Or at least the begining of the slaughter. A sad day indeed, as NINE B'way show close today, with many more following in the next two weeks. I know that B'way isn't "over". But it is still a sad day, a reflection of the weak economic times. There are shows that have been cancelled, true, but there are a number of shows still getting ready to hit the Great White Way.
West Side Story
Guys and Dolls
9 to 5
33 Variations
The Story of My Life
Hair
Not to mention the already opened (and surviving)
Shrek
Billy Elliot
Below is a great article, a love letter to B'way actually, appearing in the New York Times today, 1/4, written by theatre critic Charles Isherwood:
http://tinyurl.com/89nydq
Some quotes:
"The sad superabundance of farewells to choose from obviously places limits on the number of last goodbyes theater lovers will be able to squeeze in this month. On Sunday alone you’ve got nine choices. It is haunting to think that that there could be more shows closing on that day alone than there will be running on Broadway by the time the Tonys roll around in June."
Blah, Blah, Blah.
"Joyous or galvanizing though the experience might be, it’s also undeniable that the undertow of sadness at these closings will be unusually strong this year. To love the theater is to admire from a distance the people who devote their lives to making it — always against tough odds.
This year, as you watch the lights dim on a performance that has meant something to you, that has made something happen in your heart or your head, you may see the real human being through the mask of the fictional characters a little more vividly. The chorus kid with the megawatt smile, the all-but-legendary musical diva with a devoted following, the up-and-coming young leading man — when the curtain falls they will all return to being actors anxiously awaiting their next engagement, at a scarily perilous time for everybody. So keep clapping, please, and a “Bravo!” or two would surely be appreciated."
I'll light a candle.
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