The Stage: "The show premiered in the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin earlier this year before opening in London on September 4.
It was due to close on February 14, however will now end its run on November 29. It will embark on an UK tour next year, which will culminate in Dublin."
4 comments:
While I found this report depressingly lacking in research and detail it forced me to wonder just why "Shawshank" is closing early. While a thousand budgetary, location, and cast conflicts could be to blame I wonder if lack of popularity is an issue. If popularity is an issue then why? Movie to play transitions seem to be nearly as common as movie to book transitions.Disney for one, has capitalized on this trend. Maybe in this case theater didn't add anything new to either the narrative from the book or it's movie retelling?
I also am curious as to why the show is closing although my theory would be lack of attendance. On the whole I think making this a play was a bad idea. The story and movie is so iconic that people may have responded negatively to a remaking of such a significant piece of cinema. I am surprised that they attempted this. In my mind the movie is a classic.
To me, it is a great shame that the production is closing. Personally, I love the movie. And I think bringng it to the stage would provide an interesting new medium for the conveyance of the story. The caracters whre written make them perfect for the stage. As for the reason why they are closing, I feel that the econoic status of the nation is a large part of it. With the low economic situation, attendence in the theater is going down. And if people do have money to spend of entertainment, they go to the movies or a musical. Not a play they could rent at Blackbuster for $3.50.
This story was already told so well as a story that the appeal of a play could be quite low. I really don't think that it needed to be made into a play. It is always sad to see a show end before it was supposed to but I also hope this pushes for more original theater making a comeback. As Tim said people aren't going to pay for something they have already seen unless there is a very new take on the subject. Hopefully the producers will still be able to get there money back from the tour if they haven't already.
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