Broadway Post 2: What I Did For Love/ Sunrise, Sunset

What I Did For Love/Sunrise Sunset

Or Why Broadway shows close long before their sunset

https://s-media-cache

“They say for every bright light on Broadway, there is a broken heart, an unrealized dream.” 

Two time Tony winner Sutton Foster made this rather unfortunate, but painfully true observation of one of the most notoriously difficult professions. Despite being a challenging business to break into, there are still many inspiring success stories of new “classics” such as Wicked making it big and producing huge stars. However, why do shows with engaging stories, talented casts, and brilliant scores close after a few weeks, or some never even see the great lights of Broadway?  Renown blog that chronicles news regarding the Great White Way, The Broadway Bulletin, claims the main causes of shows closing are a lack of ticket sales and funding, being housed in the wrong theatre,  and not gaining enough commercial attention.  

1) The unfortunate reality of any business is that if you lack to funds to continue improving the show and keep it running, maintaining the project is very difficult. If ticket sales are not turning as big a profit as is necessary to offset production costs, keeping the show alive is not only difficult, but also very risky financially. Shows such as Shrek and Spiderman: Turn off the Dark took $27 million and $79 million to produce, respectively, and as both were met with lukewarm reviews and rather small crowds, they were not able to earn back everything they had spent. The producers obviously wanted to cut their losses at that point, even though this meant closing two excellent shows with very talented casts. Similarly, Bonnie and Clyde, a promising show with an engaging premise and two of the biggest names in musical theatre as leads, Laura Osnes and Jeremy Jordan, was forced to close after just four weeks on Broadway due to declining ticket sales after taking a couple of critical hits. The unforgiving nature of show biz is that it can be nearly impossible to get a hit without the funding to keep it alive.

2) Another cause of Broadway shows flopping is simply that a show can be housed in a theatre that doesn’t best showcase the story. Next to Normal, for instance a simple show with a small cast did exceptionally well in a smaller theatre, providing a more intimate setting, which fit well with the story. Larger shows, like Wicked, that contain huge numbers, elaborate sets, and impressive orchestras require a larger space, which is a reason it has been met with so much success at the Gershwin.  These varied settings also help to ensure that the right crowds are being drawn to these shows, as people looking for a more personal, quietly powerful experience will be drawn to shows like The Last Five Years, fans drawn to classical, lyrical shows will attend My Fair Lady or The King and I, whereas audiences hoping for a fun, loud, feel-good show will gravitate towards Aladdin or Matilda.

3) As many Broadway-theatre-goers are tourists, gaining commercial attention is very important to accumulate interest and bring in ticket sales.  Methods of obtaining this include producing an iTunes soundtrack, a very powerful form of advertising that can also turn a profit in itself. As a passionate theatre kid, I can tell you there is nothing more frustrating than hearing rave reviews about a Broadway show and not being able to access the soundtrack to hear the gloriousness everyone is talking about. Additionally, advertising in ways that introduce the everyday person to the show, as there are not enough die-hard fans with the proximity to New York, as well as the funds, to keep the show afloat. This can include social media buzz or talk shows that can assist in obtaining attention. Tourists will often go see shows they have at least heard of, which is one of the reasons famous shows such as Wicked or Phantom have done so well for so long.  
Future Research: Why some show last for decades with great success. How they keep things "fresh"

Author's Note: Best "Forgotten Shows"

• Bonnie and Clyde
• Shrek
• Thoroughly Modern Millie
• The Bridges of Madison County
• Carrie
• Chess
• Sundays in the Park with George
• On the 20th Century
• Heathers
• Hunchback of Notre Dame
• Jekyll and Hyde
• Ruthless