I don’t quite follow your logic train: this thread was about why theaters wouldn’t produce four obscure musicals by William Finn, not why they wouldn’t produce *any* of them. Somehow, the goal posts moved.
Of the shows he’s written, I would wager “Spelling Bee” gets done a lot. First off, it probably has the strongest name recognition to a general theater audience. It can be billed as “The Tony-winning Broadway hit”, it is a fun comedy, it has audience interaction, and it tells a heartwarming story of family. That ticks so many boxes.
Then “Falsettos” is more niche, but it also won some Tonys, can be sold as a family story, a Jewish story, a gay story, and an AIDS story. The recent revival probably helped get it back in people’s consciousness, which could also make it an easier sell (though not an easy one) for the next five years.
“A New Brain” might be sticky enough from the two cast albums to make it sellable to a more in-the-know theater crowd, and it also provides good roles to a variety of performers who may be local theater “celebrities”. I don’t know if it has the same hook as the other two, partly because the story isn’t as strong, but you could probably sell enough tickets to make it work.
The other factor I left out is word of mouth. These shows could all generate good word of mouth, whereas the other Finn shows probably wouldn’t. They might excite some truly adventurous aficionados, but that won’t sell a run. |
