They say if you bring big stars to Broadway, the audience will show up.
But so far the fall season is looking tenuous at best even with three big names about to hit the stage.
Shows starring Tom Hanks and Kelli O’Hara, TV’s Laurie Metcalf, and movie star Keanu Reeves are crawling at the box office. It’s not hard to discover: one look at Telecharge and other sites show theater seat maps full of dots waiting to be filled in.
Hanks and O’Hara are off Broadway this fall at The Shed in Hudson Yards. Who’s bigger than Tom Hanks, you ask? He has two Oscars, a Tony nomination, and a list of hits that goes on forever. But as of now, “This World of Tomorrow,” based on his short story. is about half sold. There are good seats available every night, even weekends, at all prices.
This should come as a shock. Not only is Hanks one of our top, top, top actors, O’Hara has Tony Awards for singing and a new following from “The Gilded Age.”
The same situation is happening on Broadway at the Booth Theater for Laurie Metcalf. The star of “Roseanne” and “The Conners” has two Tony Awards, four Emmys, and an Oscar nomination. She’s considered theater royalty with her Steppenwolf background.
Yet, “Little Bear Ridge Road,” a new play directed by Joe Mantello, also an award winner, is in the same boat as the Hanks play. The seat maps online show tickets every night, at any price, in any section. It’s wide open.
This is doubly ironic considering this is the producer comeback for Scott Rudin, who was cancelled and off bounds for five years. In the past, Rudin would bring in a big star, be nasty to everyone, and sell out. Not happening this time.
More shockingly: Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, stars of the “Bill and Ted” movies, are booked from September through January in a revival of Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot.” They may have to wait for an audience.
Reeves has made millions with “Speed” and “John Wick” movies. You’d think he’d have sold out his run. But so far the Hudson Theater looks like The Shed and the Booth.
What’s causing this scenario? Lack of tourists would be the number 1 cause. It’s estimated that 20% of NYC tourism is missing this year. Millions will be lost because Canadians are boycotting the US over Trump. Other foreigners are terrified of being swept up by ICE by mistake. They’ve also been told that Times Square is dangerous even though it’s not.
Where is the I Love NY Campaign? No one is generating buzz about the thrills and safety of the city. As I write this, a former aide to Mayor Eric Adams may have tried to bribe a reporter. Andrew Cuomo is out of touch with reality. Zohar Mamdani is scaring off suburban Jews and big business.
SOS!
