Lion King changing theaters- Page 2

Posted: 1/31/06 at 12:20pm

Disney moved Beauty & The Beast, and it's been playing for years. I don't think Lion King will have any problems at the Minskoff. January is a very slow month for all theatre (excluding Wicked, it seems).

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 1/31/06 at 12:30pm

"Mary Poppins as a film is far, FAR more popular than Chitty Chitty Bang Band ever was."

I think the comparison was about the West End to Broadway transfers of both shows, not the movies.


"u don't want a 12 hundred dollar a week contract on Bway"

Is $1200 really something to brag about? That's like the Equity minimum, isn't it?

[Fosse76]

Posted: 1/31/06 at 1:14pm

"Is $1200 really something to brag about? That's like the Equity minimum, isn't it?"

Ask someone who only makes $500 a week, or even worse, minimum wage. And considering most performers don't work the normal grind hours of office workers, builders, teachers, etc., that's pretty good. A lot of chorus members supplement their acting with office jobs. And that's only the minimum. Usually if it's a small cast they make more.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 1/31/06 at 1:29pm

I just meant that in terms of Broadway contracts, $1200/week IS the minimum wage.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 1/31/06 at 1:36pm

I think DISNEY would have kept LION KING where it is and put MARY across the street, but I heard Cameron is the one who wants MARY in the Amsterdam.
DISNEY is not so much fixing up the Minskoff as it is making it LION KING freindly.
They are fixing up the Rogers, so let's give credit where it is due, what othe priducers are doing shows and fixing up the old Theatres.
And they are not renaming them after themselves.
(well, not yet)

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 1/31/06 at 1:53pm

The Broadway Equity minimum is currently $1431 (it's much less off-Broadway and regionally). Realize that agents and managers take a solid percentage of that right off the top, plus there are their are union dues, the cost of voice and dance coaches, plus the same fed, state and local taxes the rest of us New Yorkers pay (the highest taxes in the country), plus crazy rents (the highest in the country), ConEd, cell phone bills, food, laundry etc.... My Broadway actor friends tell me they generally don't actually see much more than about third of that $1431 when all is said and done and once the bills are paid there's not much left.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 1/31/06 at 1:59pm

and the Roundabout and Lincoln Center contracts are even less!

[lovinlife]

Posted: 1/31/06 at 3:39pm

I think this is going to make amazing business for Disney all around. The New Amsterdam is going to sell out, with a name like Disney as creative producer etc. etc. etc. and now that The Lion King is moving to a relatively smaller house (but bigger stage IMO), to me it seems they will do find with sales and hopefully it will work even better than it already does. It will take much less to fill the Minskoff theatre, although thsat is a huge house too. A few hundred less seats to sell each show, and they'll be sold out for months and months again.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 1/31/06 at 4:39pm

Ya know- as "bad" as a role od ed the hyena is... kevin cahoon seems to have faired pretty well after originating it. Also i frankly would love to be in one of the disney shows, as a villain, gaston and scar are both dream roles of mine

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 1/31/06 at 7:11pm

Naw, I wouldn't wanna be in this show, just not something I would want to do. I don't care how much money they make, there's no point in doing a job you hate. Anyways...how's the Minksoff laid out? Does it have a central aisle? Isn't that how they get the Circle of Life down to the stage?

[Kungaloosh1937]

Posted: 1/31/06 at 9:03pm

<>

And the point remains that since Mary Poppins is a far more popular movie than Chitty, it stands to reason that the Broadway show will do better.

[Dirty Rotten Scoundrel]

Posted: 1/31/06 at 9:10pm

It really irks me that Disney is bringing so many shows to Broadway..they have enough theaters at all of their amusement parks to just run them there..where they belong..gah.

[JoshuaEads]

Posted: 1/31/06 at 9:26pm

The New Amsterdam Theatre does not belong to Disney. Disney has a long-term, low-rent lease.

~Joshua

Updated On: 2/27/06 at 09:26 PM

[Testing1232]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 4:00pm

Last "LK" show at the New Amsterdam is June 4th, according to box office. Re-visited "LK" Friday nite. Thought it was very good, but every time I see it, I have to wonder how it ever beat out "Ragtime" for Best Musical !! There is simply no comparison !

[adamgreer]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 4:06pm

Mary Poppins will definitely have a longer, healthier run than Chitty did, for a number of reasons.

If you want to make a comparison, I'd say the London production of Wicked has a chance of going the way of the Broadway Chitty. The Wizard of Oz is beloved in this country the way Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is over there. However, Chitty is not as beloved in this country as Oz, and vice-versa.

[jeremykushnier1fan]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 4:14pm

Disney will soon get the message that they too will have to sell tickets at TKTS.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 4:19pm

I think they understand that. They sell tickets to Beauty and the Beast there, and did so for Aida as well.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 4:19pm

THE LION KING will now be draped right on Times Square, I just realized. Just imagine the amount of publicity it'll have now that the entire window space facing Times Square will now be emblazened with the logo. The show is still going strong, and now being right on Times Square will do wonders for it...whether one likes it or not.

And I'm totally with Testing on the Ragtime thing. LK is surely innovative visually, but Ragtime was surely more powerful.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 4:26pm

Comparing CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG to MARRY POPPINS is like comparing ROBOTS to FINDING NEMO. CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG was never as hightly respected as MARY POPPINS - it's certainly not as good of a film.

[broadwaygiant19122]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 5:17pm

Its interesting Roxy..the point you made about burgeoning prices is the same that Sondheim made at the end of Broadway: The Golden Age.

[Tag]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 5:49pm

What corners are they cutting for the move that Disney is regretting?

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 7:42pm

Now everytime you watch TRL they'll have a big shot of the Lion King logo. I guess that's smart for Disney. Does the Minkoff have a center aisle for the circle of life part or are they making one

[bigrab1018]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 8:15pm

The Circle of Life part utilizes the 2 orchestra aisles, just like any other theater has.

[QMAN03]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 8:17pm

Where is Tarzan going?

[Tag]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 9:27pm

Richard Rodgers Theatre.
Updated On: 2/5/06 at 09:27 PM