| re: KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN anecdote | |
| Posted by: finally 11:43 am EST 01/29/25 | |
| In reply to: re: KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN anecdote - JereNYC 08:25 am EST 01/29/25 | |
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| I knew many of the behind-the-scenes players of this venture a few years after it happened, and the story I consistently heard was that they overspent and the audience wasn't there. One person involved said they were repeatedly told that people were waiting until the show opened on Broadway rather than seeing a work-in-progress, and the budgets were always unrealistic to sustain. Another said that Frank Rich took this into account when deciding to do the review as it was an open secret that this was likely to be the one and only show. I feel like someone like Mandelbaum or Filichia wrote an article detailing some of this as well but don't have time to search it out (and it may not have been either of them). Westchester in general has the history of not supporting theater companies long-term, and the accepted wisdom is because of its proximity to Times Square (30-45 minutes by car from most of the county). The dinner theater that closed in 2020 was one of the exceptions but many companies came and went over time, each certain that they would be able to make a go of it. Purchase College had better luck a few years later using that complex as a rental venue to tech shows, e.g., Annie Get Your Gun (pre-Broadway and the tour), one of the Scarlet Pimpernel versions, etc. I no longer know anyone there so not sure if that continues to this day but its proximity to Manhattan was seen as a plus in those use cases. Those theaters also often show up on New York-based TV shows like Law & Order and have also been used in movies. Otherwise they program a limited season of things you see at similar performing arts centers nationwide: dance, symphony, kids shows, etc. |
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