HOW LONG-RUNNING PLAYS MAKE IT ON BROADWAY

" Today it's inordinately hard for a straight play, no matter how good it is, to run on Broadway for more than a few months, since the first ingredient in the modern recipe for theatrical success is the presence in the cast of a movie or television star. As soon as the star in question returns to Hollywood to resume his or her screen career, the show closes. Things really were different in the old days..."