The struggling SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS- Page 2

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 12:19pm

1. I disagree

2. It was very simple — friends save their hometown from a disaster!

3. So what?

[newintown]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 12:21pm

No matter what one thinks of the show (and "who cares?" is my opinion), the reviews were not "unanimously positive."

Brantley (the only reviewer who might significantly affect ticket sales) wrote "...you will probably adore this musical if: a) “SpongeBob” was a formative influence of your childhood; b) you are a stoner who tokes up to watch reruns of the show on YouTube; or c) if you are a parent of “SpongeBob”-bingeing progeny and found its sensibility crept into, and wallpapered, your weary mind. If you are none of the above, you will find your patience sorely tested."

That quote alone would qualify his notice as mixed, at best.

Updated On: 2/13/18 at 12:21 PM

[markypoo]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 12:24pm

So what?

is a generic term used most often when the user finds his or her self utterly defenseless.

[BeadleDeedle]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 12:34pm

Well, that quote alone might qualify as “mixed at best” but it would be disingenuous to base the entire review on that segment.Brantley had many positive things to say and clearly had a good time. Showscore has Brantley’s review listed at a 70. For the show overall they have 79% of critic reviews listed as positive, 19% as mixed, and only 2% as negative. Now we can quibble over my use of “almost unanimously positive” and Showscore as a resource, but based on my reading of the major reviews I’m comfortable standing by it.

[Lot666]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 12:39pm

markypoo said: "So what?

is a generic term used most often when the user finds his or her self utterly defenseless."

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 12:42pm

markypoo said: "So what?

is a generic term used most often when the user finds his or her self utterly defenseless."

I did literally mean "so what."

The costumes in this show sketch out the characters enough for me to enjoy — they're not literal, and that's fine. This isn't a theme park (depending on your definition of the phrase). I've seen maybe half of one episode of SpongeBob, but as I am a functioning American human being who absorbs American pop culture, the costumes were close enough that I knew who was who.

Does that longer version of "so what" satisfy you?

[newintown]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 12:50pm

"Well, that quote alone might qualify as “mixed at best” but it would be disingenuous to base the entire review on that segment. Brantley had many positive things to say and clearly had a good time. Showscore [sic] has Brantley’s review listed at a 70."

"Mixed" is not "positive" - you wrote that the reviews were "unanimously positive," which is provably wrong.

And Show-Score is an idiotic site run by idiots, not science.

[markypoo]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 12:52pm

It doesn't; but I'm immensely flattered that you've turned the quest for my potential satisfaction into a major priority of yours.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 12:55pm

Great! You've conflated my ability to type a lot in a short amount of time with "priority," but have a blessed bikini bottom day!

[markypoo]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 1:01pm

As applied to Spongebob,

ROCK BOTTOM DAY

would be far more appropriate.

[BeadleDeedle]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 1:09pm

Well I wrote “almost unanimously positive” not just unanimously, but you knew that. My reading of the reviews are that they are mostly positive. Even the reviews that lean mixed still come across much more positive than not. But there is no science to grading reviews as you imply, so let’s not be idiots and just agree to disagree

[haterobics]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 1:16pm

markypoo said: "2) I literally defy anyone to explain its plot to me in anything slightly resembling coherency"

A volcano is about to destroy Bikini Bottom, so they try to save their town by dropping a device into the volcano to prevent it from going off?! Pretty easy.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 2:04pm

Islander_fan said: "Maybe someone with better understanding than I can answer this for me. Considering that the score of the show is done by various pop artists contributing a song, could the royalties on that be part of why the show is struggling financially?"

While the song royalties contribute to the shows weekly running costs, the show is not selling. Just a quick look at Ticketmaster shows that the house is only about half-sold. The show's producers should lower ticket prices across the boar, not just offer a discount.

 

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 2:32pm

I thought the show was a mildly pleasant mess.  Sure, the main volcano plot is rather basic, but the ridiculous subplots littered everywhere were nothing more than distractions in order to shoehorn as many familiar characters into the show as possible.  I went in looking forward to the show and left disappointed.  I'll enjoy listening to a few of the songs from the score, but it's not a show that's going to stick with me in any significant way.  Judging from the sales from the Chicago tryout and currently on Broadway, the show just wasn't good enough to generate the buzz needed to push the show beyond the stereotypical expectations of a theme park kiddie show, which was its biggest obstacle to defeat from the start.  And it sounds as if there were no significant changes after the Chicago run, which fizzled out pretty quickly.

[haterobics]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 2:37pm

Mister Matt said: "the Chicago run, which fizzled out pretty quickly."

Wasn't it a limited pre-Broadway out of town tryout?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 3:17pm

Yes, but after the subscriber dates ran out, attendance dropped considerably and discounts were everywhere.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 4:23pm

I just wanted more wow moments. The build out of the set was fun, but other than that there wasn’t much going on design wise. I would have loved a giant pineapple house or something like that. Or the build out of the theater to have extended on stage in more massive way.

[BuddyStarr]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 4:39pm

I had really low expectations going in to see the show last week especially from the comments on this board.  i also have to lower my expectations because of all the children that were going to see it.

My expectations were not exceeded.  The children in the theatre behaved better than the adults.  There was a group in the rear center orchestra that kept screaming out throughout the show.  i wasn't sure if they were cast members or groupies but they were pretty obnoxious.  

I didn't the set was all that after hearing about the "build out" and the music was unmemorable.  The cast does work it's @ss off and SpongeBob must be exhausted after that show.  He was very good, but still a little creepy.  I thought the direction was very creative and I especially like the number with the sponges and black lights.  We thought about leaving at intermission but my husband knows I hate to do that even though we got TDF tickets.  We both thought the show was more suited for a themepark setting however and not a theatre on Bway.

[TFMH18]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 5:28pm

FWIW, I also think the show really suffers being at the Palace. If it were at one of the smaller more intimate houses, I think the artistry would be far more prevalent. But because it is in this cavermous, massive house, it much more easily lends itself to carnival-like. (I for the record adored the show and am bummed to see it struggling so.) 

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 6:47pm

My daughters have tickets for the show on June 17th, hope it makes it !!

[Gink]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 7:58pm

I  rolled my eyes when this was announced--my late teen daughter and I saw it a few weeks ago and we will see it again--loved it. She is a big Sponge Bob fan--me not so much. I find the cartoon grating, but loved this show. 

 

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 8:04pm

TFMH18 said: "FWIW, I also think the show really suffers being at the Palace. If it were at one of the smaller more intimate houses, I think the artistry would be far more prevalent. But because it is in this cavermous, massive house, it much more easily lends itself to carnival-like. (I for the record adored the show and am bummed to see it struggling so.)"

 

There is no way they would have booked this show in a small house. That makes absolutely no sense. It's a huge show and was designed that way.

I agree with the post that this "product" will clean up when it is released for schools, but the Broadway version will lose a lot of money, which the producers can certainly afford.

 

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 8:06pm

enjoyed it when I saw it in Chiacgo, looking forward to seeing it again in a few weeks. 

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 10:32pm

Deep pockets or not, I cant fathom producers being ok with losing money. The show tanked in the summer in Chicago (on Goldstar daily) and theatre half empty when I saw it. No idea what led investors to think that NYC would be any different. 

It might do fine on the road, but it will be going into houses with big subscription bases. Still, no one will be making any money on this one. 

They overestimated the interest. Let's take a show from Chicago where it tanked to NYC where it tanked and run it for months while losing money, so grammar schools can perform it. Sounds like a brilliant business plan. 

[binau]

Posted: 2/13/18 at 10:41pm

Mmm, I can't imagine them spending this amount of money if the main goal was just to have schools perform it afterwards. To me, it really looks like they (perhaps overly ambitiously) thought this show was going to be a mega-hit like The Lion King or Wicked. It did seem to absolutely tank in Chicago, but I'm guessing the producers thought there would be more of a market for it in NYC (e.g., more tourists). And the show itself has its moments - so I imagine those close to the show thought it'd be a good crowd pleaser. But yes, they seem to have been mistaken. Given sales have been slow from the very start (i.e., before the moment people even walked through the door) it does make me feel that the market for this show just isn't there. At least, not in a way that is financially sustainable in live theatre today. ESPECIALLY at this time of year.

Updated On: 2/13/18 at 10:41 PM