Trends of the Decade: The Down-Sizing of Broadway

Broadway (and theatre in general) has a long history of the “Pendulum Swing”: first, one extreme, then the other, with a few constants thrown into the mix. The first decade of the 21st Century was no different with regards to this one trend: everything seems to be getting smaller.

 

Whether it is the size of the cast, the size of the orchestra, the size (or lack of) the scenery, the length of the run or even the length of the show, Broadway, like corporate America, has down-sized.

Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman in

A Steady Rain

 

I suppose it was inevitable economically, as we toil through another bone-wearying national recession. Previously, there were just fewer shows during the lean times, but these days the number of shows remains a constant. It is the size of the show that has shrunken like a souvenir head on Bloody Mary’s cart. Fewer cast members and smaller sets which require fewer stage hands can drastically cut a producer’s budget. And when those fewer cast members are beloved film stars, producers can have their cake and eat it, too. It seems no matter how tight the theatre-goer purse is, there’s always room in it to shell out Premium prices to see Nathan and Matthew, Hugh and Daniel, or Denzel and Julia. And the extra bonus here is that 99% of the time, to get your star to play Broadway, you can make all of your money before the buzz dies down because you are forced into an urgent sounding “Limited Engagement! 16 weeks only!” run.

 

Artistically, this trend has its roots in the mid-90’s, when the pendulum was swinging rapidly away from the mega-musical 80’s, and people wanted to connect more with the people on the stage and not so much with the scenery. All it took was the mega-hit status of one Chicago to stimulate the less-is-more trend. That show, which continues to be a phenomenon, is the gold standard for down-sizing. Smaller company than the original, no scenery save for a glitter curtain and some black chairs, and a rotating cast of celebs who can come and go, come back again, and even tour the country. It is everything a producer dreams of: even at 70% capacity, the show is a money machine with low overhead, constant buzz and a name everyone in the country recognizes. Of course, there is a reason that this show continues to flourish and other imitators have failed, by and large: Chicago is timely and timeless; it has a fantastic book, even better songs and superb dancing and staging. Tourists looking for a big-Broadway show don’t even notice the lack of costumes (sexy!) or scenery. Razzle-dazzle, indeed.

 

So just how many ways has Broadway gotten smaller? Here are a few lists to ponder:

Sunday in the Park with George:

Art Isn't Easy - The scenery was projected!

 

• Artistic Success makes it continue to be attractive if not lucrative: Sweeney Todd, Company, La Cage aux Folles (2010), Finian’s Rainbow, A Little Night Music, Spring Awakening. Smaller to medium casts, unit sets and unique staging.
• Small Casts: From 1 person: I Am My Own Wife; 2 people: The Story of My Life, A Steady Rain, RED; 4 people: God of Carnage, Glory Days, [title of show], 6 people: next to normal, less than a dozen: Avenue Q, The 39 Steps, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Xanadu. All but two of these were critically acclaimed and more than half returned their investment.

Spelling Bee: S-M-A-L-L

• Limited Runs with the Stars: Not a new reality show, but still a great source of fast, almost guaranteed profit: Fences, Three Days of Rain, A Steady Rain, A Behanding in Spokane, and many others. Of those 4, three made a significant profit.
• Down-size your theatre: Avenue Q and The 39 Steps continue to thrive going in the opposite direction: from Broadway to Off-Broadway.
• Shorten Your Show: Both The Lion King and Les Miserables shortened the length of their performances. Les Miz did it twice! Towards the end of its original run, the show trimmed several minutes so that it could reduce the cost of paying over time. Somewhere between the original, the continued London run, and the Broadway revival, the time was shortened again slightly, and the cast got a bit smaller, too.

Two Actors + 90 minutes + 16 weeks = RED in the Red

Xanadu: 9 muses played by 7 actors

(and 2 unsuspecting musicians in a 5-piece band)

• Have a Short Show to Start With: Xanadu, Glory Days, The Story of My Life, A Steady Rain, Spelling Bee, God of Carnage, RED, Art, The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?... all 2 hours or less, no intermission.
• Make Your Actors Do Double-Duty: It was an artistic choice, born out of necessity. John Doyle wanted to do bigger shows in his native England, but the cost of an orchestra was prohibitive. His resolution to the problem? Make the actors play the instruments, too! And so we have had two excellently re-envisioned masterpieces where the orchestrations took their place right up there with the casts of Sweeney Todd and Company.

The Actor-Musicians of Sweeney Todd

Les Cagelles in the Menier Chocolate Factory

production of La Cage aux Folles

• Have a Producing Company Whose Mission is to Do It Small No Matter What: 3 words: Menier Chocolate Factory. 3 shows: Sunday in the Park with George, La Cage aux Folles and A Little Night Music. Say what you want about each show individually, but there is no mistaking that their less-is-more approach begs creatives to be just that: creative.

From the 2003 Broadway Strike

 

• And one particularly troubling trend-within-a-trend: Smaller Orchestras. While the notion of shows like Sweeney Todd and Company are interesting and artistically sound, I think we can say that these are exceptions to the rule. (As it is, the casts were required to join the musician’s union.) A strike by Broadway musicians in 2003 had the effect of guaranteeing minimum sized orchestras per theatre, which was a definite victory for the union, but also, I think, for the theatre going public. The increased popularity of such computerized machines as the Receptor and others like it which create a virtual orchestra sound good, but they are not even close to the real thing. Current shows like American Idiot and next to normal are more rock oriented and are orchestrated purposely for fewer instruments. But older shows - the current La Cage aux Folles, in my opinion - suffer at the hands of a smaller orchestra. And the recent pink-slipping of 5 violinists at West Side Story have stirred this volatile subject up yet again. Just think how a smaller orchestra would have hurt the recent South Pacific revival.

 

The bottom line is that there will always be an audience for truly quality shows no matter who is in them or how big it is. Quality is the key. And while the “big Broadway musical” will probably never fall out of favor - it is still what most of the world expects, especially at “these outrageous ticket prices.” But you know down-sizing has left its mark when the press materials for the upcoming Roundabout Theatre Company production of Anything Goes make a point to let everyone know that it will be a full-scale, large cast production. Take that, Chocolate Factory!

This is the final blog in my series about the Trends in Theatre: The First Decade of the 21st Century.  Click on the tab at the top of the page to see the full list of blogs and links to them.

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Jeff

REVIEW: A Little Night Music (Peters & Stritch)

Review of the August 21 matinee performance at the Walter Kerr Theatre in New York City. Starring Bernadette Peters, Elaine Stritch and Alexander Hanson. Direction by Trevor Nunn. Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler. 3 hours, 10 minutes, including 20 minute intermission.


When I heard the re-casting news for A Little Night Music, I was ecstatic. I mean two Broadway legends on one stage was almost impossible to believe! Add to that that I have always been a huge fan of Bernadette Peters, particularly after Into the Woods and The Goodbye Girl (she was fantastic, all reports to the contrary), and who couldn’t help but love the First Broad of Broadway, Elaine Stritch. Her salty, bristly delivery and her croak-singing of the “Ladies Who Lunch” are the stuff of legend. I already loved the production, and now had a reason to return, as excited as I was when their predecessors opened the show.

I am, therefore, very sad to report that while the show as a whole is still in great shape - and in some cases, better shape - the two legends do not bring anything extraordinary to the show. In fact, I have to admit that I didn’t like it nearly as much. Perhaps part of my disappointment comes from unrealistically high expectations and/or from what I know now are reviews that are the very definition of “hyperbole.”

The biggest problem with the show itself persists. Act one goes on forever, with so much set-up ,it goes from interesting to boring about half way through. But now, it is even longer, by a full ten minutes by my watch, added to, no doubt by the one act play that interrupts the act, “Liasons,” which is easily 2 or 3 minutes longer under the care of Ms. Stritch. Here is also the quandary, yes the number plods along at a pace that surely tests the baton arm of the conductor. But it is also the 10 best minutes of her entire performance. She nails the song, even with pregnant pauses that test the credibility limits of the “where was I?” lines in the song. Stritch talk-sings her way through the song as if she is thoroughly disgusted and ready to throw in the towel with the world as classless as it is. But one has to wonder how heads of state were seduced but such a tart mouthed, bitchy courtesan. The paradox here is that while this Madame Armfeldt decries the modern lack of style, breeding and class, one can’t picture her as demure or even close to subtle. Perhaps she met all of her Dukes and Princes at some bar, where she was knocking back a stein or two of the local brew. This woman has had a hard, grounded life, but is hardly believable as some sort of society standards setter. Still, the number works because Ms. Stritch has impeccable comedic timing, a flare for the slow burn and can be forgiven mainly because it is the only time she’s onstage when you aren’t worrying if she’s going to get her lines said, let alone right. You never for one minute forget you are watching Elaine Stritch, though you occasionally do remember she is playing Madame Armfeldt. She is a legend, and I respect her for that if nothing else.

The young lady who gets my star of the year award, simply for holding her own on stage with such a potential train wreck is Keaton Whittaker, who played Fredrika at the performance I attended. The vast majority of her scenes are alone and with Ms. Stritch. Were it me, I’d be so tempted to help with lines or try to cover up the exhausting pauses between words and phrases. Instead, Miss Whittaker is the very embodiment of professionalism and adoration. (It is very clear that Ms. Stritch’s immediate co-stars are as smitten with her as the rest of us.) Still, it can’t be easy.

What makes perfect sense about this new pairing is that Ms. Peters and Ms. Stritch have the same sense of humor and down to earth style. And in that sense they complement each other wonderfully, just as Ms. Zeta-Jones and Ms. Lansbury did previously. Where the original pair matched each other grace for grace, regal gesture for regal gesture, these two Armfeldt gals complement each other in toughness and the ability to laugh off most every difficulty they face. The former pair hid behind an aloof veneer of detached snobbery and entitlement; the current pair hide behind a more aggressive veneer of detached dismissal and self-deprecating humor. They laugh at themselves before anyone can laugh at them. In that sense, both pairs work. But they sure do change the tenor and tone of much of the show as it is now.

Much has been made of Charles Isherwood’s “moment in musical theatre history” quote from his New York Times review of Ms. Peters. And in a very real sense it is musical theatre history, as this diva makes fewer and fewer Broadway appearances. The truth is that any time spent watching her work is time well-spent. There is no doubt that she belongs in that small pantheon of Broadway leading ladies that will stand the test of time. She looks fabulous, bounds around the stage with an energy that starlets half her age don’t seem to muster and more. Most importantly, she is so present in her performance, so “of the moment” everything she does seems spontaneous, even as you watch her Desiree make each calculated move she is forced to make. A true comedienne, Peters matches wits perfectly with her co-star, and has even managed to bring some more warmth and humor out of her Fredrick, the even better than before Alexander Hanson. Peters has warmth and grace to spare, and you can’t help but feel that it is a way her Desiree outwardly distances herself from her mother, rather than as a tribute to her upbringing (which it could not plausibly be).

Further, she has not lost her voice at all, and one wishes the character had more to sing. And the signature song of the show, “Send in the Clowns” is in excellent hands, even as she sobs, sniffles and wipes away a fountain of tears throughout. It is a lovely, somewhat moving image that she creates. But there is also that nagging feeling that at least some of it is an act, mostly because in giving the role a more comedic turn, some of the preceding glimpses of pathos are now non-existent. The result is a teary deluge that matches the tone and epic quality of the moment, but in retrospect seems just a tad “plugged in.” Hanson remains the perfect scene partner, and having seen this valid, if less revelatory performance of the number, I can now see that Trevor Nunn had more than a little to do with capturing the most perfect moment currently on a Broadway stage. Let there be no doubt, you are in for a treat and getting your money’s worth when La Peters takes the stage. But don’t expect the life-changing experience the ads now promise you.

The rest of the supporting cast has improved, even as they’ve had to forcibly slow down during full cast scenes. Aaron Lazar has really found the perfect pitch that keeps his ego-driven pomposity and supercilious ways from being too much a caricature. Similarly, Hunter Ryan Herdlicka has really added much needed nuance to the melancholy of his character - his subsequent giddiness at the end is now much more believable. Most improved, however, is Ramona Mallory who has toned down her silly-girl giggles, using them to advantage now rather than as a constant, and has smartly infused her performance with glimpses of the woman Anne will become.

For me the best two performances of the day were Leigh Ann Larkin’s superbly earthy, sweet, funny and honest Petra, a mass of sexual energy. Her “The Miller’s Son” remains a highlight of the entire production. The other belonged to Betsy Morgan, who was on as Charlotte (normally played by Erin Davie). Ms. Morgan gave the role a nice approachability. Upper-class with just the right snootiness when called for, but also the “everywoman” sensibility that makes you feel for her situation, revel in her mischievousness, and cheer when she finally wins. Her “Everyday a Little Death” was terrific, as was her chemistry with both Anne and Carl Magnus. And she was great in the supper-picnic scene, making a fool of herself in the name of friendship and love.

Isn’t that just what A Little Night Music is really about?

Grade: B



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Jeff

LOGOS: Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

I have not seen or heard anything of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson beyond information gleaned from press releases, production photos and a snippet of one of the songs, “Populism Yea Yea.” And so I come to this evaluation of the show’s promotional artwork as a true “will I buy?” consumer.

Aside from a busy summer and persistent rumors that the show might move on to Broadway if it was deemed worthy, I wasn’t all that interested in the show, growing a tad weary of the Spring Awakening/American Idiot rock/angst trend. That and the show’s logo from its Public Theater run. OK, it was part of a whole season’s worth of shows, and all of them matched, but I have to admit an angry guy pointing at me with the title in plain black letters and with pink highlights wasn’t all that appealing. I’m guessing they were trying to show us that the Public Theater was riding the “edgy theatre wave.” That may be the case, but the effect of the logo on me was two-fold: a little bit of “this tells me nothing about the show” and a whole lot of “why should I plunk down my money on an angry kid pointing at me?”

The Original Off-Broadway Logo

Since then, I’ve gotten to know more about the show, and the enthusiasm of its creators (Michael Friedman, music and lyrics, and Alex Timbers, book and direction) and its hot new star, Benjamin Walker. I had previously enjoyed very much Friedman’s Saved: The Musical, and Walker’s willingness to see the show through to Broadway, while giving up a leading role in the X-Men film franchise, really made me respect the guy. And from what little I’ve gotten to know about the show, I regret not going sooner.

I am very glad they got rid of the original artwork and came up with this:

The Broadway Promotional Art

This image really says a lot about the show and the perception they are trying to get out there.

First, the color choices are wise. Red, white and black continue the tradition of logos for shows going for a similar audience. Later ads for RENT, the Spring Awakening and American Idiot logos all feature this same color scheme, which instantly evokes anger, danger and edginess. Everything I know about the show says that they are presenting an America and American President known for being angry, dangerous and edgy.

The lettering, stark white, all-capitals against a black background and slightly askew is reminiscent of tabloid headlines. The all caps make it urgent, the off kilter “Bloody Bloody” and “Andrew Jackson” imply and demand a certain pause to take in what you are reading. What is “bloody bloody”? “Andrew Jackson” Who? Oh…the guy on the $20.00 bill… (Seriously, how many Americans, let alone modern generations of us, know a thing about the guy?) This way, we are taken in by the first two words and curious, but not automatically dismissive of the topic presented by the latter two words.

The scrap paper looking overlay of “Direct from a Smash Hit” is totally in keeping with underground, edgy newspapers and college announcements crudely made to announce indie rock bands often found taped to anything that won’t move on a college campus. And rightly so, the Public logo has a prominent but not overpowering presence. This seems to imply that yes, it was something off-Broadway and now it will be even bigger ON Broadway.

Benjamin Walker (center) and Company

But the real centerpiece of this promotional art is the photo that takes up the most space. This is the image that could make or break the show’s identity, in much the same way as the Cats eyes, waif-Cosette with Les Miserables, or the mask with The Phantom of the Opera. I think what they went with is perfect both as an iconic image and as a quick summary of the feel of the show. (I am really showing my age here, but my initial thought was the album cover of Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. - not a totally bad connection, either.)

You probably first notice the blue jeans, which may just be the single most common teen/young adult clothing for decades. Then there is the folded up American flag bandanna, stuffed in the back pocket, a nod to the American history aspect of the show, but the subversive point of view the show will take on it. A neatly folded kerchief would have implied something completely different. Instead, it is stuffed back there without much regard for the symbol that it is. (The coloring of the entire ad also makes the blue of the flag really pop out and gives the whole flag prominence instead of blending in.)

At first glance, the jacket looks a bit like lighter colored denim, but closer inspection of the sleeve reveals that it is fashioned like a late 18th century uniform coat, with decorative ribbon and ornate buttons. And that brings in the time period of the show, the anachronistic placement of today’s jeans with yesterday’s military garb tells us that we are seeing a show that is modern in presentation, historic in content.

The Broadway Logo and ad promoting

first preview ticket sales

It is the final piece of the image that is most unsettling: a hand poised to draw the gun hanging by the hip in a holster made from a modern day belt that has purposely missed a couple of belt loops - the perfect mix of teen rebellion, historic war-making, and overall danger.

In short, this rock concert poster/teen rebellion/edgy tabloid look seems just the right combination to draw in American Idiot fans looking for their next fix, along with crowds of musical theatre fans who thrive on the heady mix of danger and smart, entertaining shows. Where I was once interested simply because any new show that gets that much buzz always makes me interested, now I am sure I want to see Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.

Grade: A

 
 
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Jeff

Bits and Pieces for 08.22.10

JUST OVER A WEEK UNTIL THIS MONTH'S POLL CLOSES!  PLEASE VOTE TODAY!

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED THIS WEEK!

• Best of the Decade: The Best Musicals #2
• CD Review: Promises, Promises (London Cast Recording)
• Broadway Game: He Sang, She Sang (Part I)
• Broadway Game: He Sang, She Sang (Part II)
• What Happened This Week on Broadway (8/16-8/22)
• Broadway "Idol"atry Continues!

Look for the answers to "He Sang, She Sang" in next week's column!

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE...

With this weekend's closing of Race, Broadway once again finds itself without a play on the boards.  Not to worry, non-musical fans!  There are 4 plays starting previews very shortly, including the return of Cherry Jones in Mrs. Warren's Profession.

Not wanting to leave us without his usual grace (NOT) David Mamet just couldn't say goodbye without running his opinionated mouth - decrying the lack of professionalism shown on the Tony Awards (lighten up), the incredibly rude behavior of audience behavior (I couldn't agree more), and general grousing about the lack of respect his latest got or didn't get.  If you ask me, a show that got to run for 297 performances, often at attendance percentages in the low 40s, got way more respect than several more worthy shows that ran a week or less.  Bitter at the lack of awards love?  Don't bite the hand that feeds you, Dave.

His next play, A Life in the Theatre, opens at the Schoenfeld Theatre on October 12, after previews that start September 17.  Starring Patrick Stewart and T.R. Knight, the play is scheduled to close just after the New Year.

SOUTH PACIFIC ON PBS

I have not seen all of the "Live from Lincoln Center" presentation of South Pacific yet (I picked it up at the tail end of "Happy Talk," which opens Act Two).  I am so glad they still film these landmark presentations.  But is it too much to ask for decent sound?  While it is kinda cool to know it is live by the coughing, sneezing and "bravos" of the audience, it would be super nice not to hear crackling when people onstage yell or skips in the sound completely during musical interludes.  Better still, how about coughing up the bucks (LCT had to have made decent coin on this show) for an extra camera rehearsal?  You are going to tell me that a cameraman and his director missed a pivotal entrance by Billis and really had to have a camera already in use pan rapidly and refocus just to catch it?

Andrew Samonsky with Laura Osnes

in South Pacific

Again, I haven't seen the whole thing, and I'm not sure if maybe my local affiliate of PBS didn't have anything to do with the sound quality or not, but I am sure of two things.  When I saw the show shortly after it opened, Bloody Mary (Loretta Ables Sayre) was 100% intelligible despite a thick accent and facial expressions obscured by on-the-verge-of-offensive Kabuki style makeup.  Not so much during act two of the broadcast.  And no offense to the actor, Andrew Samonsky, but the makeup they had Lt. Cable in sure was convincing in act two... pale as a ghost (he is sick and injured after all), I was sure the guy was close to puking...or using the broadcast as a chance to audition as a Lurch replacement in The Addams Family.  And that panting?  Yikes.  (Mr. Samonsky, if you really were sick, bravo for bucking up and doing the show.  If not and that was acting sick, didn't they tell you that what plays well onstage, i.e. making sure the back seats can see what you are doing, doesn't really work in televised extreme close up?)

All of that said, "bravo/brava" Paolo Szot and Kelli O'Hara!  Brilliant is brilliant no matter the medium.

COMING UP ON THIS BLOG

• The number one musical of the decade (I promise)
• Trends of the Decade: The Downsizing of Broadway
• REVIEW: A Little Night Music (Peters and Stritch)
• REVIEW: Chess
• Fall Preview: My Must-See List
• Logos: The Scotsboro Boys, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Lombardi and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
• Broadway on TV: Who's Who from the Great White Way on the small screen

BROADWAY BY THE NUMBERS!

• 8: The number of days until this blog begins its 2nd year!
• 4:  The number of plays beginning previews during the first two weeks of September: Mrs. Warren's Profession, Brief Encounter, The Pitman Painters, and A Life in the Theatre.
• 5/8: The number of followers I had this time last week/the number of followers I have this week!  Thanks to all of you, long and short timers!  I appreciate it.

Happy Birthday Last Week to:

08/15: Michael Berresse (The Light in the Piazza, A Chorus Line)
08/16: Madonna (Speed-the-Plow)
08/17: Sean Penn (Slab Boys)
08/18: the late Patrick Swayze (Grease, Chicago)
08/19: John Stamos (Bye Bye Birdie, Cabaret)
08/20: Joan Allen (The Heidi Chronicles)
08/21: Robin De Jesus (In the Heights, La Cage aux Folles)




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Jeff

Broadway "Idol"atry Continues!

The other day my Twitter page was abuzz with news about the latest "name" added to the cast of the upcoming musical Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.  Given that it is a Lincoln Center with Bartlett Sher at the helm (not to mention a standard setting company of actors), I am going to give this little casting coup the benefit of the doubt.

Yes, American Idol, the recently beleagured television phenomenon, has reared its ugly head on Broadway again - THREE times in recent days.  But at least two of the three have demonstrated staying power beyond vocalizing 3 minutes a week, and like I said, I'm willing to give the third the benefit of being selected by a prestigious theatre company, a well-decorated director and a cast that notoriously won't put up with mediocrity.

The Idol in question is first season runner-up Justin Guarini, who has been cast to play the son of Patti LuPone and Brian Stokes Mitchell.  From the picture above, I can certainly see why he was cast physically...they could be his parents.  And the first season - before the mass callings and before people voted the worst people to stay for weeks - all of the finalists seemed to have more going for them than recent batches.  On the downside, Mr. Guarini's acting has yet to be seen in a positive light - remember From Justin to Kelly?  YIKES!  I guess we'll find out soon enough if he has what it takes.  Obviously, people with a lot more expertise than I have in that area did see something, since they hired him!

In a very much more low-key manner, Season 9 Idol semi-finalist Todrick Hall has joined the ensemble of the Tony-winning Memphis.  This young man already has New York credits to his name, including stints in The Radio City Music Hall Christmas Show and The Color Purple (opposite another Idol, Fantasia Barrino), a show in which he also understudied and performed the role of Harpo.  He has also written and staged OZ, a new version of The Wizard of Oz all around the country.

But the bigger news of the week went to 2007 American Idol winner Jordin Sparks, who has interrupted her world tour to take over the role of Nina in the 2008 Tony winning Best Musical, In the Heights.  The reviews aren't in yet - she just joined the show Thursday - but if her best selling records are any indication, the girl can sing!

Here's hoping all three find a home on Broadway and even come back a time or two.  Heaven knows young, solid talent is always something theatre needs.



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Jeff

What Happened This Week On Broadway (8/16 - 8/22)

Occasionally, if I find something interesting, I'll blog about what has happened in the past on Broadway during a given week.  Considering that this is mid-August, and the advent of air conditioning and year-round theatre in New York is relatively young, I was surprised to find as much as I did.



The Oldest Show to Open This Week: Life in New York which opened on August 18, 1856.

154 years ago, first-nighters headed to the Bowery Theatre to see the Drama/Musical Pantomime, Life in New York, which was also known as Tom and Jerry on a Visit.  They had to be pretty quick - the show closed a month later, but only played 18 performances!  The Bowery Theatre was both lucky and unlucky - despite being built in a dangerous part of the city, patrons kept it open for nearly a century, even after it burnt to the ground 5 separate times and had to be rebuilt.  1929 was the last time that happened.

1999

2004

2007

Three Flops on One Date: August 19:  This date saw the openings of Kat and the Kings (1999) - which I liked; Dracula: The Musical (2004) - which I missed; and the most recent revival of Grease (2007) - which I didn't care much for.

Although Grease ran for 554 performances at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, compared to the original (3,388 performances and 4 theatres!) and other revival (1,505 performances), it was a short run.  Kat and the Kings played the Cort Theatre for 157 performances, despite winning the Olivier Award for Best Musical in London.  And Dracula:The Musical ran at the Belasco Theatre for a less than biting (sorry, I had to) run of 157 performances also, just 5 years apart.  The Frank Wildhorn show was his last Broadway effort until this season's Wonderland.

1986

Good Luck/Bad Luck Day: August 21:  This date was the Opening Night for the 4 performance flop, but much beloved cult musical, Rags (1986).  It is the last show to play the Mark Hellinger Theatre, which is now a church.  On the flip side, the original run of La Cage aux Folles opened at the Palace Theatre (1983) and ran 1,761 performances.  As we all know now, it is the only show to win the Tony for Best Musical and Best Musical Revival twice!

The Original Playbill and the Original Cagelles

August 22, 1904: The date that the oddest/most provocative title of the week opened: Dealers of White Women.  The show opened at the Star Theatre, which was at the corner of 107th and Lex.  The theatre was open a mere 6 years.



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Jeff

Kiss Me

This is by no means the definitive version of these song. But I've had 'Kiss Me/Ladies in Their Sensitivites' from Sondheim's Sweeney Todd on repeat on my iPod for ages. So whilst I enjoy Victor Garber, Sarah Rice, Edmund Lydeck and Jack Williams pretty regularly, this version is still good.
It's from the first US tour of Sweeney which starred George Hearn and Angela Lansbury. So, this is Cris Groenendaal, Betsy Joslyn, Edmund Lydeck and Jack Williams. I love the almost patter-song quality music that Anthony (Groenendaal) and Johanna (Joslyn) have, as well as the lyrics-specifically the bit about the lack of a gate and a 'reticule'. And then Williams does have an amazing voice.
You should also read the users description for a bit of laughs.

Also, fun fact, George Hearn and Betsy Joslyn dated for a while, including during this show-in which he plays her father.