West Side Story Looks Like A Hit.

At least judging by ticket sales so far.  Over a million dollars for its first seven performances, 96% of all available tickets sold, #2 in overall ticket sales for the week (behind the juggernaut that is Wicked but ahead of the juggernaut that is Jersey Boys).  And that’s before reviews, which I think will be solid if not spectacular.  As expected, this show should be a big old moneymaker.  (More from Variety here.)

What I’m really interested in seeing is how West Side impacts sales for In The Heights – I’d like to believe that Broadway can support two Latino musicals at the same time, especially since they’re the two most important Latino musicals of all-time, and especially especially since they’re not really Latino musicals in any way that should prevent audiences of all kinds from coming out in droves.  (In related news, I’m going to see In The Heights again on Saturday — first time with the replacement cast for me, and first time since seeing West Side.  Should be worth a nice juicy post next week.)

In other box office news: Shrek seems to be limping along, selling 65% of all available tickets.  It’ll be interesting to see what happens with this show as it goes forward.  There are a lot of straight plays opening on Broadway this year, and not a ton of children-themed shows that come to mind.  The longer Shrek can keep bringing in even 65% capacity audiences, the more I like its chances of eventually catching on and recouping.

Shrek. Yikes.

From The Post:

Last week, “Shrek” took in just $500,000, nearly $300,000 below the weekly overhead, sources say. The previous week the take was $600,000. Production sources are hoping for a pop during Presidents Day weekend, but nobody expects the grosses to climb back up to last month’s $1 million-a-week mark anytime soon, if ever.

This was what I feared: it’s a huge show, big overhead, not great reviews, and a cartoon icon a little past its freshness point.  I like the creatives, so I wanted (and want) it to do well, but at a time like this, the writing was always pretty clearly on the wall.

Shrek.

Some good reviews, some bad.

This show is going to be very interesting to follow.  In years past, I’d say these reviews were good enough, and the family-friendliness of it all could carry it through.  Plus it cost $24 million dollars; no one is going to want to close anytime soon.  But this year is this year, and things are closing where they might have waited it out before.   The Disney shows aren’t going anywhere, and there are all these Christmas-themed entertainment options for the next month or so, and are kids really that into Shrek anymore anyway?  If not, and if the show just doesn’t sell, what happens then?

And if a big old family show like this one can’t withstand shaky reviews (and they’re not bad at all, really), what’s going to happen to everything else?

I Want Shrek to Succeed.

Right now, I want every Broadway show to succeed.  (Well, not every show–I’ve seen a few that I wish would close.)  But I’ve got a particular rooting interest in Shrek.  I’m a big David Lindsay-Abaire fan (as an artist and as a person), and Jeanine Tesori has a ton of Caroline, Or Change good will built up as well.

That said, there’s a lot in this article that makes me a little nervous.  It’s never good when you’re canceling performances, especially when you’re making last minute changes.  Beyond that though, I’m looking at the song titles.  Obviously it’s hard to tell anything by song titles, but those song titles aren’t exactly inspiring a lot of confidence.  They’re pretty pedestrian.

Still, I’m hoping this one pulls through.  I’m looking forward to the reviews on December 15.  If American Buffalo has taught us a lesson, it’s that you can’t coast by on stars or reputation right now.  The reviews matter.

Broadway: Best of Times, Worst of Times.

Michael Riedel wrote an article today about the grim state of the Broadway stage.  His argument is tied, not surprisingly, to the recently announced closings of Hairspray, Spamalot, and Spring Awakening.  Each of those shows was expected to run a lot longer than it did.  I’ve seen the first two shows, and think they’re great Broadway works, and it’s a shame to lose them prematurely.  (I’ve still got a Hairspray post sitting around someplace — I’ll post it before they close, I promise.)  I haven’t seen Spring Awakening, but I’ll find a way to sneak into it before it’s gone too.  Even so, each of these shows have had respectable runs, if shorter than hoped (although even there, I’d say each of these shows did a bit better than might have been originally expected).

Riedel also cites three shows (13, Boeing Boeing, and A Tale of Two Cities – see what I did with that title?) as being “in the quicksand,” finding themselves in danger of closing soon.  As a point of fact, I’ll just mention that none of those three could have been considered sure things at any point in their runs or development by any stretch of the imagination.  Boeing Boeing might even have overperformed, thanks to its Tony win; it has recouped its investment and is sending out a tour.  The other two shows were each trying to capitalize on existing monster hits (High School Musical and Les Miserables, respectively), at least in terms of perception, and I wouldn’t consider it a shock or an aberration for either to close quickly.

The situation is bad, yes.  Money is tight all around.  Broadway costs are high (I mean the costs of putting a show together, not tickets — although that’s applicable too).  Broadway audiences tend to come from out of town — so what happens when the US economy tanks?  There are lots of concerns, for sure, and we haven’t seen the worst of the crisis.

But.

Riedel says: “New shows will be arriving in the spring – “Hair” will go to the Shubert – but there’s very little on the horizon that looks like a “Wicked”-size smash.”  I’m not so sure.  Take a look at what’s opening this season:

9 to 5 — Certainly not a guaranteed hit, but a Dolly Parton score, a good cast including Allison Janney, and a woman-centric storyline.

American Buffalo — Mamet with stars.  Stars that appeal to different ethnic groups — Leguizamo and Cedric will drive tickets for sure.   Open-ended run, meaning that new stars can slide in and out to keep tickets moving.

Billy Elliot — Juggernaut in London (although I hated it).  Maybe it won’t translate to the US.  Maybe it will.  If it does, it could be a monster.

Shrek — If this isn’t a potential juggernaut, I don’t know what is.  (I resisted the urge to call it a monster hit, but you know.)  Big title, great creative team, big-time Broadway cast.

Vanities — Okay, now this one looks like it could close fast.  No big title, no huge stars, pretty small and low-concept.  Then again…it’s a three character musical (which means it’s a cheap musical), it’s intermissionless (which makes it a fun, quick night at the theater, which should help word of mouth), it’s about women and friendship and nostalgia, and it’s been a hit (in play form) everywhere it’s been before.  If this was an NFL fantasy draft, this would be your sleeper RB pick.

Waiting for Godot: Limited time JUG GER NAUT.  Nathan Lane in Beckett?  This could be the not-for-profit event of the year.  And as I mentioned before, Bill Irwin is the really exciting part of this whole project.  This will be a huge hit for the few months it’s up.

West Side Story — MONSTER.  There’s no guarantee, of course; the last Broadway revival was in 1980 and ran for only 333 performances.  But it’s West Side Story, for god’s sake.  I just hope that it and In The Heights can coexist.

You’re Welcome America: A Final Night with George W. Bush — Will Ferrell on Broadway.  Playing W.  Limited run.  Spamalot will have already closed.  This is THE boy musical of Broadway for those two months.  Anyone who gets me tickets to this wins at life.

And that’s not mentioned Spider-Man, which, truth be told, could be the biggest financial disaster in Broadway history, or could make $300 million and change the way things are done at that scale.  Nor does it take into consideration Godspell, for colored girls…, Brigadoon, or Nice Work If You Can Get It, all of which have technically “postponed” their runs and could pop back onto the radar with open theaters (and an aggressive investor or two).

Nor does it mention any of the Off-Broadway shows that could end up as transfers based on buzz; I’ve heard buzz for Taking Over, Danny Hoch’s genius one-man show (read: Danny Hoch’s genius “cheap” show), and Beau Willimon’s Farragut North (which was originally rumored to open on Broadway with Jake Gyllenhaal.   Who knows what else could pop up?  Last time Mos Def and Jeffrey Wright did a show together at The Public, it moved to Broadway.  They’re working together again on a John Guare play.  Think that’s not a contender?

Nor does it mention the new TKTS booth in Times Square, or the new one in Brooklyn, both of which should help a steady stream of discounters find their ways to the struggling shows.

Yes, I understand that not all of these will hit.  Not all of them will recoup.  Some will flame out spectacularly.  And yes, there’s a lot of star casting involved, and movie remakes, and all the stuff that folks hate about Broadway (although no jukeboxes, interestingly).  And yes, there will be huge financial hits to come, and Broadway will suffer as the rest of the country suffers.  Who knows what will happen to investors?  To audiences?  To the city itself?

But a disaster?  Maybe I’m I’m being a little too Tracy Turnblad enthusiastic/naive, but I don’t see it as a disaster just yet.

(Oh yeah…I forgot Dirty Dancing too.)