August 11, 2015
Amazing Grace will be closing its doors
No matter the grueling hard work and tiresome hours that go in to the production of a Broadway show, sometimes tap dancing gods that be just don't shine down upon a certain show. Like anything else, timing can play a critical factor in to the success of a new show. Two shows with the same historical stylings can certainly make the audience cross-eyed. Such is the case for Broadway's latest bust, Amazing Grace. Broadway.com has been quoted to say that this show may need “a divine intervention” in order to stay afloat and compete with the other shows currently on the Great White Way. The show last week grossed the lowest at $272k, and that was with eight total performances. Amazing Grace began previews in late June of this year and started off with a low gross of $200k after only 5 performances. The production’s best week was when the show officially opened (July 16th), and grossed a total of $322k with a 75% capacity rate. That is really low for Broadway. The show On The Town just announced its closing dates due to the fact that it hasn’t been selling out, nor grossing well, in the past several months. However that show is grossing in the $400k range and Amazing Grace tickets haven’t even come close to that.
This is not to say that Amazing Grace is not a well produced production, with a fantastic cast that includes Josh Young in the role of John Newton - that would be wrong. However, the show has just been completely overshadowed by Hamilton, another historically-based production fresh to Broadway. Hamilton took all the press power right out of Amazing Grace’s hands. The two shows premiered almost on top of each other and when this happens, only one can rise victoriously. Considering that Hamilton is as popular as it is right now after it opened last week, it is no surprise that this past week Amazing Grace had a gross difference of just over $36k from the week prior, according to Broadwayworld.com. On the secondary market side, Amazing Grace is No. 11 on the list of most expensive average ticket prices with $225 per seat. However, the demand could be due to either the show itself or the cast.
The show hasn’t been open for very long on Broadway but already is not doing so well. If a show doesn’t have at least an 80% occupancy rate each week, or any night for that matter, it is only a matter of time before it closes its final curtain. There are always a ton of factors as to why a show doesn’t do well, and sometimes it isn’t the show itself but rather the competition that its up against.
