The all-Denver cast of “Newsical” learned a harsh, shocking and, it turns out, temporary lesson last week on how things are sometimes done in New York. The musical’s two Big Apple-based producers, displeased with early crowd counts at the New Denver Civic Center, on Wednesday posted a closing notice, effective tonight.
And yet the notice included a strangely worded, mixed-signal caveat “unless things change,” a bizarre provision four days before plug-pulling. What did they expect might change before Memorial Day, one of the slowest weekends of the year for theater?
Plenty, it turns out. Just six hours later, Civic president Richard Bernstein announced, “We’ve reconsidered, and we’re not closing.”
Stop the presses, “Newsical”!
“I know it sounds bizarre, but we’re just a bunch of crazy producers, and sometimes we act erratically,” Bernstein said.
“Newsical,” starring the all-local cast of Genevieve Baer, Scott Foster, Drew Frady and Elizabeth Rose, is a lighthearted original satire of current events. It opened May 5 for what was promised to be an open-ended run in the Civic’s spectacularly refurbished studio theater. Anyone would presume the show would be given time to find its legs before settling into a long run.
Instead, “Newsical” nearly become old news in a bit more than three weeks. When the cast was given its premature death sentence, the obituary spread quickly.
The public-relations debacle points out just how little the show’s primary producers, AMICI Ventures and URL Productions in New York, understand the Denver market. They opened “Newsical” without a subscription base, at the precise time of year when Coloradans’ thoughts turn to the outdoors. They should have written off May as a preview period.
So might “Newsical” yet become a mainstay? Keep reading the newspaper. …
“Brooklyn” closes June 26
The Denver-born “Brooklyn The Musical” will close on Broadway on June 26, defying all expectations after savage initial reviews.
When it closes, “Brooklyn” will have played 28 previews and 283 regular performances, making it the longest-running new production of the Broadway season. It has grossed about $9.3 million in ticket sales and been seen by more than 150,000. Those are all respectable numbers for an original musical in an era when almost every successful tuner is based on a pre-existing source.
Last week the show played to 51 percent capacity at the Schoenfeld Theatre, with an average ticket price of $47.78, making it the second-cheapest seat on Broadway.
“Brooklyn” was developed at the New Denver Civic Theatre in May 2003. A previously announced national tour will launch in 2006.
“21 Days of One”
Arcos Azules is attempting something unprecedented with its “21 Days of One,” a three-week festival of daily one-person shows featuring local talent beginning Wednesday.
“The purpose is to bring together really interesting solo performers and put them all in one place so people can appreciates the art that goes into this type of show,” said Arcos artistic director Kurt Lewis.
“21 Days,” conceived by L.J. Harker, opens Wednesday with poet Jessica Chernila. Other scheduled performers include Shadow Theatre Company’s Hugo Jon Sayles (Saturday), Dwayne Carrington (June 6) and Jeffrey Nickelson (June 21); Jeff Campbell, founder of the Colorado Hip-Hop Coalition, and also known in musical circles as Apostle (June 11); Arcos’ Lewis and Wade Livingston; and Pangaea Theatre Company founder Matthew Schultz, star of Arcos’ upcoming “Shopping and F***ing.”
Each performance will be followed by a talk-back, and on select dates, local bands will play post-show sets.
“21 Days” runs at 7:30 p.m. nightly at 2180 Stout St. Tickets are $5; call 303-296-0212.
Audiences older, whiter
Road audiences are becoming older, whiter and more female, according to a biennial demographic study by the League of American Theaters and Producers. The results are particularly disconcerting for a season (2003-04) that brought the younger-skewing “Hairspray,” “Urinetown” and “Movin’ Out” to the Buell Theatre.
The average age of a tour theatergoer rose from 48 to 51; women made up 72.3 percent of audiences, up from 70.3; and whites made up 91.8 percent of the audience, up from 85.5. Only 3.1 percent of road audiences were under 18.
The numbers on Broadway all skewed more centrist: Average age actually decreased from 44 to 42, women made up 62.8 percent of audiences; whites 80.1; under 18 11.2.
The good news is that subscriber bases are stabilizing after bottoming out post-Sept. 11. Fifty percent of road audiences subscribed to at least five shows, up from 36 percent. Overall, road shows sold 12.4 million tickets, generating $700 million in revenue. The DCA accounted for about 460,000 and $21 million of those totals, though its total offerings fell from 25 to 13 in 2003-04.
Briefly …
The Aurora Fox has announced its 2005-06 titles and directors, including Steve Martin’s suddenly ubiquitous “The Underpants” (directed by John Ashton), “The Miracle Worker” (Bev Newcomb Madden), “Guys on Ice” (Nick Sugar) and “Death of a Salesman” (Chip Walton), with a musical to follow. …
“Frankenstein,” commissioned by Colorado Springs’ TheatreWorks in 2003-04, was nominated for four New York Drama Desk awards, but was shut out last week. …
And finally, Heritage Square Music Hall turns 17 on Wednesday with a special performance of “Summer Lovin’.” Call 303-279-7800.
Theater critic John Moore can be reached at 303-820-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com.
