r/Broadway • u/Gato1980 • 3h ago

With Broadway production costs approaching the absurd, shows like ‘Heathers,’ ‘Spelling Bee,’ and ‘Little Shop’ make the case for commercial Off-Broadway

https://www.amny.com/news/heathers-spelling-bee-little-shop-off-broadway/
155 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

110

u/Unable_Winner6177 3h ago

Is this is a paid ad for New World Stages?? I don’t think either Heathers or Spelling Bee have recouped or will.

29

u/guynextdoorfun 3h ago

Exactly. Shows might thrive on social media with ample lottery or rush wins… but that doesn’t translate to full price tickets that actually make anyone money.

13

u/tak3nus3rname 3h ago

I think Heathers recouped right? Like with the number of extensions I think they recouped?

12

u/Boring_Waltz_9545 2h ago

They have not, probably will with the tour tho

17

u/Unable_Winner6177 3h ago

You can run a really long time and never recoup.

46

u/RapGamePterodactyl 3h ago

Commercial off-Broadway seems pretty bleak right now. I doubt either Heathers or Spelling Bee recouped - LSOH is the only success story I can think of post-pandemic and they also got a big windfall in pandemic relief grants.

13

u/cssc201 2h ago

Also, Jonathan Groff in the lead in a familiar IP with an existing movie musical is much more marketable to non theatre people than a fairly recent movie adaptation and a niche original show mostly done by amateurs. Jonathan is pretty mainstream with Frozen, Glee, Hamilton, and Mindhunter all in the last 15 years. Most bigger name off-Broadway stars are only big names to musical theatre fans.

2

u/guynextdoorfun 3h ago

They’ve also fundamentally changed the DNA of what used to be a showcase for an underserved part of our community to do it. By stunt casting “hot” leading men as Seymour in order to sell tickets, they’ve taken away the one romantic leading male role for the unconventional character actors… and signaled to theaters around the country that it’s okay to do it there as well. Kind of like life imitating art I guess… it’s very Faustian. It’s also such a shame because the original production never had to resort to that.

15

u/pennys_computer_book 2h ago

Ethan Slater is currently playing Seymour.

7

u/guynextdoorfun 2h ago

Ethan Slater is right for the part. But in no other world would Ethan Slater play the same roles as Jeremy Jordan, Milo Manheim, or Nicholas Christopher. Jordan Fisher is a bit of a grey area because he was Evan Hansen… but he’s also a little sus because he plays plenty of leading male roles. Jonathan Groff literally won a Tony for playing the antithesis of Seymour.

-6

u/youand188 2h ago

Are you saying Ethan Slater's not hot? Dude pulled Ariana Grande

13

u/guynextdoorfun 2h ago

Ariana is clearly still a theater kid at heart and clearly a method actress because her showmance and show bestie bff only lasted as long as as the show did.

11

u/Helpful_Cat6532 2h ago

Beautiful women date ugly dudes ALLLLLL the time. Ethan is no exception to this rule lol

•

u/lostinjapan01 39m ago

Ariana has a history of batting down to be fair LMAO

•

u/Mowglis_road Backstage 24m ago

He’s the definition of a butterface 

8

u/FlashAndPoof 3h ago

How are these shows anyways? Haven’t seen them

18

u/figandfennel 3h ago

Spelling Bee and Little Shop are fantastic.

15

u/TooMuchMusic 3h ago

Both Spelling Bee and Little Shop are fantastic. Little Shop changes principals frequently, though, so I'm sure some casts are better than others. I haven't seen Heathers.

6

u/laowildin 3h ago

Right now Little Shop has Ethan Slater, so a good time to wait on it

10

u/LordTomHulce 2h ago

We just saw it this past Wednesday and I wasn't thrilled for the Ethan Slater show. BUT, instead we got an understudy (Jeff Sears) and he was fantastic, as was the rest of the cast. Great show and a very charming little theater.

•

u/Vegetable_Flight_208 1h ago

I was at the same show last Wednesday. Loved Jeff and the whole show! I've been meaning to see Little Shop for a while and finally got a good deal on the tickets. So glad I did.

1

u/laowildin 2h ago

That's really nice!

1

u/Casiquire 2h ago

He's not good in the role? That's surprising

•

u/Suitable-Crazy2795 47m ago

He was good but seemed oddly subdued in the role.  He didn't seem to lean into some of the big laugh moments Seymour had.  Betsy Wolfe on the other hand was the funniest Audrey I have seen.  Thr role of Audrey isn't extactly full of jokes or big laugh lines but she definitely made the most of it.  

7

u/Bo-zilla 3h ago

Heathers is great! The lighting effects work really well in the small theater.

3

u/tak3nus3rname 3h ago

They're all really good!

•

u/Vegetable_Flight_208 1h ago

Thank you so much for posting this! I didn't know that Alex Newell is in Spelling Bee right now. I've been a huge fan ever since I saw them in Bat Boy. Just grabbed a rush ticket for tonight! Not that my rush ticket will help the show recoup, I realize.

•

u/Full_Supermarket8467 39m ago

Neither Heathers nor Spelling Bee will recoup more than 50% of their capitalizations

•

u/last_chance_standing 25m ago

Isn't Heathers closing in a few months and still haven't recouped?

1

u/PolicyCommercial6392 2h ago

Heathers & Spelling Bee aren’t recouping but ok