Steve On Broadway (SOB)

Not Enough Came, So It Flies Away

Not Enough Came, So It Flies Away

Forget ol' blue eyes. Here's a couple black eyes with a little red thrown in for good measure.

While a little birdie gave me an early indication that this would occur, Come Fly Away officially posted its closing notice late yesterday afternoon. The show will close September 5, 2010, after 187 regular performances.

For a month, choreographer Twyla Tharp's dance salute to Frank Sinatra has been struggling to break 50% capacity at the box office. Inexplicably, the average ticket price never dropped accordingly.

Last week alone, Come Fly Away increased its capacity a paltry 1.1% over the previous one to a disappointing 49%, yet the average ticket price for the seats sold was still a whopping $91.03. Compare that to the average capacity (84.02%) and average ticket price ($87.85) for all of Broadway last week, and it becomes evident that the producers of Come Fly Away missed an opportunity to increase their audience share (and potential positive word-of-mouth) by discounting their tickets.

In a late gambit, producers even began to sell tickets through the beginning of 2011. But luck would not be a lady for next year, let alone tonight. Yet, just as the producers were announcing the shuttering, they also announced that a national tour is planned.

Personally, although I know Come Fly Away had its advocates, I thought it was the worst show to open on Broadway all last season. As much as I hate to see any show close, all I can say is "bye-bye birdie."

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).


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Labels: Broadway, Closing Notices, Come Fly Away, Dance, Frank Sinatra, Musical, Twyla Tharp

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Thursday, July 29, 2010