What's next for the Neil Simon Theatre?

[AJChavez]

So What's next for the Neil Simon Theatre?

[dyland]

Maybe they'll put Elf there next year, if elf even comes back, kinky boots is taking the hirschfeld.

[RippedMan]

Thank you for that comment...

[ACL2006]

Elf isn't filling the Hirschfeld this time, so I doubt it returns next year. I think the Simon is a good size house of Pippin if it transfers.

[darreyl102]

It's funny how nothing that has opened at the Neil Simon has been very successful since Hairspray closed- let's hope that changes soon or one might think the theatre is cursed or something LOL- Just Kidding.

[aasjb4ever]

^Longacre. Curse of the Bambino.

[bjh2114]

I mean, when you think about it, very few theatres have many long-running hits back to back. I think it's actually less likely to find another show that runs a long time in a theatre that just housed a long run.

[AEA AGMA SM]

"Maybe they'll put Elf there next year, if elf even comes back, kinky boots is taking the hirschfeld."

While I know that dyland is not somebody to take seriously, the idea that the Neil Simon would sit empty for that long is just one of the dumbest things I've heard in the past couple of weeks.

[Hank]

Diner!
According to Playbill.com, it's the next new musical still looking for a home, with an April 2013 opening.

[aasjb4ever]

Really? The Simon sat empty from the closing of Ragtime in January through the Harry Connick Jr. Show in July through the opening of Catch Me in the spring of 2011.

[Kad]

Wasn't part of that due to Love Never Dies claiming it and then falling through?

[frogs_fan85]

aasjb4ever, you missed RAIN's three month run in your timeline.

It's not unheard of for a theater to be dark for nearly a year. The Lyceum will have been dark for 9 months by the time THE NANCE starts in March. Granted, the Neil Simon is a much more desirable theater, generally.

[AEA AGMA SM]

That was more my point, frogs. The Neil Simon is pretty highly in demand. I'm sure I remember a lot of people who had issues with Love Never Dies keeping it off the market for so long (and not just here, but amongst other producers who would have loved to have it available).

[Hank]

It just dawned on me, the Diner/Hairspray link.
"Good Morning Baltimore:

[CapnHook]

PIPPIN makes sense. DINER? I cant see it in that house.

Another thought: perhaps the JEKYLL & HYDE tour will switch to that theatre? CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF hasn't announced a closing date, and yet J&H has announced it would be in the same theatre in April...

[frogs_fan85]

CAT is supposed to be a limited engagement through March 30th. The website says "15 week engagement". I do see the scenario you outlined happening though. Per cast availability, CAT could extend into June to improve its Tony odds and J&H shifts to the Simon, which conveniently is also a Nederlander house.

Over the summer it was announced that DINER was being retooled to be in a more intimate venue, so I don't see it going into the Simon. Something like the Longacre or Barrymore makes a bit more sense.

[aasjb4ever]

20 bucks says Diner (should it ever reach Broadway) will pull a ONCE and invite the audience onstage before the show to sell warm apple pie, served by the actresses who play the waitresses.

[RippedMan]

DINER should def. go into the Barrymore. I'm sure both of those theaters will be filled in the coming weeks.

[Younger Brother]

Big Fish? It's not until August however..

[winston89]

I could see Jekyll and Hyde going into the Neil Simon and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof staying put. That seems like a plausible option. However, I do have some concerns about this production of Cat.

My concern is that, while it's a great American play with a great cast. I feel that them opening on the cusp of the dead wintertime on Broadway is a bad idea. I feel that this play would have done better if it had opened in the spring. But, as I am writing this, I think that the producers felt that the Neil Simon would still be booked, and that Jekyll and Hyde would be in the Rodgers Theatre in the spring so the wintertime was the only time available for this production. And, if I hadn't read these forums I wouldn't even know that Cat was even happening. I haven't seen one bit of advertising from the show and previews start soon.