FLOYD COLLINS, Broadway 2025

[KathyB]

I might as well repost this Mental Floss article, which has been updated for 2025. (I know I posted it once, ages ago, but I can't find the post to link back to it.)

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/544782/1925-cave-rescue-that-captivated-the-united-states-floyd-collins

[scenicdesign71]

Thanks for re-posting that, @KathyB!  I just re-read it for the first time since your original post, which I was then able to track down (on this daily thread from 2018) by typing "Mental Floss" into this Forum's Search box — I wouldn't have remembered the original site on my own.  But I appreciate your re-posting the link on this thread, where it'll be easier to find.  It's such a great article!

[scenicdesign71]

The New Yorker:   Jeremy Jordan Mines Floyd Collins For Its Sonic Gems
                                          Adam Guettel and Tina Landau's 1996 musical about a trapped caver resurfaces on Broadway.

I'm not seeing the supposed tonal or structural mushiness, or the storytelling laxity, that many critics seem compelled to mention even in reviews that could be considered — somewhat surprisingly, given such not-minor reservations — favorable overall.  (And I'm bewildered by Shaw's admission that she "genuinely could not tell you how many people die" over the course of FC's story).  Everybody loves Jordan, and most love Guettel's score.  Comparatively fewer seem to appreciate Landau's work here, either as writer or director, which makes me sad.

Ed.: ...but Jesse Green included her today in his wishlist of Tony nominations, even with the additional competition of allowing Off B'way into his fantasy lineup.  So that's nice.  She might or might not get an actual nomination tomorrow; I wouldn't be too surprised either way, but there are a lot of potential Best Director contenders this year.  Musical Revival seems more likely nomination-wise — and if FC were to actually win, I believe Guettel and Landau would receive awards along with the producers; but I'm afraid Sunset Blvd's much splashier alpha-"minimalism" will ultimately take the prize).

[scenicdesign71]

A very slightly different new edit of the highlight reel, now captioned with ecstatic press quotes:

...and of course the Tony nominations. Only Best Revival and the two nominated actors, Jordan and Trensch, are cited in this clip, but FC is also up for Scott Zielinski and Ruey Horng Sun's lighting design, Dan Moses Schreier's sound design, and Bruce Coughlin's orchestrations.

[scenicdesign71]

LCT Blog:  Floyd Collins – Exclusive Music Videos

[scenicdesign71]

Added yesterday:

[scenicdesign71]

I think FC would be an excellent candidate for a "Live From Lincoln Center" or "Great Performances" broadcast (although, given the current state of PBS, the money it would cost to record the show may simply not exist).

My sense is that, while Floyd isn't in danger of closing prematurely (in less-unstable times, its limited run and well-funded, prestigious nonprofit venue alone would ensure that), neither is it packing audiences in: a random glance at this coming Tuesday's and Saturday's seating charts shows both performances currently looking around 75% full, with the Loge at least half-empty and a generous smattering of orchestra seats still available as well.  Premium seats top out at $299, while TDF is offering discounted tickets at $50 for some weekday performances.  None of which is too surprising for fairly "niche" material which, as such, has garnered mixed reviews and audience reactions.

But it also suggests that, if a full video recording for broadcast or streaming were being planned, it might be kept under tight wraps until much closer to (or after) closing, so as not to eat into ticket sales that already look, not disastrous, but decidedly unspectacular.  (Household-name stage megahits like Wicked may see box-office spikes from the even-broader exposure and increased accessibility of a movie or streaming version, but I doubt that would be the case for a show like Floyd which hasn't yet, probably won't, and arguably shouldn't achieve that kind of mass appeal).

On that basis (i.e., that a full proshot not having been announced, or even leaked as a possibility, might theoretically just mean that it remains a well-kept secret for the time being), I'm not ruling the idea out altogether — though I'm not getting my hopes up either.

[scenicdesign71]

From LCT's website: orchestrator Bruce Coughlin on returning to Floyd Collins with an expanded instrumental palette, and sound designer Dan Moses Schreier on "Floyd Collins and its echoes" (both men won Drama Desk awards for their work on the 1996 Off Broadway production), as well as music director Ted Sperling, likewise returning from that original team.

Coughlin and Sperling shared the 2005 Tony Award for Best Orchestrations with Guettel for their work on The Light in the Piazza.  Schreier is a five-time Tony nominee, including for Gypsy (2008), A Little Night Music and Sondheim on Sondheim (both 2010), but Floyd could potentially be his first win.

[DiveMilw]

I know this isn't the point of the article or this thread but upcoming projects include:

a Michael John LaChiusa musical called American Eclipse.  

Hooray!!!!