MOTOWN THE MUSICAL Will Close In January--BUT, will Return to Broadway Next Summer

[milven]

CORRECTION WILL RETURN TO BROADWAY IN 2016

Many shows close and then come back in new productions as revivals. But this announcement seems to be different. The show is taking a "hiatus " and will announce in July 2016 a return engagement to Broadway in a yet to be determined Nelander Theatre.

We have had discussions here as to whether or not it is a hit. While it has been a hit and selling out and breaking box office records at the Lunt-Fontaine technically, it will not become a hit until the next few weeks, when it will go in the history books on the hit side of the leger having recouped its 18 million dollar investment.

The national tour has been a hit and will now be touring the country and the UK will finally gets its own version in July of 2015.

Because of the huge expenses , it has taken awhile, but MOTOWN THE MUJSICAL now goes in the history books as a genuine hit.

One question left unanswered though is when it returns, will it be a revival starting at performance number one, or will it be a continuation after hiatus pick up as the next performance of the current run? There have been other shows that took a hiatus for two or three weeks, but taking a year and a half year off is unprecedented.

I'm sure it will be an entirely new production with changes and should be classified as a revival. If so, it will qualify for a TONY as Best Revival of a Musical in 2016.

For those who were skeptical, MOTOWN THE MUSCISAL is a success. I have seen it three times and the performances have always left the audiences joyful.
Breaking: MOTOWN to Take Broadway Hiatus; Heads to the UK Next Summer!


by BWW News Desk

MOTOWN THE MUSICAL, the hit musical featuring the music of the legendary Motown catalogue and a book by Berry Gordy, will play its final performance at Broadway's Lunt Fontanne Theatre [[205 West 46th Street) on January 18, 2015.

In an unprecedented move, Motown the Musical will return to Broadway in a Nederlander theatre to be announced in July, 2016.

MOTOWN THE MUSICAL has broken the weekly gross box office record at the Lunt Fontanne with million dollar-grossing weeks and an average ticket price of $112.72 since the start of performances on March 11, 2013. The production will recoup its $18 million investment within the next few weeks at the Lunt Fontanne Theatre.

This spring, the first National Tour of Motown the Musical opened to critical acclaim, grossing an impressive $20 Million dollars during a packed sixteen-week run, and is now heading to major markets across the US.

A UK production is planned for the summer of 2015.

MOTOWN THE MUSICAL is produced by Kevin McCollum, Doug Morris and Berry Gordy.

On the announcement of the plan, Kevin McCollum commented, "We are only saying farewell to Broadway for now. We are leaving on a strong note, because we have a plan in place to come back even stronger. We've seen that Motown the Musical demonstrably appeals to a wide range of audiences. The passionate response to our show and the Motown catalogue puts us in a great position to arrange a successful return, while at the same time Motown the Musical branches out nationally and internationally."

"Motown The Musical opened in New York without the benefit of an out-of-town tryout to immediate and amazing response. We learned a lot from producing the premiere, both on an artistic and practical level. When we launched the first National Tour on a full Equity Production Contract, we were able to incorporate changes that present a new, visually and musically vibrant version of the show, equal in quality and excitement to its Broadway counterpart and that clearly appeals to audiences, as we have seen from the great sales figures in Chicago."

"By closing in January, 2015, we have an opportunity to use the production assets from Broadway for the UK production next year. We are pleased to continue our great relationship with the Nederlander Organization for the next chapter of Motown the Musical on Broadway when we will return with a new production, our fourth, in the summer of 2016."

Nick Scandalios, Vice-President of the Nederlander Organization, said, "The Nederlander Organization has enjoyed a great four-year partnership with Motown the Musical and look forward to that relationship continuing for many years to come. We would likeMotown The Musical to open in London next year at the Dominion Theatre and we are committed to making one of our theaters available to Motown the Musical on Broadway in the summer of 2016. We are also grateful to the producers of Motown the Musicalfor making it possible for the Nederlander Organization to book the Lunt Fontanne for another production for the 2014-2015 awards season. "

Doug Morris commented, "The music of Motown has always been welcomed in Britain and Europe. With a long history going back exactly 50 years to the first Motown Revue tour of the UK, it's time to take Motown the Musical to markets around the globe."

Berry Gordy commented, "Since I founded the company, it has always been my goal to share the music and message of Motown with people around the world. I'm delighted that Motown the Musical has been successfully launched on Broadway and I now look forward to concentrating on future productions, as well as planning our return to New York City in 2016."

Directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, Motown the Musical is the real story of the one-of-a-kind sound that hit the airwaves in 1959 and changed our culture forever. This exhilarating show charts Motown Founder Berry Gordy's incredible journey from featherweight boxer to the heavyweight music mogul who launched the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and many more.

Featuring all the classics you love, Motown the Musical tells the story behind the hits as Diana, Smokey, Berry and the whole Motown family fight against the odds to create the soundtrack of change in America. Motown shattered barriers, shaped our lives and made us all move to the same beat. You can experience the next electrifying chapter in the Motown story on Broadway throughJanuary 18 and across the country in a city near you.

MOTOWN THE MUSICAL's creative team features choreography by Patricia Wilcox [[Blues in the Night) and Warren Adams [[Toy Story), scenic design by David Korins [[Bring It On: The Musical, Annie), costume design by Tony Award® nominee ESosa [[The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, "Project Runway"), lighting design by Tony Award® winner Natasha Katz [[Once, Sister Act), sound design by Tony Award® nominee Peter Hylenski [[Rock of Ages, The Scottsboro Boys) and projection design by Daniel Brodie[[Jekyll and Hyde).

MOTOWN THE MUSICAL features arrangements and orchestrations by Tony and Grammy Award nominee Ethan Popp [[Rock of Ages), who also serves as musical supervisor for the orchestra that reproduces the classic "Sound of Young America" for the stage, with co-orchestrations and additional arrangements by Tony Award nominee Bryan Crook [["Smash"), dance arrangements by Zane Mark [[Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) and music direction by Joseph Joubert [[Nice Work If You Can Get It).

The Original Broadway Cast Album of Motown the Musical, produced by Ethan Popp for Universal Music Enterprises, was nominated for a 2014 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.


http://www.broadwayworld.com/article...2#.U_c8cJ3D-M8

[daviddh]

glad it's returning, personally, I hope they ditch the medleys, or most of them, ...I think they tried to cover to much ground and put as much as possible in the show to cover all the artists but when I saw it, the audience started to sing along with STOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE when it abrupty stopped!after only a minute of the start. they were some good highlites as well.i would like to see it again. the J5 medley was good though.

[Bokiluis]

I completely agree! I have tix for two more dates, one in San Francisco and the other Detroit. I am even considering one more San Francisco visit.
I don't agree that the plot was weak, which was the main criticism [[along with the criminal short changing of Stevie's legacy). The way it wove in current events of the day was quite moving. And at the end of the day, the audiences were more than satisfied!

[longtimefan]

So much of it was GREAT, but I strongly felt that the "bedroom" incident and its dialogue between Berry and Diana seguing into "I Hear a Symphony" was inappropriate for a family show. It was unnecessary and uncomfortable.

[Bokiluis]

Oh and it costs $18 million to produce and has grossed $35 million to date......looks and sounds like a hit!

[thommg]

Reading between the lines here.... I think the tour will be winding down around the time they'd like to bring the show back. I'm guessing that the smaller tour version of the show will come into New York in 2015 and become the new Broadway production. Just throwing that out there.

[jobeterob]

Just like Motown 25, this was a massive hit.

[milven]

So much of it was GREAT, but I strongly felt that the "bedroom" incident and its dialogue between Berry and Diana seguing into "I Hear a Symphony" was inappropriate for a family show. It was unnecessary and uncomfortable.

Interesting. The comment I made the first time I saw it was "that was uncomfortable to watch" And I also did not like the way they used IHAS. They used it as part of the book to move the book forward but all it did was leave me uncomfortable because of the preceding dialogue. The song would have been better served if used to move the Supremes career forward , from three teenagers to a polished super group.

[milven]

Oh and it costs $18 million to produce and has grossed $35 million to date......looks and sounds like a hit!

35 million is gross income before expenses. This week, they will finally have a net profit instead of a net loss and it is now it goes in the winner column as a legitimate hit

[thommg]

35 million is gross income before expenses. This week, they will finally have a net profit instead of a net loss and it is now it goes in the winner column as a legitimate hit

Guesstimates are that the weekly nut for the show is around $800,000. So they would have to make more than that in order to have money to pay off the initial costs. They've done very well in that regard as they had many millions dollar weeks but lately the grosses have not been as high. The show that is out on the road doesn't cost that much to run, I'm sure. Should the show really come back to Broadway, expect the weekly nut to be much less as the show will be cut down [["retooled") and probably feature less performers and have less crew members.

[jobeterob]

Do most Broadway shows make money or lose money?

[Jimi LaLumia]

I'm going in early September...Broadway, of course... let them get on with the movie version..

[thommg]

Do most Broadway shows make money or lose money?

The majority of shows lose money on their Broadway incarnations. They can make it up on residual rights [[i.e., tours, overseas productions, regional productions). Some musicals have run for over a year on Broadway and never made back their initial costs. They might close at 89 - 95% paid back. It really depends on the show. Most of the star shows [[the ones with the Hollywood stars) will make back their money before they close - some just barely. The productions that are what I call "Regional Theatre on Broadway" [[Roundabout, Manhattan Theatre Club, Lincoln Center) play in Broadway houses and are consodered for Tony Awards but they run initially on a regional contract that pays much less. They also have subscription audiences. When the show extends past a certain number of weeks, it goes to a Broadway contract. Cabaret started that way - part of the Roundabout season. South Pacific at Lincoln Center was the same, as was War Horse. Once they got past their subscription dates, they reverted to a real Broadway contract and ran years.

[smark21]

Seems like a smart business move. IF only other Broadway shows would close after awhile instead of running over forever, like Phantom of the Opera. Back in the creative heyday of Broadway [[30s-60s) shows ran at most for 2 years before closing and touring.

[kenneth]

Do most Broadway shows make money or lose money?

I'm not an expert, but I believe most shows lose money and it's next to impossible to get a hit these days because of the huge costs to mount a show. What's surprising is that even when you read about some vintage musicals which had show tunes recorded, are well known, and played for a while [[some even for a year or more), when you read about them you find out that even those shows never made money.

I think the usual numbers are that a show has to have at least 90% capacity to have a chance of making money. So even with many hit shows, it's hard to keep audience attendance at the 90% level.