I've seen Van Hughes as Johnny a few times lately and he's actually really good. Not sure if John's leaving the show means it's going down the drain. This happens on Broadway all the time. If they aren't closing the show that means that they have enough faith in it to be able to lose the original actors and find new and good ones to replace them. And seriously, any show does have to eventually close... unless it's Phantom of the Opera, Lion King or Cats... and even Cats eventually closed!