Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Carolee Carmello as Aimee Semple McPherson.No Broadway show is losing money faster than “Scandalous,†the $9 million musical about the turbulent life of early 20th-century evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson. Given its weak ticket sales and largely negative reviews, many veteran Broadway producers would have closed the show soon after it opened on Nov. 15. And yet “Scandalous†continues to run.
The reason? Its creator, the “Today†show host Kathie Lee Gifford, and two of the lead producers â€" Dick and Betsy DeVos, multimillionaires from their Amway family fortune â€" have been determined to keep “Scandalous†running in hopes th at the musical will somehow rebound at the box office. While Ms. Gifford has not put her own money into the show to keep it afloat, the DeVoses agreed this week to cover the show's financial losses for now, according to two executives involved with the show, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private business matters.
“Scandalous†has already burned through the financial reserve fund that all Broadway shows have to help weather periods of low ticket sales, the two executives said. Last week over the Thanksgiving holiday, usually a hearty time at the box office for many Broadway musicals, “Scandalous†grossed a bracingly low $194,511 â€" or only about 15.5 percent of the maximum possible amount. At some performances the cast â€" led by Carolee Carmello in a critically praised star turn â€" were playing to only a couple hundred people in the 1,450-seat Neil Simon Theater.
“Scandalous†has been a point of curiosi ty this fall because the show marks the Broadway debut for Ms. Gifford as a lyricist and book writer, and because its backers are a rare breed on Broadway. Most have never worked there before: the DeVoses are active in Republican politics in Michigan â€" Mr. DeVos ran for governor there â€" while another producer, the Foursquare Foundation, is a nonprofit group that provides financing to ministries affiliated with the Foursquare Church, which McPherson founded. Ms. Gifford has also drawn attention for conspicuously talking up “Scandalous†on “Today†show broadcasts, while the producers of the musical have sought to market the show to Christian theater-goers â€" an undertaking that has yielded mixed results among recent Broadway shows, including last season's major musical flop “Leap of Faith.â€
While the two executives involved with “Scandalous†predicted that the show would announce a closing date next week unless there was a box office miracle, the exe cutives also held out the possibility that the DeVoses may end up covering losses out of their deep pockets in hopes of finding a bigger audience among Christmas-season tourists. A spokesman for the show said the producers had no comment; Ms. Gifford also declined to comment through a spokeswoman. The two executives said she was personally passionate about the show, which she spent years developing, but that the decision to continue running “Scandalous†was not hers.
