WIW - disbelief & ticked off- Page 2

[sharon1]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 6:12pm

But this show had a brilliant cast. Maria Friedman I hope comes back again to these shores. Michael Ball is a consummate performer and incredible singer. Ron Bohmer was fantastic as the evil Glyde. Jill and Angela were breathtaking. Adam was the perfect young suitor. All shows should be blessed with such talent and grace and charm. I wish all these performers well in their future productions.

[jo]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 6:16pm

I wonder how this excellent show would have thrived if it had Cameron Mackintosh as producer? Surely, the show would have been discovered for its merits if there had been enough marketing and promotion support -- right from the beginning!

What a shame!

[musicalfan]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 6:30pm

I just got back from seeing WIW this weekend. I booked last minute airfare and the ticket to see it. At the time it wasn't scheduled to close. What luck on my part that I decided to go in Feb. and not wait til spring as I'd planned. I am SO glad I went before it closed. It was wonderful. I don't understand any of the objections to the music, the story or the visual effects!! I agree with those of you out there who are tired of the jukebox "feel good" musicals at the expense of the sophisticated musicals with intricate storylines...so sad. Maria signed my program afterwards and told me she was very sad about the closing and didn't understand since the fans loved it. All the cast I spoke with were friendly and willing to talk but they seemed a little down (though it didn't show at all in the performances). Please, if you haven't seen it yet go! I'm just glad they're going to take it on tour eventually.

[ThE nEw KiD]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 8:23pm

I personally liked it. I saw Lisa Brescia in the lead. MY GAWD what a voice!

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 8:25pm

It saddens me that a new, original, work like this is being cleared out and what's opening soon - another "Jukebox" musical. VIVA LAS VEGAS I suppose, for it seems that's what Broadway is becoming.

I couldn't agree with you more.

[Fabrizio2]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 8:26pm

Maria deserves her tony and she needs to find a more successful show if possible. Marketing I think is a reason. I mean come on look at wicked. All these different shirts, buttons, etc... The most creative thing I saw at WIW was a calendar.

[Nath]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 11:30pm

I will get slandered for saying this but here goes...

WIW didn't suceed because it is British, everything about it is British. Broadway was 'invaded' by British musicals and now they sit as the longest most succesful shows in Broadway history(and after all the musical is apparently an american artform) because of this WIW was never given a fair go. I think Phantom becoming the top running show actually hurt WIW's run, and the American ego...

ps I think WIW is ALW's best score in years...

[Michelleruth2]

Posted: 2/8/06 at 11:28am

Nath,
Interesting take on the subject....I hadn't thought of it.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/8/06 at 12:04pm

Or maybe people just didn't like the show. Word of mouth is obviously poor. Shows survive bad reviews all the time if people enjoy the show and go back and tell their family and friends to see it. They also sometimes go back and tell the people they know not to bother. With the way this show losing business week after week after week, it's obvious word of mouth has been pretty bad -- that's what's happening whenever you see a show's attendance gradually sinking week to week (conversely, when people love a show and talk it up, you see gradual growth -- eg, Jersey Boys has gone from solid 80% attendance to being a near sell-out over the course of two months).

And as for that "people now hate everything British theory," how do you explain Spamalot? Nothing is more British than Monty Python. Yet it's the second biggest hit on Broadway (after Wicked), has fantastic word of mouth, and a $25 million advance that's growing by the week. I'm sure Eric Idle and his producers are loving all that anti-British "hate" being tossed in their direction.

Phantom hurt the American ego? How? Why? Find me ONE PERSON who feels that way? You think people boycotted WiW, because Phantom is still running? That THAT'S the reason it closed? Um, OK.

Posted: 2/8/06 at 12:30pm

The Woman in White is the ghost story, right? About the woman who kills herself and then tries to seduce married men into having sex with her, so she can kill them too?

Yeah. If that's the story, it's not something I really want to see. Not that I don't like a tragedy, but eh.

Find me something else.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 2/8/06 at 12:34pm

But technically speaking, Spamalot is an American show. But I agree that the failure of The Woman in White is not related to it's British-ness (to borrow from Penny Pingleton in Hairspray). It's not a well-known property in the U.S., Andrew Lloyd Webber's score is derivative of everything he's ever done, with one song that sounded like it was ripped from Elvis Presley and another from The Sound of Music. The score was more melodramatic than a drag queen and the first act is extremely weak. It therefore received poor reviews and bad word-of-mouth. Shows with poor reviews NEED the word of mouth to survive. Look at Wicked, a poorly-reviewed musical that will run strong for years. It has good word of mouth and familiar characters. With the cost to see a Broadway show at a horrendous $110-$115 who wants to subject themselves to something they are unfamiliar with?

Posted: 2/8/06 at 12:39pm

If I'm thinking about spending that much money on a show, I'll do some research first. I'll find a synopsis, maybe download a few songs, that sorta thing.

[kec]

Posted: 2/8/06 at 12:47pm

"The Woman in White is the ghost story, right? About the woman who kills herself and then tries to seduce married men into having sex with her, so she can kill them too?"

No, that isn't the story. The Woman in White is loosely based on the novel of the same name by Wilkie Collins. It's set in 1860's England; A young drawing master, on his way to his new position teaching two sisters art, encounters a mysterious woman in white who talks of a secret and of a man who has done her wrong. She runs away before he can get any more information out of her. When Walter Hartright arrives at his new post, he finds that one of his students strongly resembles the woman he saw. The sisters fall in love with their teacher, but he returns the love of only one -- and she is engaged to another.

I could go on, but it gets into too much detail.

Posted: 2/8/06 at 12:51pm

Oh. Thanks.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 2/8/06 at 1:09pm

The fact that they are citing "illness" as a reason really saddens me. Maybe it's just because I am a softy or becuase I know how I would feel. I would hate for Maria member to walk away thinking the fact that she is sick is the reason for the show's failure. The same goes for Micheal. A show closes for numerous reasons. If illness was a HUGE issue, the parts could have been permanently recast. As terrible as it sounds, Maria's cancer brought additional free publicity to the show.

[theatreboi11]

Posted: 2/8/06 at 1:35pm

Has anyone watched the video preview on this site??? This show closed because of the lack of singing talent from majority of the cast!

[chernjam]

Posted: 2/8/06 at 2:12pm

Maybe you need to check your modem speed because you're the first person I've seen on any forum say this cast has been anything but superb.

As one who was there last night, I can tell you they were in perfect voice. It saddened me to think that this hasn't been preserved either on CD or film for the fans.

Adam Brazier, Ron Bohmer and Walter Charles are enormous improvements over the London leads on the Original Cast Recording. And Maria Friedman, Jill Paice and Angela Christian have grown so much in the roles - they have their characters so nailed down... it was amazing seeing how the cast has delved into their roles since I saw it in previews by November.

A real shame they won't get a fair shake to receive deserved Tony Nominations

[doodlenyc]

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

I didnt think they were superb, particularly the singing....and have read many other posters who agree...just my opinion, but others share it.

[AlmostFamous]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 1:35pm

NORMAN LARGE WILL BE DOING THE FINAL PERFORMANCE!!!!!

[Horton]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 3:49pm

I just didnt l ike this show, I mean I am sad that it is closing because people will be put out of work and all that crap. But it was just a BAD SHOW!

[Doctor Dolittle]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 4:49pm

I saw the show yesterday and found the talent to be superb. Lisa Brescia was excellent in the lead and the voices of the rest of the cast was equally up to par. I liked it more than I thought I would. I think in the future, this show will be produced again and will be better appreciated.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 6:10pm

I wondered what was up when I heard Woman In White was his choice for an adaptation. Wilkie Collins is not a great writer tho impt to the development of the mystery. It is a melodrama in the hokeyest style compared to what modern audiences are used to. In fact many of it's devices became so cliched that they were forbiden in the Mystery Writer's Guild. It is also very Victorian and just cos it worked w Phantom doesn't mean it's gonna work again. All I could think of was well it IS in public domain and lends itself to period costumes.
Maybe he'll try the story to Babes In the Woods has many of the same elements!

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 6:26pm

I'm with Nath and sabrelady.

I think the problem is, if they want melodrama coming from Brits, they're going to buy tix for the proven property - Phantom - and not the newbie. Not when it costs so much and audiences nowadays aren't as risky as they used to be.

Also, I think the publicity messed up because when it wasn't about Maria's condition. It was about the set. And not a lot of people were willing to pay $100 to see people walking in front of a screen, no matter how impressive it looked.

PS I really liked the show, despite my Webber misgivings.

[chernjam]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 6:35pm

Lisa played the matinee yesterday? I thought Friedman was doing all the performances through the closing. I hope she's feeling alright.

[AlmostFamous]

Posted: 2/15/06 at 7:22am

ughh doubl post