How to Succeed should be bowing to Radcliffe

[massofmen]

Posted: 3/7/12 at 10:19am

the grosses since he has left have been abysmal. If there ever was a star that drove a show i would think he must be one of the top that doesn't have his name as the title of the show.
Maybe John lithgow in DRscoundrels. But wow. I mean..its incredible the difference in sales.

[Brian07663NJ]

Posted: 3/7/12 at 11:03am

I did not see Radcliff but I did enjoy Jonas' performance. Was not familiar with any previous version of the show so I think I can be about as unbiased as anyone attending this show for the first time. Great that Radcliff was able to generate sales! Really happy that he is able to break out of just being Harry Potter.

[SondheimFan5]

Posted: 3/7/12 at 12:48pm

Was Lithgow the driving force of DRS sales?

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 3/7/12 at 4:38pm

I haven't seen Jonas but from the preview clips I've seen and everything I've heard, he seems far better than Radcliffe. Radcliffe looked confused, nervous, and could hardly sing. Sort of sad that some people who really deserve the recognition/attention come up short, but that's the name of the game.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/7/12 at 6:01pm

But the difference is, if it were, say, 3 years ago, then I'm sure Jonas would be packing houses. But he's not the hot thing right now. And Radcliffe did the show during the whole last Harry Potter film, so it was a major time for him. Their performances aside, it's just a matter of who is hot and who not at the moment. But Jonas is really boring on the various television shows he's been on. He just comes off as wooden and dull.

[SFFrontRow]

Posted: 3/7/12 at 6:21pm

Strange that this conversation is focusing on Radcliffe and Jonas. If you actually look at the grosses, percent occupancy and average ticket price; except for holiday weeks of Thanksgiving and Christmas thru New Years, Darren Criss outdrew Radcliffe.

Even though Radcliffe outdrew and outsold what Jonas is doing, Criss consistently outdrew and outsold Radcliffe's run. Taking into account he "only" did it for 3 weeks, it remains to be seen if he could have sustained that. But if you compare his 3 weeks to any 3 weeks of Radcliffe (outside of the holiday weeks), his numbers were better.

And think of this, Criss did it after the show was up for about 9 months. So, his stint brought new life into a 9 month old production in January - 3 weeks after the holiday season when NO ONE has money and ticket sales drop (although I was there in NYC on vacation).

I am not denigrating either Radcliffe or Jonas, but Criss really delivered both on stage and in the box office. Where's the love for what Criss did and how the producers capitalized on someone hot - even if for a limited run?






Updated On: 3/7/12 at 06:21 PM

[tazber]

Posted: 3/7/12 at 6:23pm

Yea, Darren Criss is the real hero of the show. He smashed box office records like they were old LPs.

[binau]

Posted: 3/7/12 at 6:30pm

SFFrontRow, I don't think for a second that Darren Criss could sustain a run like Daniel Radcliffe can. Daniel Radcliffe is an international superstar. Yes, it WAS only 3 weeks. To even suggest that it is possible he could sustain those sales for much longer is funny to me. I can only imagine what would hav happened if Daniel Radcliffe was the 3-week replacement.

[Owen22]

Posted: 3/7/12 at 8:07pm

I thought Daniel Radcliff rose to the challenge and gave a complete and wonderful performance. His "Succeed" was one of my top favorite theatre experiences last year. I haven't and won't see Jonas, so I have no idea how he compares, but he was wretchedly awful in the 25th Les Miz Anniversary so I can't quite imagine him being anywhere as good.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/7/12 at 9:04pm

It's not a matter of talent. Anyone could do the role.

[massofmen]

Posted: 3/7/12 at 9:57pm

he was there for three weeks. You put snooki in the show for 3 weeks and it will sell, and yes Lithgow sold that show,. You look at the weeks he was out and it dropped to 45%. The show didn't sell unless Lithgow was in it.

[redmustang]

Posted: 3/7/12 at 10:33pm

I saw H2$ back in November and Radcliffe and Larroquette both commanded the stage. Each had great rapport with the audience and with each other. And I enjoyed Daniel's dancing and singing. For being a newcomer to musical theatre, I thought he was quite impressive and deserved a Tony nomination. Many others have been less impressive and won the thing. Anyway, it's a bit unfair to compare the drawing power of an international movie star of 10 years who did the show for 8 or 9 months to a TV newcomer who was on stage for 3 weeks.

[theminutepast]

Posted: 3/8/12 at 9:10pm

Radcliffe was not strong vocally, but his acting was solid. Jonas sings with the same level of proficiency as Radcliffe (honestly, that's sad, given that Jonas became known as a singer) but he is a vacant, bland actor. His acting consisted of smiling and not smiling.

[ClumsyDude15]

Posted: 3/8/12 at 9:22pm

I've seen all three of the Finches, and each brought something different to the table.

I loved Daniel, I thought he really worked every angle of the role despite not being the best vocally, he acted and danced the sh*t out of the role. He certainly deserves more credit, because he took a great chance doing a musical and it worked out in his benefit, because he really came out of that proving he can do musical theater and do it pretty damn well.

Darren was a mix bag of things - he could dance it, his vocals weren't the strongest, and depending on which week you saw him - his acting was meh, fairly decent, to clownish. He had his good moments, but he began to really give his idiotic, ridiculous fans what they paid for - a clownish Darren-esque Finch that really didn't fit the role. He sold so well mostly due to his rabid fan base consisting of Glee and Starkid fans, who knew they had a limited window of time to see him, so they put up the cash and traveled to see him. I heard people in rush line mention that his street team even rented an apartment and split the cost so several people could see him over those three weeks.

I really enjoy Nick and what he brings to the role. I think he's vocally the best, and I really enjoy his acting choices, but I think Dan's acting was the best out of three for certain. If you could take half of Darren's energy, Dan's acting and dancing and mix with Nick's vocals - you'd have the perfect Finch.

I'd kill for Daniel to return, but the rumors are that Darren might return, but I certainly am not prepared to put up with his idiotic fan girls again, but I guess business is what matters. I've also sort of heard inklings that if Darren doesn't return, July 1st could mark the closing, but I haven't heard much beyond those inklings and rumors.

Updated On: 3/8/12 at 09:22 PM

[MadonnaMusical]

Posted: 3/9/12 at 2:27am

too bad Darren was abysmal as finch..... he may bring in the tweens.... but Jonas would have brought in the tweens 3 years ago.... Radcliffe won't bring in the tweens much longer either... Jonas actually has a lot of talent, and is the first of the three to actually get the character... good for him, hopefully he'll start drawing a bigger crowds with this SMASH appearances...

[AADA81]

Posted: 3/9/12 at 4:16am

I haven't seen any of these three actors so I won't critique their performances, but it seems to me that Radcliffe made the show possible with his clout, Criss jolted the boxoffice and Jonas is keeping it alive for the entire production staff.

What I admire about all three of them is that they even chose to do theater. Eight shows a week is like "taking the veil" as Merman said. It's hard work, and these would-be teen idols could have done easier, more lucrative work elsewhere. Instead, they chose this. And they showed up for performances where other "Hollywood" folks called out (Jeremy Piven anyone).

I love that a younger generation of "celebrities" is willing to do legit work in the hardscrabble, disciplined world of New York theater and every one of these actors has earned my respect. I wish each of them success and I sincerely hope every one of them returns to Broadway in their future careers.

[sbflyfan]

Posted: 3/9/12 at 8:50am

^ What AADA81 said.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 3/9/12 at 10:25am

Weren't there fewer discounts available for Darren's run?

[hotjohn]

Posted: 3/9/12 at 5:08pm

ClumsyDude15 you absolutely nailed it!

I saw all three Finches and agree that Daniel was the best actor - it really was a bold, brave move for him having never sung or danced on stage before. He also had that slightly ruthless streak that the role calls for.

Darren was fun but far too cute, no ruthless quality at all but, as has been said, he revitalised the box office (premium seat prices were raised for his three-week run) in January when most business is way down.

Nick is by far the best vocalist of the three and has charm oozing out of his ears but also can turn on that sly quality - I was particularly impressed with him on only his fifth performance in the role.

It boggles the mind that Daniel didn't receive a Tony nomination and the fact that John Laroquette won a Tony award for his effort is a total puzzle to me - I actually preferred Beau Bridges in the part. Okay, so he can't sing but I thought he was far more charming and much funnier in the role than Laroquette.

[sorano916]

Posted: 3/9/12 at 6:12pm

Whoa... what? You prefer Beau over John? That's a first that I've heard.

I've seen Beau twice (once with Dareen and once with Nick) and it was so cringe-worthy... and not in a good way. I believe that John was definitely funnier than Beau.

[ClumsyDude15]

Posted: 3/11/12 at 4:53pm

AADA81 - Amen to your post. I give props to all three for going out of the comfortable zone of film and TV to do something like Broadway.

Hot John - Thank you, I'm so glad you agree. I'm also shocked Daniel didn't receive a Tony nomination for the role, because he truly was fantastic. I personally, adored John in the role and am not fond of Beau whatsoever, however the best Biggley thus far has been Michael Park.

[Disneywed]

Posted: 3/12/12 at 6:32pm

Bwaydevil - I actually found Radcliffe to be a pleasure - sang quite well and really seemed comfortable.