THE SHOWS THAT GOT AWAY

If you're like me, you have those one or two iconic Broadway shows that you missed. I call these the "Shows That Got Away".

Perhaps you were out of town. Or they sold out instantly and you didn't snag a ticket fast enough. Or they premiered before you were born...

Most of mine fall into the latter category. I didn't move to New York City until 2003, so there's over one hundred years of Broadway history that had come and gone before I'd even set foot on the Island of Manhattan. I'm mostly content listening to cast recordings and looking at production stills from this vast timeline of missed shows, but...every once in a while a show comes along and I think to myself, "What I wouldn't give to be transported back to that theater to see that show live!" 

One of my "Shows That Got Away" I spend way too much time thinking about? 

Dude. 

In the wake of the 1968 production of Hair, rock musicals became all the rage on Broadway. Two thirds of the Hair songwriting team cooked up another show about every man's journey through life. With an $800,000 budget, the team secured the Broadway Theatre and enlisted set designer Eugene Lee to gut the interior. All of the seats were removed and replaced with two tons of soil. (Yes, soil!) Instead of the traditional ticket listings of Orchestra and Mezzanine, this production had seats available in the Foothills, Mountains, Valleys, Trees, and Treetops. 

The first performance created clouds of dust from the chaotic choreography of the acting company making it nearly impossible to see any of the action. At the second performance they watered down the soil...which turned to dirt. The walls were covered in artificial trees making it nearly impossible to hear. And the musicians were scattered all around the audience, creating an impossible situation for the sound mixing team. There was even suggestions of adding one hundred butterflies to each performance (nixed) or having three piglets run down the main aisle to begin the performance (also nixed)! 

Needless to say they lost their entire $800,000 in just sixteen performances. What a theatrical mess...that I wish I had been alive to witness! 

Last year it was announced that the Off-Broadway production of Here Lies Love would transfer to the Broadway Theatre - the old stomping grounds of Dude. Set renderings by the incredible David Korins were released: all the seats of the orchestra would be removed. The musicians that were incorporated into the production would be scattered throughout the theater. The ticket sections included Floor, Gallery, and Club Lounge instead of the more traditional headings. 

Sound familiar?!

While I was sad to discover that Here Lies Love wouldn't incorporate any dirt in their production, I knew I had to see it live to get as close as possible to this $22 million dollar theater renovation. I opted for a floor ticket, which meant that I moved around with the set throughout the performance. It was exciting to be in the heart of the production, surrounded by the moving platforms and with an up close look at what the team had done to achieve this mammoth undertaking. A glance through the grid of disco lights above revealed the original 1924 proscenium lit in neon pink and blue. The juxtaposition of the original landmarked interior theater elements with the modern disco set design was truly something to behold. The original architects probably never envisioned the dirt and discos that would eventually unfold among their theatrical creations! 

Thankfully, Here Lies Love has already surpassed sixteen performances, so the Dude similarities end shy of that aspect! When I walked out of the theater after the performance I smiled: would this be the closest I'd get to experiencing what those sixteen audiences might've experienced during the run of Dude in 1972?

I think so.

But, hey, it's better than nothing!