Dark winter on Broadway

[marmar]

from the LA Times:



Dark winter on Broadway

By Geraldine Baum
December 28, 2008


Reporting from New York -- They added four new songs, lined up a big theater and psyched up their backers. The producers of "Vanities, A New Musical," originally staged at the Pasadena Playhouse, then announced it was opening on Broadway in February.

But three weeks later, on Dec. 5, the producers issued a second bulletin: The show would not go on during this winter of economic discontent.

This is not a season for new Broadway shows that might make it. Now is a time for sure bets -- dramas starring celebrities and musical revivals with familiar tunes that summon nostalgia for better times.

With tens of thousands of people out of work in the New York area; tourism slipping along with foreign currencies; and long-running shows like "Grease," "Hairspray," "Gypsy" and "Spamalot" closing before the traditional winter slump, opening a new show calls for a magical mixture of star power, deft management and old-fashioned luck.

Sonia Friedman, producer of the Tony-winning "Boeing-Boeing," which is also shutting down in early January, released a statement explaining, "We chose to close the show when the current cast members' contracts all expired and to end on a high note rather than forge through the challenges of January and February in a weak economy." .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-broadway28-2008dec28,0,5544276.story