Saw the show tonight and LOVED it!! It is soo different and unique from the normal Broadway musical and the entire cast are all phenomenal. I loved every minute of it. It is a very different show and I can understand why it was struggling to catch on, but it really is such a shame such a great show is closing. Hopefully this show has more life in the future!
I feared from the outset that the general public would not cozy up to the subject matter. I wish all involved in this brave effort a safe journey to whatever may be next for each of them.
I feel I may be responsible for some of the bad digression here- I did start the comment about "some Wicked fans" which seemed to be misinterpreted as "every person who ever saw Wicked". It doesn't even have to be that show- I certainly know of people who have seen Les Mis 100+ times. Surely they could skip Les Mis occasionally and try out something new? Imagine if somebody said, "the first book I read was The Gruffalo and I liked it so much that's all I ever read now"...
I love the idea of a Broadway conspiracy- it would certainly explain how La Cage won Best Musical over Sunday... oh wait... If it can't even manipulate that result it's not much of a conspiracy, is it?
I feel I may be responsible for some of the bad digression here- I did start the comment about "some Wicked fans" which seemed to be misinterpreted as "every person who ever saw Wicked". It doesn't even have to be that show- I certainly know of people who have seen Les Mis 100+ times. Surely they could skip Les Mis occasionally and try out something new? Imagine if somebody said, "the first book I read was The Gruffalo and I liked it so much that's all I ever read now"...
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Les Mis 100 times ?!?
Many years ago, on "You Bet Your Life", a woman told Groucho that she had 13 children in 14 years. She was beaming with pride. Groucho looks over and said "Lady, I love my cigar, but I take it out of my mouth sometimes."
songanddanceman2 said: "It does still seem crazy they have thrown in the towel so quick, they really were not doing that bad and should have known that something as different as this would have taken some time to catch on. "
Yes, actually, they were doing that bad. They were going week to week and would not have made the running cost of the show for next week (the closing should bring it to that so they won't lose money on running the show).
How is the title a deterrent for audiences? The novel is something of a modern classic and the film is not without its fans...how could they have called it anything else? It's bold and perfectly matches the material. What's not to love?
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
There are many factors that led to poor ticket sales. What specifically about the title makes you think it would deter people from going? I personally think it's a wonderful title and have felt that way since I read the book long before a musical was even a thought in anyone's mind.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
A while ago, someone asked me about the new musicals opening this spring. I mentioned American Psycho. The immediate, astonished response: "They made a musical of THAT?"
devonian.t said: "Ignoring the other part of my post? Inconvenient truth?
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If Hate responds, you can always count on him totally ignoring the content and meaning of your post and selecting a few random words to allow for another redundant, dismissive comment.
After Eight said: "A while ago, someone asked me about the new musicals opening this spring. I mentioned American Psycho. The immediate, astonished response: "They made a musical of THAT?"
There's your answer.
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I actually agree with this. To non theatre audiences their reaction to this is "why the hell did they make a musical on American psycho" no matter how dumb that reaction Is it is what the general reaction is.
I actually could be counted among those who found the concept of this being made into a musical as ridiculous at first. I read the book (far too early in my teens) and it scarred me, but then I revisited it and could find the satire amidst the horror. But when I heard about the musical in London I just thought it sounded like a trashy stunt. I actually had no intention of seeing the show here in New York until I heard who designed the set; I'm a major fan of Es Devlin's work so I thought I'd check it out. But I was still dubious.
All that said, it's tough because yeah, I agree the title and the implied subject matter are hard sells for a musical, and I talked it up to many of my friends at school and the few I talked to were put off by misogynistic undertones of the show... but after seeing it I "understood" (not quite the right word but I'll work with it) the intention of the designers and the adapters and I think it does work in a weird way. Anyways, rambling, but loved this show and was so pleasantly surprised with the slick design and sheer tech-gasm-ness of the whole production. Very glad I got to see it.