AT LEAST SONDHEIM FINALLY GOT HIS THEATER BEFORE THIS: The much-delayed Broadway musical
Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark has always seemed more of a Vegas show than a Broadway one in a lot of ways (music by half of U2! Massive flying/swinging effects! Direction by Julie Taymor! Gutting, then regutting the theater on a level not seen since
Dude!). That transition is now almost complete, with the gorgeous theater that's been dark since
Young Frankenstein closed over a year and a half ago
now being known as the Foxwoods Theatre. Perhaps because the house is so big, it's been kind of cursed since its reopening, with
Ragtime closing prematurely,
Young Frankenstein and
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang being money-losing disappointments, and
Hot Feet and
Pirate Queen being massive bombs.
<span>"<span>Pirate Queen"? </span>Did this involve Romeo and Ethel in some way?</span>
ReplyDeleteYou can't say enough about the premature closing of Ragtime. I saw that show a few days before it was originally scheduled to close (before they gave it another week...how generous), and it was amazing.
ReplyDeleteAre you talking about the original production, or the recent revival (which was somewhat stripped-down, but still largely the same production). Ragtime just had a lot of misfortune--opening in a season with a surprise artistic and commercial blockbuster in Lion King, its producers' legal troubles, and the tiring of the public with the "mega-musical." Like "The Full Monty," it could have been a much much bigger hit in another season.
ReplyDeleteAs an arts-fundraising professional, I've spent some time defending the corporate-naming of theaters. (i.e. "American Airlines Theater", etc.) However, the "Foxwoods Theater" on Broadway just makes me sad.
ReplyDeleteAs for Spider-Man, no one I know in theater really believes it's ever getting to Broadway.
I'll say this for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: that show did confetti up right, I'll tell you. Most shows I see, my assessment tends to involve the phrase "needs more confetti."
ReplyDeleteThe revival was fabulous. I thought a lot of the acting was deeper than in the original, and the singing was gorgeous throughout.
ReplyDeleteTotally with you on the Foxwoods Theater. I heard some reference to it on the radio and assumed they were talking about the performance venue at the casino in Connecticut.
ReplyDelete