Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Revival of Helen Keller Play Closes on Broadway
Backstage: "A Broadway revival of 'The Miracle Worker' that starred teenage actress Abigail Breslin as a young Helen Keller will close on Broadway after disappointing ticket sales, producers said on Monday."
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6 comments:
I'm kind of shocked by this. Isn't it a little too soon to judge whether or not this will be a success? This revival of The Miracle Worker got great reviews! It seems to be happening more and more often that shows are closing VERY soon after they open, instead of working through rough patches.
Very few shows are smash hits right away--unless they had ingenious marketing campaigns. Ticket sales for the first 6 months at least seem to be more related to marketing then the actual performance. I wish they'd stuck this out. It's just sad that producers are so quick to pull the plug.
I agree with Annie. I does seem soon to pull the plug. I wonder if the political controversy surrounding this show had anything to do with the closing. I know that there were a lot of people that were very unhappy about the casting of Abigail Breslin for the title character. So I wonder, first if that had an effect on ticket sales and second, if that was a deciding factor in closing the doors. Some how I doubt that it would make them close the doors but it could definitely effect ticket sales if enough people felt that way.
I really doubt this had much to do with the casting of Abigail. Controversy usually just helps a show, it's free marketing. I think all in all in the economic climate, people didn't want to pay to see a straight show like this. Unfortunately right now I bet the only shows making the money are glitzy crowd pleasing musicals. I bet most tourists would choose A Disney show over the production of the miracle worker. It's sad but probably true. Also, renting out the theatres is extremely expensive. Sticking it out often isn't worth it just because the theatre space itself is so expensive. If they don't sell the proper number of seats they just aren't going to make any profit.
It is sad to hear that the play like this saw this disappointing result. I have not seen this production, but story-wise, this is a good story for people to know and be moved.
Maybe, the time was not right. Everybody does not feel like watching this discouraging theme. Wait, is this story not about how Helen was fighting with her hardship and overcome with her huge effort? Ok... It might be the time when people need a quick solution with laugh, joy and simple excitement, after this elongated recession.
I do not know, as those who commented to this article mentioned, about any rumors around her casting, but I think the theatre industry is still small.
It is still possible the production have had any influence by a certain force.
Anyway, it is simply sad that the traditionally famous story like this had to be closed so early.
I got to see this production over spring break during its brief run. While it did need some tightening and perhaps lacked some cohesiveness of storytelling, it was an important story that I believe could have been worked with.
Any time you work with a star actor, you will reap the initial benefit of their fame. However, this effect is usually short-lived. Additionally, the play did not have the “Broadway” appeal of what is currently running. It is a story about humans that is intimate and closed in. This contrasts the more presentational “appeal” of the run of the mill Broadway production. Now, I do not mean to apply more value to one or the other, just to show the difference.
I am also surprised by this show's closing, simply because The Miracle Worker has been well received on film and on stage. Maybe it was a little too soon to close this show, but with a current loss of $2.5 million, perhaps the producers were worried that they would continue to lose more money. I also don't believe that casting was the majority of the problem, but maybe that the appeal of The Miracle Worker has worn off for the time being.
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