why are so many shows CLOSING? | an explanation of the West End and Broadway turmoil
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- Опубліковано 14 лис 2022
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OHMYGOD HEY!
Recently theatre fans on both sides of the Atlantic have been shocked by closing announcements from several Broadway and West End shows.
As well as popular musicals like Dear Evan Hansen and Come From Away closing in New York and London, the recent Tony Award winning A Strange Loop, London's & Juliet and Broadway's longest running show The Phantom of the Opera have also announced early 2023 closure.
Most recent is the news that The Woman in Black, a show that has played in London for 33 years, will close next year at the Fortune Theatre.
In today's video I'm looking beyond the drama and despair to explain and analyse these closings, looking at the reasons why each individual production is ending as well as some overall industry factors...
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Another reason people haven't been advance booking tickets is all the train strikes recently. If you are coming to see a show in London, chances are you will be using a train and people are worried about booking a ticket then not being able to get there due to strikes.
I don't know if this is a bit niche, but I'd love a video about the logistics and economics of touring productions. I'm not near London, so I'm limited by what comes to my local theatre. I always wonder, how do they choose the venues, how do they know how long to stay, there is a massive variation in the size and capacity of regional theatres, is it less risky for producers because there are new potential audiences every week? Just something I'd love to learn more about as a theatre fan who's not based in London
i think Dear Evan Hansen suffered from the movie and the backlash there. The movie allowed people to take a second look at the show and decide they don't really like it anymore, and that has translated to the theatre version in the public perception.
I am another theatre goer who stopped booking advance tickets because of the train strikes. I will return in a flash if transport becomes reliable again. Congratulations on 40k followers!
Not a closing but an opening - Anaïs Mitchell did a gig at Koko in Camden last night, announced (alongside her Grammy nomination) that she's looking at bringing Hadestown to the West End. Rachel Chavkin rumoured to direct again. Nothing confirmed yet, but thought I'd spread the news.
Come From Away closing really saddens me, it's such an incredible show and I think absolutely everyone should see it. Unfortunately though, 9 times out of 10 when I mention it to people they've never heard of it. It's sad but I can understand why it's closing. I just really hope it tours so that more people can have the opportunity to see it.
I think it’s worth remembering that even though Covid restrictions are gone, Covid isn’t. So for me at least as an audience member that means there’s still uncertainty and a lack of desire to book really far ahead. If there’s a big wave of Covid I may not want to sit at a theatre. I wonder if this is also why more classic shows aren’t doing well, because the audiences for that tend to be older and I wonder if older, more vulnerable people are less likely to want to be in a theatre.
You're right about Come From Away advertising material not grabbing people. I skipped it many times when deciding what to see on Todaytix or Seatplan as it didn't appeal. Then a musical theatre loving acquaintance told me it was unmissable. I took his word for it and went. I loved it and have seen it twice more since. Truly a show that will stay in my heart.
I love this video! So so so true! You mentioned running costs - people need to remember that some shows have massive backstage departments (Billy Elliot had 10 dressers and then swing dressers, plus chaperones... etc. etc). &Juliet has the heaviest grid that The Shaftesbury has ever had, so the grid had to be reinforced. Also, with the flying, there are many diverts etc. Then you get to the floor, and the lifts, revolves etc. Everything needs to be professionally maintained. Mary Poppins has performer flying - which ventures over the audience - the costs there are insane. Imagine the insurance costs for that?... Ah, the mirror ball over the audience in the Johannesburg run of Priscilla fell during a performance and one person ended up in hospital - court case - polystyrene apparently rotten. Hired sound, lights, AV - and sometimes LED screens. What is now known as The Lyric on Broadway (home to Harry Potter) decreased the audience capacity in order to reduce costs. So many shows managed to keep casts, or indeed leads, from pre-pandemic. Cast changes are helluva expensive. Hiring a rehearsal space for a few weeks, new costumes or refitted ones. Paying that cast for rehearsals. Rehearsal sets etc. Older shows needing new sets. I remember a number of years ago when it made it to the news how The Mousetrap was getting a new set, so it would be running for years. Which then asks the question of how to make shows cheaper to keep running? Are the days of massive mega-musicals then over? How will the costs of large child casts be managed? Will it be years before Oliver! returns? More adult casts playing kids? Anyhow, thanks for an awesome vlog!... but where does this subject end?
I absolutely cannot get over the closing of The Prince of Egypt 😢😢😢
As a box office professional, I can vouch for the unwillingness to buy ahead (no refunds) (will I still be living in this town) (can I travel there now?); I booked several groups this week for our venue that will not commit/pay up until much closer to their dates than we usually allow. School groups don't have the budget even at heavily discounted student rates. Even after lockdown ended, we've still had to cancel shows because someone in the cast or crew tested positive and there weren't enough covers. Personally, my response to many of these announcements is FINALLY. Good lord, where are the new shows? Uh oh, there's no place for them to go. When a show becomes an industry, isn't it more like a theme park and isn't that what Vegas is for?
The Music Man is still the largest grossing show per performance in the history of Broadway. The cast is simply exhausted Most have had Covid multiple times and including the pandemic many have given well over two years of their life to the project.
I believe also the theatre community does not know how to promote or market a show.
I think the main problem is the price of tickets. Although I love theatre, none of my friends can afford or justify spending £80 - £120 for 2 hours entertainment.
I studied Women in Black for GCSE drama and did my exam on it. It is such a clever play and very simple yet effective. I love the fact when I saw it in London, there was a school group and the was chatty and noisy and the moment it got scary they all shout up.
Side note - & Juliet opens in Melbourne in a few months, so you can tell the UK fans to pop over or at least be comforted that it's continuing on Broadway and over here!
2:22
January closures on Broadway also allow enough time for the production to get out, theatre to get a clean and new show to open in time for Tony Awards.....
Thank you for making a much needed insightful video!