Is Godspell Broken?
Is Godspell Broken?According to New York Post's Michael Riedel, the planned Broadway revival of Stephen Schwartz's Godspell is canceled, "barring any last-minute reprieve." However, Telecharge is still selling advance tckets to American Express Gold Card holders and is advertising that tickets will go on sale to the general public on August 23.
Riedel says Godspell's producers have come up a million dollars short of the $4.5 million needed to mount the musical that had been slated to begin performances October 23 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The revival was to star Gavin Creel.
Riedel calls this the first casualty of the current economic downturn. But a day earlier, he counted at least three other shows intended for the current Broadway season as having had difficulty raising the necessary capital: revivals for both Brigadoon and for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf, as well as Turn Of The Century, Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice's follow-up to a little musical you may have heard of called Jersey Boys .
Making matters worse, according to Riedel, is that advance box office business is way down, making even a show like Shrek The Musical begging for an audience. To date, the $20 million tuner has only attracted $5 million in advance sales.
Talk about poor timing for the most recent escalation in top ticket prices!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Brigadoon, Broadway, Godspell, Michael Riedel, Musical, Potentially Canceled Productions, Shrek The Musical
posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Saturday, August 16, 2008
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