WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH BROADWAY?

by Kimberly Kaye

January has long been the month for Broadway to bring out its dead. Having wrung the final drops of revenue from New York City’s holiday tourism boom, productions with limited runs or falling sales wisely close up shop, making room for the onslaught of spring productions in the process. This season, however, has revealed a body count higher than any in recent memory.

Of the 19 new shows which opened this autumn, only four will survive weeks into the new year—"Long Story Short", a solo show with Colin Quinn, a comedian; "Lombardi", a play about an American football coach; "The Merchant of Venice", starring Al Pacino; and the recently extended "Driving Miss Daisy", starring Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones. Longer-running musicals, including the Tony award-winning "In the Heights" and Pulitzer prize-winning "Next to Normal", will also join the pile of the dearly departed in January.

The news of so many showbituaries has produced nervous hand-wringing among seasoned arts patrons. Many can't help but ask: What is wrong with Broadway?

The answer is: nothing we didn’t already know.

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