Glory Days' Broadway Shot Ends In One Night
Signature Theater's Glory Days was only the second show in history to transition from D.C. to Broadway - and its run only lasted one night.
The musical both opened and closed its doors this Tuesday, after running for 17 preview performances.
What happened? Producers attributed the show's short shelf life to poor advance sales and negative overnight reviews. We didn't get the chance to catch the show when it was in D.C., but SanDiego.com theater critic Frankie Moran saw the NY version in previews, and told us the work's slight story - about four high school friends who grow apart after graduation - didn't make for particularly compelling theater.
"A valiant first effort by two young writers eager to tell their story, 'Glory Days' should find a nice home on high school and colleges across the country, but its quick and heady transfer to the commercial world of Broadway was an ill-conceived and expensive mistake," Moran said.
It's been a while since a musical has had an opening night bow - the last to do so was Dance a Little Closer in 1983, though it was a lot more commonplace before Broadway musicals became such expensive undertakings.
Still, Signature's work over the past few years has been stellar; we're sorry to see the show didn't work out, but in the meantime, we're still psyched to get to see Chita Rivera come to town next week for their production of The Visit.