Smash

[+ ApexNomad]

34 minutes ago, d.anders said:

Broadway is one of the few places where dreams don't die. If someone directs a smash hit, there's always a chance they can do it again.

Maybe that was true a few decades ago, but Broadway today is a different ecosystem. For directors, it’s not just about talent or even past success—it’s about the alchemy of money, branding, relationships, investor confidence, and timing. Lightning in a bottle doesn’t strike twice without a whole team trying to manufacture the storm. Dreams don’t die—but they do get optioned, reworked, and focus-grouped into oblivion. And with corporations like Disney and powerhouse production companies dominating the field, even veteran directors are often sidelined unless they come attached to a brand or IP—and those brands leave very little room for true creative expression.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

2 hours ago, d.anders said:

Broadway is one of the few places where dreams don't die. If someone directs a smash hit, there's always a chance they can do it again.

I agree there's been an idealism present in the industry, but it's becoming more rare amongst producers who face rising costs to mount a show.

For Stro, she had several flops in a row, with the last one costing backers $30 million (New York, New York)

I don't see why they haven't let her bring back a previous success, Crazy For You.  It would play well on Broadway right now.

[d.anders]

I saw Susan Stroman in the 1979 musical Whoopee!. She made her life and career on Broadway, and married a director who died. Serious money tends to go with experience and what is familiar. Taking risk on the un-tested, no-awards is even riskier than last year's flop.

She's 70 now, so who knows how many shows she will have left.

Edited May 7 by d.anders

[skynyc]

7 hours ago, BenjaminNicholas said:

I don't see why they haven't let her bring back a previous success, Crazy For You.  It would play well on Broadway right now.

There was a concert version several years ago at Lincoln Center that was sensational. Laura Osnes and Tony Yazbeck led an all-star cast. I was sure that it would come to Broadway...and would have been a hit again! 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

2 hours ago, skynyc said:

There was a concert version several years ago at Lincoln Center that was sensational. Laura Osnes and Tony Yazbeck led an all-star cast. I was sure that it would come to Broadway...and would have been a hit again! 

I remember that production.  It was a one-nighter 25th anniversary.  

It was pre-COVID Osnes, when she wasn't alienating herself with controversial opinions.

Yaz would have been a nice Bobby.  Handsome and a capable dancer.

My favorite to play the role is Jim Walton (at Papermill).  He was one of the only performers to play Bobby that could easily tap the show, but also wring every ounce of comedy out of the role.