HERCULES to Play the Public Theatre this summer!!- Page 12

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 12:19pm

for anyone there last night was there merch?

[sorano916]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 12:38pm

LightsOut90 said: "for anyone there last night was there merch?"

There is none for purchase. 

Updated On: 9/1/19 at 12:38 PM

[VotePeron]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 1:36pm

All standby lottery tickets are tickets that are not picked up by people who won them via the TodayTix lottery, thus all seating locations will be random.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 2:27pm

VotePeron said: "All standby lottery tickets are tickets that are not picked up by people who won them via the TodayTix lottery, thus all seating locations will be random. "

 

Well, that’s not entirely true. The TodayTix deadline is 7:30, but they already had a sizeable stack of tickets to give away starting at 7:10. They also gave out unclaimed staff tickets. We knew because were being very transparent throughout the whole process, which was refreshing. 

But anyway, your main point is correct, which is that the seating is indeed random. 

[BritCrit]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 5:25pm

Thoughts on these first look photos?

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Flash-Bless-My-Soul-Get-a-First-Look-at-The-Public-Theaters-HERCULES-20190901

This essentailly looks like a gigantic high school production, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It does confirm that licensing would be a more fruitful route for this production (should Disney Theatrical choose to continue developing it after the Public Works run ends) than Broadway...

Updated On: 9/1/19 at 05:25 PM

[oldfriends]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 6:08pm

So how does the lotto work? Once you hear your lotto number called, you go up and give them your ticket and then they give you your pair of tickets? Or do you need to verify with your Patron ID? My wife and I are waiting, and we got our two tickets mixed up - we don’t know which Patron ID belongs to which lotto number. Are we screwed?

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 6:50pm

I think everyone looks great for the most part. Not impressed by Meg’s costume looking cheap. But this is Disney’s first attempt in doing Hercules, so it’s not bad for this.

Updated On: 9/1/19 at 06:50 PM

[sorano916]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 6:59pm

disneybroadwayfan22 said: "I think everyone looks great for the most part. Not impressed by Meg’s costume looking cheap. But this is Disney’s first attempt in doing Hercules, so it’s not bad for this."

You have to stop thinking this as "Disney's Hercules". This is Public Works' Hercules. 

Here, watch this video. It will explain more about Public Works and how it connects to Hercules:
https://youtu.be/-7IWFWDUcmk

[CarmenA3]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 7:03pm

oldfriends said: "So how does the lotto work? Once you hear your lotto number called, you go up and give them your ticket and then they give you your pair of tickets? Or do you need to verify with your Patron ID? My wife and I are waiting, and we got our two tickets mixed up - we don’t know which Patron ID belongs to which lotto number. Are we screwed?"

You’ll be fine - just let them know your tickets got mixed up. I got here just before the cutoff, so they just wrote the number of tickets requested on my ticket.

[Dolly80]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 8:10pm

Wow the photos look bad. I’ll give this one a miss.

[VotePeron]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 8:32pm

It looks exactly like the other Public Works productions, which I’ve adored most of.

However, they did Krysta dirty with that costume. It just looks so cheap, like even below their typical community-theatre vibe. Maybe they’ll change it for next weekend?

If anything, glad this is getting folks talking about Public Works. One of the best initiatives any theater in nyc is doing currently.

[NYfanfromCA]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 8:47pm

JBroadway said: "I showed up around 6:00, entered, then left to get dinner, and got back around 6:55. They told us the drawing would start at 7:10 (rather than the 7:30 that was originally stated on the Public website) - and they did start right at 7:10, even though everyone was already gathered in anticipation at 7:00 :) .

Like all Delacorte distributions, the seating is random. Winning earlier in the drawing does not mean getting a better seat.The only thing they do tell you is whether or not the seats will be together. After they gave away the pairs, they told us going forward that the seats would not be together (but you could still get two if you won). Later, I think they got more pairs in.

There are no bad seats in the Delacorte!"

Thanks for the info!  I think I will try on Saturday night and see how it goes!

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 8:51pm

I pretty much agree with JBroadway's assessment. I had a really fun time but I can't remember any of the songs (I've never seen the film so there was no nostalgia factor for me, for what it's worth). The puppets were so much fun, though the first thing I thought of was that one looked a lot like the Green Goblin. The cast is strong; the community ensemble is charming and it's a lot of fun, if a little unbalanced in that the conflict seems muddy and is resolved fairly late in the show.

[BJR]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 8:54pm

sorano916 said: "You have to stop thinking this as "Disney's Hercules". This is Public Works' Hercules.

Here, watch this video. It will explain more about Public Works and how it connects to Hercules:
https://youtu.be/-7IWFWDUcmk"

THIS. It's wild how folks don't understand this. It's 120 community performers and non-performers, and including just 9 professional (some even Tony Award-winning) actors, doing Hercules.

Lear deBessonet has said she pitched this as a Public Works show. And Laurie Woolery has even discussed how the adaptation is based on Public Works values (I won't spoil it but it's reflected in the names of the titans and how the battle is won).

At every step, this was how it was conceived. If Disney decides to develop it further, who knows which direction they'll go. But this is a Public Works adaptation.

[qqmill]

Posted: 9/2/19 at 2:23am

I won the standby lottery tonight and had an amazing time! I wrote up a trip report, some tips, and my thoughts on the show via blog post, but here is the tl;dr for everyone looking to do the standby lottery: 

TL;DR 

*When you arrive before 7pm, you get in line and the lottery folks take your Patron ID and write it down on this raffle ticket. The line is not too crazy, it took us about 5-10 minutes on both days. They rip off the portion they wrote on and throw it right into the lottery basket/cage thing (what is this called?), then hand you the stub. The stub has a 7-digit number. This is the number they call out, not your Patron ID. 

*Expect upwards of 1,000 entrants vying for 200 pairs of tickets. The number of entrants will likely increase as the last performance creeps closer and people return from their Labor Day trips/can no longer procrastinate, so it's probably best to go early or block out time to go to multiple drawings to give yourself as many chances as possible. 

*Based on our opening night experience, the first 85 pairs are dedicated standby lottery tickets; then there are a batch of 60 unclaimed TodayTix pairs; then a bunch of random pairs consisting of single tickets not seated together (probably staff and unclaimed member tickets). I counted about 200 total pairs. 

*When you win, you hand the staff member your ticket. They do a quick check to confirm the stub number matches the chosen raffle number, then boom, hand you the two show tickets. 

*They start at 7:10pm and go right up until the end of the curtain speech, which is at about 8:15PM. We saw lottery winners hurrying in right around this time during the show. 

*As about the 60th pair called on Day 2, we got seats in Row X, Section M, 905 and 906. Literally the last row all the way in the back in the far left section (not the furthest left but one section away) but we still had a solid view of the stage - really no bad seats in the theatre. We saw later lottery winners (so we think) get tickets further to the front since those "unclaimed" tickets probably have better seats, so that's one benefit to being called late :)

Updated On: 9/2/19 at 02:23 AM

[mpkie]

Posted: 9/2/19 at 5:21am

People are only posting about winning so here's the flip side.

How lucky do you feel? Be prepared to lose. I was prepared to do just that (we ended up deciding on a late dinner after) but it was still disheartening. Losing means spending an hour of your time concentrating very hard and listening to Not Your Number. I wouldn't have done it without company because it feels extra sad to lose alone lol. It was extra not-fun when it got dark because then you've already been standing attentive for 40+ min and are now squinting at an illegible ticket. The weather was nice so it could have been worse.

I was thinking how amazing it would be if they were able to digitize the standby lottery. My fantasy idea was you check in physically to enter via their touchpads, and then a digital draw at 7:10 for their non-lotto batch, then a second one at 7:30 for the unclaimed lotto, winners have no more than 15 min to claim online, all winners can queue up, and then the online system easily confirms you're a winner to pick up tickets. Immediately re-lotto unclaimed digitally. And everyone who lost can save themselves 50 minutes to get on with their lives, plus none of the winners have to miss curtain.

Anyway, congratulations to everyone who has been able to get tix and congratulations in advance to anyone who wins the standby lotto. It sounded amazing for the few minutes we were there after it started. A bummer, but life goes on!

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 9/2/19 at 8:15am

So I’m aware that Hercules is being produced by Public Theatre with little involvement from Disney. But I still do count it as a Disney show because I’m assuming Disney did the book and the development of the show. And of course, Disney is going to be in charge of the licensing. So to me, it is technically a Disney show.

I loved the hell out of this show! I haven’t smiled this hard and had so much fun since Spongebob. It is defientely campy, but the style actually works pretty well as the movie was very loose in comedy and pop culture. The show does get cringe-worthy sometimes with the “hipness” (The Muses saying there’s the tea to spill, Hercules doing the wobble), but some of the hipness did get huge laughs from me. The puppets for the Titans were really well done and beautiful to look at.

Jelani was so adorable and like others have said, charming. He is also very vulnerable with really strong emotions. Krysta was really a spot-on Meg. She’s not a Susan Egan impression like someone has said, but she does keep the rough and sarcastic core. The audience went wild as soon as she sang the first two notes of IWSTIL. Can’t wait to hear her again at the Broadway Princess Party next month. James was also a great choice for Phil. He is just as heartfelt and sincere as he was in Aladdin. And he loved it when people at the stagedoor mentioned the Genie. But Roger was the real highlight as Hades. He is as funny, dry and crazy as you ever hoped and more. His entrance is absolutely the best too! He sold the new solo so well! The other standout was the hysterical little girl as a Fate (she was IN it!) and she outshined the two others by far.

I loved the new music. Hades’ “Cool Day in Hell,” Meg’s “Forget About It” and Hercules’s solo at the end were my favorite. I loved the expanded opening Gospel Truth and Go the Distance. I hope we at least get a cast album.

I really hope to God that they’ll transfer to Broadway and I actually just heard from a extremely reliable source of mine that they are in fact thinking about it, but there are some concerns about three Disney shows at once. Either way, there will be life for this. The book is ready to go for HERCULES Jr., particularly for the final monster fight, which was very very cheesy, but works okay for productions like this. If the transfer is successful, they defientely need to re-write it completely and make Hercules more stronger with the monsters in general. I’m just so damn glad that I saw the show and I hope it gets the life it deserves afterwards. It’s cute and such a fun night out. If Central Park wasn’t such a pain to leave at night, I would try for closing night.

Updated On: 9/2/19 at 08:15 AM

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 9/2/19 at 9:49am

It’s an absolutely fabulous Public Works production, but there is no way Disney is putting this production up as 4th show on Broadway.

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 9/2/19 at 9:55am

Lavieboheme3090 said: "It’s an absolutely fabulous Public Works production, but there is no way Disney is putting this production up as 4th show on Broadway."

Yeah, according to my source, that’s one of the main concerns right now. They would have to close Aladdin or Frozen to open this.

[CarmenA3]

Posted: 9/2/19 at 10:29am

mpkie said: "People are only posting about winning so here's the flip side.”

I was there last night as well and didn’t win either, but my only dislike was having to stand as long as we did. I thought it was very well executed- I’m still amazed how 1,000 people stayed silent for an hour+ LOL.

As far as it getting dark, even they made a joke about it. By 40 min in, I knew my number by heart, did you really need light? 

Digitizing would be neat but would not work as you described. They couldn’t have just 2-3 drawings. It would have to be rolling drawings as they were bringing down tickets in batches up until last minute (and beyond). That’s after you pay to build that standby app/website to register/enter plus a notification system plus equipment for that onsite signup. 

I got to the line 10 mins before it closed, and they didn’t even take my Patron ID. To move the line along, they just asked for the number of tickets we wanted.

I’ll be trying again and just need 1 ticket if anyone wants to pair up.

[(Insert Clever Name)]

Posted: 9/2/19 at 10:51am

so we went as a group of four people. we requested 2 tickets each & got four raffle tickets. we were hoping to get all four in but only one once, so i went in with a friend. we won early in the draw, around 7:18, & got seats that were all the way to the right (on the ending aisle) in the back. a girl around us won around 7:50 & hear seat was third row center. i think the earlier you win worse seat you get. i know it’s random but that’s what it seemed to be. my theory is it’s because the later tickets are ones not picked up by patrons & donors.

[Hamilfan2]

Posted: 9/2/19 at 11:28am

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but this show will not transfer to Broadway.  At least not this production, as others have mentioned this is a Public Works production, not a Disney Theatricals production.  If Disney does want to continue with a stage adaptation of Hercules, which is very possible given how popular this Public Works production has been, they will go back to the drawing board and develop one themselves.  It won’t be 90 minutes no intermission, it won’t have a 100 person cast, and it will have a completely different ending.  But as for this production, it is a one and done Public Works production.  We may get a cast recording, but that is the only chance we have at this production living on in any way.

[Kad]

Posted: 9/2/19 at 12:05pm

This was created and developed by the Public specifically to be this community engagement production. What will happen with the property itself after this closes this week is certainly anyone’s guess- but this production, by design, cannot become a commercial transfer.

People on this board really need to shake themselves of “the point of all theatre is to get to Broadway” mindset.

[mpkie]

Posted: 9/2/19 at 1:54pm

CarmenA3 said: "I was there last night as well and didn’t win either, but my only dislike was having to stand as long as we did. I thought it was very well executed- I’m still amazed how 1,000 people stayed silent for an hour+ LOL.

As far as it getting dark, even they made a joke about it. By 40 min in,I knew my number by heart, did you really need light?"

Hah! Seems like you and I are showing at the same places at the same time. First Betrayal now this. 

Definitely, I was losing concentration staring at both our tickets (I had both, friend's hands were full and wasn't feeling well from hunger). Since I had to listen for either set of numbers having light helped to follow them. Standing so quiet for an hour really sucked. Instant losing beats out drawn-out losing . You couldn't sit, chat, eat, or mess about on your phone, just entirely beholden to the raffle.

Digitizing this is a fantasy, I don't expect it given how long it took for digital lotteries to even become a thing. It would work well, just that no one has coded it exactly for this, and this is a once in a blue moon need, so of course it doesn't exist. As a lotto for standby, doing it digitally would actually be true to their website verbiage (gain a spot in the standby line, not a ticket), so whether the batch is at 7:30 or after 7:30 doesn't even matter.

Good luck! I hope you win!

[BritCrit]

Posted: 9/2/19 at 2:20pm

Hamilfan2 said: "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but this show will not transfer to Broadway. At least not this production, as others have mentioned this is a Public Works production, not a Disney Theatricals production. If Disney does want to continue with a stage adaptation of Hercules, which is very possible given how popular this Public Works production has been, they will go back to the drawing board and develop one themselves. It won’t be 90 minutes no intermission, it won’t have a 100 person cast, and it will have a completely different ending. But as for this production, it is a one and done Public Works production. We may get a cast recording, but that is the only chance we have at this production living on in any way."

I agree. Even if we don't get a cast recording, it would be nice to see the cast members share covers of the songs on Youtube. Licensing would be far better for this production than Broadway. 

In addition, I'm not sure about Hercules' prospects on Broadway. There is a tonne of difference between a free musical running for nine days, and a Broadway extravaganza which will have to last for months to be considered a success. The fact that Aladdin and Frozen are blocking any route to Broadway illustrates the issue. In comparison to those two major brands, Hercules is merely a cult favourite, and I think that (despite Aladdin's age and Frozen's relatively underwhelming performance) Disney Theatrical might decide that letting those two run at their 1,700 seat theatres would be a safer bet than taking a chance on Hercules, even if it for a limited run a la the forthcoming run for The Lightning Thief...