Sondheim is taking over Broadway, and producers are benefitting.
Stephen Sondheim’s musicals have resurged in the year and a half since the composer-lyricist’s death, with audiences flooding to Broadway revivals of Sondheim classics “Into The Woods,” “Sweeney Todd” and “Company,” as well as Off Broadway productions of “Assassins” and “Merrily We Roll Along.”
But there is one thing that Sondheim lovers did not expect: a new Sondheim show.
Sondheim’s final musical, “Here We Are,” will play Off Broadway at The Shed in September, producer Tom Kirdahy announced March 16. This news came as a shock to fans, as Sondheim described the musical as “incomplete” before his death. And the many revivals’ box-office successes led audience members to wonder whether producers are using Sondheim’s death to sell tickets.
“[Sondheim’s] goal was never to become a box-office powerhouse,” according to an op-ed in The Boston Globe. “Does the work of this singular genius — a man who never had the slightest interest in catering to mass taste — lose some of its specialness if it becomes ubiquitous?”
Following his death in November 2021, streams of Sondheim’s music were up 523% in the U.S., and almost 5,000 people entered daily to win lottery tickets to the sold-out Off Broadway production of “Assassins,” reported The New York Times.
“There’s even greater demand to see the work of Sondheim, and we’ve been feeling the benefit,” lead producer of the “Company” revival, Chris Harper, told The New York Times.
“Assassins” and “Company” aren’t the only shows that experienced the enthusiasm for Sondheim.
The revival of “Into The Woods” opened at the St. James Theatre in July 2022, after a successful run at New York City Center.
“Into The Woods” was supposed to close Aug. 21, but the show grossed over $2 million the week of Aug. 15, according to Broadway World. So, the theater owners made “The Piano Lesson,” which opened in September 2022, move to the smaller Ethel Barrymore Theatre so that high-grossing “Into The Woods” could continue at the St. James.
The Off Broadway revival of “Merrily We Roll Along,” also responded to the increased interest. During the revival’s run at New York Theatre Workshop, the show had lines of people — some of whom arrived as early as 4 a.m. — waiting outside the theater to get tickets for the sold-out run.
The show will open on Broadway in September for 18 weeks, and tickets are going for over $400 apiece.
A revival of Sweeney Todd — advertised as “Sondheim’s epic show” — opened on March 26.
Lead producer Jeffrey Seller acknowledged that the revival is a “large risk,” as the investors raised $13.5 million, reported The New York Times.
“Does New York need or want another ‘Sweeney Todd,’?” Seller told The New York Times. “And the answer [is]: Maybe, if we give them something they haven’t seen in 40 years, a full-scale production with a full ensemble and a full orchestra.”
He added that he was “encouraged by strong ticket sales,” as the sold-out previews grossed $1.8 million the week of March 6 and had an average ticket price of $172.18, reported Deadline.
However, Sondheim wrote in the preface of his 2010 book, “Finishing the Hat,” that one of the principles that “underlie[s] everything [he’s] ever written” is “less is more.”
“Any producer or artistic director tempted to add to the flood of Sondheim shows should perhaps first consult [those words],” reported The Boston Globe.
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