\'Glengarry Glen Ross\' Pushes Back Opening By a Month

Opening nights are serious business on Broadway, and not just because of the parties: Critics' reviews usually come out the next day, and ticket sales often fluctuate depending on the strength (or sourness) of those notices. Producers usually schedule their opening nights months in advance, and rarely change the dates â€" which is why it was unusual when the producers of Broadway's “Glengarry Glen Ross” announced on Monday that they were delaying the opening by nearly four weeks, from this Sundayto Saturday, Dec. 8.

One of the show's lead producers, Jeffrey Richards, offered a lengthy explanation on Tuesday, citing Hurricane Sandy and an array of scheduling obstacles. But he also flatly denied the suggestion that he was delaying opening night as a ruse to sell as many tickets as possible over the next month before the critics' reviews come out. A few Broadway producers have suggested such a motivation this week, given that “Glengarry” â€" which is now in prev iews â€" is already a box office hit with $6 million in advance ticket sales because of its starry names (lead actor Al Pacino, playwright David Mamet) and therefore does not need reviews (especially if they are negative ones).

While he acknowledged that the commercial success of “Glengarry” â€" a Pulitzer Prize winning play about unscrupulous real estate salesmen - did not depend on raves from theater critics, Mr. Richards also predicted that reviews of the show, directed by Daniel Sullivan, would be strong.

“I think we'll have a pretty terrific production here,” he said, “and delaying opening night is a logistical issue more than anything else.”

To begin with, Mr. Richards said, Hurricane Sandy caused him to cancel three days of rehearsal last week; the cast is rehearsing by day and performing mostly at night, as is common for Broadway shows still in previews. As a result the cast is rehearsing this week and next week â€" so the originally sch eduled opening of Nov. 11 would have been postponed by at least a few days to accommodate those rehearsals, Mr. Richards said.

“Dan Sullivan is a perfectionist and I am a perfectionist, and we both want to give the actors time to keep rehearsing and refining their performances,” Mr. Richards said.

The November opening night calendar for Broadway shows then became an issue for Mr. Richards, he said, since Broadway producers traditionally try to avoid opening two shows on the same night.

Broadway openings in November include “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” (Nov. 13), “The Performers” (Nov. 14), “Scandalous” (Nov. 15), “Elf” (Nov. 18), and “A Christmas Story” (Nov. 19) â€" taking up all the prime days when producers want reviews to run. After that Mr. Richards was looking at the Thanksgiving holiday and weekend, when shows rarely if ever open. The following week has the opening for “Dead Accounts” on Nov. 29 and then a new Broadway pla y by Mr. Mamet, “The Anarchist,” on Dec. 2.

“We didn't feel it was fair to ‘The Anarchist' â€" a world premiere of a David Mamet play â€" to open it in the week before or after the opening of a classic Mamet play like ‘Glengarry,' ” Mr. Richards said. Hence the opening night of Dec. 8, with reviews running on Monday Dec. 10.

The last show to have such a lengthy preview period was “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” which played 183 performances before opening - far more than “Glengarry” is scheduled to hold.

In addition to delaying opening night, the producers of “Glengarry” also announced they were extending performances due to the strong demand for tickets, many of which are selling at premium prices of up to $350. The show, which had originally been scheduled to close in late December, will now run through Jan. 20, 2013. Mr. Richards said he did not foresee extending the run further because cast members had other commitments.