Beware Broadway’s January Freeze Frosts June
Fears of Winter Realized In Summer Sun?
BROADWAY MAGAZINE – With 13 shows closing in January, there was much attention paid to the short-term health of Broadway this past Spring. The fretting was in vain, as we had predicted at the time. However, there is more than a touch of January’s chill in the June sky over Broadway. Consider that 14 shows closed in January, including some giants like HAIRSPRAY and SPAMALOT. However, 4 of that 14 were special holiday productions slated to end.
Scary things sometimes move slowly. Quietly this June Broadway will say farewell to 8 shows and since May 10, 11 productions will have closed on Broadway. Yes, some of them were limited runs, but most could’ve extended if economics warranted or if stars were able to extend. The unfortunate 11 closings since May 10 are: Guys and Dolls, 33 Variations, Impressionism, Exit the King, Reasons To Be Pretty, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Desire Under the Elms, Accent On Youth, Irena’s Vow, August: Osage County, and The Philanthropist. Last year during the same period, 7 productions closed.
The Federal Reserve’s June Beige Book reports: “Broadway theaters report that business picked up in April but weakened in May: attendance was up 1 percent from a year earlier in April but down 4 percent in May; revenues were up 4 percent in April but down 3 percent in May.” Will the next Beige Book report a continued dip? With 11 show closings since May 10, and other shows on the ropes, could the worst Broadway fears of January become a reality by September? We hope not…but as Neil LaBute would never write: “oh shoot.”
