I hate being right about this, just so you know Orlando-loonies. As it turns out, there really wasn’t that much excitement about seeing a 36-year-old man play Romeo in a Broadway revival of Romeo and Juliet. Despite the presence of LOTR fan-girls and despite some high-profile celebrity guests, Orlando Bloom’s Romeo and Juliet is closing early due to “low ticket sales”. The last performance will be Sunday, December 8th.
The producers of “Romeo and Juliet” have announced that the show, which was the Broadway debut of Orlando Bloom (“Lord of the Rings”), will close on Dec. 8, more than a month earlier than had been previously planned.
Mr. Bloom stars opposite Condola Rashad in David Leveaux’s production, which opened to so-so reviews Sept. 19 at the Richard Rodgers Theater. It is one of two productions of the tragedy to open in an unusually rich Shakespeare season; the Classic Stage Company’s “Romeo and Juliet” finished its Off Broadway run Nov. 10.
While the Broadway show is closing two weeks after its initially announced 14-week engagement, producers had been selling tickets through Jan. 12, only to find the box office softening.
For the weekend ending Nov. 17, “Romeo and Juliet” had the lowest capacity of 33 Broadway shows, filling only 39 percent of its seats, according to the Broadway League.
“Based on a combination of sales and availability of cast members we have determined that Sunday, Dec.8 will be our final performance,” the producers said in a statement.
When it closes the production will have played 27 previews and 93 regular performances.
I’m not surprised. As soon as I saw Orlando trying to maneuver that motorcycle and pretend to graffiti (like he was a “youth”), I knew that this was going to be a failed experiment. We spend a lot of time talking about how certain actresses are too old to play certain parts (coughNicoleKidmancough), but we need to devote some time to actors like Orlando Bloom. Orlando seemed to be clinging to his old heartthrob status when really, he should have phased that sh-t out years ago. And this is the fundamental problem: I don’t think Orly really knows what to do with his career or what parts he should audition for at this point. I think he’s getting crappy career advice. Why cling to this idea that he’s a leading man for films? Why not slowly build a career as a character actor? Why not try TV work in the UK and in America?
Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.
Maybe he’s just not a very good actor?
Yeah, I’ll always have a fondness for him because of LOTR, it’s not like he’s every really been known for his acting ability.
I never thought he was a good actor but he pleasantly surprised me in ‘The Good Doctor’. He should step away from the heartthrob roles and do more character movies.
I also really liked him in The Good Doctor. I could definitely see him doing well in smaller and independent films.
I liked him in ‘Ned Kelly’ too, when that was released he was actually getting better reviews then Heath.
The NY Times gave him a great review for R&J so I’m not sure talent is the issue.
I saw the first preview show of R&J when I was in NYC in August. I thought he was pretty good in it.
This guy is a mediocre actor as it is on screen; I doubt he has the talent or magnetism required to be a stage actor. I know LOTR fans love him off but I find him very cloying on screen.
From what I’ve heard/read it’s supposed to be pretty bad and apparently he’s a big part of it.
Being the “Heartthrob” is not good job security. These are the guys who fade young, whereas the character actors work forever. The heartthrobs who do make it are either crazy charismatic or just crazy talented (Orlando?…well…). It’s tough, but good for him for not going off the rails.
And I don’t think that his heartthrob status was ever confirmed. Girls liked him in costume parts (LOTR, Pirates…)
I don’t think that his career ever recovered from Elizabethtown bombing as hard as it did. Since Cameron Crowe and Kirsten Dunst are usually reliable, I suspect that Bloom got most of the blame.
And then constantly getting upstaged by your dopey selfie-loving wife… embarrassing.
I never got his appeal. I doubt that it has to do with his age but with his lack of talent especially he is not cut out to be a stage actor.
Perhaps I’m just not of the “Broadway scene,” but if I were to visit NYC and see a show, it certainly wouldn’t be Romeo & Juliet, no matter who the leads were. When I was in Dance Club in high school and we visited New York City on a field trip, we didn’t get to see Cats because our faculty sponsor thought that he could just get tickets the day of the show – yes, he was that ignorant! – so we saw A Chorus Line instead. I wouldn’t have gone out at all had it been R&J.
Yes, he’s too old for the part. Yes, it has been overdone. And yes, he seems to be getting bad career advice, too.
You saw the much better show. I saw Cats and it nearly killed me – and I adore Broadway musicals. It’s a one song show (Memory). Kind of how you sit through Show Boat waiting for Old Man River.
I saw R&J. He’s not bad but overall it’s just a lackluster show. I was given a free ticket so that should have been a clue things weren’t going well.
I think this story has been redone so much that for it to have succeeded the producers had to have something more special than just teaming up a black girl with a white guy. Maybe a story of young love with two old people whose children don’t approve. Failing that, they could have cast two gays or lesbians……in today’s climate that would have had a long run.
I think your idea is BRILLIANT! So many studios are wanting to remake the classics – why feel the need to do the same old thing every time? Shake it up a bit!
I particularly like the idea with older people in love. Now that the boomers are hitting retirement age, it could be a big hit.
There was a book written with the premise of inverting the Romeo and Juliet story to be about older people. I always thought the movie rights would sell on it and it would be made into a film. The book was called Roma and Julio or something like that.
It’s because he’s terrible.
Exhibit A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1cLstYKqpE
*cringes*
Plus, it’s a kick-ass season in NYC this year. Crappy shows don’t stand a chance against all the real quality that’s going up. Ethan Hawke’s Macbeth is next on the chopping block, I’m sure.
OMG, he is REALLY bad.
Second-hand embarrassment, 4real.
That was really painful to watch and I even like Orlando. Cringe-city.
Did he even memorize his lines?
I don’t want to be an ass about Orlando. He seems like a nice man but its been known for a while that he isn’t much of an actor, I heard that even back in drama school people would insinuate he was there because his mother is a big casting director. Its the same with Keira Knightely whose mother is in the business. A lot of those people got a head start because they are pretty and have contacts in the industry. To Keiras credit i think she worked hard, picked the right projects and has ended up a decent actress who can hold her own. Orlando hasn’t developed and since he is now in his late 30s he is between a rock and a hard place. No longer the pretty boy and not strong enough to keep up with his contemporaries. Hardy, Cumberbatch, Fassbender etc. Wish him the best though because he really seems like a lovely person.
I just looked it up, but she wasn’t in the industry at all.
She was a director at a language school for years and now she writes children’s books.
http://www.soniacopelandbloom.com/about.html
Somebody in his family was in the industry. My brother is an actor and had friends that were at guildhall and that was what people were saying. I might have got it wrong about the mother. Orlando was cast in movies before he even went to drama school. That said i like him so not trying to rain on his parade, he took advantage of the the cards he was given as most people would have.
Not that I don’t believe you, but IMDb lists Wilde as the only movie he has done before LOTR and he only had one line in that, the rest is uncredited characters in Casualty and Midsomer Murders. Doesn’t really sound like he had a lot of advantage? I could be completely wrong of course, but to me it just sounds like he had an incredibly lucky break with Legolas and if he didn’t get that job he would probably never have made it to where he is now. If he is family of people in the industry he should call them to get some more jobs!
Actually you are right han, it was orlando,s aunt Penelope casadesus was a casting director in the USA, she is retired now. Penelope is Sebastian Copeland’s mother.
Well, that would explain why he can’t call them for more jobs, she’s retired now! Lol, I never knew that. Thanks.
I have never thought he was a great actor, but this is really embarassing.
Thanks Tfanty, for the “evidence”.
I just had to sit through an awful play of Emilia Galotti and thought the clip could not be any worse. Guess I was wrong.
Broadway is a crowded marketplace for people’s ticket $$. Orlando was a weird choice, not just because he’s pretty old for the part, but he’s kind of a mediocre actor. He lucked out with Lord of the Rings and Pirates he was passable, but that man just doesn’t have the talent to be a character actor.
His age isn’t the reason, many adults play younger characters in theater. Peter Pan is usually played by an adult woman! This just wasn’t a good idea and it started by first promoting it on April Fools and using a cheap poster with very old pics to promote it.
The modern twist to it isn’t really working, although I do like the racial diversity in it.
Good news for him is that he can now join the Hobbit promotion and getting his name out there again, Zulu with Forest Whitaker is support to be released in December too.
And now that he is no longer with Kerr his team should start selling him again as an actor and not as one part of a celebrity couple. He seems like a humble person so hopefully things will go better for him soon. I wouldn’t wish being with Miranda Kerr for 6 years on my worst enemy, so I’ll give him some slack.
He CHOSE to be with Miranda Kerr for 6 years, so what the hell does that say about him? It says he is as bad as her or like her in a lot of ways? Or did she take advantage of him having special needs? This guy IMO knew what he was doing when he got with her, stayed with her for 6 years and then abruptly dumped her after thinking he was gods gift after thinking he was doing well on Broadway,oops bloom, so what now to keep you relevant? Cuz I don’t think the hobbit or an indie with forest Whittaker is going to propelled him to keeping his name out there all that much. As someone said here maybe TV would be better for him. Oh and I want to make it clear I am an ex ob fan, and hate Miranda Kerr.
Lol it was a joke! Chill. I don’t know what either one of them is like in real life. But they both seem like idiots, one is just more likable then the other.
Didn’t Jessica Chastain’s play close early last year? I think it’s difficult to keep a show open on Broadway these days.
No, “The Heiress” was a limited run, and it made back it’s investment. She was horrible, and it got mediocre reviews but the tickets sold, thanks mostly to her co-star, Dan Stevens, who brought in zillions of “Downton Abbey” fans (this is before everyone knew he’d left the series). 21st century Broadway is geared towards tourist dollars, which is why producers cast movie and TV stars, most of whom totally suck on stage.
Miranda jumped off the boat before it sank once and for all.
Ah, dat b!tch.
I would sooner say he jumped ship. She just got dropped from Mango and called out for photoshopping her own pics, she has no large campaigns left. Bloom at least is in the biggest blockbuster for next month (the Hobbit) which will raise his status some more.
“which will raise his status some more”
No.
No what? He hasn’t made a popular movie in years, a lot of people will probably forgot all about him. You don’t think him coming back as Legolas will remind people he still exist? Because Peter Jackson seems to think so, he’s been on more promotional covers and interviews (including the Fan event last month) then most of the dwarves.
@Littlewood Ok, I will say: he is not a good actor!
He seems a nice guy, but to be an actor he needs more than that. If you hope Legolas will turn Orly in some kind of movie star like Leo and Brad or the next big thing like Fassy or Cumb, please, think again cuz he is not even in the same league.
I never said he would become a next movie star, I’m not delusional. I’m only saying that the return of Legolas will raise his profile some again and maybe can get his career started again. That’s it. I’m not expecting him to show up at the Oscars any time soon.
He’ll get a bit of a boost from it, but I think he’d be wise to use that increase in profile to pursue a prestige TV project. Something on Showtime would let him be the leading man, which he seems to want, and could be written around his strengths.
The unfortunate truth is that there’s now a whole pack of British actors of roughly his age who are newer to the scene and who are willing to take both leading and supporting parts. There are also guys like Jude Law hanging around, who have the same general problem of not being able to open a big movie and no longer being as handsome as they were at 25, but who have more talent acclaim and fit much better in character roles. It’s hard for me to see there being much place for Orlando.
How about people just being sick and tired of the whole “Romeo and Juliet” concept.
Orlando is just not good.
he can be my romeo, pirate, or elf any day. He seems like a genuinely nice person and is really funny in interviews. I hope Zulu does well for him.
Part of me wonders if the split from MK is just a PR ploy. I sincerely hope not. I find her completely fake and insufferable.
I don’t think it was that he is too old — I think it just sucked. The leads look like they have no chemistry & the whole thing just looks odd & thrown together.
Did you see it? A lot of people really liked Condola and a lot of the other actors.
I think you are right. Orlando is trying to recreate the success he had in his 20’s. His best moves would be a good US or UK TV show or trying to get some character actor parts. He did well in LOTR because he was a part of an ensemble that worked well together.
He was too old and didn’t have enough skills
He was too old for Romeo when it was cast- the producers are just realizing this? I thought he was good and creepy in The Good Doctor, so perhaps those are the types of roles he should be pursuing.
True story: Condola Rashad used to live in my building in Brooklyn. We receive mail for all the time. I know she’s not like, that big or anything, but we definitely had a “seriously??!” moment.
He is too old, but I tend to think it’s because he isn’t much of an actor, especially a Shakespearean actor. The only vehicle that made him was LoTR and that role was minimal, it was all about his looks. Other things he’s been in after that were so lame.
Richard Burton, in his older years, could have played Romeo better than what Orlando ever could.
My tip for him is to start considering working behind the scenes. Producing and directing. If you’re not a good actor, that’s the better and more lucrative path. Look at Ron Howard. He was always very limited. Happy Days was the only show that he fit in and even then, people didn’t watch that show because of his character.
As for these modernised adaptations of Romeo and Juliet. I think they’re passe now. If people want that type of thing they can always rent the Baz Luhrmann version.
“Why cling to this idea that he’s a leading man for films?”
Because 10 years ago he was one of the most famous men in the world. Even today, having made no significant contributions to anything in years, he still gets photographed all the time. It must be really hard to admit that you peaked at 23 and the rest of your life will just be coasting.
That said, the clip T. Fanty posted is awful and it’s no wonder the play is being closed early. *Good* productions have a hard time on Broadway these days. Ain’t no one got time for yet another bad adaptation of R&J.
Holy shit, his kid is adorable.
He was probably miscast but the problem isn’t that he is too old. The main problem is that he isn’t that great an actor and the production probably wasn’t very good. Shakespearian parts are consistently played by actors much older. Hamlet is often given to men in their late 30s even early 40s ( Tennant, Cumberbatch etc) although Hamlet is a student and should technically be played by someone much younger. If Orlando had excelled and the production had been awesome the problem of age would have been sidestepped. What is sad is that not even his star power could save this production. Robert Pattison take note.
“What is sad is that not even his star power could save this production.”
WTH? Star power? HAHAHAHAHAHA.
Well obviously the reason they cast him on broadway in the first place was because he is or was a movie star or a name actor. Not because he is a great shakespearian so yeah they were banking on his name. But they probably didnt realize how much star power he has lost. 10 years ago the fangirls would have filled the theatre even though he sucked.
No one here wants to address the elephant in the room. The show is closing early because of racism. The reality is American audiences are more comfortable watching a gay couple on stage than an interracial couple. This is a highly controversial remake of a classic by choosing to use a black woman and a white man. Both of these actors and the director should be very proud. Orlando could continue to make tons of money from films but he chose to take a chance as an actor. He also promoted the heck out of it because it was important to him. The show may have closed early but respect for him as an actor and man will last.
I’m surprised it took this long till someone mentioned racism. Condola has mentioned in interviews how she has heard people calling her a ‘bitch’ when she kisses Bloom on stage. I do like Bloom as a person, he seems aware that he isn’t the best actor but it’s what he wants to do and he tries to improve. And when the world already decided that he must suck without actually seen his play, i must admire his strength.
I liked this interview; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU_Icji2emc
Racism is probably a factor, but I also think that if the show isn’t that great and your lead actor isn’t that great of an actor, that’s going to factor in as well.
Has their been a time when Othello wasn’t well received? Just curious. That might def back up the whole racism thing.
PS – And I disagree about audiences feeling more comfortable about watching gays on stage then interracial couples. The gay hate is strong in this country (the U.S.), no doubt (they still can’t even get married in some states, which is shameful), but if it’s interracial I think it’s less problematic b/c it’s a man and a woman being together. Most people can handle that over two gay guys in love.
Dear Realitycheck,
If the play is closing early it’s probably because Orlando Bloom is a terrible actor. Watch the video T.Fanty posted above. (Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1cLstYKqpE) Imagine having to sit through that for at least two hours. I cringe just thinking about him playing the part of Romeo. That being said, I sincerely doubt racism has anything to do with this particular play closing.
God bless! 🙂
I doubt seriously his age matters. He’s hot and all, but he. can’t. act.
I hate to say that, especially because I used to have a big crush on him. But when you aren’t that talented, you aren’t that talented.
Perhaps he should hook up with Cumby and take some acting notes, lol.
I heard Orlando has special needs, is that true?
If he is then I think the media would have found out by now, he’s dyslexic but I think that’s it.
Yeah. TV is the only option for him. But problem is – he is weak actor that can’t act at all. And he will not be good enough for cable shows on HBO or Showtime. And if they will cast him in some new show on NBC, CBS or ABC in lead role (which he will demand) then I suspect it will have low ratings and will be canceled after 13 episodes.
Karl Urban could do Almost Human sci-fi show on tv and be good at his role. But I don’t see how Orlando could pull off something like that. And I don’t think that his ego of Movie Actor will allow him to agree to some supporting role next to better tv actor. Only if that would be some Game of Thrones or Homeland like. But no one will ask him to do those. He is doomed.
I actually think premium cable is the better option for him than network television. The seasons are shorter and I think his name recognition would sell better there than on a police procedural or a family drama. I’m not thinking of Game of Thrones or Homeland. I’m thinking more of Californication – something that’s built around the lead actor’s persona or strong points.
I love Orlando, and usually like/love his movies (except the POTC series & I don’t blame him for that); however, can agree he was too old for Romeo. My kids did a lot of community theater Shakespeare and my youngest played Romeo when he was only 13. Still, I’m disappointed the play is closing so soon, I was hoping to see it next time we are in NYC.
All I have to say is that I WANT Condola’s dress in the last picture.
Yes, its gorgeous.
My 14 year old saw it yesterday. She said that there was no chemistry between Orlando and Condola. Just none.
Well, that will do it.
Yeah, I don’t think people don’t go to see it because Orlando is too old for Romeo. I think that because he has no charisma and acting talent. And I was kind of almost fan. You know how everyone loved him after Lord of The Rings movies. And I was rooting for him in first Pirats movie. I still remember how everyone thought it would flop. And then it made 70 millions on first 5 days. And then Orlando was in Troy. And he was so pretty in it. And I watched every still and every trailer for it.
And I watched Ned Kelly, Haven and Elizabethtown only because Orlando was in them. And they were so bad and boring. And then Kingdom of Heaven came out. And he destroyed that movie. Because it was good movie, good visuals but Orlando was so awful. Almost catatonic. Kinda like Jesse was in last episodes in Breaking Bad. Just stared meaninglessly in one direction. And then my little crush was over and I finally saw just how awful Orlando is as actor. And couln’t believe that I liked him. And producers saw it too and they stopped giving him roles in big movies.
He was simply lucky to get in those Pirates movies and stay relevant till 2007 when the final one came out. And then he went irrelevant after that. Just like Keira Knightley (surprisingly), Megan Fox and all those Twilight actors too.
No, he is not too old. People see him more as Legolas rather than a Romeo.
Does he dye his hair? Sure looks like it. I hate it when men do this. :/
Robert Pattinson take note. Heartthrob tag men’s nothing if your acting is weak or mediocre as you…young female fans are not going to shell out money or follow you if the acting doesn’t change up or get better.