STAYING alive is rapidly becoming a big challenge for “Saturday Night Fever.”
Brandishing $14 million worth of advance ticket sales, the British-born musical boogied onto Broadway last fall amid talk that it was a slam-dunk, critic-proof sensation.
But now the floor has fallen out of the discotheque.
The first sign of trouble came after the Easter-Passover holidays, when the weekly gross, which had been hovering around $700,000, plunged to $492,000.
It has yet to recover, and “Fever” has been running below its weekly $535,000 break-even for a month.
Its much ballyhooed advance, meanwhile, has dropped to between $3 million and $4 million, production sources say.
“Fever” is in such a precarious state that British producer Cameron Mackintosh is quietly eyeing its theater – the Minskoff – for his critically acclaimed revival of “Oklahoma!” – which is slated to open in December.
If “Fever” does shut down before the end of the year, it will return only a fraction of its $10 million investment. The producers of “Saturday Night Fever” did not return calls yesterday, but we can diagnose what’s ailing the show without their help.
One reason “Fever” turned out to be vulnerable to its across-the-board bad reviews is that its running costs are so high.
Shows that have popular titles can only overcome pans if they don’t cost an arm and a leg to operate.
“Footloose” – like “Fever,” a show aimed at the same undiscriminating audience – has been able to eke out a two-year run because it breaks even at below $400,000. It won’t return its $6 million investment, but it rarely loses money each week.
“High running costs and bad reviews are a recipe for disaster,” says one Broadway producer.
“Fever” is also much-reviled within the theater industry. It did not receive a single Tony nomination, which means it will be frozen out of the Tony show next month, losing out on valuable exposure on national television.
“They are praying for tourist business this summer, but that business could well go to the shows that are featured on the Tonys,” says a production source.
Theater people also criticize “Fever’s” marketing campaign, which, they say, is almost non-existent.
Again, the show should have taken a page out of “Footloose’s” playbook. That show is all over top 40 radio stations and cable programs aimed at its target audiences.
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It’s official: Actors Equity ruled against Patrick Stewart in his very public battle with the Shubert Organization.
Stewart had 10 business days to appeal the union’s decision. That period expired yesterday, and according to several theater sources, no appeal was made.
The Shuberts brought Stewart up on charges of unprofessional conduct after he denounced them at performances of “The Ride Down Mt. Morgan” for failing to market and promote the play properly.
The actor now has to issue a statement apologizing for his remarks. If he does not, he can be fined or expelled from the union.
Stewart could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The Shuberts declined comment.
Stay tuned.
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The Tony telecast on June 4 is beginning to take shape.
Scheduled to appear as presenters are Kelsey Grammer, Susan Lucci, Carol Burnett, Kristin Chenoweth and Kathie Lee Gifford.
There will be musical numbers from each of the seven nominated musicals. Rosie O’Donnell has given assurances that no number will be cut because of time constraints.
Each production will have to shell out between $50,000 and $100,000, depending on the size of the cast, to put together a number for the Tony telecast. That’s causing some grumbling among producers, who are beginning to wonder if the exposure is worth the price.
Still, they’re all ponying up to be part of the show, including “James Joyce’s The Dead,” which closed last month. The producers of “The Dead” hope a spot on the Tonys will raise the show’s profile across the country prior to a national tour that begins this summer in Los Angeles.
The “Contact” number will feature Boyd Gaines and the glorious Deborah Yates, as the Girl in the Yellow Dress.
Mandy Patinkin, Eartha Kitt and Toni Collette will perform a medley from “The Wild Party.”
Craig Bierko will lead the cast of “The Music Man” in – what else? – “Seventy-Six Trombones.”
And the company of “Kiss Me, Kate” will perform “Too Darn Hot.”
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“Taller Than a Dwarf” will have a run that’s shorter than a dwarf.
Elaine May’s poorly-reviewed comedy, which opened a month ago, will close June 11.
The production, which starred Matthew Broderick and Parker Posey, has returned about 35 percent of its $1.7 million investment, theater sources said yesterday.
The show has made a profit each week, but advance ticket sales going into the summer are non-existent.
“We’re doing the prudent thing and closing while we still have some money to return to our investors,” said a production source.
You can e-mail this column at mriedel@nypost.com