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Cast of "Brighton Beach Memoirs." / Photo by Sara Krulwich
By Graydon Royce
What's the deal here? Neil Simon, one of the most-bankable writers in Broadway history, has flopped with the revival of "Brighton Beach Memoirs" at the Nederlander. The show closed over the weekend after nine performances. Reviews were decent but the biggest name in the cast was Laurie Metcalf -- who was in "Roseanne" a decade ago.
Which raised again the question of whether star name recognition is now a key arbiter in Broadway success. Probably not. Jane Fonda and Geoffrey Rush were short hitters earlier this year in separate plays. Keep an eye on "God of Carnage," which soon will switch casts. James Gandolfini, Jeff Daniels and Marcia Gay Harden and Hope Davis give way to Jimmy Smits, Christine Lahti, Annie Potts and Ken Stott. Roughly equal star power so it will be up to performances (imagine that).
It'll be interesting to see if someone dissects the "Brighton Beach" collapse (which also doomed a planned revival of Simon's "Broadway Bound" scheduled for December). It's tough to predict success. In a year when a decidedly mediocre "West Side Story" stays alive at the Palace -- the Palace! -- it seems that Simon's reliable name should be money in the bank.
But that's show business.
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