Lesser Known Shows
By Sami DeSocio
There are over 30 Broadway theaters in New York City right now. Some of those buildings date back to the turn of the century early 1900s and have changed names several times before becoming the Broadway houses we know them as now. Furthermore, there have been hundreds of shows, casts, crews, directors, and dreams to go through those doors as well. While some shows made a bang like the and are now synonymous with Broadway, there are also shows that may have just peeked through the doors, never making it to the stage, or those that came, saw, and conquered, but never really reached the full mountain; the lesser known shows that are out there.
Rent is a Broadway staple. Whether you’ve seen the show on Broadway, on tour, or on DVD it is the 13th longest running show on Broadway. Written of course, by Jonathan Larson. But, Larson also wrote a show called Blocks. It’s often whispered about in certain musical theater circles because it was never really produced. Through some research and talking to cast members that were there, the basic storyline from what I gathered was a lot like Rent. However, it never moved past a workshop phase.
Another little known show is Bombay Dreams. While it did have a nice, two year run on Broadway, it’s not talked about a whole lot, and often isn’t mentioned in Broadway conversation. It was one of those shows that came in, it did alright, and then it closed as quickly as it came. Though I’m not sure why it had such a short run, there are a number of factors that can contribute to a show closing.
The next show, which is actually about to open is Amazing Grace, which tells the story of how the song came to be. Now, why do I say that this show is unknown? This show had an industry reading starring Robby Benson a few years back, and then nothing much was heard about it again, until recently when they announced they would be coming to Broadway later this month, taking the Nederlander Theater after Honeymoon in Vegas vacated it last year.
While there are a lot of great, well known shows, there are also some fantastic shows that are unknown or known very quietly, which may disappear into the archives like Bombay Dreams or be brought back to life, many years later like Amazing Grace. Whether a show is shuttered but brought to life again quickly or put into retirement, the cultivation of new theatre is essential to the continual energy and essence of the fast-paced lights of Broadway.
What are some of your favorite “unknown shows”?