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Monday, June 2, 2008
Gone With the Wind is a goner …
Slammed as one of the biggest flops in London’s theater history, the musical adaptation of “Gone With the Wind” will close June 14, three months ahead of schedule, thanks to poor ticket sales.
The musical, written by Margaret Martin, a novice playwright from California, was set to run until Sept. 27. It blew into London’s West End only weeks ago, opening on April 22.
A delegation of tourism officials from Georgia even traveled to London in mid-May seeking to capitalize on the production in an effort to entice planeloads of British tourists to Atlanta and Savannah. But the show has suffered under the weight of bad reviews from British newspapers. As a result plans for a Broadway production of the show have been put on hold.
Nicholas de Jongh, a critic for London’s Evening Standard newspaper, said recently that: “Connoisseurs of big, bad musicals must rush to catch Gone With the Wind in case it’s quickly blown away in gales of ridicule.” Another charged that: “Rhett Butler kissed Scarlett O’Hara like a frenzied dental hygienist.”
The show’s early closing is a serious setback for the production’s financial backers — who included heiress Patty Hearst — as it generally takes about a year for a show to break even.
The musical starred former reality TV star Darius Danesh as Rhett Butler and Broadway actress Jill Paice as Scarlett O’Hara. It was directed by Trevor Nunn of Cats fame.
Despite the drubbing from the media, those involved with the show still insist that audience members have continued to express enthusiasm over the quality of the production.
