A Recoup For The Misbegotten
A Recoup For The MisbegottenSeems like ever since the transfer of the Old Vic's revival of A Moon For The Misbegotten was announced, critics and pundits have had their knives out for it. As you'll note, I adored this revival and think it deserved far better treatment from the media than it's received.
One of the earlier strains of criticism was over whether it would be able to break even. Guess what? It has.
You'll recall that back in January, Michael Riedel of the New York Post stated:
The acclaimed actor (Kevin Spacey) is demanding such a hefty paycheck, some people involved in the show worry that there won't be anything left for the backers....This time out, Spacey wants his money right off the top. The problem for his backers is that Moon -- which is being produced for $2.5 million -- is scheduled to run only 10 weeks at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Factor in all the other production costs, and the show has to sell a lot of seats -- many at premium prices of $250 or more -- just to break even, production sources say.
Well, after a mere 52 performances on Broadway, A Moon For The Misbegotten has recouped all of its $2.4 million investment. It's recouped even after offering 60 $25 seats to students at every performance. Just last week, the show played to an impressive 88.9% capacity and had an average ticket price of $74.68 -- that placed it third among all plays (only The Coast Of Utopia and The Year Of Magical Thinking had higher average tickets).
And the revival still has another three weeks to go before it closes on June 10. The show may have been largely snubbed by the Tonys save for Eve Best's very well-deserved nod, but I can confidently say that if you haven't already seen it, do yourself a favor and go.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.
Related Stories:
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Best Revivals Of Plays (May 16, 2007)
A Moon For The Misbegotten (The SOB Review) (May 12, 2007)
Was Moon Eclipsed By Critics? (April 10, 2007)
Broadway Moon Shines On Opening Tonight (April 9, 2007)
A Moon For The Students (April 4, 2007)
Money For The Begotten? (January 10, 2007)
Brooks Atkinson To Get Space(y)d Out With Moon For The Misbegotten (November 22, 2006)
Labels: A Moon For The Misbegotten, Broadway, Eve Best, Kevin Spacey, Michael Riedel, Play, Recoup, Revival, The SOB Review, Tony Nominations
posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Friday, May 18, 2007
3 Comments:
I'm so happy for Kevin! And I'm glad I was able to play a small role in helping the show recoup. Eve Best won the Drama Desk award Sunday night, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the Tony. I think it's especially nice that the show could recoup even while offering heavily discounted student seats.
If I were wagering money, I'd bet on Best for the Tony, too.
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