They claim “If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere”, but that’s a crock.
When you take a Broadway play on the road after it closes on The Great White Way, most of the time it loses money from day one.
And the reverse, they try out plays in other towns before NYC, but when it’s a bomb in Boston or Peoria, it may still make it in NYC. There are many people bragging of such an outcome.
It also doesn’t work for businesses. Gimble’s couldn’t keep branches going, and Walmart was a hit but not in NYC.
So, shouldn’t the phrase become “If you can make it here, that’s no indication of your success elsewhere.”
You’re right. Song lyrics always should be accurate representations of your own opinions.
Why stop there? Chicago certainly isn’t “my kind of town.” I don’t have a lot of friends in San Jose, so I don’t need to know the way there. (And L.A. isn’t a great big freeway.) And by the time I get to Phoenix, she won’t even be around.
I don’t love dirty water, whether it’s in Boston, New York, or London. The skies in Alabama aren’t always blue, and it’s not my sweet home, either. There aren’t any dancing feet on 42nd Street. Georgia is never on my mind. I serious doubt Cleveland really rocks or St. Louis is really blue (and what’s this “meet me at the fair”? There hasn’t been a world’s fair in St. Louis in nearly a century!).
You should form an organization to stop this sort of thing!
Chuck, that’s hilarious. For the record, I used to live in San Francisco, but I sure as hell didn’t leave my heart there.
Anyway, the coverage and support of theater is heavy in New York. If I look at my (published weekly) Time Out New York I notice 15 pages devoted to “theater”. It features reviews and ads of plays “on Broadway”, “Off Broadway” and “Off Off Broadway”.
Even though a ton of people live, work or visit New York, there is a lot of competition. If a play is successful here, I imagine it’s considered good enough to draw a crowd in other cities.
Aside: (Although even though “The Vagina Monologues” is a huge hit in NY right now, I don’t think it would be popular in the Bible Belt.)
i’d like to add that it isn’t just show biz the quote refers to anymore. And yes, NYC really is so different. After visiting lots of “great” cities all over the globe, NYC is definitely unique, and yes, if YOU can make it here (nyc), you definitely can make it anywhere.
Wasn’t “Cats” on the road about 15 years ago? I recall seeing it in Chicago when I was about 5 - you know, back in the 70’s? As Fillet said, it’s been tourists who’ve supported it for the last fifteen years (but it is closing in a few weeks).
But if you think “Cats” is the shining pinnacle of New York theater, holy moly, you need to get out of the house.
Nope. Rudy G wouldn’t be elected much on anywhere else, Howard Stern bombed in Minneapolis (as have, sadly, real bagels–whole 'nother topic). Trump would have been run out of most towns on a rail; Hillary wouldn’t stand much chance of getting away with much of her crap elsewhere,
Andy Warhol isn’t well regarded through much of the country,
etc. etc. There are many people/things/ideas that can make it in New York City that have bombed elsewhere.
“Unique” is not the same thing as “universal” or even “best.”
rudy g. though less loved recently by most New Yorkers is actually loved more outside the big apple, Hillary hasn’t made it here, and Trump hasn’t been run out of other towns,
and the quote refers to actually making an effort in NYC and accomplishing something (show biz originally) and being able to apply the same effort elsewhere with less obstruction from success. I certainly struggled here, and i’ve already found how easy it is for me to make it anywhere else.
…but, you’re right, unique isn’t universal or best. it’s just “so different”. MN’s a nice place and all bucky, but they didn’t call NYC the crossroads of the world for nothing.
Well, one thing that is different about NYC from MOST of the U.S. is that you can belong to any religion, sexual orientation, political stripe, ethnic group or appearance and still “fit in.” True, you can do that in some of Calif., too—but try it in Assboink, Odaho, or Bird Center, Wisconsin!
