Is Broadway Brighter Than You Might’ve Guessed?

(BROADWAY MAGAZINE) Are the Broadway doomsayers wrong? First, they predicted the fall of Katie Holmes, now they are predicting a plague on Broadway. With all the dramatic rhetoric and multiple shows closing at the same time, you might not have guessed that the facts are not entirely consistent with the headlines about the dark days of Broadway.

Last week the Broadway box office was healthier than it had been a year ago at the same time. Yes, Fate has felled multiple shows in January(when hasn’t it?), but the truth is that at last count the Broadway League has 21 shows opening on Broadway between today and April 30. Additional openings in that time period for other shows are anticipated. Put the “Broadway 21″ together with the big hits that are still playing, and the reality suggest that Broadway is not dead yet (to paraphrase Spamalot…which actually just closed…hmmm). If you follow the fortune of the Broadway 21, you’ll have a better idea of the health of Broadway. Let’s see where things are in April. Here they are the 21 shows opening between now and the end of April. Photo of Mary-Louise Parker in Hedda Gabler by Nigel Parry.

The Broadway 21

1. Soul of Shaolin
   
2. The American Plan
   
3. Hedda Gabler
   
4. You’re Welcome America
   
5. The Story of My Life
   
6. God of Carnage
   
7. Guys and Dolls
   
8. 33 Variations
   
9. Impressionism
   
10. West Side Story
    
11. Irena’s Vow
    
12. Hair
    
13. reasons to be pretty
    
14. Rock of Ages
    
15. Blithe Spirit
    
16. Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
    
17. Mary Stuart
    
18. The Philanthropist
    
19. Accent on Youth
    
20. Waiting for Godot
    
21. 9 to 5

Tags: 33 Variations, 9 to 5, Accent On Youth, Blithe Spirit, God of Carnage, Guys and Dolls, Hair, Hedda Gabler, Impressionism, Irena's Vow, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Mary Stuart, Mary-Louise Parker, Openings, reasons to be pretty, Rock of Ages, Soul of Shaolin, The American Plan, The Philanthropist, The Story Of My Life, Waiting For Godot, West Side Story, You're Welcome America

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 13th, 2009 at 11:08 pm and is filed under Broadway Blog, Broadway Magazine, Broadway Magazine List, Broadway News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.