is SWEPT AWAY closing because it's bad? | my thoughts on the new Broadway musical and its real issue

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OHMYGOD HEY!

The Broadway musical SWEPT AWAY, which recently opened at the Longacre Theatre, has sadly announced it will conclude its run early on December 15th.

The show, which features the music of the Avett Brothers, stars John Gallagher Jr and depicts a shipwreck and its challenging aftermath.

In today's video I'm sharing my thoughts on why this show is closing early.

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00:00 | introduction
05:28 | the concept for the show
12:59 | the marketing / producing
20:27 | the critical reception
27:46 | the word of mouth problem

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#theatre #musical #broadway

[freakfoxvevo]

Think one of the main problems was trying to market it with The Avett Brothers as a selling point. This is not a typical jukebox musical yet every other blurb about the show has "featuring the music of the Avett Brothers" on it. Not everyone knows The Avett Brothers like they would ABBA or Michael Jackson. They may have gotten the indie music crowd on board, but certainly not tourists.

[leahglick]

I saw it on Broadway. The boat sinking was one of the coolest sequences I've ever seen in live theater, it was awesome. Besides that, it fell victim to my issue with many jukebox musicals: the music doesn't move the plot along, because it wasn't written as a musical, so the plot has to grind to a halt for every song. Also in DC it was really advertised as like "inspiring" and the directors note in the program said something about how this show brings us all closer to the beauty of humanity, and I found it weird how it was being marketed as so uplifting when that is really not the vibe.

[jocelynbarkenhagen]

What I find fascinating is that I was just starting to get ads for Swept Away on social media only for the closing notice to go up a few days later.

[charliehorey]

Theater doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The last year in this country has been very stressful with the news being often sad and troubling. For half the country, the election was deeply depressing. I don’t know if a play dealing with morality and religion is what people are looking for in their evening out. I’m playing pop psychologist here, but I believe people are looking for escapism and not to think for a bit.

[lester]

Thanks for honoring this very special show that deserved a better broadway fate.

[annniebannnannnie]

What you said about word of mouth is SOOO TRUE! After I saw it the first time I hated it, like hated it. It took a while to pick at the meat of the story and character motivations and the feelings tied to it before I realized that I was just extremely moved and actually loved it! But ya, if anyone asked me directly after leaving the theatre that first time (I’ve now seen it 4x: 2x in DC, 2x in NYC) I would have not had the same glowing recommendation that I do today

[AnthonyArena-gl]

I saw the show tonight, and the older brother announced from the stage that the show will be extended for another two weeks.

[fashionablechangeling]

It just got a 2 week extension after selling out this week

[jyangtoho]

It is really sad for a lot of musicals lately that’s why I’m so nervous for Maybe Happy Ending as I really love that show. Luckily both times that I saw Maybe Happy ending, it was sold out! I hope that’s all good signs of things to come.

[idkatthispoint]

i’m literally watching this hours after seeing this. i love stories of survival c*nnibalism and i know that sounds weird but i find them extremely humanizing. so im in a weird place where it makes me want to see the show more. i’m not an avett brothers fan but im a big gallagher fan and watched enscoe in dickinson so that was my draw to the show before i knew what it was about . i think a lot of the criticisms are very valid but it makes me sad that art like this can no longer survive on broadway on its own merit

[RaymondNYC]

Thought you might be interested: just watched NY1 On Stage (a Manhattan weekly TV show that covers theater), where the host interviewed two cast members, who announced that since performances have been selling out the past week, they extended the run for another two weeks: till Dec. 29. So you were right: word of mouth counts for a LOT!

[jameyrodgers]

I have been a huge Avett Brothers fan for many years and read The Custom of the Sea (the book that inspired the musical) because I love their Mignonette album so much. My wife and I were planning a trip to NY to see it in the spring. I am not typically a fan of musicals, but was really looking forward to seeing this one. The music of The Avett Brothers is life-changing, and is well worth investigating further.

[ChelCM]

I was in the city for the final performance of Tammy Faye and I was handed a little pamphlet for Swept Away and I said to thr friend I was with that based purely on the artwork done for the marketing I would have gone to see it if I could.
Both my friend and I are visual artists and graphic designers and we LOVE the artwork done for Swept Away, and we were so bummed out that it was closing so soon because the artwork for the show was just so different and interesting compared to a lot of the visual identities of other shows currently running. We literally would have gone to see it if we could but we only had enough money for one final New York trip for the year 😭

[kimberbuddha]

I haven’t watched your video yet and I’m not sure if I’m ready to. I love this show… I love the cast. I’m a very loyal, long time Avett Brothers fan. Right now I’m trying to accept that I will never see this show on Broadway because I couldn’t get to NY till mid January. I hurt for this cast. Anyone following John Gallagher Jr (and reading his recent Instagram post) could see how much this show meant to him as an artist. Not to mention the commitment and passion of the rest of the cast and team. No- it wasn’t for everyone but god I am so grateful it was made.. it exists… I got to experience the magic of the performances, the music, the storytelling. I wish others saw the show as I did but art is subjective and something I love and find meaningful… others will not. I think for now the wounds are too fresh- I will come back to visit this video at a later time.

[fashionablechangeling]

6:30 Coincidentally, The show is from the same director as American Idiot, Michael Mayer and has three of the actors: leads John Gallagher Jr, Stark Sands and ensemble member Chase Peacock. American Idiot is one of my musical obsessions

[RaymondNYC]

Soon as I read Swept Away was closing, & saw in a previous video that you'd seen it, I thought "I hope Mickey Jo will review this." You answered all my questions & more. So thank you for this.
When a new show opens and the headline & first few sentences of the review say that it's good, I usually don't read further, cause I don't want to know too much of the story in case I decide to see it. So since Swept Away got generally good reviews, I didn't really know what it was about. So when straight off the bat you mentioned 'death' & 'cannibalism, ' I gasped! I think a show w. such a dark, serious subject matter (& a musical!) is a hard sell, esp. on Broadway. Perhaps in a small off-off Bway house - maybe. But death & cannibalism w. singing & dancing, on Broadway? - Yikes!!
[My favorite line: "...people starving to death in a boat, which famously makes them low energy." 😆
Runner up: "Cannibalism sucks - Don't go whaling with your brother."]
P.S. Today the NY Times cited the set, lighting & sound as a "sensation, " and one of the "9 Best Theater Moments of 2024."

[rierie]

My uncle is a huge Avett Brothers fan and they saw it in DC and were obsessed and bought bway tickets for the whole fam (that they now have to move). My mom and dad just saw it a couple weeks ago and my mom (my tag line with her theatre taste is if theres no tap dancing, it takes alot to win her over) and dad saw it, and even though they were very grossed and skeeved out by the story still only had excellent things to say. My mom was certain there would be a tony nom if not win for john Gallagher jr. But it is only word of mouth that was the reason i knew about it. They were all SHOCKED when i said it was closing.

[hothotheat]

You nailed it. Avett Brothers are not a household name, and the concept isn’t the type of thing to draw in a mainstream audience.

[kinmanthebrave]

I imagine they determined the "every state + DC" stat from postcodes. Probably the postcodes of billing addresses when folks buy tickets online.

[thecheekychipmunk]

Mickey… I live in Astoria Queens and work in Manhattan on a frequent basis. In fact, I had to brave Times Square today during the holiday rush for the job I had this afternoon. I have friends and clients heavily involved in theater and I love going to support them in shows when I can. I have to be 100% honest with you: I’m mortified to admit that I haven’t heard of this show until just now. 😳 It took your YouTube channel all the way from the UK to inform me of something right in my very own backyard. I’m not sure what that means. Maybe I’m just clueless? It’s very possible. But I wonder if a lack of promoting this properly might be part of the issue. 🤔 Anyway, THANK YOU for telling us about this! I’ll see if I have time to see it before it closes. But I just saw Stereophonic which I LOOOOVVVEED. So my Broadway piggy bank might not be refilled in time to see it. You’re fantastic btw! I deeply appreciate you and your videos. 🥰🙏🏼