Profile for Lumiere2

This may be an unpopular take, but I can't help notice that Chicago had the lowest house capacity this week (66.4%) and the third lowest total gross ($598K) this week. And last week was even worse, barely getting $500K.I've never been a fan of this production myself - I've seen it twice, but my last visit was almost a decade ago. And they can't be turning much of a profit, if any, on a $500-600K gross each week.I know it's the current longest running show on Broadway, and the producers have (...

There's two more shows I'm curious about how long producers will keep them going:1. Stranger Things: First Shadow? Six months into the run and it's averaging 72% sold with a gross below $1M, and it's got an expensive cast and crew. I'm not saying it *should* close, but it's regularly near the bottom of the list and it hasn't come close to doing the same kind of business that, say, Harry Potter did in its first two years.2. Six is now regularly selling around 70-75% of the house, and its gross...

Look, I can't stand here and say this will be anything close to a highlight of the upcoming season. It won't be. I've never heard of Rob Lake. And the show can't be too large given it's only a 12 week run.BUT - if I'm being honest and purely emotional driven - an opportunity to see the freaking MUPPETS in a live, Broadway calibre show is incredibly exciting. That alone makes me want tickets, and I'm incredibly excited to see the show.

So, I'm deeply interested in seeing Othello with Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal. But these ticket prices are OUTRAGEOUS.When tickets went on sale, the advance prices were between $150-600, which I thought was nuts. I just looked on a random Tuesday, and the cheapest seat available still now starts at $550! And the most expensive is almost $1,000 for a single seat!I know there's a digital lottery for $49 tickets, but I'm from out of town and can't just drop and go one random win.Is ther...

Frankly, the only open-ended show that should be worried (truly) long-term is A Wonderful World. Their likely hope is to slog on with minimal losses until the Tony Awards announcement - but that's still more than three months from now.Do they have deep enough pockets and reserves to make to May 1st and hope for an awards miracle? This is the only show running right now that has an unpredictable short-term future.This is nothing about the quality of the show itself; only its current selling po...

This is Maybe Happy Ending's best week yet, and the momentum (and sales) only seem to be improving. They played to 95% capacity, and with almost zero comps - these are genuine ticket buyersThis was their best week of sales with $764,000, which has more than doubled per week since openingIt's their second time with an average ticket price over $100 for the week, which is a healthy signThey almost set a show-best high average ticket price, missing their record to date by a mere 40 centsThere's ...

Well, with Swept Away's closing notice as of last night, the suddenly now available Longacre Theatre seems preeeeeetty likely as Glengarry's new home.https://playbill.com/article/swept-away-sets-closing-date-on-broadwayNew bets: how long until it's made official?

Taking bets now: which posts a closing notice first, Wonderful World or Swept Away?I thought they were both good (not great, but I liked them enough), but these are the two shows with open runs sitting at the bottom of the grosses and capacity lists - and by quite a large margin too.Personally, I think Swept Away makes it to MLK weekend (maybe President's Day?) and then it sails off into...the...um, the...well, it sails somewhere.

I've been fascinated by this play announcement, first made in the summer and then revived with more casting a few weeks ago. What theatre is Glengarry Glen Ross going to?!The 2024/25 Broadway season only has four and a half months left until the Tony nominations cutoff - meaning previews likely need to start in early April, if not sooner. But they haven't even started selling tickets because they don't have a venue!Almost certainly, the (likely) Shuberts are waiting for one of their currently...

Looking for more a more recent report from the rush lines - has anyone been in the fall yet? (Either late September or October?) What time did you arrive, what place in line were you, and what options were given to you at the box office?Thanks for any and all help!

Update: I tried to rush all five performances of Hell's Kitchen this weekend and failed 5/5 times. They did eventually offer standing room for $40 as well.On Friday, I was there 30 minutes in advance. Saturday, I was there 90 minutes in advance on a two show day. I didn't get in for any of them.On Sunday, I was there for two and a half hours, but it was just extra waiting because the box office didn't open until noon.For Tues-Sat, be in line no later than 8am, and better if you're there at 7:...

Let's talk about the $39 rush seats to Hell's Kitchen at the Shubert!For a show that's been performing for two months now, it's very strange that there haven't been any rush reports yet.Has anyone tried? Anyone succeeded? What time did you get in line, how many people came, and where were the seats?Thanks in advance for anyone who can help!

Well...I'm embarrassed to say it, but I need help. The ticket prices for Merrily We Roll Along are outlandishly expensive, and I've now lost the lottery for day-of tickets more than 100 times. (I'm not kidding - I enter it religiously and it's almost pointless.)The next cheapest ticket I can find is over $150 each, and they're often for partial-view seats. I'm quickly losing hope of ever winning this lottery, and as far as I can see there's no other rush policy, no standing room tickets, no c...

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the producers of Harmony are delusionally keeping the show open until Tonys time to see if a miracle occurs - but I'd also be shocked if the have enough money in reserves to keep going that long.If it's not that, I really don't understand how on Earth the show hasn't yet posted a closing notice.

One last positive Parade post: Not only did it have the highest capacity of any show this week, but can we be impressed its gross came up just 5% short of Hamilton?! For a show with 150 fewer seats to do that, taking on the only reasonable long-running challenger - that's very, very impressive. What a great send off for the production.

How, how, how, how has Once Upon a One More Time not yet announced their closing? It's been three months, and their word of mouth and profit margins only get worse by the week.

I'm stunned that both New York, New York and Once Upon a One More Time haven't announced closing dates. There's no way they're making money, no way there's enough advance to suggest grosses will improve, and neither are good enough shows to fill their massive theatres at the average ticket they need to turn a profit.There's a lot of talk about Chicago this week. My personal distaste for the show aside, I'd imagine the Shuberts now would default a stop clause on all future shows whether it's n...

Adding insult to injury for Bad Cinderella: even with a closing notice posted, they still have the lowest average ticket price. There's is at $50.28 - even the second lowest Grey House is a whole $15 more per person. Yikes.

So I tried three times last week for the rush line, and here's what I learned:They only guarantee 10 rush tickets per show. There's often more, but only 10 are actually set aside for the day-of rush line. They are in row H of the rear mezzanine to house left/stage right - literally the last row.As for when to arrive, you need to be in line at minimum 3 hours before the box office opens to get a ticket. Ideally you should be there 4 hours early.My first attempt was last Wednesday for a two sho...

Tried to rush today on a two-show day, and this one is getting tough! We didn't make the cut.My wife and I showed up at 8:30am Saturday for a 10am opening, hoping for rush seats to either show. When we arrived, we were already #16 in line - and it was raining! They only had 8 rush tickets per show, for 16 in total, so they ran out way before we got to the front of the line.Needless to say, Shucked is starting to get popular enough that if you want a rush ticket, you now need to line up at lea...