Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 12/30/18- Page 2

[Wick3]

Posted: 1/3/19 at 12:54am

Patti LuPone FANatic said: "$1,247,277 ! Great grosses for Chicago this particular week. Looking at the grosses, I am saddened that "Torch Song" figures weren't higher. I really enjoyed the play when I saw it."

I enjoyed Torch Song too and have my ticket for its final performance on Sunday.

 

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 1/3/19 at 1:24am

Wick3 said: "I enjoyed Torch Song too and have myticket for itsfinal performance on Sunday."

i hope I make it. Oklahoma is getting winter weather including snow tomorrow night on top of the ice we’re already getting. Hoping my flight out of here doesn’t get cancelled Friday morning. 

 

[haterobics]

Posted: 1/3/19 at 8:34am

dramamama611 said: "Most shows increase ticket prices for the holiday week. Ridiculous, isnt it?"

Why would it be ridiculous for them to increase prices when there is increased tourism, no schools, and everyone is on holidays?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/3/19 at 9:12am

Oh, not ridiculous on THEIR end....I understand the whole supply & demand thing, (Which is why I seldom go to NY during the holidays.)  I was thinking about "us".  An additional MILLION is just insane.

[Up In One]

Posted: 1/3/19 at 10:01am

The holidays are always big tourist and family weeks. Im kinda shocked Pretty Woman wasnt further up on the list. But I have been noticing its grosses getting lower. I would have thought Pretty Woman would have been higher on holiday celebration lists.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 1/3/19 at 10:22am

Yes these numbers are really good but like we all know they will be pretty depressing for a bunch of these shows in the next couple of weeks.

[haterobics]

Posted: 1/3/19 at 10:36am

dramamama611 said: "Oh, not ridiculous on THEIR end....I understand the whole supply & demand thing, (Which is why I seldom go to NY during the holidays.)I was thinking about "us". An additional MILLION is just insane."

Yeah, I caught four shows in mid-December, but had the whole holiday week off. Everyone was surprised I wasn't going to NYC to see something during that time, but I was like... hell no, I'll wait until they need money again.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/3/19 at 11:29am

Not to mention the crowds.  I was in NYC for a wedding on 12/29 and was stunned by the crowds in Times Square.  For the first time ever, I actually felt a little 'Day of the Locusts' unsafe.  I concluded that I will NEVER go to a Broadway show during Christmas week.  Just not worth it ands you said, they aren't going tombs my dollars that week.

Couple of things to add:

-- If I were an investor in Cher, I would be worrying.  Yes, it grossed $1.3MM, but it was Christmas week with inflated prices, their average price was actually on the low side (which leads me to surmise that there were a lot of discounted tickets) AND it still only hit 90% of capacity.  This on Christmas week for a new musical that received a lot of publicity.  Labor Day week-end??

-- Don't know what its weekly nut is, but Chicago just had its highest grossing year EVER.  That is pretty amazing, even with inflated ticket prices.  Anyone know what their nut is??

-- I would imagine that we won't see a Christmas special starring people from American Idol or The Voice or America's Got Talent next year.  What a shame.

-- It hasn't done gangbusters, but I am still surprised that Waverly Gallery has grossed an average of around $425K a week.  Disappointed that it won't result in a profitable run, but it did better than I expected.

-- There must be a lesson from Torch Song's abysmal grosses.  Damned if I can figure out what it is, other than Arnold needing to be played by a box office attraction???

[HogansHero]

Posted: 1/3/19 at 11:46am

@Jarethan re Torch Song, I am puzzled too, but I went back to see it this past week and came up with an answer during intermission. (And this in addition to the previously rehearsed reasons: yours, the play competition with stars, the off-B run that attracted the cream of the target audience, the age, the burnout on gay  plays etc.) The line for the men's room was enormous, that for the women's room almost non-existent. Now we know that the conventional wisdom is that the two biggest demographics for a play on Broadway are gay men, and women of a certain age. The latter stayed away in droves and (as noted) the former (at least the part of the demographic for whom this is resonant) had already largely seen it. The brilliance of my observation notwithstanding, I think, as always, all of these facts conspired to do it in. 

[RWPrincess]

Posted: 1/3/19 at 11:53am

Jarethan said: "Not to mention the crowds. I was in NYC for a wedding on 12/29 and was stunned by the crowds in Times Square. For the first time ever, I actually felt a little 'Day of the Locusts' unsafe. I concluded that I will NEVER go to a Broadway show during Christmas week. Just not worth it ands you said, they aren't going tombs my dollars that week."

I was also in that day and at one point, I literally could not exit The Disney Store in Times Square. The crowds were insane.

That said, I was easily able to rush American Son that day arriving less than hour before the box office opened. I also noticed the rush lines for DEH and CFA and neither looked bad that day. I also ended up at TKTS when I missed the window to get a rush ticket for Summer. I paid $98 for an Orchestra site, same price my dad paid at the box office a few weeks ago. There definitely were some inflated prices on the TKTS board that day but not all seemed to be and some weren't as bad as expected. 

 

 

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 1/3/19 at 1:02pm

This is a dumb question re: Arnold needing a "name."

Am I just out of the loop, or was Cynthia Erivo not a "name" before she did Color Purple? She was touted above-the-title, won a Tony, etc....then she was in Bad Times at the El Royale and Widows. Was she always that well-known, or is Celie a different kind of role in that regard?

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 1/3/19 at 1:16pm

Ado Annie D'Ysquith said: "This is a dumb question re: Arnold needing a "name."

Am I just out of the loop, or was Cynthia Erivo not a "name" before she did Color Purple? She was touted above-the-title, won a Tony, etc....then she was in Bad Times at the El Royale and Widows. Was she always that well-known, or is Celie a different kind of role in that regard?"

Comparing the two productions is ignoring a few things. One, a musical will always be an easier sell on a Broadway stage than a play, with or without a name, since for many of the ticket buying tourists "Broadway" and "musical" are synonymous. So the success of a play mounted on Broadway is often more dependent on having a cast that will be able to entice those tourists away from the musicals.

The revival of The Color Purple was also a transfer of a highly acclaimed London production of the show that many over here had not seen yet, as opposed to this revival of Torch Song, which many of the local ticket buyers had seen just a year ago (I know it's anecdotal, but for both myself and a number of my friend we didn't feel the same urgency to try to fit this in to our schedules, and I can't believe we were the only ones in that situation). No offense to Urie, who I thoroughly admired when seeing it Off-Broadway, but if it had been recast with a new actor in the role for the transfer my interest may have been a bit more piqued to see what someone new could do with it.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 1/3/19 at 1:35pm

I think what you say is true but I'd just add that there are just not enough of "us" to see this show, regardless of how many times (within reason) we go back. When I first heard of this transfer, my reaction was that Jordan wanted to have it revived on Broadway, for Harvey and for Richie, and nothing else mattered.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 1/3/19 at 1:42pm

I always assumed the reason for the transfer was along those lines as well and that it was known the prospect of recoupment, let alone a huge payoff, was slim. I just wonder if it would have made it through the entirety of its limited run if the Off-Broadway run hadn't happened first (and that of course brings a whole other host of "what ifs" including whether it could have been revived without that first run at all)

[JudyDenmark]

Posted: 1/3/19 at 1:59pm

As a straight woman who tries to see every show that either interests me or has great buzz... I have to admit I originally had no interest in Torch Song. Honestly not sure why, other than that I'm just not a huge Harvey Fierstein fan. (It's irrational; I certainly respect his career.) I ended up seeing it because of all of the positive reviews on this board, and I'm really glad I did because I genuinely enjoyed it - I thought the performances were outstanding, especially Michael Urie! But even now I still don't feel like it was "for me." I'm 100% an LGBT ally, to be clear, and happily see shows regularly with gay themes, but for some reason this one in particular felt like it was intended specifically for a gay male audience who would personally connect with Arnold's story. 

It's kind of like me going to a gay bar... there are some that are more inclusive and welcoming to straight people where I can go with gay friends and have a great time, and some where I would feel wildly out of place, like I was intruding on someone else's safe space. Nothing wrong with either, it's just a different vibe. And Torch Song sort of felt like the theatrical equivalent of the latter, to me. (I am hoping that this doesn't come off offensive in any way - definitely not my intention!!)

HogansHero's comment about the bathroom lines is spot on.

Also, I work in Times Square... don't get me started on the Christmas crowds! Commuting in December is truly soul-crushing.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 1/3/19 at 2:20pm

@Judy I think the same lack of resonance also applies to gay men below a certain age. These are just not their stories to connect with. 

[haterobics]

Posted: 1/3/19 at 2:25pm

HogansHero said: "I think what you say is true but I'd just add that there are just not enough of "us" to see this show, regardless of how many times (within reason) we go back. When I first heard of this transfer, my reaction was that Jordan wanted to have it revived on Broadway, for Harvey and for Richie, and nothing else mattered."

I also think a lot of people went to see it Off-Broadway last season, in a smaller space, for a cheaper ticket (well, you could see the Broadway version pretty cheaply), so it just didn't have enough pull. I loved it, but didn't feel the need to go again. Of course, I'm trying to see less theater in general...

[SomethingPeculiar]

Posted: 1/3/19 at 3:13pm

Hogan's points re: TORCH SONG are spot-on. People had 11 weeks to see it Off-Broadway last year, and most of them probably didn't say "I NEED to see that again at a higher price!" The New York theatergoing crowd has also seen Urie a lot: he's done 7 Off-Broadway shows in ~8 years, so it wasn't the novelty of an Erivo "star is born" moment.


Ado Annie D'Ysquith said: "Am I just out of the loop, or was Cynthia Erivo not a "name" before she did Color Purple? She was touted above-the-title, won a Tony, etc...."

COLOR PURPLE was a very different situation. It was a "star is born" moment for Erivo, whereas Michael Urie has worked steadily in theatre/TV for 12 years. But remember, COLOR PURPLE wasn't a big commercial hit: it didn't announce recoupment, and it averaged about 68% gross potential over the course of its run. And as for the billing, Erivo got lucky since the second- and third-leads were more famous than her. The Tonys/awards season were also part of what anointed her.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 1/3/19 at 8:41pm

I can only speak for myself, but I'm a gay man "below a certain age," and I was really taken by Torch Song. If I had a better schedule, I'd love to see it again before it closes. I thought it was just marvelous all around. Not a huge Urie fan, but I thought he was great in the role. And I thought it was just a splendid production all around. I would have loved to have seen the original production and hate that we didn't get the full text. Guess I've got to go read it now. 

But that said, I'm not sure why it's not a bigger sell? Maybe it didn't have the "epic" nature of Angels to attract people who weren't initially interested? And I don't think Urie is much of a name outside of the theater community? Although he did sell "Buyer and Cellar" downtown for awhile. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 1/3/19 at 9:26pm

RippedMan said: "I can only speak for myself, but I'm a gay man "below a certain age," and I was really taken by Torch Song. If I had a better schedule, I'd love to see it again before it closes. I thought it was just marvelous all around. Not a huge Urie fan, but I thought he was great in the role. And I thought it was just a splendid production all around. I would have loved to have seen the original production and hate that we didn't get the full text. Guess I've got to go read it now.

But that said, I'm not sure why it's not a bigger sell? Maybe it didn't have the "epic" nature of Angels to attract people who weren't initially interested? And I don't think Urie is much of a name outside of the theater community? Although he did sell "Buyer and Cellar" downtown for awhile."

Interesting perspective although I think you fall in the "us" demographic I referred to earlier. Stereotypes notwithstanding, most gay men of any age don't pay attention to the theatre. And regarding Buyer and Cellar (and you could say the same about Torch Song at 2ST) those are off-B venues with far less seats than even the Hayes, and they were substantially able to sell them out. Note that at 3309 attendance last week, the show would have sold out at 2ST and sent a thousand people away disappointed. (Also: I went back to see the show at 2ST with a friend from out of town and paid more for my not-great tickets than I paid on Broadway. Welcome to theatre economics.)

 

[Impossible2]

Posted: 1/3/19 at 9:48pm

Did Angels really do that well on Broadway? When I went the theatre was only 3/4 full and there always seemed to be plenty of tickets available whenever I looked and it was on TKTS pretty much every performance.

I know BITB did really well, but with that cast anything would've been successful.

There's been a lot of 'gay' on Broadway last season, it had to catch up at some point.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 1/3/19 at 10:17pm

Not sure if Angels made any money, but it was also playing a gigantic theater, so its hard to say.

And I dont think gay on Broadway is a bad thing, but I think we are just seeing that non-celeb driven plays are a tough sell.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 1/3/19 at 11:26pm

well... there is one, but it's magic

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 1/4/19 at 12:29am

Though you could argue that despite being a fictional character, the title character is one of the biggest stars in the world.

[quizking101]

Posted: 1/4/19 at 7:12am

I speak also as a gay man under a certain age (24), and I have to say that while Arnolds story isnt necessarily a monolith of the gay experience, there is more universally to be found within the layers, such a finding your chosen family when you go out on your own, realizing your worth in the world when you feel the world hates you, and reconciling yourself against problematic family members.

I think the biggest issue that ultimately squelched TORCH SONGs success was that it just wasnt Star-driven event, which is a remarkably sad thing because I was able to watch the whole cast grow in their roles over three separate trips, and now I cannot imagine anyone else in those roles. (I personally want a Masterpiece Theatre recording of this.)