Broadway and the recession
stephen...@gmail.com
From today's Daily Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/3691742/Broadway-hit-by-downturn.html
A shorter version of this article was on the *front page* of this
morning's paper, under the headline 'Crisis on Broadway', and the
front page photograph was of Tim Curry in 'Spamalot'.
--
Stephen
Joan in GB-W
<stephen...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:10339ead-56b9-4925...@o40g2000prn.googlegroups.com...
This is baaaaad.
stephen...@gmail.com
> <stephen.far...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:10339ead-56b9-4925...@o40g2000prn.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
> > From today's Daily Telegraph:
>
>
> > A shorter version of this article was on the *front page* of this
> > morning's paper, under the headline 'Crisis on Broadway', and the
> > front page photograph was of Tim Curry in 'Spamalot'.
>
> > --
>
> > Stephen
>
> This is baaaaad.
Yes it is, though the article, actually, doesn't (and should) make the
point that some of the shows that will be closing, like 'Hairspray',
are long-running shows that were probably close to the end of their
natural lives anyway and will be closing comfortably in the black.
--
Stephen
bval...@aol.com
For years, you've been wanting to stick it to the rich, and bring them
down. Did you ever stop to think that when you cripple the rich,
Broadway dries up and blows away? After all, who do you think is able
to whip out a gold MasterCard and pay $447.60 for two VIP tickets to
"Chicago"?
Now, the people who have paid the vast majority of Broadway's tab
can't afford to go out. Since shows make next to nothing on half
price discount seats, producers will have no option other than dark
houses.
It's call "unintended consequences" - and under the Obama
administration, that will be a way of life.
If you think Broadway dying is a bother, wait until Barry manages to
bankrupt the coal industry, as he has promised to do. We get 50% of
our electricity from coal.
Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. That I said this unpleasant truth means
that I'm a racist.
.
bval...@aol.com
> > A shorter version of this article was on the *front page* of this
> > morning's paper, under the headline 'Crisis on Broadway', and the
> > front page photograph was of Tim Curry in 'Spamalot'.
> This is baaaaad.
.
Why is it bad? You wanted to take down the rich, and you got what you
wanted. Rejoice.
bval...@aol.com
> Yes it is, though the article, actually, doesn't (and should) make the
> point that some of the shows that will be closing, like 'Hairspray',
> are long-running shows that were probably close to the end of their
> natural lives anyway and will be closing comfortably in the black.
Of course, "Hairspray" made its money during the decadent Bush years -
before the Democrats took over both houses.
Jeanne Douglas
<3da6eba5-e06f-40f6...@f33g2000vbf.googlegroups.com>,
"bval...@aol.com" <bval...@aol.com> wrote:
> Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. That I said this unpleasant truth means
> that I'm a racist.
No, it doesn't; it means you're an ignorant illiterate moron.
--
JD
"...if you think the 'Star Wars' prequels are a disease, then
'Serenity' is the cure."
bval...@aol.com
> > Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. That I said this unpleasant truth means
> > that I'm a racist.
.
> No, it doesn't; it means you're an ignorant illiterate moron.
I might be an ignorant, illiterate moron, but I'm an ignorant,
illiterate moron whose predictions came true.
.
Steve Newport
shows playing at Tony time?
Joan in GB-W
<bval...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:ecbc3f70-f6e8-4688...@o40g2000yqb.googlegroups.com...
Was Broadway on hard times during Bill Clinton's first term?
Harlett O'Dowd
> Was Broadway on hard times during Bill Clinton's first term?
no.
http://www.broadwayleague.com/index.php?url_identifier=season-by-season-stats-1
general rise in revenue/tickets sold through all 8 years of his
presidency. 2001-02 saw a drop, obviouosly, due to the 9/11 attacks
and the mini-Bush recession. There was also a big drop in the 85-86
season, (the year of DROOD) but that may have been more due to the
lack of a blockbuster musical (CATS was already 3 years old and LES
MIZ a year away.)
The truth be told, Broadway never got over the Great Depression. In
terms of number of productions, number of operating theatres, people
employed and, (I believe, when adjusted for inflation) revenue, even
the past couple of years (which has priced me out of seeing more than
one or two a season, when I would normally see 5-6) cannot compare to
the Broadway of the 1927-28 season and a great many of the seasons
before it.
Steve Newport
Was Broadway on hard times during Bill Clinton's first term?
Like the rich have been taken down... bailouts, bailouts, bailouts.
bval...@aol.com
> >> > A shorter version of this article was on the *front page* of this
> >> > morning's paper, under the headline 'Crisis on Broadway', and the
> >> > front page photograph was of Tim Curry in 'Spamalot'.
> >> This is baaaaad.
.
> > Why is it bad? You wanted to take down the rich, and you got what you
> > wanted. Rejoice.
.
> Was Broadway on hard times during Bill Clinton's first term?
Nope. But then, Clinton is a Reaganite compared to Nancy Pelosi and
Harry Reid.
Robert Bouton
presidential leadership.
But, if you insist, don't lose sight of the fact that the president,
until January 20, is George W. Bush.
Steve Newport
big drop in the 85-86 season, (the year of DROOD) but that may have been
more due to the lack of a blockbuster musical (CATS was already 3 years
---------------------------------------
See: trickle down never worked!
bval...@aol.com
Nor should you lose sight of the fact that for the past two years, the
Democrats have controlled both houses.
Feuillade
wrote:
> On Dec 11, 3:40 pm, "Joan in GB-W" <jjkr...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> > Was Broadway on hard times during Bill Clinton's first term?
>
> no.
>
>
> general rise in revenue/tickets sold through all 8 years of his
> presidency. 2001-02 saw a drop, obviouosly, due to the 9/11 attacks
> and the mini-Bush recession. There was also a big drop in the 85-86
> season, (the year of DROOD) but that may have been more due to the
> lack of a blockbuster musical (CATS was already 3 years old and LES
> MIZ a year away.)
>
> The truth be told, Broadway never got over the Great Depression. In
> terms of number of productions, number of operating theatres, people
> employed and, (I believe, when adjusted for inflation) revenue, even
> the past couple of years (which has priced me out of seeing more than
> one or two a season, when I would normally see 5-6) cannot compare to
> the Broadway of the 1927-28 season and a great many of the seasons
> before it.
Your numbers might be skewed because a lot of the standard sources
(like Burns Mantle) don't make a distinction between Broadway and what
we would consider Off-Broadway productions.
Tom Moran
Harlett O'Dowd
> Your numbers might be skewed because a lot of the standard sources
> (like Burns Mantle) don't make a distinction between Broadway and what
> we would consider Off-Broadway productions.
>
> Tom Moran- Hide quoted text -
That's very true, except that it isn't.
Making the assumption that the season as listed on the ibdb is similar
to that listed in Burns Mantle, only a handful of theatres would be
considered "Off-Broadway" by today's standards, by being at least one
of the following:
a) out of the geographic confines of Broadway
b) seating less than 500
c) primarily used for cabaret/after theatre entertainment (like the
New Amsterdam Roof)
under those criteria, I find only the following would have been
considered Off Broadway in tyhe 1927-28 season:
Casino de Paris
Central Park West at 62nd St., Roof, New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 500
Charles Hopkins Theatre
155 W. 49th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 300
Cherry Lane Theatre
38 Commerce St., New York, NY
American Laboratory
Civic Repertory Theatre
107 W. 14th St. (Sixth Ave), New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1100
Edyth Totten Theatre
247 W. 48th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 300
Frolic Theatre
214 W. 42nd St., Roof, New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 680
Garrick Theatre
67 W. 35th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 910
Greenwich Village Theatre
7th Ave. South, near Christopher, New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 425
New Playwrights Theatre
38 Commerce St., New York, NY
Princess Theatre
104 W. 39th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 300
Provincetown Playhouse
133 MacDougal St., New York, NY
And several of these are holdovers from when the theatre district was
further downtown (Garrick.) And some of the smaller houses in the
current theatre district (Princess) housed major productions, so,
again I think many of these can be successfully argued to have been
considered "major" or "Broadway" houses in 1927-28.
That still leaves us with the following "authentic" Broadway houses:
44th Street Theatre
216 W. 44th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1465
48th Street Theatre
157 W. 48th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 970
49th Street Theatre
235 W. 49th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 750
Alvin Theatre
250 W. 52nd St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1428
Ambassador Theatre
219 W. 49th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1120
Apollo Theatre
223 W. 42nd St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1200
Belasco Theatre
111 W. 44th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1040
Belmont Theatre
125 W. 48th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 500
Bijou Theatre
209 W. 45th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 600
Biltmore Theatre
261 W. 47th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 650
Booth Theatre
222 W. 45th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 806
Broadhurst Theatre
235 W. 44th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1218
Casino Theatre
1404 Broadway (W. 39th), New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 875
Century Theatre
Central Park West at W. 62nd St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 2320
Chanin's 46th Street Theatre
226 W. 46th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1380
Comedy Theatre
110 W. 41st St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 625
Cort Theatre
138 W. 48th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1102
Cosmopolitan Theatre
5 Columbus Circle (W. 58th & 59th), New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1355
Daly's 63rd Street Theatre
22 W. 63rd St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1025
Earl Carroll Theatre
753 Seventh Ave. (W. 50th St.), New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1025
Eltinge 42nd Street Theatre
236 W. 42nd St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 900
Empire Theatre
1430 Broadway (40th & 41st), New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1100
Erlanger's Theatre
246 W. 44th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1710
Forrest Theatre
230 W. 49th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1108
Fulton Theatre
210 W. 46th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 895
Gallo Opera House
254 W. 54th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 922
George M. Cohan's Theatre
1482 Broadway at W. 43rd St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1085
Globe Theatre
205 W. 46th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1509
Guild Theatre
245 W. 52nd St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1222
Hammerstein's Theatre
1697 Broadway at W. 53rd St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1205
Hampden's Theatre
1887 Broadway at 62nd St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1265
Henry Miller's Theatre
124 W. 43rd St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 635
Hudson Theatre
141 W. 44th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1050
Imperial Theatre
249 W. 45th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1435
John Golden Theatre
202 W. 58th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 825
Jolson's 59th Street Theatre
932 Seventh Ave. at W. 58th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1700
Klaw Theatre
251 W. 45th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 805
Knickerbocker Theatre
1396 Broadway (West 38th St.), New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1500
Liberty Theatre
234 W. 42nd St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1055
Little Theatre
240 W. 44th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 597
Longacre Theatre
220 W. 48th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1095
Lyceum Theatre
149 W. 45th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 943
Lyric Theatre
213 W. 42nd St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1260
Manhattan Opera House
311 West 34th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 3100
Mansfield Theatre
256 W. 47th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1109
Martin Beck Theatre
302 W. 45th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1437
Maxine Elliott's Theatre
109 W. 39th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 935
Morosco Theatre
217 W. 45th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 955
Music Box Theatre
239 W. 45th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1025
National Theatre
208 W. 41st St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1232
New Amsterdam Theatre
214 W. 42nd St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1801
Nora Bayes Theatre
216 W. 44th St., Roof, New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 865
Playhouse Theatre
137 W. 48th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 865
Plymouth Theatre
236 W. 45th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1093
Ritz Theatre
219 W. 48th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 947
Royale Theatre
242 W. 45th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1101
Majestic Theatre
247 W. 44th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1609
Sam H. Harris Theatre
226 W. 42nd St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1200
Selwyn Theatre
229 W. 42nd St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 740
Shubert Theatre
225 W. 44th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1468
Theatre Masque
252 W. 45th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 805
Theatre Republic
207 W. 42nd, New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1100
Vanderbilt Theatre
148 W. 48th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 780
Waldorf Theatre
116 W. 50th St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1050
Wallack's Theatre
254 W. 42nd St., New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 880
Winter Garden Theatre
1634 Broadway (At W. 50th St.), New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1498
Ziegfeld Theatre
6th Avenue at W. 54th St., Roof, New York, NY
Seats (approximate): 1660
if you've made it down this far, that's 67 - count 'em - 67 working
Broadway theatres during the 1927-28 season and 232 Broadway
productions (although, yes, several were intended short revival runs.)
An additional two productions started "Off-Broadway" and moved up, so
that would up the total to 234.
Successful shows (which I consider - for the time - to be over 250
performances included:)
1 Show Boat
[Original, Musical, Drama] (Dec 27, 1927 - May 4, 1929) Perf. Count:
572
2 Good News
[Original, Musical, Comedy] (Sep 6, 1927 - Jan 5, 1929) Perf. Count:
557
3 Blackbirds of 1928
[Original, Musical, Revue] (May 9, 1928 - Aug 1929) Perf. Count: 518
4 Skidding
[Original, Play, Comedy] (May 21, 1928 - Jul 1929) Perf. Count: 472
5 The Road to Rome
[Revival, Play, Comedy] (May 21, 1928 - Jun 1929) Perf. Count: 440
6 The Trial of Mary Dugan
[Original, Play, Melodrama] (Sep 19, 1927 - Oct 1927) Perf. Count:
437
7 Strange Interlude
[Original, Play, Drama] (Jan 30, 1928 - Feb 1929) Perf. Count: 426
8 A Connecticut Yankee
[Original, Musical, Comedy] (Nov 3, 1927 - Oct 27, 1928) Perf. Count:
421
9 Burlesque
[Original, Play, Comedy] (Sep 1, 1927 - Jul 1928) Perf. Count: 372
10 Porgy
[Original, Play] (Oct 10, 1927 - Aug 1928) Perf. Count: 367
11 Coquette
[Original, Play, Romance, Tragedy] (Nov 8, 1927 - Sep 1928) Perf.
Count: 366
12 Rain or Shine
[Original, Musical] (Feb 9, 1928 - Dec 15, 1928) Perf. Count: 356
13 The Royal Family
[Original, Play, Comedy] (Dec 28, 1927 - Oct 1928) Perf. Count: 345
14 Rosalie
[Original, Musical, Comedy] (Jan 10, 1928 - Oct 27, 1928) Perf. Count:
335
15 The Three Musketeers
[Original, Musical, Drama] (Mar 13, 1928 - Dec 15, 1928) Perf. Count:
318
16 My Maryland
[Original, Musical, Romance] (Sep 12, 1927 - Jun 9, 1928) Perf. Count:
312
17 The Ivory Door
[Original, Play] (Oct 18, 1927 - Jul 1928) Perf. Count: 310
18 The Shannons of Broadway
[Original, Play, Comedy] (Sep 26, 1927 - Jun 1928) Perf. Count: 288
19 The Five O'Clock Girl
[Original, Musical, Comedy] (Oct 10, 1927 - Jun 2, 1928) Perf. Count:
280
20 The Silent House
[Original, Play, Melodrama] (Feb 7, 1928 - Oct 1928) Perf. Count: 277
21 Manhattan Mary
[Original, Musical, Comedy] (Sep 26, 1927 - May 12, 1928) Perf. Count:
264
22 The Bachelor Father
[Original, Play, Comedy] (Feb 28, 1928 - Oct 1928) Perf. Count: 263
23 Dracula
[Original, Play, Drama] (Oct 5, 1927 - May 1928) Perf. Count:
To put the whole thing into perspective, The original production of
SHOW BOAT, and, indeed, most big musicals of the era, had a cast of
well over 100 players in it. Come February 2009, it is quite probable
that fewer than 100 people willl be appearing in ALL (then) currently
running Broadway musicals put together.
So Tom, I can be convinced that a post-1928 season was more successful
due to BO dollars collected (adjusted for inflation) or butts in the
seats or people working the boards, but you'll have to present some
impressive figures to make me believe it.