Opinion: Broadway’s ‘The Heart of Rock and Roll’ Is Closing – What Went Wrong?

It has been announced that Broadway’s The Heart of Rock and Roll is closing after only two months. At the time of closing, the show will have played 24 previews and 72 performances.

Set in 1987 and jam-packed with Huey Lewis hits like ‘Do You Believe in Love’, ‘Hip to Be Square’ and ‘If This Is It’, The Heart of Rock and Roll centres on a couple of twenty-somethings on the cusp of their futures—Bobby, a rock and roller who’s traded his guitar for the corporate ladder and his boss Cassandra who’s always put the family business first. When they both get a second shot at their dreams, it’ll take ‘The Power of Love’ and a little help from their friends — to figure out what kind of life they really want.

The cast includes Corey Cott, McKenzie Kurtz, Josh Breckenridge, F. Michael Haynie, Zoe Jensen, Tamika Lawrence, Raymond J. Lee, John-Michael Lyles, Orville Mendoza and John Dossett.

In a statement, producer Hunter Arnold said, “It was pure joy working on the show with the team of creatives headed by writer Jonathan A. Abrams, director Gordon Greenberg, choreographer Lorin Latarro, music arranger and orchestrator Brian Usifer and special gratitude to the support and participation of the iconic music legend Huey Lewis. We were honoured to have an amazing cast and crew who brought their immense enthusiasm, commitment, and talent to each and every performance. With our original cast album just released and talks underway for a national tour and international productions, the musical will continue to delight audiences for years to come.”

I flew from Melbourne, Australia to New York City earlier this month just to see The Heart of Rock and Roll. And I’m not even kidding – I got off the plane, went straight to the theatre, saw the show and then was back on a plane – I’d wanted to see the show since I first heard about it. I’m a self confessed Huey Lewis fan (even though I’m unfamiliar with a lot of his catalogue). My Mum and I call each other every time we hear him on the radio, it’s just something we do.

But having seen over 100 individual musicals in my lifetime, I confess that I have never had so much fun as I did with The Heart of Rock and Roll. It had colour, creativity, heart and humour. I laughed (my god, I laughed). It was worthy of its Wednesday matinee standing ovation, and everyone I spoke to during interval was raving about how much they were enjoying it. The bubble wrap choreography was highly original as was the rest of the dance numbers, including the Richard Simmons aerobics number.

It’s one of those musicals that on paper it shouldn’t work but when you see it, it does and really well.

I’m heartbroken that such a quality show would get such a limited run – so where did it go wrong?

Lack Of Interest

The reviews were positive, and the word of mouth has been strong, but I assume that can be said for a lot of musicals currently on Broadway. You hear the premise and it’s not wholly original. I believe the lack of interest was there from the beginning, and sadly this has now been confirmed.

Even I wasn’t expecting much from it based on the premise alone, nor had I liked the song treatments I heard in previews. And I was second guessing my decision not to see Hadestown instead (as I only had time for one show) even while sitting in the theatre waiting for it to start.

I even remember before I flew to the US, saying that I was going to see The Heart of Rock and Roll because I couldn’t see it doing well nor even coming to Australia and I wanted to see it while I had the chance. This was, of course, before I saw how brilliant it was, but if even I have that notion in my head of it not sticking around for very long, I’m sure others thought ill of it too.

I had heard that you can expect a wait time of a couple of hours for rush tickets for Broadway shows but there were only five of us waiting when the box office opened. The theatre, too, was quite empty, but the audience was enthusiastic, and that feeling was palpable.

Hard Hitters

The Heart of Rock and Roll is up against some of Broadway’s pretty hard hitters.

According to a report by Broadway League, the percentage of audience members who live in NYC is just over 20% so assuming tourists are simply seeing a Broadway show because that’s just “something you have to do”, most will opt for familiar properties like The Lion King, Wicked or Hamilton or something with a well-known actor in it like Daniel Radcliffe in Merrily We Roll Along or Eddie Redmayne in Cabaret.

When I flew to London’s West End to see Dear Evan Hansen in 2020, I had time to see a second show and choose The Lion King simply because I was familiar with it. Considering the high price of theatre tickets, it made more sense to see something I knew exactly what I was in for than not.

It’s like going to the movies – are you going to take a chance of an art film you’ve never heard of with unknown actors or see the latest clichéd Hollywood rom-com or Marvel movie? Most will opt for something safe because at least you’ll get your moneys worth for what you expect.

I believe this is similar issue with The Heart of Rock and Roll. Why take a chance on an unknown new musical when you can see something like Hadestown that’s been running for years?

Last year in London I saw the musicals The Great British Bake Off Musical, The Choir of Man, Mrs Doubtfire, A Thong for Europe, Back To The Future, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, Bonnie & Clyde, Heathers, Pretty Woman, Eugenius, Frozen, The King and I, Crazy For You, The Time Travellers Wife, The Little Big Things and Operation Mincemeat. How many of those aren’t based on a preexisting property (television, film or real life) or have a long-standing history in theatre? The answer is one – Eugenius.

Soundtrack

Apart from The Power of Love (which is arguably his most recognisable song) Lewis’ catalogue isn’t as well known as something like, say, Mamma Mia! which features songs by the Swedish pop group, ABBA.

I am not an ABBA fan nor a big fan of the Mamma Mia! musical but I knew most, if not all, the songs in it. Obviously, this will vary from person to people but in my personal option, Lewis’ music isn’t enough to drive interest alone over other jukebox musicals.

(Of course, there are other musicals with this same issue—Jagged Little Pill featuring songs by Alanis Morissette, Hell’s Kitchen with songs by Alicia Keys, Saturday Night Fever with songs by the Bee Gees, We Will Rock You featuring songs by Queen etc.—so it’s usually a combination.)

According to a report by Broadway League, the average age of a Broadway theatregoer in 2022-2023 was around 40 years old – the perfect demographic for the 80s set family friendly musical.

Timing

One of the other issues might be timing – against other shows as well as cost of living. I also think it didn’t have enough time to build an audience. After all, The Heart of Rock and Roll debuted in 2018 where it only ran for almost two months before its Broadway run. As I said earlier, it’s a show that heavily relies on word of mouth but what if the right people aren’t getting the information?

A friend of mine will be in New York from the June 29th and I encouraged him to see him (which he was going to) but now he won’t get that opportunity.

I liken it to Eugenius, which started its off-West End run in early 2018. It returned for a second run before being extended. It was due to transfer to the West End the following year but that was later cancelled, before finally making its London revival in 2023. Eugenius is also a quirky, fun show but it developed and grew its cult following over time. Seeing as many audience members also saw The Heart of Rock and Roll on multiple times, I think it also that potential.

With the recent release of the soundtrack as well as talks for a national tour and international productions, I predict that it’ll do well off-Broadway as long as the timing and ticket price is right.

I only hope it one day gets the love it deserves.

The Heart of Rock and Roll’s final performance will be on June 23, 2024.

If you can see the show before then, I implore you to do so… even Michael Keaton dropped in to the show earlier this week – see photos here.

If you saw the show – let me know what you thought in the comments.

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Listen to the soundtrack below: