Broadway Musical Chairs: Rock of Ages and Rain Shifting to New Theaters

In a series of shifts spurred by the incoming Broadway musical Catch Me If You Can, a pair of currently running shows will move to new theaters in the new year. Rain, the Beatles tribute now playing at the Neil Simon Theatre, will close there on January 15, 2011, and resume performances at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on February 8 for at least 16 more weeks. Meanwhile, the long-running Rock of Ages will close at the Brooks Atkinson on January 9, 2011, and resume performances at the much smaller Helen Hayes Theatre at an as-yet unnamed date in March.

According to a news release, the plan to move the shows was initiated by James L. Nederlander and Nick Scandalios of the Nederlander Organization when it became apparent that Rain could have a longer run than the previously planned 12-week limited engagement. Catch Me If You Can had already booked the Neil Simon for a run to begin on March 7, so the Nederlanders (owners of the Neil Simon and the Brooks Atkinson) joined with the owners of the Helen Hayes to put the plan in place.

“The collaboration between the Nederlander Organization, producers of both shows and the ownership at the Helen Hayes to solve this complex equation has been a rare and wonderful thing for Broadway or any industry—a win-win-win-win situation,” Nederlander said in a statement. The current tenant at the Helen Hayes, Colin Quinn: Long Story Short, has just announced a closing date of February 5.