Of Mice, Men and Money

What plays well in Dallas doesn’t always play well in New York, or so SMU is learning. SMU scored big artistically last fall when it brought James Earl Jones and a revival of the play Of Mice and Men, to Dallas, after investing $50,000 in the production. The play enjoyed a short run here before heading off to Broadway, where it was greeted by favorable reviews but too few patrons. Of Mice and Men closed after 72 performances.

SMU recovered $33,000 of its $50,000 during the play’s run in Dallas. But because the production never made money in New York, the university is out $17,000. Of Mice and Men might be staged in another Eastern city, such as Wash-ington, or it might be brought back to Dallas, where it played before full houses.

The university may have found a viable way to bring Broadway quality productions to Dallas, but unless this one can be pulled out of the fire, we may not see another such bold attempt.