“Will it move?”
If you’re in the theater business, you know what that question is about. When a new show opens anywhere outside the Broadway theater district, whether it’s SoHo or San Diego, and it receives some rave reviews from a few key critics, the question of a Broadway transfer inevitably follows.
This is a particularly tough time for shows to move to Broadway for two reasons: First, Broadway is booming, with every one of its 41 theaters currently spoken for, and with box office receipts on an upswing that is likely to grow as we head into the holiday season. Second, smart producers know that rave reviews can be a risky rationale for making the very expensive leap to Broadway. And I would argue that part of that risk lies in an alternate definition of the word “move.” Will this off-Broadway show “move” a Broadway audience?
