt like it was on the verge of breaking out and then it didn't. If it had surprised at the Tonys beyond Newell, it might have. 

I really had a great time at the show. I thought the script was super funny, a lot of the performances were great (though I was actually a little underwhelmed by Alex Newell - Justin Cooley really deserved that Tony IMO). I thought Ashley D. Kelley, Grey Henson and especially Andrew Durand were the underrated performances in this one.

It was great to have a totally original musical have a decent little run and I do think it'll be hugely popular in the amateur/high school/college world.

Also, kudos to the marketing team. Not an easy one to sell and they really worked hard.

Updated On: 10/12/23 at 11:38 PM

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 12:12am

Sad! Will def have to find a time to go see it again! Loved this little gem. 

I do think Shucked had momentum in the Spring and Tony-night surprises could have really launched the show in a way they never could have Akimbo or even Some Like it Hot. 

 

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 12:18am

Saw it yesterday afternoon and loved everything about it, frequently funny, a delightful joy from start to finish. Happy to hear they have announced an Australian production. 

[bear88]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 12:49am

Stop clause, I assume. (Someone please correct me if I’m wrong.)

Nobody can blame the marketing team. It’s a cute show, and a good last-minute mad scramble choice when it was in previews. My wife really enjoyed it, and I appreciated the effort to craft an original story and score as well as many of the performances.

If the Tommy revival is replacing it, that will make more money at the Nederlander. I think Shucked will tour well.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 1:13am

bear88 said: "Stop clause, I assume. (Someone please correct me if I’m wrong.)"

The stop clause is very rarely used. Instead, it was probably a frank conversation between Mike Bosner (the producer) and Nick Scandalios (the person who actually makes everything happen for Nederlander) saying "you're treading water, the winter will be bad for you, we have another show for this house, you've had more than 6 months to try to find an audience, it's time to pack it up."

A producer is only as strong as their relationships, so it's beneficial for them to bend to a theatre owner for the sake of ongoing relationship. And Nederlander doesn't have many midsized houses. If it were making ~700K a week at, say, Shubert's Lyceum Theatre, it might be a different story (they have a lot more theatres, and many play-sized houses).

Updated On: 10/13/23 at 01:13 AM

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 1:17am

bear88 said: "Stop clause, I assume. (Someone please correct me if I’m wrong.)"

Stop clauses are VERY rarely activated because it's almost never worth burning the bridge with that show's producers. It really does take something like the prospect of $3 mill per week from Rudin/Jackman Music Man. It's possible (and more likely) that the producers were more lightly encouraged by the Nederlanders that it was time or that the producers just decided it was time. Better in January than before they start really hemorrhaging money. 

[bear88]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 1:20am

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "bear88 said: "Stop clause, I assume. (Someone please correct me if I’m wrong.)"

The stop clause is very rarely used. Instead, it was probably a frank conversation between Mike Bosner (the producer) and Nick Scandalios (the person who actually makes everything happen for Nederlander) saying "you're treading water, the winter will be bad for you, we have another show that wants a house, you've had more than 6 months to try to find an audience, it's time to pack it up."

A producer is only as strong as their relationships, so it's beneficial for them to bend to a theatre owner for the sake of ongoing relationship."

Interesting. But if that’s the case, isn’t it a distinction without much of a difference? If the producer takes the hint, even though he doesn’t want to close, isn’t that kind of the same thing? Unless Bosner takes the show off-Broadway, it probably doesn’t find a theater in the spring.

[DrMonicaDeMoneco]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 2:54am

Not completely surprised. More surprised that HLL hasn’t posted closing 

[pablitonizer]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 8:23am

DrMonicaDeMoneco said: "Not completely surprised. More surprised that HLL hasn’t posted closing"

There's a report on the Washington post about its struggles  - they will announce a closing date soon

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 9:11am

This now leaves just & Juliet, Kimberly Akimbo and A Beautiful Noise as the only remaining new musicals left from the 2022-23 season(unless one of them announce a closing date soon).

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 9:59am

bear88 said: "Interesting. But if that’s the case, isn’t it a distinction without much of a difference? If the producer takes the hint, even though he doesn’t want to close, isn’t that kind of the same thing? Unless Bosner takes the show off-Broadway, it probably doesn’t find a theater in the spring."

The show does not have to be in stop clause territory for these convos to occur.

The Stop Clause is a legal move, and in an industry where everything happens in the phone or in the bar at Sardi’s, legal action often isn’t necessary. Not between producers & landlords at least. 

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 10:02am

SHUCKED will make its money on the road and when every single regional theatre and community theatre on the planet produces it.  

Is the Nederlander a big enough house for Tommy?

[RWPrincess]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 10:05am

I was somewhat surprised to see this news so soon but I like the idea of this show potentially moving to New World Stages. Maybe that will be a better fit in terms of theater size. I'll have to try to see this one more time before it closes.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 10:58am

The frustrating thing about Broadway having a lot of shows in the pipeline is that you can only give a show a chance for so long, even if it is breaking even 8 weeks out of 10. It's good in the sense that a prime house won't sit dark for a year (usually). But a show that might have limped along for 14 months in 2011 probably doesn't get to do that now.

[pethian]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 11:03am

ACL2006 said: "This now leaves just & Juliet, Kimberly Akimbo and A Beautiful Noise as the only remaining new musicals left from the 2022-23 season(unless one of them announce a closing date soon)."

Wow. You're right, of course, but I hadn't realized this.

[DrMonicaDeMoneco]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 11:47am

pablitonizer said: "DrMonicaDeMoneco said: "Not completely surprised. More surprised that HLL hasn’t posted closing"

There's a report on the Washington post aboutits struggles- they will announce a closing date soon"

I will read that!

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 12:23pm

I’m shocked Here Lies Love only has a $700,000 weekly running cost with that insane theatre setup.

Nearly all new musicals that open on Broadway post-COVID seem to run 9-10 months in a best-case scenario. Entertainment habits have changed, ticket prices are obscene, and even if audiences eventually return in pre-COVID numbers sometime these next few full seasons, they’ll gravitate more towards old favorites that have been in excellent shape for many years. Longevity has become a pre-pandemic sensation. 
 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 12:34pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "I’m shockedHere Lies Loveonly has a $700,000 weekly running cost with that insane theatre setup.

Nearly all new musicals that open on Broadway post-COVID seem to run 9-10 months in a best-case scenario. Entertainment habits have changed, ticket prices are obscene, and even if audiences eventually return in pre-COVID numbers sometime these next few full seasons, they’ll gravitate more towards old favorites that have been in excellent shape for many years. Longevity has become a pre-pandemic sensation."

That might be the running cost with the creative team & service providers waiving their weekly fees/royalties, which brings everything down a bit and can help a show last a little longer. Somehow I had 950 in my head but I don't know where that came from.