Jesus Christ. The ripples outward COME from New York, not Kansas or Illinois. Maybe people should stop fretting about the business aspect and just decide if they want to see it or not. You know, own their own decisions and not worry about Kansans.
I'm aware of that, I'm just saying I think people are overestimating the inherent appeal of the production and cast. Even within New York, they're recognizable names but nowhere near "first-tier" Broadway people, aside from Andrea Martin and Patina Miller (who became a bit more of a factor after Sister Act). Maybe Charlotte D'Amboise but I remember her big turn in A Chorus Line being poorly reviewed.
And Matthew James Thomas is just not an exciting name to me for this role.
This is why I rue the day common citizens were made to care about such crap as box office receipts and all the other behind the scenes BS of The Entertainment Industrial Complex.
Who CARES about that? See the show that somebody puts on or don't. Like it or don't. Tell people what you think. But why hinge your argument on your prognostication over whether people you imagine to be unsophisticated will pay to see it too? Deal with the creation.
Remember all the sturm und drang over the last two Diane Paulus shows moving to Broadway? No one thought HAIR would run and everyone thought P&B would be a disaster because of all the changes. And then...well...that didn't happen.
Plus...I trust the opinion of someone who's actually seen this over someone just guessing.
DO NOT doubt the Weisslers. They can send a carrier pidgeon to every ticket-buyer of "Chicago" over the last 15 years. They can rotate casts quicker than the Love Boat. They will dig up Fossee's tap shoes if necessary.
They just need to recreate that amazing Pippin commercial from the original run where you see one minute of Fosse's choreography. Pippin Commercial "A Free Minute of Pippin"
This thread is a treasure trove of bizarre comments.
either she is a genius (which I am not denying) or well she is the only director willing to try and completly reinterpret "semi" classics
No, she reinterpreted one that transferred to Broadway and one that may transfer to Broadway, but she's the only director reinterpreting revivals. Just her. All by her lonesome. Nobody has thought of it before or since.
So I fail to see how it can flop??
If people don't want to see it and don't buy tickets, it will flop. A big hit in the 70s doesn't translate to a big hit revival. Remember the 1997 Annie or both revivals of Company?
If Drood is staying afloat I'm sure Pippin will do just fine.
Oh, absolutely. The correlation between the two shows is unmistakable.
I mean, it's slightly well known, but I'm from the South and never seen anyone put on a production of it.
I'm from "the South" and I've seen it produced several times. What about this show do you believe is so specifically off-putting to anyone who lives below the Mason-Dixon line? Does the script only make references to the Midwest or New England? Or perhaps it's the veiled references to abolishing slavery that keeps this musical out of the South.
Yes, they are recognizable Broadway names in the cast, but not anyone that somebody from Kansas or Illinois or where is necessarily gonna have heard of.
OMG YES! Those wackos in Illinois are terribly unfamiliar with the BROAD WAY. That's why they fail to try out new Broadway musicals in Illinois pretty much EVERY SINGLE YEAR. Because living outside of New York means you have no access to anything Broadway related. Why, even now, right this very moment, I'm not reading this thread or typing this post because I couldn't possibly know anything about it! THIS ISN'T HAPPENING!
I do think it's interesting that following the successes of Avenue Q, In the Heights, Spring Awakening, Urinetown, Memphis and God knows what else, people still believe that it takes NAMES to sell a show. Names can help if a star has a built-in audience like Ricky Martin. In many cases, shows with names can go down in flames as MASSIVE failures a la On a Clear Day. The speculation as to the success of this production from those who haven't seen it truly baffles me. If you guys have such reliable crystal balls, why aren't you picking lottery numbers?
That original Pippin commercial was great for it's time. And while they could recreate it for this production, they would probably do better to add the circus acts. Most people enjoy the circus, and parents will see it as a show they can take their kids to. The surface level of the story is easy enough for kids to follow while the parents can enjoy the adult humor, etc. I think it'll be fine. I just thought they would've gone with a similar size theater as in Cambridge because "Sold Out" creates more buzz than not.
The production currently has a warning stating that they recommend the show for grades 6 and up because it "contains mature themes, sexually provocative scenes, and some cursing, but a really fun score."
"OMG YES! Those wackos in Illinois are terribly unfamiliar with the BROAD WAY. That's why they fail to try out new Broadway musicals in Illinois pretty much EVERY SINGLE YEAR."
There's a reason I said Illinois and not Chicago. The bulk of the state is not much like it's most famous metro city. And honestly, I don't get the people who get riled up when people state the FACT that most of the country is not as tuned into Broadway. Yes, of course there are serious theatre fans everywhere, but those people are the minority. Most tourists do not go see shows because of who is in them unless it's a major star like Daniel Radcliffe and wouldn't know Charlotte D'Amboise from a brick wall.
HoldThatThought, that's what I was thinking. Choose one of the big circus numbers, sell the spectacle of the show, and freeze frame right before the singing kicks in.
Most tourists do not go see shows because of who is in them unless it's a major star like Daniel Radcliffe and wouldn't know Charlotte D'Amboise from a brick wall.
The advents of the internet, tweens, Wicked, Glee and Smash have been changing that, but I'm not even sure why this observation is being pointed out in the first place. No, not everybody in America knows all these names (and for much of the 20th century, they never did), but SOMEHOW, shows without major celebrities have managed to find success. And suddenly people DO recognize the names like Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel and Sutton Foster who had never heard of them before. But Illinois was probably one of the poorest examples you could have made considering it does include, you know...Chicago. I would have understood Montana or Iowa perhaps, but ILLINOIS?!?!
At any rate, was there indication that the PR for this production is really pushing the cast as the major selling point of the production?
"I just thought they would've gone with a similar size theater as in Cambridge because "Sold Out" creates more buzz than not."
Their weekly operating costs on Broadway will be higher than their costs in Cambridge. It could easily mean that in a smaller theatre the numbers just don't work out in a way to make the producers feel comfortable. Say, for instance, that the show ends up costing $500,000 a week to run. In a smaller theatre they would still be able to clear that with a sell out week, but it would also mean a smaller gross potential and thus potentially taking longer to recoup.
There's quite a science behind determining the best relationship between gross potential, weekly operating costs, and what you think/hope you can sell each week.
I don't know the show that well - I've only seen an awful production of the show so I'm not too keen. But is Patina Miller playing the Ben Vereen role? Is that often played by a female?
Broadway shows are like a herd of wildebeest on the run, in the spring they start off normal, fit and healthy, but you get a couple of sick stragglers that get picked of by the hungry lion, last year it was Jesus Christ Superstar and Leap of Faith the year before it was Catch Me If You Can and Wonderland, the year before that was Come Fly Away. That's Broadway for you.
If the show runs to labor day or closes earlier the show has tanked?
If the show makes it to the annual Broadway blood bath of New Year 2014 or runs longer, is the show considered a success?
Yes, that's exactly the right way to gouge success, and no, nobody knows what part Patina Miller plays, it has never been discussed, and they really are hoping people will feel nostalgic for "an awful production of the show" they saw at some point so the creatives have gone in that direction and really hope you'll love what they've done.
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joined:7/22/03
Posted: 1/4/13 at 01:50pm