So has this ever happened to a show that was nominated for Best Musical before? If so, what do they do? That's really a shame. I really didn't think it would win but still this is kind of crazy.
I do feel bad for Kendra Kassebaum, who I really enjoyed as Glinda in the First National Tour of 'Wicked'. It's too bad this did not work out for her.
Like I said yesterday, I think the St. James Theatre would be a great place for the Delacorte Theatre production of 'Into the Woods' to play at. The upcoming production of 'Cinderella' would be a good choice as well. Also, either show could play at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre since 'How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying' does not seem likely last very long either.
Pardon my ignorance, but how is it sad that it had more performances in LA than it did in New York? Center Theatre Group essentially commissioned the show to run from September 11 to October 24. I can't imagine why it would close earlier, even if it wasn't selling well there. The Ahmanson has both original(ish) productions and national tours, and I'd be surprised if anything there closed "early"—a national tour certainly wouldn't stop performing just because its last few weeks of a run weren't selling well, so why would they have shuttered Leap of Faith at the Ahmanson early?
Incidentally, I saw it there and I don't remember it being so atrocious as everyone says it now is. I wonder if they've made it worse since then (though everyone who's seen it in New York should be glad that Brooke Shields is NOT in it), or if I just remember it more fondly than it deserves. I thought it was a generally pleasant and fun show—though perhaps not ready for Broadway yet. I don't think Raul Esparza was as disenchanted with the show at that point, either...
My comment was not a reflection on the LA production per se. I just find it sad that it when it hit the "big leagues" (New York) it couldn't even manage as many performances as it did in a smaller regional production. That just seems....upside down to me.
I'm sure people can find lots of reason why that makes no sense at all, but it wasn't meant to be a logical observation, just an emotional one.
A regional production has a built in subscriber base feeding a set number of performances. There really isn't a comparison to opening a production in a commercial setting. A regional production isn't going to close early after bad reviews.
But now I know for sure that I have an extra slot in July (not that I was thinking that this show was going to last till then anyway, with the numbers that they were posting).
Sadly, my sister will have to wait yet again to see Raul on stage.
The Los Angeles production of Leap of Faith was neither smaller nor regional. The Ahmanson is a touring house, not a regional one, and Leap of Faith was a pre-Broadway engagement.
The Broadway engagement of that version of the show was cancelled.
It's been an hour, give them a chance. If you paid with a credit card you will get automatically refunded. Telecharge ceased sales past Sunday already.
Eatthebrownie, that is incorrect. The Ahmanson is a subscriber based house. Its run by the Center Theatre Group which is a regional theatre. While tours do play there on occasion, they only do so when they are a part of a CTG season. As such, productions that play the Ahmanson, including LEAP OF FAITH, have a built in subscriber base for a set period of performances.
As I said, it was a purely emotional reaction. I guess it stems in part from the potential the show had, to be an open-ended run with possibly hundreds of performances, as opposed to the restricted, limited number they had in Los Angeles (49).
I KNOW it's like comparing apples and oranges, I KNOW it doesn't make sense logically. It's just how the whole thing makes me sad.
joined:5/3/03
Posted: 5/8/12 at 02:03pm