Thursday, February 16, 2006

"Avenue Q" Disappoints Vegas

The Tony-winning (and very funny) Avenue Q closes early in Vegas. The show created a stir in the theater world by keeping secret its plans to forego a tour in exchange for a sit-down in Las Vegas with its own theater and specifications that seemed perfect for the relatively intimate musical. (It simply doesn't belong in some of the massive barns on tour where Les Miz works just fine.) But tepid ticket sales caused Vegas to pull the plug (and move in Spamalot). My favorite detail: the producers tried to placate the theater owners around the country by sending a Valentine's Day card telling them to enjoy this moment of schadenfreude and then consider the show for a booking. NOTE: Here's one of the stories I wrote about the show for The Advocate.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't think Avenue Q worked in Vegas and It won't work on the road. It needs a while to build up word of mouth. Once tourists see it they like it (it's really good) but it's not a pre-=sold show, even with the Tony.

Anonymous said...

very funny show. too bad it didn't work in Vegas -- made sense to me.

Anonymous said...

Great show but I can why it would work better with a NY kind of audience. Perhaps London?

Anonymous said...

Maybe now I'l get a chance to see it. The cast album is one of my favorites, especially I Wish I could Go Back To College.