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Post by westendboy on Jan 5, 2021 14:40:51 GMT
Wanted to make this thread to hear what long-runners in the West End and/or Broadway do people on here think have outstayed their welcome.
For me there are obvious choices like 'Les Mis', 'Phantom' and 'Wicked', but I like those shows and they are (at least Les Mis and Phantom) staples of musical theatre, so it would feel weird if they closed (to me at least). But if I were to pick one show that has outstayed it's welcome in both the West End and Broadway, it would have to be 'The Lion King'. Don't get me wrong, it is a breathtaking production and an achievement in theatre. But after 21 years in London and 23 in NYC, I don't think it's 'wow factor' is as strong as when it first opened and it may be time to give it a rest.
If you were to ask me this question maybe a year or two ago, I probably would have said 'Thriller Live'.
What does everyone else think?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2021 14:43:04 GMT
Frozen hasn't yet opened but has already outstayed it's welcome, imo.
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Post by Mark on Jan 5, 2021 14:54:35 GMT
I really enjoy the show, but Mamma Mia! is one of those I feel should move on to make room for something else.
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Post by westendboy on Jan 5, 2021 14:58:08 GMT
Frozen hasn't yet opened but has already outstayed it's welcome, imo. I haven't even seen this show yet (well, obviously because it hasn't opened yet...), but this made me chuckle. |
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Post by westendboy on Jan 5, 2021 14:59:31 GMT
I really enjoy the show, but Mamma Mia! is one of those I feel should move on to make room for something else. I can see what you mean. I like Lion King, but I think it's had a long enough run. |
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Post by partytentdown on Jan 5, 2021 15:00:57 GMT
I think, if anything, long-running shows will be the ones that thrive after all this. Prices will initially come down and all the people who meant to catch Wicked or The Lion King might finally head into the west end to see them. As for 'making way for something new', I have a feeling that it will be a while before we see the kind of churn of new shows we're used to seeing. I think it will be a good few years of revivals and cheaper productions from tours etc filling up west end theatres.
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Post by c4ndyc4ne on Jan 5, 2021 15:58:23 GMT
this feels like an odd thread given the circumstances – wishing things would close and potentially lose a lot of people jobs doesn't really sit well...
remember the reaction when waitress closed and people were like "good riddance" etc
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jan 5, 2021 16:12:39 GMT
I don't feel like any show has. Every show has it's fans, every show gives someone joy and every show has people who have yet to watch it, so I'm really not in a rush to see any show close, even if it's one I'm not personally interested in.
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Post by kathryn on Jan 5, 2021 20:00:17 GMT
The Lion King is popular enough that Disney went ahead with a live-action remake last year and it made $1.65 BILLION.
And it didn’t even get especially good reviews!
There’s no way the stage show is closing from lack of interest when theatres re-open properly. It doesn’t matter if you think it’s ‘tired’ or has ‘outstayed it’s welcome’ - families will continue taking their kids to it because they like the film version(s) and have heard that it is a spectacle. And most kids don’t have enough experience of theatre to make those kind of judgements about it anyway.
In fact most once-a-year theatregoers probably won’t be jaded enough to find it ‘tired’.
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Post by Seriously on Jan 5, 2021 20:17:01 GMT
Well this is a cheery thread when the entire West End is unemployed.
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Post by iamamazing on Jan 5, 2021 20:34:00 GMT
I recon phantom, lion king and les miz will run till there who know how old I recon wicked will Be here a long time especially after the film comes out (eventually or 2060) the show will only gain more popularity. I think these long runners will continue till the end of time with tours and original west end runs and revivals etc I also still see mamma Mia here in 100 years time especially with talks of a third film and it’s a massive crowd pleaser aswell so are all these other shows. After all this these will be the shows people will go to and the Disney one’s and revivals to. Which is awesome as I’d hate for anything to happen to them. They are the heart of London’s theatreland and We should thank them, as they are all unique and different and special in there own way.
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Post by mrcompanymanager on Jan 5, 2021 23:07:54 GMT
This is a silly thread in poor taste.
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Post by Phantom of London on Jan 5, 2021 23:41:45 GMT
The Lion King is the most popular show in the West End, hardly discounts and plays one of the biggest theatres. No real need to touch the long running shows, as we still get plenty of shows come in along with a host of rubbish shows, that should go in the trash, however quality and quantity is generally not underrepresented in the West End.
Instead talk of closing shows, I would suggest a better route forward is to build 2x medium sized theatres, (1200 - 1500 seats) these are underrepresented in the West End.
However this isn’t a conversation that is necessary today, neither is talk of closing shows, very tasteless in today’s climate.
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Post by Phantom of London on Jan 5, 2021 23:43:13 GMT
This is a silly thread in poor taste. I don’t think it’s silly and I don’t think the topic is in poor taste either. All theatre has a shelf life - it always has and it always will, and pretending otherwise doesn’t do anyone any good either. Yes, the industry has shut down but there are no guarantees any show will return. You can be sure if Chicago, Blood Brothers and Thriller were still running we’d have already had the discussions about whether they would survive the industry closure. To be honest as adults we should be able to discuss the posed questions in a logical and thoughtful way, rather than just dismissing it out of hand. Six of the current west end musicals/plays are in the top ten longest running shows in west end history, so there is merit to the question. Yeap there is a time and place for a conversation and rumours, today is not one of them! |
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Post by kathryn on Jan 5, 2021 23:52:45 GMT
The Lion King is popular enough that Disney went ahead with a live-action remake last year and it made $1.65 BILLION. And it didn’t even get especially good reviews! There’s no way the stage show is closing from lack of interest when theatres re-open properly. It doesn’t matter if you think it’s ‘tired’ or has ‘outstayed it’s welcome’ - families will continue taking their kids to it because they like the film version(s) and have heard that it is a spectacle. And most kids don’t have enough experience of theatre to make those kind of judgements about it anyway. In fact most once-a-year theatregoers probably won’t be jaded enough to find it ‘tired’. I mean, by that metric should we expect Frozen to have a 20 year run? The movie made $2.73 billion across both movies. My understanding was that The Lion King survives predominantly on tourism, particularly from overseas (most likely because so many are familiar with the movie). The west end will most likely re-open long before international tourism picks back up - so if the show starts to find itself in a loss making position, why would it continue? Who knows how long Frozen will run for? But you should note that not all of the live action remakes made bank, and not all of the original Disney films had stage adaptations that have run for 20+ years in multiple cities, so possibly the Lion King just has something about it that still works for the audiences it attracts. Tourism will return in a post-vaccine world - it’s not like the show is going to be closed if it’s not sold out the first week it re-opens. Disney are not daft, they’re not going to arbitrarily close their most successful title ever because of a temporary change in tourist behaviour. I mean, just read this Forbes article from December 2018: www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/leeseymour/2018/12/31/disney-scores-triple-crown-on-broadway-with-three-record-breaking-shows/amp/ |
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Post by sph on Jan 6, 2021 0:03:55 GMT
I don't particularly think any show has overstayed. I do think that a production can become tired over time though and needs to be freshened up. How many shows are as tight and nuanced and groundbreaking a decade on from opening night?
Some could just do with a good redesign. Not a scale-down to save money, but a good refresh with input from the original creatives where possible. For example - the design of Phantom is VERY 80s.
As long as there are enough venues to take new shows, I think it's fine for the larger, long-running ones to remain as long as people are buying tickets for them.
That being said, we don't know what tourism will look like in a post-covid, post-brexit world yet which may impact shows like Phantom and Les Mis.
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Post by Phantom of London on Jan 6, 2021 0:34:36 GMT
Les Mis has just been refreshed and not for the better, likewise Phantom is going through the same progress.
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Post by jcs619 on Jan 6, 2021 10:30:31 GMT
I think that The Lion King will still be running in the West End long after Les Mis/Phantom/Mamma Mia and Wicked have departed.
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Post by vickyg on Jan 6, 2021 10:49:05 GMT
I'm 'outstaying a welcome' is determined by market factors; if tickets stop selling it stops being viable. I am sure that there are shows that we can't understand how, after all this time, they continue to sell well, but there is obviously demand if they remain open.
I agree that the profile of shows is likely to change once theatres can open up particularly initially as there will naturally be less demand overall (but fewer shows so I'm sure tickets for what's available will still fly!). It will be interesting to see what the more local audience will really value once we have more choice.
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Post by theatreian on Jan 6, 2021 10:51:35 GMT
The other factor could be the lack of overseas tourists for a while as some shows more than others will depend more on tourists to fill their seats.
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Post by talkingheads on Jan 6, 2021 11:56:02 GMT
If a show was still running before Covid, it is because there was demand for it, end of. Besides which, after this I think the familiar shows will be what people flock to first. I'm in the category of always wanting to see Wicked but never getting round to it, so that'll be the first show I see post Covid. Then again, I hope that a lot of chances are taken on new musicals, because we need another long runner to replace the current crop at some point. I do wonder if Mischief will do a Musical Goes Wrong, it does seem tailor made for the format.
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Post by barrowside on Jan 6, 2021 13:10:56 GMT
It's vital to keep theatres open once the crisis has passed. The really big houses do not have shows queuing up to replace the incumbents and may not be viable once they close. I remember how sad The Lyceum was when it was derelict and boarded up in the 80s. Much better that it be alive with a long running show. Medium size houses are needed. Wouldn't it be lovely if the Saville was rebuilt and returned to theatre use.
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Post by Someone in a tree on Jan 6, 2021 14:17:59 GMT
I'm all for bringing back the Saville into use but perhaps with a new name?
Some of the shows that it housed also sounds dodge
Gays the word
Expresso Bongo
The white countess
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Post by TallPaul on Jan 6, 2021 14:51:41 GMT
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Post by musicalmarge on Jan 14, 2021 0:39:59 GMT
Frozen hasn't yet opened but has already outstayed it's welcome, imo. Agreed. So disappointing on broadway. I hope they make changes, they know it doesn’t have the magic and spectacle of Lion King! |
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