Impressionism Outperforms Jane Fonda on Broadway
Momentum Building For New Play
BROADWAY MAGAZINE – With a show that boasts Jeremy Irons and Joan Allen and director Jack O’Brien, the new play Impressionism faced high expectations out of the gate. Though the opening night critics were not positive toward the production, a new article by Jeremy Gerard in Bloomberg suggests that the show is faring at least as well as some of the other more positively reviewed plays currently running on Broadway. In his article, Mr. Gerard dissects production costs of mounting a Broadway play, as well as looks at a bit of the reasoning behind producing Impressionism without an out-of-town workshop. For the record, Impressionism actually out-grossed Jane Fonda in 33 Variations last week by over $22,000.
While Mr. Gerard states that only God Of Carnage “has shown signs of bucking the trend” of selling enough tickets to turn a profit, we respectfully disagree. We would point out that both Exit The King and Blithe Spirit have each produced box office numbers to challenge God of Carnage. Either show could lay claim to the mantle of being the “prestige hit” of the season. Also, with the eagerly awaited Mary Stuart, Nathan Lane in Waiting For Godot, August Wilson’s gem Joe Turner’s Come and Gone and the UK hit production of The Norman Conquests on the way, there are still strong contenders for other plays to become the prestige hit of the season.
That said, Mr. Gerard’s commentary is astute and provides wonderful insight into the business of producing on Broadway. For more on what the actors of Impressionism felt about the reviews and the positive audience buzz, check out our conversation with Impressionism’s
Marsha Mason.
Tags: 33 Variations, August Wilson, Blithe Spirit, Bloomberg, Exit The King, God of Carnage, Impressionism, Jack O'Brien, Jane Fonda, Jeremy Gerard, Jeremy Irons, Joan Allen, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Mary Stuart, Nathan Lane, The Norman Conquests, Waiting For Godot
April 14th, 2009 at 5:59 am
Thanks for your good words. I would just point out that in discussing “Impressionism,” “God of Carnage” and “33 Variations,” it was clear that I was looking only at new plays and not revivals; your respectful disagreement is oranges to my apples.
April 15th, 2009 at 4:20 am
Thanks, Jeremy. Very exciting to hear from you as I’m a fan of your work. As you were writing about the upcoming Neil Simon revivals in the same column, I didn’t catch the distinction. Now that you point it out, it makes sense. I must confess bias here, as a Schiller fan, I’m pulling for “Mary Stuart” to be the prestige hit of the season…or rather as an August Wilson fan, I’m pulling for “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone”…actually, as a Eugene O’Neill fan…wait, I mean, as an Alan Ayckbourn fan…rather, an Ionesco fan, I’m hopeful that “Exit The King” becomes the prestige hit of the…I meant to say Samuel Beckett fan…
Would you agree that the new plays this season aren’t quite up to the level of the revivals in terms of writing? That’s apples to oranges too, I would say.