Hamilton's 10M Advance- Page 2

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/19/15 at 6:09pm

Mazel tov to all involved.

[ZannaDo]

Posted: 3/19/15 at 8:06pm

MOUSTACHA, the point is that advance figures published for all shows generally include A/R group sales, so if you're comparing Hamilton's advance to the advances of other shows, you'd have to include that to make a fair comparison.

[brdway411]

Posted: 3/19/15 at 11:19pm

I am glad it is selling well. You can include me in the people that thought this would be a tough sell in the Richard Rodgers. I thought the house was too big and they should go for a smaller theater (following the Book of Mormon example, smaller theater bigger demand for tickets). I was wrong. Good for them, I just hope they can keep it up. I was expecting Bloody, Bloody AJ, all over again (Which I loved and saw many times both at The Public and on B'way.) Looking forward to seeing how Hamilton has shaped up since the last time I saw it at The Public (saw it early in previews).

[After Eight]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 12:24am

Goes to show what hype can do.

What a world.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 12:41am

Well when orchestra seats are 277 and cheap seats are 120 it adds up quickly.

[ZannaDo]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 1:18am

I'm so tired of this pearl clutching over Hamilton's ticket prices. Their "cheap seats" are actually $57. They're the same as any other big name show out there. Also, the Off-Broadway run has shown how in demand the show is, tickets are $500+ on the secondhand market. I'd rather see the show charge $277 for premium seats and have the money go back into the production instead of into the hands of ticket scalpers.

People should be thrilled that a new musical without an above-the-title star can command this kind of financial success, hopefully it will encourage producers to take more risks and produce more shows like this one.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 4:15am

Almost no one is doing that .

[Mr Smith]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 6:11am

In a world where musicals close, big ones with big names. Based on movies flopping its so reassuring that people want original musicals. I hope this does well and I seriously hope it lasts a long time.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 8:33am

MOUSTACHA.

Your inaccurate thinking goes against all business 101 fundamentals and logic. Whether it's commercial theatre or a private corporation, Accounts Receivables are always credited toward projected future revenue and can be included in an 'advance.' When a venture capitalist determines the value of a company, for example, they do not throw out the A/R. They include it. It's an important part of determining future revenue and potential growth rate, which would impact one's ROI.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 9:32am

brdway411, what are you talking about? The O'Neill seats 1100. The Rodgers is 1300. They're almost the same size.

Also, Bettyboy, that's not true. "Well when orchestra seats are 277 and cheap seats are 120 it adds up quickly."

The rear mezz is $57. Not $120 for cheap seats. The rear mezz price is cheaper than they're going for at the Public.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 9:59am

It also seems likely to me that there will be discounts or promotions closer to previews to gin up even more excitement. Tickets for $10, for $17.76, or whatever.

[MOUSTACHA]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 10:01am

ZannaDo: I am unaware of any official postings of advances, and I hope you prove me wrong. Shows have nothing to gain by publishing an official advance.

Liza's Headband: I assure you, in commercial theatre management is not included in a reported advance number. I see wraps for Broadway shows and from houses across the country for tours - unpaid groups is NEVER included. Ever.

Now you seem to have missed the point of my last post.
Is unpaid groups considered in decisions? of course.
Is it on the reports for sales? of course.
But it's not part of the actual advance in a commercial theatre. It's a fine point, and I think we think of these numbers the same way, but I believe it's important to make sure we are describing things accurately and to industry standard.

The advance for a theatre is always the actual money you have. As soon as that unpaid group pays for their tickets, that money is moved over to the advance. What you're saying is correct in theory - that that unpaid number is considered in decision making. That said, I promise you Jeffrey Seller is saying, "We have a $6.5m advance with $4m in unpaid group orders", not "We have $10m in the bank." Why? because they don't have 10m in the bank.

EDIT: http://playbill.com/news/article/hamilton-sells-6.5-million-worth-of-broadway-tickets-in-11-days-344647
Even playbill says: "Sells 6.5 million worth of tickets in 11 days... with 4 million in group orders" Updated On: 3/20/15 at 10:01 AM

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 12:48pm

Advances are frequently reported to the press, you must not be paying attention. "Nothing to gain"? That's wrong too. It gives them more publicity to show they're selling well.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/28/us-theatre-fishinthedark-idUSKBN0KZ21J20150128

[MOUSTACHA]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 2:05pm

1) I don't know why this is even an argument. I was imply stated the industry definition of an advance to bring the title of the post into context.

2) This article you've posted ( 1/28 ) was reporting an actual sales advance from an onsale that started 10/6. That's 114 selling days to accumulate 13.5 million. That's entirely possible considering Hamilton got to 6.5 million in eleven days.

3) Yes, a show might want to post their advance for press early on, but the idea that telling everyone your advance is a net gain over the life of a show is crazy. You don't want to tell everyone your blockbuster has an advance for 20 million, then have to say a year later it's only 5 million. You'd only be hastening your closing notice. It's a marathon, not a race. You don't want to tell your competitors how much fuel you have left.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 3:45pm

Nothing to gain? Really? It's to make those of us that haven't yet bought tix to think we might be missing the next big thing and hurry to spend money.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 4:04pm

MOUSTACHA, you're the one who started arguing.

[Pootie2]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 4:23pm

I think MOUSTACHA is completely discounting any effect of "buzz."

Numbers that imply "Tickets are selling well, so you probably want to reserve earlier for preferred dates and good seats" provide pretty darn good buzz.

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 3/25/15 at 12:32pm

Looks like Groff will be available to continue with the show...
EW

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 3/25/15 at 12:40pm

Groff will be the only reason I see this.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/25/15 at 12:41pm

Well, his character is on stage for less than 10 minutes.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/25/15 at 1:52pm

WHY? When nearly everyone is raving about it, why would he be the only reason you want to go?

I can't wait, and just hope tix aren't sold out too soon as I can't yet make plans for which day in July I'll be going.

[macnyc]

Posted: 3/25/15 at 1:57pm

Looks to me as though the mezzanine isn't selling as well as the orchestra. They will probably need to have a discount code at some point.

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 3/25/15 at 2:30pm

Lol mama - I was half-kidding. I love Groff, but I'll see this with or without him. Sit down.

[WOSQ]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 9:51am

There's an old show biz story:

The producer had a big flop on his hands. One night there was a wrap of four dollars for the performance. He ran into another producer who expressed sympathy for this public failure.

"Can you believe it?", the producer replied, "Last night we only did eight dollars!"

Lesson: everybody in show business exaggerates.

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 4/2/15 at 3:34pm

LMM Tweet

Looks like Javier Muñoz will be a regular fixture.  Would love to see him in the role...heck, I'd love to see this again at the Public Theater and I don't care who's in the role!

Also, Love the Zelda/Mario reference.  Spoken as a true child of the 90s.