why these Broadway shows are closing | thoughts on Back to the Future, Water For Elephants and Suffs

[@grantcurry4839]

Professional theatre all over the world is pricing itself out of existence. Ticket prices are ridiculously expensive.

[@scswp6945]

I absolutely agree. Prices are now far too expensive at all levels : Broadway, West End and regional theatre tickets have become unrealistic purchases for many people. Cutting off a large section of the core audience seems incredibly self-defeating.

[@Mungoteazer11581]

That's so true. Also here in Germany and Switzerland. I looked up tickets for Frozen in Stuttgart and they have 3! premium categories. Why do you need 3 premium categories??

[@PS-DLMA]

Its not too bad in Australia....but not if you want to see everything

[@stacyc4287]

Guys, there are plenty of ways to get discounted tickets. There are lotteries and rush and many discounted programs depending on if you qualify. TKTS alone, two locations in the city, you will get 40-50% off. I see many many shows and rarely pay full price.

[@timothyj.mannion5210]

@@scswp6945 Because people don't understand the huge costs involved in mounting a show, or running a big musical. It costs at least a million dollars a week to turn on the lights, pay the orchestra, run the box office, pay the actors (a decent wage, hopefully), and afford the marketing, etc. It's not cheap work! Also, people don't spend money for live theatre when they can stay home and watch endless re-runs on television. Streaming will be the end of Broadway.

[@patrickgomes2213]

To quote the Emcee… “Money.”

[@mithramusic5909]

New shows will charge near-Wicked prices then show the audience the bare brick back wall the whole time. The era of the mega-musical is ending and nobody knows how to adapt

[@dankane9056]

I don't mind paying for theater tickets, it's the money to sleep in a bed at a hotel that kills me.

[@fairamir1]

Stay at a Hostel i n a bunk room...like $80 a night

[@cindiverbelun1802]

@@fairamir1can you do that?

[@music4thesoul80]

​@@fairamir1 - That's a great option when you're in your 20s and early 30s. Not so much as you get older. lol I used to stay in hostels and cheap dives all the time when I was young (and broke). As you get older it becomes a lot less fun.

[@namefaceageirrelevant]

I found Water for Elephants rather mid, but I did think it was a perfect show for non-English speaking tourists going to Broadway. Really beautiful staging and acrobatics you could appreciate without worrying about the plot. But then… those tourists would still be better served by going to the Lion King so it’s not an unexpected closing.

[@jyangtoho]

Jeremy just announced he’s leaving The Great Gatsby in mid Jan. It will be interesting to see how this will affect ticket sales as the show is still selling through Sept 2025. With only one Tony award win, the show has pretty much earned 1 million dollars each week for most of its run.

[@lindakahler4799]

It will make a big difference. Noblezada is a talented singer. Daisy is supposed to be so beautiful she drives men wild. She looks like Yoko Ono who only drove Lennon wild. This show will only succeed if they bring in Aaron Tveit come January. Then again Moulin Rouge may claim him

[@jyangtoho]

@@lindakahler4799 I don’t think Aaron will go back to Moulin rouge when he just left the show. I was thinking maybe Derek Klena would come on.

[@thedoctorbitchcraft]

@@lindakahler4799Um what in the Kentucky fried fuck are you talking about? And what’s with the xenophobia?

[@thedoctorbitchcraft]

⁠​⁠@@lindakahler4799um what in the Kentucky fried hell do you mean by “she looks like Yoko Ono”?

[@if3359]

They should bring in Groff 😆 this time Jeremey could say he had the upper hand

[@charliehorey9886]

The last nine years of politics have been a nightmare here in the United States. I could see people wanting to avoid watching a play about politics .

[@kl-1447]

Especially in the run up to the election. Like, it sounds like it's a cool concept, but when there's a lot of real world women's issues impacting people, it's hard to want to go see a musical about early suffragists talking about voting rights. Obviously important and a big part of how we got here, but as perhaps not the lighthearted evening at the theater you might want. Again, voting rights are huge and show addresses women's equality in many ways, but it can feel hollow comparatively. That combined with the general marketing (I am in the group that didn't know much about it past Hillary Clinton invested and it was about women? Also can say I had guessed it was only going to talk about white feminists/feminism, even after finding out there were POCs in the cast, I figured it would only be in limited conversation. Pleasantly surprised to find it wasn't just that shallow, but it didn't entice me to go see it either)

[@stacyc4287]

It's not a play about politics. It's a musical with the story of what women did to earn the right to vote. I was one of those who thought it might be a boring history lesson, and then I saw it and have been back 5x.

[@kl-1447]

@stacyc4287 But the right to vote is something that is inherently political (or at least thought of as such if you want to try and make an argument that it's not). It's literally the ability to have a democratic say in the laws that govern your life. Politics has been branded as partisan and negative (which it can be) but politics also has to do with democracy and how we govern and voting is very much a political action. Also, they went out of their way to advertise it with Hillary Clinton's name attached, someone who is famously a career politician. Linking it so closely with her name while good marketing is also going to tie the show to politics (which as the video points out, has pros and cons).

[@callalily3994]

With Suffs, I think a lot of the marketing issue is that, when you describe the basic idea of the show, the image that a lot of people will get is sort of "scolding schoolmarm." Like, the way that Alice Paul sees Carrie Chapman Catt is pretty much the way that suffragists of that period are still seen today by a lot of people. The show really needed to work to get past that, and I'm not sure that they did. Something like "If We Were Married" would have been a good way to cut through that, I think, but it's an odd song to showcase.

[@JimboSlice_Yo]

Back to the Future so slept on. Absolutely perfect movie to broadway adaptation

[@spyralz]

Just saw Back to the Future a few weekends ago. I thought it was an absolute delight. The chemistry between Doc and Marty was fantastic.

[@AKMorehouse]

I saw all of the shows mentioned. Suffs is the show I wish was staying open longer, once they announced they were closing I bought a ticket to see it in December to see it one last time. The other two had their highlights but didn’t warrant a repeat viewing for me.

[@jamieholland1347]

Proud theatre dad right here

[@CosmikOnline]

My 2023-24 viewings were Suffs, The Notebook, Great Gatsby and Merrily We Roll Along. (Also, Winesday, the Wine Tasting Musical. But I digress...) Suffs was easily the best thing I saw last season and even before.

[@stacyc4287]

AGREE. I've seen almost everything and it was the best thing I saw all season.

[@chadwilliambaker]

From a marketing standpoint, all I can remember about Suffs is the one photo they seem to use for everything of Shaina Taub center stage with a line of women in shadow behind her. There are a number of kickass musical theatre women in that show and they barely ever acknowledge any of them in the marketing which is such a strange choice to me.

[@ashleyscott2759]

Saw Back to the Future recently as a family, we enjoyed it a lot! Our factors for choosing were based on cost and finding something that would appeal to different ages/theater interest. As a musical theatre lover I thought the music was just ok but enjoyed the visuals of the show. My kids liked it a lot (especially my teen son who isn’t really interested in musical theatre). I would definitely say it’s a great show for the whole family!

[@charliehorey9886]

As the election gets closer the stress of politics is real. I would think folks would want escapism….the year has been politically exhausting

[@KimberlyWatson-vd5wl]

I agree with you completely about the quality of Suffs & The Outsiders. Suffs is fantastic & the best show of that season. The Outsiders was underwhelming.

[@etherealtb6021]

You said the problem. Having a score that only gets you from A to B is a big problem in MUSICAL! Future musicals need to start with the music, not a concept or IP

[@katrinaconnor923]

I feel like theater is not accounting for how expensive a trip to NY is on top of theater! I can’t afford a trip to NY that often and then can’t see that many shows. I love seeing the tours since they come closer to me. I also wish that audience comfort was taken into account these theaters need updates with bigger seats wider aisles, more bathrooms I mean I know I am large but those seats are so beyond uncomfortable it makes me want to limit my choices!

[@iankunx]

Yep. The cost of airfare, hotel, and food is astronomical, then shows are easily 200+ unless you want nosebleed seats, seats are *tiny* and painful and policies are inconsistent. I'm 6'2 and overweight and I'll only go back to theaters I know and have had a good experience in at this point. Seats that are wide enough have so little leg room I'm in agony. Seats that have legroom are so narrow I'm also in agony. Seats that are both too narrow AND not enough leg room! It's not worth it when I can't focus on the show.

[@music4thesoul80]

​@@iankunx- I saw the Great Gatsby back in August and there was a woman two rows in front of me who couldn't fit in the seat. I felt absolutely terrible for her because apparently she had flown across the country to see the show. The theatre ended up seating her at the back with a fold chair but still, that had to be so humiliating for her. The thing is she wasn't even what I would call morbidly obese but she was pear shape and had a wide set bottom which unfortunately in the Broadway Theatre (as anyone who's been in that theatre will know) is going to be a big problem. I'm overweight myself and the seats were absolutely pinching me in the hips but I could still get in and out without a problem. If I put on another twenty pounds I'd probably wind up in the same position as that poor woman. To be perfectly honest I can't imagine that woman was the first person who's found themselves in that same situation in that theatre because the seats are so small and narrow.

[@itsnotniccage]

I actually saw water for elephants because I couldn’t get rush tickets to outsiders so I walked across the street. I did really enjoy it but as someone who goes back to see multiple shows multiple times if I love them, I was happy only seeing it once.

[@ceilidancr]

Outside of musical theater, my other love is fandom, the act of forming communities and creating fan content around various media. In my time in fandom I have learned just how much women love a cast full of men having deep angsty relationships with one another. Supernatural, Sherlock, Lord of the Rings, Teen Wolf, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So many women love emotional stories about men. It is often attributed to women finding it easier to enjoy fictional relationships that cannot and will never involve an element of misogyny/sexism. It’s supposed to be a bit of escapism from experiencing those things in real life. This does come as a bit of frustration to a queer woman like me, who does prefer her media to have women featured prominently (although I enjoy plenty of the fandoms I listed above, too). Also, the Outsiders is a beautiful classic novel that has its fans in its own right. Just my 2 cents.

[@BobbleHatBoy]

I love the start of act 2 in back to the future 😭 😭

[@curiousbarney]

Yes, it's the best!

[@alexandrakorngut5197]

I wish Suffs would stay open. Unfortunately, don't live in NY and have money issues

[@ponyboyandharrylover]

I think another factor is both stuffs and water for elephants is they both did very few tv performances on like morning talk shows or late night shows unlike shows like great gatsby, the outsiders, and Hell’s Kitchen. At least for both the shows I only remember their Tony performance and a performance on GMA.

[@LightLifeHardy]

It’s tough because late night and morning shows don’t have the studio spaces to host something like W4E. A lot of those studios are tiny.

[@mwmheps]

Loved Suffs, definitely sorry to see it close as I think due to the subject matter it’s unlikely to cross over to West End. I actually really enjoyed Water for Elephants too - I had pretty low expectations based on what I’d heard about the score but I found the acrobatics so impressive and the performances and chemistry was great so overall enjoyed it a lot. The crowd seemed enthusiastic, I even had a couple of teenage boys singing along behind me, not a show I expected to experience that at and actually in this one instance I was kind of charmed by their enthusiasm for a show I didn’t expect. Back to the future I didn’t bother to see on Broadway as I’d seen it in London, but I would have liked to see Casey Likes if I’d maybe had more show slots.

[@clowchan]

I feel like everyone is ignoring the fact that everything in the city is expensive - lodging, food, and then the theatres themselves have to pay rent/leases and those are skyrocketing (because personally if certain buildings like Hudson Yards and Billionaires Row are any indication of what's to come - NYC is becoming Billionaire's Playground. I personally hate it. A lot.)

[@MissLizaMay]

The other reason they announce closings at this time is to attract the tourists who come to NYC for Christmas. A large amount of people will bus in from everywhere to go Xmas shopping in NYC and see a show. If they know a certain show is about to close they're more likely to pick that one

[@Midlander83]

I think it’s price combined with people not wanting to take a risk on new shows. I have thought for a while now that all shows should film and release maybe the first 15 minutes of their production (that’s usually enough to hook me in if I’m going to get invested in a show!) and make them available online - either free or as a rental for streaming. I honestly think this would work better than a trailer, or a promo performance of a single song on a chat show, for most shows. Worth a try anyway! And, if it was a rental (reasonably priced), it would bring in a little money for the show whilst it establishes itself.

[@graavy]

I love this idea in theory, but I think in an era when Broadway already relies so heavily on the marketability of their shows (see ALL these jukebox/celebrity shows) you'd start seeing a lot of shows with a KILLER first 15 minutes and the rest of the show would be..... fine... Idk maybe I'm cynical

[@Midlander83]

@ no, good point - I’m sure you’re right! And if you are cynical it’s because that’s exactly what the market is. But hopefully word of mouth would allow the shows that deserve to stay to do so? I don’t know. Jukebox musicals frankly ought to be able to sell themselves (personally I don’t like them in general, but I’m assuming people go because they like all the songs!) - but I’m just wondering whether with entirely new material, giving potential buyers a chance to see a bit more might help as a marketing strategy. It’s hard. And there are so many (cheap) entertainment options for people nowadays. Broadway’s golden age ain’t coming back, sadly!

[@icesee]

So I'm one of those people obsessed with the Outsiders. For context I'm Polish, I'm 33 and I didn't know the book or movie prior. It just looked cool and I like stories about brothers. I related with the show 2 minutes after Ponyboy started talking. Loving movies, appreciating sunsets. I love this dude. And then Soda and Daryl are absolutely wonderful. The whole Stay gold concept is something I lve been thinking about a lot in my life so that hit me really hard. To sum up I related to a lot of the show, loved the story, absolutely loved the voices and got pretty quickly attached emotionally to the brothers. I wanted to see suffs in January but oh well too late 😢

[@rachelramos2625]

I saw Water For Elephants and it was such a cute show! I think it’s so underrated and I just don’t understand why. I understood why it was closing due to poor ticket sales and Grant Gustin leaving but still heartbroken

[@YanaBana79]

"He's no George Clooney 😂." I go to NYC 1-2 times a year for a Broadway binge--and though I was excited when Back to the Future was first announced, it never made my final cut of shows to see. I am obsessed with Water for Elephants (which I saw 3 times over my 2 NYC trips this year), and I LOVED Suffs (only saw it once, and I'm so sad that I won't be back before it closes). Great video!

[@LuckyDipster2]

Roger may not be an A-lister, but would I choose him over Clooney? Absolutely!

[@cindyw4374]

Saw The Outsiders and Water for Elephants back to back on my trip to New York this summer (we did the rush for Elephants and got good seats for $49). Guess there's only room for one show on 45th St. about a guy whose parents die in a car crash and makes his escape on a train.

[@MickeyJoTheatre]

An excellent point 😂

[@amazonstorm]

This Video is how I found out Water for Elephants is closing.

[@guillermomedina7793]

I’m from Los Angeles, so theatre is not something we do out here, but based on Mickey Joe’s reviews my husband and I saw Hadestown on Broadway last fall, the Motive and the Cue on the Westend in February, and Stereophonic on Broadway this past August. We had never heard of any of these shows before as no one in LA knows about much less talks about theatre stuff. We went to the shows mentioned above solely on Mickey’s reviews. My point, I guess, is that unless you’re into theatre, we never hear about theatre out here. P.S. the KZbin algorithm recommended MickeyJoe’s channel (love the channel ) and that’s how we started to see shows, so I think the marketing of theatre is the problem.

[@kathleenewing3673]

Cabaret and Sunset Blvd are why I'm only seeing one new show (Suffs) this season.

[@seattlesusieq]

For upcoming new musicals: What about "Death Becomes Her" and "A Wonderful World"?

[@IWillBeHers]

I'm seeing the BTTF tour next June, which is why I declined to see it in NYC when I went last month. Cabaret was my priority when I went to NYC, but I would've seen Suffs if given the chance (and had the money and time). It is touring starting next year, so I'm hoping it comes to our local touring venue. I wouldn't mind seeing Water for Elephants either, if that happens to tour near me as well.

[@MarisaG329]

Heading into the city this weekend to sunset on Friday night and yellow face Saturday afternoon. Maybe I’ll see you there! ✌🏻

[@kristenhull2222]

My old handbell director's son plays Biff in BTTF, so of course, we had to go see it when we were on our annual trip to NYC last year. My husband isn't the musical geek that I am, but he said it was his favorite show we've seen since beginning this annual tradition! I thought it was a ton of fun, but none of the music stayed with me.

[@FlyByNightBBQ]

Musical theatre dad here! LOL! My wife and I and our 2 teenage daughters did a NY trip around Easter and saw Suffs, Water for Elephants, and Back to the Future (as well as Spamalot, Sweeney Todd for 2 of us, and Aladdin for the other 2). OF these 3, our favorite for the trip was Water, but we also really liked Suffs. Really glad to hear them at Water is touring. I do love the score of that one. BTTF was fun, with amazing effects, but yeah that act 2 opener… woof. We saw an Easter matinee so we didn’t see Roger Bart, but we did see him in The Producers many years ago.

[@callalily3994]

I saw all three of these this past summer, all with lottery tickets. Went to Suffs with my sister, and we both liked it, though our seats were awful. (Front row, all the way on the side, practically underneath the overhanging stage, and we're both under five feet tall. We could see about a quarter of the stage, if that. I've had "limited visibility" tickets before, but these were ridiculous.) I want to see Suffs again from a seat where I can actually see what's going on. Saw Water for Elephants with a friend, and we both loved it. The end was heartbreaking, though -- totally gutted. Like you said, the score wasn't anything special, but it got the job done. The acrobatics and puppetry were spellbinding. Both of us keep pretty up to date on theatre stuff, and neither of us went in really knowing much beyond "It's based on a book, and it's got something to do with a circus." The marketing on that one definitely could have reached a wider audience. I went to Back to the Future with my dad. We're both big fans of the movie. I thought it was kind of silly, but fun enough for what it is. My dad thought it was great. I wonder how it'll do on tour -- the lights going into the audience were a big part of the special effects, and that wouldn't be possible at most touring houses.

[@scribbly2983]

I saw Back to the Future on tour and I do think the tour may have eaten into the tourist crowd. But the show was charming, knew exactly what it needed to do, and I enjoyed it

[@CulturePhilter]

I’m totally a musical theatre loving dad. Watching shows, and even sometimes performing in (amateur) shows.

[@michellearzu]

I loved Water For Elephants, surprised to hear it’s closing

[@rleighrock]

As soon as I saw the Water For Elephants Tony performance, I knew I wanted to see it if there is a tour stop near where I live. I’m not hugely into acrobatics/circus-type performances, but I know my best friend is. Now to get her to check out the cast album to see if she might actually be interested.

[@benjamintocchi7909]

As a lot of people have commented, the ticket prices have become extremely expensive. Case in point: In August I went to see the pre-Broadway tryout of "The Queen of Versailles" at the Colonial in Boston and paid $99.00 per ticket to sit IN THE BALCONY (the Colonial Theatre has a mezzanine and then the balcony above that). At those prices, you kind of have to be committed to see a show, many people have trouble dropping that kind of money for something they are only so-so interested in.

[@yankee04]

I think that there was limited advertising for Suffs. As you said, so many musicals are not heard about beyond NYC metro area. I don’t think they found the right platforms to find a bigger audience. I was typing this comment when I got to your discussion of the marketing. People got bent out of shape about Hillary. I never look at producers when deciding ticket purchases. Fair point about the optics of an endorsement. I loved Suffs. Very glad it will tour. Still recommending to friends and colleagues.

[@sassycatz4470]

Suffs should come to Washington, DC. It has a natural audience here. Very politically savvy and more knowledgeable about the topic.

[@jklein0079]

I usually go to Broadway once or twice a year. I base my shows on a balance of "What do I want to see" and "What do I think will close before I can come and won't tour in the US" and "Can I get it at TKTS?". I saw Water for Elephants because I read the book and I thought the all of the circus performing and acrobatics was amazing. Back to the Future is my favorite movie so I saw that despite its tour, I liked that it stayed 92% loyal to the movie. I'm going in a couple of weeks and I'm going to see Stereophonic, while not technically a musical and more of a play with songs, plays do not typically tour. I may see Suffs but that will be launching a tour next year.

[@JoshAragon]

Back to the Future sounds like Young Frankenstein the musical- it tries to recreate the movie and just adds songs that are not needed- or perhaps it just needed a better score - I mean its a musical and we go for the score too

[@bwaybaby1979]

lol, when I saw Young Frankenstein with my friends, I commented, “They sure spent a lot of money into the special effects.” My friends said I was hard to please but, no, I’ve just seen more theater than them and know what I like. And I’d seen the movie - only Andrea Martin could match the movie cast. But at least Mel Brooks was able to add a few funny songs into his show. I can’t remember any songs from BTTF except the ones from the movie.

[@Nikki-tx6kh]

There used to be a Back to the Future ride at Universal Parks, but it was changed by a Simpsons ride. I watch this podcast which talks about rides, and talk about it regularly. My man Ryan really misses his BttF ride.

[@mayaeverafter2007]

I wanted to be interested in Suffs, but every song performance I saw left me so bored. I felt that way about the Notebook also, and ended up liking that show when I saw it, the whole was better than any one song. Maybe I'll feel the same about Suffs when I eventually see it. I saw 5 shows on my most recent trip. I usually prioritize shows that won't tour or won't tour as they were on Broadway (so still hoping to catch BTTF). I think Suffs couldn't overcome the feeling that it was "good for you, but not entertaining ." At least, it couldn't overcome that with me.

[@josephlim6854]

@9:26 so cool you're back here in NYC!!! @16:33 I agree marketing is important.

[@minirth.maggie]

Always appreciate your Broadway videos but the closing ones make me sad.

[@andrewwisker6918]

Very sad Back to the future the musical is closing on Broadway, seen it both in London and New York . I am a musical Dad seen Starlight Express 21 times over the years and love the new version 😀😀 love your channel

[@RileyShaw-ry7xz]

I’m suprised BTTF is closing. I saw it when it came to the Lied Center here in Lincoln a few weeks ago. Is it still going to be in the West End? Also, I remember trying to write my own BTTF musical about a year before it was officially announced. I was even going to have Act 1 be the first movie then Act 2 and 3 being the second and third films.

[@kateorgera5907]

It's probably very expensive to run. There's a lot of shows that do well but not quite well enough to run each night with their exorbitant costs, and I imagine with the Delorean that's a factor for BTTF.

[@francescasmilgin-box3734]

I'm sad that Suffs is closing. I was looking forward to see it next summer :(

[@starlingwatch3921]

I saw Peter Pan in the Golden gate theater in San Francisco last night. It's delightful. During the intermission they set the stage to be an Instagram wall, perfect for people to post about the show.

[@sheenajohnson8358]

I loved BTTF but we picked London rather than New York- 1st time in NY and my teenagers didn't want to "waste" time going to a show instead of seeing the sights. I am a massive theatre fan but wanted to see something I couldn't see at home. We flew from London so went to see BTTH when we got back- with the whole family. Another plus of BTTF is Gala Pro- audio description for every performance. It enabled my severely visually impaired teenage son to enjoy the show( he loved the films when sighted) . Most shows just have occasional audio described performances, often mid week. Broadway is better since the Shubert organisation own Gala Pro.

[@amyleigh7624]

I'm a producer, and you have to price to fill the house. If prices are pumped, you have prestige but empty seats. A lot of this is due to venues charging outrageous pricing, which trickles down to patrons.

[@PowerGlove79]

I LOVED Back To The Future, I made a trip to NYC just to see it because I didn't want to wait for it to tour, because i'm such a huge fan of the franchise. The songs arent the best, but they have admittedly grown on me since seeing it. And, I dunno, I kind of liked "21st Century" as the second act opener lol. I think it's going to have a long life in touring productions

[@lpbrog]

Love that the Jamie Lloyd lighting set up has stuck around for non Jamie videos 😂

[@Elphaboy]

No one in “production” was thinking it Micky joe says it and BAM now we will be completely inundated with Back to the Future content 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣

[@gradescape]

As a non local it’s not the price of theater tickets- you can find cheap ones- it’s the ridiculous price of NYC hotels that keep me from going more often. I went in with low expectations for Back to the Future but the special effects were magnificent and I thought the ensemble was incredible. I was more disappointed by some of the leads and the score left a lot to be desired.

[@MsJaytee1975]

I’m really disappointed to hear Suffs is closing. It was one of the rare shows on Broadway with a disabled actor in the cast.

[@elizabethm937]

Yes, this!!! Between this and How to Dance in Ohio having such a short run last year, I’m feeling really sad about the state of disability inclusion in theater.

[@1Trollcat]

If that's your only reason to see a show that's a really terrible reason. There is not one single show I have ever seen because of someone's immutable characteristics. What a vapid, virtue signaling reason to support a show. Support GOOD shows and GOOD writers. Shaina Taub and SUFFS are neither.

[@megwestfox2481]

I was lucky enough to see Jenna Bainbridge cover as Doris Stevens last weekend, and she was great. She mentions in interviews that she only auditioned for the show due to an increase in video auditions during the pandemic. I think it’s also really important to think about the fact the the production and theater did a huge amount of accessibility work FOR AN ENSEMBLE MEMBER. Clearly she’s a huge talent to be on Broadway at all, but she’s not a name talent in a big role who is a draw by herself… she’s fundamentally a chorus girl. I think that says a lot for the team behind Suffs and hopefully bodes well for the future.

[@christopherhyde9523]

I'm sure you're going to see Maybe Happy Ending but I hope you're making plans to see We Live in Cairo as well at New York Theatre Workshop. One of the reasons I think last year's shows aren't making it is because there were tons of new ones last year and they were all somewhere from pretty good to very good but we haven't had a new potential classic in a long time (Hadestown?). I found both of the above shows more delightful (Maybe Happy) and thrilling (We Live) than anything I have seen in a very long time.

[@MickeyJoTheatre]

Seeing both - very excited!

[@hollymcl]

I enjoyed W4E a lot and look forward to hopefully seeing it again on tour, but I agree it simply suffered from this year's very robust competition. The show is better put together than most, but for each specific individual element (score, design, star lead, etc.) there's a different new show generally considered to have better. Yes, you should go see The Outsiders again! Maybe it'll grow on you and maybe not, but IMO among its season, it's the show with the most similar vibe to Hadestown, and we know how your opinion of Hadestown evolved! I haven't seen BTTF nor Suffs. Simply no interest in BTTF - yes, I have a nostalgic fondness for the movie, but the stage musical version, given the poor reviews of the score, doesn't seem to add anything. As for Suffs, on paper it's a show I should love, but I'm going to see the tour. There's nothing about the staging of it that won't translate to the tour production, and none of the stars were enough of a draw for me personally to prioritize seeing it in my limited time in NYC; in fact, I'm not a fan of Shaina Taub's voice so i expect I'll like the show better with someone else in her role. My mom and my daughter live in the Seattle area, so as soon as the tour was announced to be starting from 5th Ave, we made plans to see it there together!

[@ryebread9299]

Here we go

[@rubenmontalvo938]

Hi we just went to see 3 musicals on broadway, I was able to decently priced theater. However the price for may hotel was 1000 dollars for a 2night stay! . My flight was 234.00. The big problem is lodging. It has gone up tremendously😮. I rely mostly on touring productions to get my Broadway fix. Not sure when I can go back. Hope to see most new musicals when they hit the road. We’ll see.

[@chuckoneill2023]

My barrier to visiting NYC is the hotel prices. I don't necessarily have to fly, although that might be cheaper considering the parking rates. I'm considering booking a quick trip to catch Mattress and BTTF before they close. But maybe not.

[@gbam3939]

I think the Suffs team was probably hesitant to dive into a ton of Kamala-themed marketing because of the politics of the show/its real-life characters. You mentioned the backlash that Suffs received for being too "white feminist." Given that Kamala is a biracial woman whose very right to vote might not have been promoted by the suffragettes depicted in the show, I wouldn't be shocked if the producers wanted to avoid courting any more controversy than those protests had already caused, especially if those incidents took away from the overall message of the show or could be seen as detrimental to Kamala's campaign.

[@LightLifeHardy]

But Suffs HAS leaned into Kamala both when she announced she was running, when she won the nominee and during promotional moments like during Broadway Flea. Kamala and Suffs hasn’t been forced away or hidden from each other.

[@gbam3939]

@@LightLifeHardy I didn't know that, thanks for sharing! Maybe then the problem is with how well that message is being shared to potential ticket buyers? I got on their email list after looking at tickets post-Tonys and haven't seen any Kamala-related emails. Have most of the Kamala promos been on social media or in person (like at curtain calls or events like Flea)? That could be another reason why people like me who don't live in the city haven't seen them. In any case, I still want to see it before it closes!

[@LightLifeHardy]

@@gbam3939 it’s def been more in person than online, which could be a bit of an issue. I think the other thing is, they can interact with the Harris’ campaign but Harris, especially due to how quick she went from not the nominee to election next week, just doesn’t have the time to really interact with the show. This especially when Suffs is a NY show and NY is already a blue state. Just wouldn’t be worth the time of Harris to make something happen between the two.

[@sarathompson-hall]

I haven't been back to Broadway in a long time, but comparing to local prices (Toronto) and even more so, West End, it's such a huge investment to take a risk on an unknown show. On a separate note, we saw Idina Menzel perform a solo show in Toronto in the summer, and she spoke about her upcoming new show, Redwoods, opening on Broadway in 2025. Have you heard much about that show?

[@alizagans2685]

I saw water for elephants twice, the notebook twice, and suffs once but I can't pay so much for tickets the reason I had so many shows were discount programs and even those aren't always dependable

[@funnytube7352]

Mickey, what do you recommend me: the outsiders or Sunset Blv revival?

[@DJWhovian]

With the extremely high budgets and funding Broadway shows need it seem like an uphill struggle for any show to be able to make back it's money and continue for so long and i don't think that issue should be put on the audiences having to pay overpriced tickets.

[@Pianoslave1]

As a woman who’s been in different fandoms for 20+ years now, the unfortunate reality is that the majority of people are going to prioritize a piece of media with a nearly all male cast vs. an all female cast. So unfortunately it’s not surprising to me that the musical about a bunch of sad, emotionally stunted men is getting a ton of attention from female audiences vs. the play with a diverse female cast with important lessons about feminism. There’s a deeper discussion to be had about why this is but it’s just a common pattern of audiences prioritizing male characters and male stories. Of course there are exceptions, like with Six. But I mean, just look at all the fanfiction on AO3 shipping all the Hamilton characters; the M/M fics outweigh anything else. I don’t have much to say about Suffs in general besides that the few songs I heard playing on the Broadway channel made me think “Oh it’s just discount Hamilton” and had no further interest. This might not be fair since I didn’t hear the whole soundtrack but it definitely was a different reaction from hearing “Intermission Song” from A Strange Loop which immediately had me interested. I’m honestly not sure how people can afford to see shows in NYC right now. The ticket prices can be bad but what’s really stopping me is the hotel and travel costs.

[@germantownmd76]

The last Broadway hit of the last several years is Hadestown. Every year each musical has a life span of a year or less, that's just the way it is.

[@MickeyJoTheatre]

Moulin Rouge, Six, & Juliet all exceeding the year mark to be fair!

[@germantownmd76]

@@MickeyJoTheatre Good point, though I don't wanna put jukebox musicals in the same category as Hadestown. Six is a hit, no doubt about it!

[@RiaLynne]

For The Outsiders, lots of young women love to see/read/write close male relationships, platonic and romantic portrayed. Shipping men/men relationships too and I think stories like the Outsiders play into those close brother and male friendship relationships that allow vulnerability to exist.

[@garretshields1951]

There’s nothing America is afraid more of than a strong empowered female. I haven’t had the chance to see Suffs, hoping to before it closes. My good friend Theatrical Lydia highly recommends it!

[@Ridiculous__Nicholas]

Back to the future while from a technical standpoint was amazing had no memorable songs except for the ending… Which were songs from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

[@janelleraven9775]

Water for Elephants was a book first! And it is wonderful!

[@johnoh1374]

Hopefully you will get to see this amazing piece (Ragtime) NYT recommends it

[@carrielynnmiller]

I've only made it to NY to see shows twice, but I am not likely to see a show I know is going on national tour. I am sure I am not alone in this, but I assume they make more from the show putting it on tour instead of keeping it in NY. I don't know about prices. My local community theaters charge between $25-40 per ticket. The national tour tickets I get at our local performing arts center are around $45 each. I have gotten most of my broadway tickets for under $70 (rush, TKTS are your friends). The additional money that broadway costs gives you the original broadway cast and generally a more elaborate staging or unique staging of the show.

[@megwestfox2481]

I took my ten year old to W4E. She gave it a 9/10, but said “I kinda wish it was just circus.” I felt like the team said ‘ooh, let’s do a circus musical! Here’s some IP that’s circus adjacent” and were halfway through writing before they realized they ALSO had to do some emotion.

[@MissLizaMay]

I just came back from a NYC trip and I skipped all of these. I went to see Sunset Blvd which is my fave, apart from that everything was so expensive I did off-Broadway shows

[@jerryschulman1640]

I thought the songs in BTTF were fantastic, the performance, the music, and the lyrics. There were symphonic bits, gospell, big band, 50’s doo wop, both early and 80’s rock and roll, and ballads.

[@noahkahan4364]

honestly, back to the future ran on Broadway from June 2023 to January 2025 and that’s not a bad run. I wouldn’t consider that a flop. A year and a half on Broadway while it’s not like magnificent is not bad.

[@muttshouse]

Would love tips on how to get rush tickets, how to meet cast after the show. I live in central NJ. A one way trip to NYC on the train is $40. Then I'd have to buy a nosebleed seat for $100. That is cost prohibitive for a family of 4. There used to be decent matinee pricing but even those tickets are $75 and up. It might be cheaper for us to fly to London and see all the shows there.

[@timothyj.mannion5210]

I'm going to see "Suffs" on Election Night, Tuesday, November 5. Guy Fawkes day for those of you across the pond. I'm hopeful that by the time we exit the theatre, the story will have a new chapter--not only the vote, but the Presidency!!!

[@BDog54]

Personally, I feel like the original cast in the West End Back To The Future can't be topped. Olly Dobson was the best Marty either show different sides of the Atlantic has had. Looks wise, he evoked Michael J Fox, and his general height, voice and aura were like Michael. He had a fabulous voice too. Hugh Coles as George Mcfly was incredible and an absolute standout, and he has left both West End and Broadway now which I think is a great loss. Roger Bart brought the same well meaning chaos that Doc Brown had, whilst making the role his own. Roseanna Hyland for me was the best evocation of Lorraine, even little things like the original West End Strickland actor looking so similar to the character in the movie.

[@bradleyh7582]

I wish I had more than 8-13 months to see a show. I can't afford a yearly trip to NYC, but I want to see shows like BackToTheFuture to see the complete set and effects rather than the smaller touring set.

[@sweeney60]

They need to do more low budget shows that people can afford and get a line up of big stars with shorter stints. It’s the same model that has led to Chicago being as long running as it has and a similar model is working with Little Shop.

[@Ranger7Studios]

They are too expensive. :)

[@RobertBurns71405]

Have you considered the idea that people don’t want to be think about politics when seeing a broadway show, and maybe just want an escape from the real world? I understand why you keep asking the question, but I feel like you’ve been given lots of valid reasoning and just keep bringing it up( at least that is the vibe I get, I get that you are passionate and I don’t want/intend to come off as accusatory or hateful) Also, as much as I adored Suffs, the advertising isn’t doing it any favors🤷‍♂️

[@RaymondNYC1]

The only way to guarantee a show becoming a hit is to have a big movie or TV star in the cast . Other than that, you just have to keep your fingers crossed.

[@gogoatomicrobot559]

I know this is about Broadway, but I don't see a lot of musicals/theater shows as I can't justify the cost. If something is only on in London, I can't afford the cost of tickets+transport+overnight stay.

[@dukeofrodtown1705]

BTTF deserved to have an open-ended run, as did Suffs (now my bestie and I won't be able to see the latter *le sigh*)

[@Ela11432]

They both had open ended runs

[@dukeofrodtown1705]

@@Ela11432 To correct you: NOT long enough. I consider over 1-2 years as open-ended.

[@Ela11432]

@@dukeofrodtown1705 what you consider vs what words mean are different things in this case unfortunately. But I agree that Suffs deserved a longer run

[@askback6168]

agree with you completely the score for bttf the musical isn't great, and has some big damp squibs. however, the song which starts act 2 is my favourite in the whole show :) . also, it reminds me of the n*** boyband at the start of act 2 of operation mincemeat, and the dream sequence for the start of act 2 for mamma mia. bttf tm london has a lot of affordable tickets, and a large fanbase who keep returning. the price point for the broadway version doesn't quite work. at that price point its a super luxury item, whereas the london version is more of a party we can keep going to time and again, affordably.

[@ssphilproductions7968]

I absolutely LOVE Back to The Future. I have seen it 10 times on Broadway. BUT, it is a terrible musical. Just an amazing time. It should have gone off-broadway in a shorter 90 minute show. The US Tour definitely sped up the closing on Broadway.

[@annikarudolph5572]

I wish that I saw Suffs at the Public. I adore “stripped down” text-focused productions, but I felt that the Music Box was too large a venue for the staging. More dynamic choreography, especially during the protest scenes, might have helped.

[@megwestfox2481]

I loved Suffs, but I really felt like *I* could have done the choreography. I feel like a show that already runs the risk of seeming a bit ‘eat your spinach’ would have benefited from something really out of the box, rather than the choreography and staging that I (a non-pro) would more or less have come up with after hearing the cast album. It wasn’t bad, but if we are thinking about why it closed…