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Tri-State Theater

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Friday, January 09, 2009

Dark Days on Broadway

My pal Shirlee recently wrote:
Chuck... just got back from NYC. Can not tell you how eerie it was to see half the theatres closed. I know a lot of new shows are going to be opening up but a few rumors have put the hold on some of them.... I hope Broadway figures out where they are going or we will see a lot of local, talented people, who want to be there out of work before they even begin!
.. And now this from Broadway.com:
Nine productions said good-bye to the Great White Way on January 4: 13, Boeing-Boeing, Dividing the Estate, Grease, Hairspray, Liza's at the Palace, Slava's Snowshow, White Christmas and Young Frankenstein.
Of course, some of those shows are tied to the holidays and were planning to close anyway.

But that's not the end of it - other shows (like Spring Awakening) close this month and in February, though quite a few shows will soldier on, of course.

New shows will take their place eventually, and many are in rehearsals now - but for the moment, the lights are shining a little darker on Broadway.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

It may seem bad, but Broadway grosses for 2008 were up from 2007. You can read about it here. http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/broadway-grosses-rose-in-2008/

"In the Heights," "Shrek" and "Mamma Mia" just had a very good week too. All three broke attendance records.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/08/in-the-heights-recoups-in-strong-broadway-week/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Chuck Minsker said...

Denise, that's true! Of course, with fewer shows to choose from, the ones that remain will probably have better attendance. ;-)