When was the last time that a new Broadway musical opened and closed on opening night? The last time, to my recollection, that any show did that was Ellen Burstyn in THE OLDEST LIVING CONFEDERATE WIDOW, a one-woman show from four years ago.
Were the critics (myself especially included) too harsh? Possibly. But I think not. Well, probably not. Clearly, that show did not belong on Broadway. But what if it had been at say the New York Musical Theater Festival. Would we have been kinder? Possibly. Well, probably. We might have wrote a supportive review, along the lines of the original Peter Marks/WASHINGTON POST review.
Should critics be harder/more lenient on a show based on WHERE it is playing? I don't know. That's a tough question. Should we really be paying attention to the price of the ticket, especially when we ourselves didn't pay anything to get in? Again, I don't know. Maybe it's a gut instinct. Maybe it just has to do with taking account of the environment in which the show is being produced, which of course is relevant.
In the end, I blame the show's producers. They really rushed the show into production following its regional premiere. I suppose they saw an opportunity to get the show to Broadway ASAP, and they took it.
How will this affect the futures of its 23-year-old and 24-year-old writers? Will they want to write musical theater again for any theater, be it Broadway or elsewhere? Might they bounce back, revise GLORY DAYS, and make it into a stunning musical that will leave all the critics who panned it originally eating our hats? One can only hope...
I'd like to end by reaffirming that I took no personal joy in panning Glory Days, in giving it a no stars rating, or in any similar language in which I destroyed the show and its commercial potential. I LOVE MUSICAL THEATER. I want to see good musical theater. And the greatest show for a critic is to tell people that there is a great show going on and that they should check it out. That's what we want. And that's why we keep going to the theater. Night after night. We're looking for something great. We, the critics, are cheering you, the creators, on. We are your biggest fans. Seriously.