WIW - disbelief & ticked off

[chernjam]

Posted: 2/4/06 at 3:26pm

OK - if there's other threads that are ranting like this, I'm sorry for the duplicate, but I've been thinking about this since last night. What the heck is going on here?

First off, sure, the grosses are off from pre-January, but with the break even point in the $450/$500,000 range, it wasn't that bad.

Second, yes the cast has been hit with tons of illnesses, yet it was still holding it's own.

I realize we don't know what the advance was, and that things could have gone from bad to worse.

The one thing that I'm worried about is perhaps Friedman is in worse shape than is being reported and might not be able to return after her announced medical leave. God I hope that's not it.

But - if it's not that, then the producers have only themselves to blame for this failure. There advertising, marketing, promotion has been next to nothing as compared with all the other shows - even hold overs from previous seasons. I love ALW's shows - and really loved WIW, but it's obvious he and his associates haven't caught up with the fact that Broadway has changed a great deal since Sunset Blvd. where his and "Smokey Joe's Cafe" where the only two new musicals that season. Competition is fierce, there's a couple of smash hits playing, and to establish itself, a show needs a Cameron Mackintosh helping it to build a buzz.

Just some of my random thoughts

Jim

[Kevinoes]

Posted: 2/4/06 at 3:34pm

It's simple to say that it was just a very poor show. Sorry, I know that a lot of people liked it. It was very mediocre. Bad advance, bad word of mouth, bad circumstances with illness, poor marketing, and a bad score.

[wherethehorizonlies]

Posted: 2/4/06 at 3:59pm

i can't believe that one of their reasons was sickness - that's crap...maria friedman gets props for continuing to work as much as she can and i don't know what's up with michael but it surely isn't his fault

i mean, i'm not a fan of the show by any means (although Lammastide is an interesting number)but don't blame the closing on maria and michael

[BSoBW3]

Posted: 2/4/06 at 4:27pm

No, you can't blame them.

Although when I went to pick up my tickets at will call, I saw some people trying to get money back for Michael being out.

In the theatre, I explained to a bunch of differnet people why Michael was out. Many were upset he wasn't there.

But the producers can't blame the actors. After all, they hired the actors.

I am in PA right now, and about 3-4 a night I see a WiW commerical. Not the video game one. The one with "I Believe My Heart." I remember seeing the commercials in NY, too.

(The same with DRACULA, btw.)

I think they have been trying too much to use ALW's name.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/4/06 at 4:52pm

If the weekly running cost was, in fact, $450,000 - 500,000, the show would not be closing, because with the exception of Xmas week, show has grossed a lot more than that every week of its run thus far (it grossed $930K the week after Xmas and that was will only 77% attendance -- if this show was a sold out hit, it would be grossing over $1.2 million/week). Shows that are making a solid profit every week don't put up closing notices. EVER.

It is my understanding that the show's weekly nut is in the $600,000 - 650,000 range (I've even seen $680K as the quoted figure, which I could totally believe). I would bet that figure is correct because that would mean it's lost money every week since New Years and that (along with having no advance) would completely explain why the producers decided to pull the plug.

[RYANWOODS]

Posted: 2/4/06 at 5:02pm

It just wasnt selling and was doing poor, i think the casting illness was probably just the final nail in the coffin that is The Woman In White.

[chernjam]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 10:44am

Margo - I've never seen the 600,000 + figure quoted. I'd be pretty surprised if that were the case. Sunset's nut was around 600/650,000 a week which is why after two and ahalf years it returned 85% of it's investment.

I realize it's 12 years later, but I figured that one of the reasons they did the projections was that the start up costs might have been more expensive, but the weekly running costs were smaller.

I guess it doesn't matter since it's closing. It does bother me that the producers seem to be pinning the fault on illnesses. I just hope that Friedman's going to be okay. When they blamed the closing on the "illness" factor, my first thought was that Maria might not be able to come back after 6 weeks and that Judy Kuhn couldn't stay longer...

Really bizarre happenings though.

Jim

[Gpvegas]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 10:59am

I have to say, I am not surprised. The show really was not that good. 4 of us saw the saw, all with pretty much different tastes. None of us would recommend the show. No word of mouth, no real positive reviews, understudies galore = show closing.

[AlmostFamous]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 11:29am

Is it gonna tour Updated On: 2/15/06 at 11:29 AM

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 11:39am

They'll probably have a cast party and take ages. And I don't blame them. It's going to be tough for that cast after putting so much work in and closing so quickly.

[AlmostFamous]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 1:02pm

hmm I think I will wait before hand then, anyone know what time I should arrive if the show starts at 3

[AlmostFamous]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 1:02pm

ughhh Double post! Updated On: 2/7/06 at 01:02 PM

[jv92]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 1:08pm

Andrew Lloyd Webber isn't a particulary good composer. Hopefully, this may stop his medicore crap from being produced. With the exception of "Evita", he is far from good.

[jimmirae]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 1:14pm

ALW is loosing whatever he had.

[jv92]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 1:33pm

Maybe "Evita" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" were all he had, because that is the only pieces by ALW I actually enjoy. "Evita" however, if performed the way it was written (1976 album) is not as good as the West End and Broadway productions.

[jem2]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 1:36pm

Actually I am one of those who really likes this score. The production was not all it could be (one thing that "pops" (pun intended!) to mind is the ending with the gravestone) and the libretto was a bit dodgy sometimes with some of the rhymes. But I think overall the score is stirring and very good, one of ALW's best, and I do listen to the OCR quite a bit.

The saving grace for this show was the excellent cast. They almost, but not quite, were able to make up for the shortfalls elsewhere. I feel for all of them and wish them well in all future roles.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 1:37pm

This show was too good to close this early. How unexpected? Especially after all of the recent cast announcmenets.

[jv92]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 1:40pm

Well, with ever success (Phantom's good *cough* news) comes a flop (WIW).

[chernjam]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 2:01pm

jv92 - thanks for saying what I was getting ready to post. To say ALW is a "crap" composer is just not being intellectually honest.

Art is subjective, so if you hate it, that's fine. But to say he's a crap composer where he has the longest running musical on Broadway overtaking one of his other show's, demonstrates that he has talent. "Cats" was not something I enjoyed that much, but I respect the creativity that made it the phenom it was. Aspects of Love and Sunset Blvd remain two of my favorite all time ALW shows, but I can see why some people dislike them

Woman in White was, in my opinion, a very sophisticated work. The story, while much maligned by some, was one in which you had to pay attention to in order to follow all the ins and outs. The music, as is the case with many of ALW's shows followed suit. Very intricate, and sophisticated. "Trying Not to Notice" and "All for Laura" are two of his most haunting melodies.

It saddens me that a new, original, work like this is being cleared out and what's opening soon - another "Jukebox" musical. VIVA LAS VEGAS I suppose, for it seems that's what Broadway is becoming.

As much as I'm not a fan of Sweeney Todd, I hope it does continue to run, just so a legitimate Broadway muscial does well.

[Broadway_Life_101]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 2:20pm

Okay, i have tickets as well for the closing performance and i wanted to know if the cast does come out at the end of the show? I saw the closing performance of Little Women and they all came out except Ms. McGovern. So i don't really know; does anyone have some incite on it?

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 2:24pm

I can't imagine that they wouldn't...

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 2:29pm

I don't think Andrew Lloyd Webber is losing his talent. I think he is trying to be original. And some people just won't give a chance to any show they are not familiar with. I enjoyed "The Woman in White" more than i enjoyed "The Phantom of the Opera."

[phantom8019]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 2:31pm

ALW is as good a composer as he ever was. If you always hated him, then that's great. There's a lot of stuff I don't like (hate being such a strong word) but I don't feel the need to be bitter and tell the people who enjoy those things that I dislike them.

I like ALW and all of his shows. It's a real shame because some of his best scores (Woman in White, Whistle Down the Wind) have just been ignored. It's not that the critics are cruel to him as they are to Frank Wildhorn; it's that they don't even care any more. To them it's the same old, same old. Even the bad reviews usually praise one or two of his songs.

Bottom line is he is a good composer and this was a good show. However, he really needs to find a better lyricist and realize that Broadway right now is leaning toward the musical comedy.

Just how many hit big-budget melodramas have there been in the past three years?

[EganFan2]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 2:56pm

Personally, I think in part people were expecting another Phantom of the Opera. Especially since that show has experienced a box office lift due to the film. As there is no tormented Phantom to cry their eyes out over, the box office suffered.
Updated On: 2/5/06 at 02:56 PM

[Piazzaslight]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 5:29pm

I feel that the reason this show flopped on Broadway (NOOO!!!) was that the story itself was not known to Americans very well. It's a very British story, and it felt in the territory more in where it originated, in London. I am the only person I know who has seen the show, and/or read the book. I feel so alone like that. But, that's getting OT. It had bad marketing, a composer that's talented, but I must say that he's passe, with only PHANTOM holding him up, and a story that isn't very familiar amongst Americans.

Updated On: 2/5/06 at 05:29 PM