Motown the musical is back on broadway - but just announced closing

[milven]

The Broadway return engagement of Motown the Musical, which began performances at the Nederlander Theatre on 12 July 2016, has now announced a closing date of 31 July 2016. After its extensive National Tour, it was originally scheduled to play an 18-week Broadway engagement through to 13 November 2016.

No reason for why it is closing after only a few weeks, but usually the reason is low ticket sales

[reese]

Gosh, that is sad. I was thinking about checking it out [[again) in September.

I just read that last week the show only grossed 37% of its potential. Ironically, there are some nice reviews in today's NY Times and Washington Post. Maybe if they had come out last week, they might have generated more interest.

[franjoy56]

Its a great show glad i got to see it when it first hit bway

[thommg]

I wonder where the advertising and marketing budget have been placed for this. I haven't heard much about it's return and I doubt that many were even aware that it was back on Broadway. A friend of mine posted on Facebook that he had attended the first preview and I didn't even realize they were performing!

[sansradio]

Serious bummer. I never got the opportunity to see it.

[milven]

According to figures released by the Broadway League for the week ending July 17, Motown sold $424,198 worth of tickets out of a potential $1,158,560. Some 71 percent of its seats were filled that week.

[jobeterob]

Seems a bit surprising because it made such a splash.

Is it common for the return to fizzle?

[bradsupremes]

Seems a bit surprising because it made such a splash.

Is it common for the return to fizzle?

Not so soon. Although I am a bit surprised the show returned to Broadway so quickly. I'm not sure if it's called a revival or not as it was the North American tour cast and crew. I heard it was a scaled back production, but I don't know if there were any changes made to the book. It needed a lot of work. Maybe one day in the future someone will revive and rewrite the book for a better show.

[Jimi LaLumia]

or make THE MOVIE and really cash in!

[milven]

Seems a bit surprising because it made such a splash.

Is it common for the return to fizzle?

There really is nothing common about this situation. It isn't considered a revival and it did not even have an official opening when it arrived here a few weeks ago. It seems to be a unique situation.

This production is part of the national tour which booked an 18 week engagement on Broadway. I don't think that ever happened before. National tours are usually scaled down versions of the Broadway production.

The show's producers said that they promised that the show would return to New York following the profitable engagement that finished on Broadway in January 2015. They had a hugely successful, sold-out First National Tour and they brought that production to Broadway for the final stop of the tour.”

This engagement incorporates revisions to the show’s book and structure, which were reflected in the national tour.

I guess it wasn't selling enough tickets at Broadway prices for a National Production scaled down edition to keep it open for eighteen weeks and that may be why it is closing pre-maturely.

[thommg]

Seems a bit surprising because it made such a splash.

Is it common for the return to fizzle?

There aren't many shows that close on Broadway and then come back a couple of years later. I can't think of any except Dreamgirls which brought the tour into NYC at one point [[I think). Once gone, there needs to be a huge momentum of publicity to get people interested again. I didn't see that with Motown The Musical.

[thommg]

There really is nothing common about this situation. It isn't considered a revival and it did not even have an official opening when it arrived here a few weeks ago. It seems to be a unique situation.

Actually, it would be considered a revival. I believe the down time for a show is around 6 weeks to be considered an extension of the original show. Also, the opening night was July 12. You'll find reviews online for that opening. Most of them talked about the show being cut back physically, the book shortened, and the song list changed slightly. None that I read thought these changes were for the better.

[milven]

Actually, it would be considered a revival. I believe the down time for a show is around 6 weeks to be considered an extension of the original show. Also, the opening night was July 12. You'll find reviews online for that opening. Most of them talked about the show being cut back physically, the book shortened, and the song list changed slightly. None that I read thought these changes were for the better.

I saw the original run four times [[once in previews) but did not even consider seeing this version as I knew it would be a watered down version of the original. Spoke to someone earlier who is seeing it today because she got cheap tickets. So I guess there are huge discounts in the final week.

[reese]

There aren't many shows that close on Broadway and then come back a couple of years later. I can't think of any except Dreamgirls which brought the tour into NYC at pone point [[I think). Once gone, there needs to be a huge momentum of publicity to get people interested again. I didn't see that with Motown The Musical.

THE COLOR PURPLE closed and came back. But then again, it was revamped and also came back with a star in the show, Jennifer Hudson.

[thommg]

THE COLOR PURPLE closed and came back. But then again, it was revamped and also came back with a star in the show, Jennifer Hudson.

The Color Purple is a revival, not an extension of the original production. It is rethought from the original Broadway production and originated in London before being brought into NY. There are certainly quite a few revivals of productions but very few productions that go on the road, close on Broadway and then bring the tour into NYC as a stop on the tour.