June 7, 2007 -- IF they gave out a Tony - and they should - for Best Flop, "The Pirate Queen" would win it oars down.
The lumbering show, by the French songwriting team that created "Les Miserables" and "Miss Saigon," will close June 17 at a loss of nearly $18 million, making it the biggest money loser of the season and one of the costliest flops in Broadway history.
Only last week, word around town was that "The Pirate Queen" would scratch out a run till Labor Day, when it would be booted from the Hilton Theatre to make way for Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" in the fall.
Sources say producers Moya Doherty and John McColgan were prepared to tap some of their vast wealth (from their hit "Riverdance") to keep it afloat during the summer. But advance ticket sales were negligible, and the weekly losses would have been staggering. One source estimates that if "The Pirate Queen" were to run until Labor Day, Doherty and McColgan would be out an additional $2 million.
Broadway insiders began sniping at "The Pirate Queen" from the moment they saw a sneak peek at a press party last fall. The cast sang a few songs, one more turgid than the next, and the plot, as explained by the producers, seemed earnest and dull. (The caviar and champagne, however, were very pleasant.)
"The Pirate Queen" told the story of a real-life female pirate from Ireland who led a revolt against the English in the 16th century.
The show ran into trouble right away in Chicago, where it played a tryout last fall.
Director Frank Galati, while good at creating stage pictures, was unable to infuse any drama into Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg's static script. So the producers brought in Tony Award-winning choreographer Graciela Danielle to restage much of the show. Veteran writer Richard Maltby Jr., who had a hand in "Miss Saigon," also came on board to punch up the script.
Maltby did an extensive rewrite - but many of his ideas were vetoed by Boublil and Schonberg, who, sources say, were reluctant to make changes to their score.
"Richard had some really good ideas, but those guys were stubborn," says a source.
In the end, Boublil and Schonberg's vision of "The Pirate Queen" prevailed. Glub, glub.
(Source: New York Post | Theater | $18 Million 'Pirate' a Historic Flop)
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