When we saw Avenue Q in Las Vegas, we were surprised at the half empty theater. As it turns out, what we saw wasn’t unusual.
From Norm’s column in the Las Vegas Journal Review¹:
According to the New York Post, Wynn’s naughty puppet show is struggling, and he’s pulling strings to head off a flop.
Michael Riedel, who writes the “On Broadway” column for the Post, reported in Friday’s edition that Wynn has lured a top Broadway marketing executive in hopes he can revive the Tony Award-winning show.
The unidentified executive was part of the team that helped propel “Chicago” to its long run on Broadway.
The 1,200-seat theater at the Wynn is half-filled, and the balcony has yet to open, Riedel wrote, citing “theater people in Las Vegas and New York.”
Wynn “thinks he made a mistake,” a Broadway producer told the Post.
Kevin McCollum, who co-produced “Avenue Q” on Broadway, “is also going to take a more active role in the Vegas production,” Riedel wrote.
¹ – It’s true – he’s known simply as Norm. He also wears a patch over his right eye, making him seem more pirate than columnist.