Rebecca - The end of a show because of poor PR?

It was in July 2012, when I could finally see the amazing musical show Rebecca in Stuttgart. It was promoted as the most thrilling musical show ever and “hell, yes!” – that's exactly what it was. Rebecca fascinated me from the first scene – it was the perfect package of an exciting story, an impressive stage setting, catchy songs and highly professional actors. For that reason I liked it much better than many other musical shows like Wicked, Cats, Starlight Express and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. In short, I have become an absolute fan of Rebecca.

Therefore, I was really upset when I discovered, that it already had its last performance in Stuttgart at the beginning of January 2013 – only 13 months after its premiere. A short online research showed me that the show was cancelled because it had not turned out a real success. The costs for Rebecca and its elaborate stage setting were simply too high. Reportedly, the show was one of Stage Entertainment’s biggest financial flops.

But how can a high-quality musical show like Rebecca become a financial flop? For me the only logical explanation seems to be a lack of communication. If the show had been sold out at every single performance, it wouldn’t have been removed from the agenda. And how can you get people to buy tickets? – Convince them that they have to see this show, because it is so unique and entertaining. That is exactly were PR comes in.

In my opinion, it shouldn’t have been difficult to raise awareness for Rebecca, as not only the actors, the story, the songs and the stage setting were extraordinary, but also it has been the only musical show so far, which used pyrotechnical special effects. Rebecca was the only musical show, where parts of the stage burst into real flames during each performance. See for yourself (the fire is lighted at 1:20)…

So, how did Stage Entertainment promote Rebecca? Especially before and during the first weeks of the performance, its PR campaign was built on these special effects. Experts explained to journalists, how they could burn down the stage at every performance. Measures of safety were illustrated and interviews with cast members were held.  Moreover, Rebecca has had its own social media appearance on Facebook ever since as well as some official videos on youtube. Furthermore, there were quite a few events in Stuttgart to promote the musical show. Of course it was also promoted through a website, stage tours, newsletter, etc…

However, it seems that the communication was not good enough to reach a broader audience and to keep sales up. A basic loyal fan community could certainly be built, but the musical didn't gain wider popularity. Whereas many people for example travel to Hamburg to see The Lion King, only a few went to Stuttgart to see Rebecca.

In my opinion that is because people simply didn’t know about Rebecca and the magnificent special effects. The PR campaign should not only have focussed on Germany, but also on Austria and Switzerland. I think a lot of people would have been interested in seeing the burning staircase and therefore would have travelled to Stuttgart. Also gripping PR stunts like e.g. the projection of a burning R on buildings in capital cities or other “fiery” stunts, would have captured people’s interest and made them want to see a burning staircase live in a musical.
All in all I think more creative PR tactics should have been used in order to promote such an extraordinary musical show successfully. I'm very interested in your opinion - What do you think about the whole story?