For Broadway musical aficionados
the first half of the 2012-2013 season has been one of the worst in recent
memory. Let’s look at some of the
numbers—only four new musicals have opened since August. One of these, A Christmas Story - The Musical, can be certified as a hit. Based on the beloved holiday movie the
show, for the week of December 16th, is playing to 99% capacity with
the average ticket price just over $102.00 (average of the inexpensive balcony
seats, mezzanine, and orchestra).
This made it the fourth highest grossing musical—new or continuing—on
Broadway. Not bad. But A Christmas Story - The Musical is a limited run and will be closing on December 30th.
The other three, Bring It On—The
Musical, Chaplin, and Scandalous, either have already closed or will be doing
so within the next two weeks. By
January 6th there will be no original musical playing on Broadway. You could argue that Bring It On was a
success since the producers originally planned a limited run on Broadway after
an extensive national tour.
Opening on August 1, 2012 the production was suppose to close on October
7th, but was extended to January 20, 2013. Soft ticket sales backed up the closing date to December 30,
2012.
Chaplin will close after less then
four months on Broadway. In my
review I praised Act I, but Act II was a mess and the score is rather
forgettable. I’m surprised the
musical stayed open this long.
Only Rob McClure’s performance as Chaplin was noteworthy and Tony voters
will not forget later this spring.
Scandalous, shuttered its doors
after four weeks. With uniformly
unflattering reviews its claim to fame is that book and lyrics were by
television personality Kathie Lee Gifford.
Three revivals have opened this
fall and two, Elf and
Annie, are doing well at the box office. While not selling out they are playing
at 86% and 87% capacity (as of the week of December 16th),
respectively. Their average ticket
price indicates not a huge number of discount tickets being sold. But, Elf is also a limited run show and will be shutting down on January 6th. The third show, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, is a rousing success, but is struggling mightily. Scheduled as a limited run through
March 13, 2013 don’t be surprised if it closes beforehand.
That’s the complete fall musical
season. Not very impressive. When you factor in the bizarre
circumstances surrounding the collapse of financing for the musical Rebecca, that was due to
open in November, it makes the beginning of the Broadway season even more disastrous.
So, what does a Broadway musical
fan do? For new productions we
will simply have to hold-off until April.
That’s when Motown - the Musical, Cindy Lauper’s Kinky Boots,
and the London smash hit Matilda, open on Broadway. There might be a few more new shows
(Diner – The Musical, with a score by pop star Sheryl Crow, is planned for
April 2013, but…) and a smattering of revivals, but as of this posting that’s
it. Why do we all need to wait
until then? There are many potential
answers or combination of possibilities—the economy, the ability to raise the
necessary funds to capitalize a show, theater availability, and producers wanting
to open as close to the Tony Award deadline as possible, which will be near the
end of April 2013.
If these three musicals are hits as
well as a few other new shows and revivals then our disappointment with the
first part of the 2012-2013 season will be a memory. Right now both Kinky Boots and Matilda seem like surefire
winners. Kinky Boots received
enthusiastic reviews in its Chicago pre-Broadway tryout this past October and Matilda
ran away with the 2012 Olivier Awards (London’s equivalent to the Tony Awards)
including Best Musical. We can
only hope a precocious schoolgirl with magical powers and a bevy of footwear fetish drag queens can save the Broadway musical season.
