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Well before the unexpected death of Gerald Schoenfeld, 84, powerhouse chairman of the Shubert Organization, the theater community - like everyone tangled in the global economy - was imagining the depth of the insipient abyss. But since Nov. 25, when the head of 17 Broadway theaters and the $300-million Shubert Foundation died of a heart attack, every announcement of a closing or posting of a loss comes with spasms of extra anxiety about the stability and direction of the commercial theater.
Last week, the board moved to reinforce the continuity of leadership from within the company, naming executive vice president Robert W. Wankel as president and president Philip J. Smith as the new chairman. The two will serve jointly as co-chief executives of the company, as Schoenfeld and late president Bernard Jacobs did from 1972 until Jacobs died in 1996. It had been considered unlikely that the board would reach outside the close-knit organization to challenge the hit-flop economics of modern theater. In these scary times, clearly, America’s “change” mantra is not on the Broadway songlist.
Meanwhile, much is riding on the economy’s impact on Broadway’s all-important holiday boost and on the traditional winter slump. In ordinary times, Thanksgiving box office is a reliable preview of Christmas ahead. This explains the wary sigh of relief emanating from midtown, even if nothing is ordinary about these times. The numbers the weekend before last showed a decent, if not Olympic-size jump from the previous week. More than half of the 30 productions played to over 80 percent capacity. Broadway has a new smash musical, “Billy Elliot,” which is definitely perking things up. “Billy,” plus “Shrek,” which doesn’t officially open until next Sunday, and the seasonal “White Christmas” joined the usual money-magnets in the $1-million grossing club.
Of course, January is always Broadway’s cruelest month, and producers are inventing especially aggressive discounts to try to get through the dead zone between Christmas tourism and the spring. Disney has hatched a “Kids Go Free!” plan, offering one free kid for every full-priced adult in the good seats for “The Lion King,” “Mary Poppins” and “The Little Mermaid” from Jan. 6 to March 13. (Warning: Orders have to be in by midnight Friday.) The multi-award-winning “August: Osage County” has extended its same-day student rush to include a senior (65 and older) rush. And the Broadway League is expected to enlarge its annual Season of Savings, but details are not yet available.
Still, there is no way to put a happy face on 14 closings. “American Buffalo” disappeared after just one week, unable to compete with the season’s other David Mamet revival, “Speed-the-Plow.” On Jan. 4, it’s curtains for “Grease,” “Young Frankenstein, “Boeing-Boeing,” “13: The Musical” and “Hairspray.” “Spamalot” leaves Jan. 11. “Spring Awakening” disappears Jan. 18. “Gypsy” will be gone March 1, when Patti LuPone’s contract expires.
Coming to an end, also, are several limited runs. “A Man for All Seasons,” the Frank Langella vehicle, closes next Sunday. The wonderful revival of “The Seagull,” starring Kristin Scott Thomas, closes as scheduled Dec. 21. The daring all-star rethinking of “All My Sons,” including, yes, Katie Holmes, leaves Jan. 11, and “Equus,” with a breakthrough performance by Daniel Radcliffe, is gone Feb. 8. Those theaters are not likely to remain empty for long, at least according to current schedules. Nevertheless, these dramatic adventures - notably at or near investment recoupment - leave a considerable hole.
Still to come before the new year are “Shrek,” with a score by Jeanine Tesori (“Caroline or Change”) and a revival of “Pal Joey,” starring Stockard Channing, which opens Dec. 18. A rare January highlight is “Hedda Gabler,” starring Mary-Louise Parker, directed by Ian Rickson, who was responsible for “The Seagull.”
Most of the action resumes in April, but March is musical revival month: “West Side Story,” “Guys and Dolls” and “Hair.” And how bad can the spring be with Angela Lansbury and Rupert Everett in “Blithe Spirit,” Jeremy Irons and Joan Allen in a new drama called “Impressionism” and Jane Fonda in “33 Variations,” a premiere about, no kidding, Beethoven?
Still, sure things are even less sure than usual. As LuPone recently told Variety, “I’m not certain that when people are laid off, they’re going to buy a $115 Broadway ticket. If it becomes a popular sport like it did during the Great Depression, we’ll all have jobs. But they’re going to have to lower the prices.”
Meanwhile, after 27 wicked years of theater satire, even “Forbidden Broadway” is calling it a night. Its terrific current show, “Forbidden Broadway Goes to Rehab,” closes Jan. 18. Rehab might sound a bit too attractive by then.
