Jersey Boys, which opened on Broadway November 6, 2005, will close there on January 15. When it does, it will have played 4,642 performances. It's already the twelfth-longest-running show in Broadway history — a distinction it will probably retain for a long, long time.
The Book of Mormon would assume that position on the chart if it runs for another 295 weeks, which does not strike me as likely. The next contender would be Kinky Boots, which would have to stick around for another eight years…also not likely. The longest-running show, of course, is The Phantom of the Opera, which will not lose its top status in our lifetimes or maybe Elroy Jetson's.
We'll take a look back at the long-running hit that is Jersey Boys in a moment but first, these headlines from the Great White Way…
The current production of Fiddler on the Roof has announced the cancellation of its October 11 performance. Why? Because someone suddenly noticed that was the eve of Yom Kippur. Not a good night for Jews to be working. I want to know why they just now figured this out.
This production of Fiddler closes December 31 and appears to be going into the books as a money-loser. Broadway vets will surely debate why and I'm guessing two reasons will be suggested. One will be that its Tevye, Danny Burstein — though widely hailed in the role — wasn't a big enough star. I doubt that's the reason but someone will say it would have done better with Martin Short or Kerry Washington in the role.
The other reason is the one I favor: That it was simply too soon for yet another revival of Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway. This one opened only nine years after the last one closed. The last Broadway revival of Gypsy — the one with Patti LuPone — probably had the same problem, opening as it did less than four years after the revival there with Bernadette Peters.
There is still apparently talk of another revival of Gypsy in New York next year — an import of the stunning London production starring Imelda Staunton. If you haven't seen the video of this yet, lemme tell you: It's really, really good. It will be aired in this country on PBS on November 11.
And now, this…