Vegas, a Broadway Bust?

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 5:09pm

Now that they have announced the closing of 'Ave Q', and (from what I was told by a little bird) 'Hairspray' is not pulling in an audience (As well as the fact that the producers have broken their contract with Marissa, it looks as though the whole 'Bring Broadway to Vegas' thing is failing miserably.

I wonder what the folks over at Phantom are thinking? It hasn't even opened yet.

Also, do you think that now 'Ave Q' is closing, will they try touring it?

[sanda]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 5:12pm

I think Phantom can make it there. Tourists know about Phantom. Nobody gives a damn about "Hairspray".

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 5:14pm

Hairspray is a VERY well loved show. So was Ave Q.

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 5:15pm

The Avenue Q tour has basically been announced by the producers.

I wouldn't write-off Vegas yet. Vegas is "Middle America" and the kind of shows that appeal to the heartland usually don't include gay puppets or men in drag. While SPAMALOT does have gay characters, it has built-in frat boy appeal.

[Calvin]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 5:17pm

How did We Will Rock You do out there? And Mamma Mia?

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 5:17pm

Phantom will do well there I think, but I don't see it running for 15+ years, but hey, who knows.

Hairspray is doing okay, much better than Avenue Q, but not as good as the producers would have hoped.

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 5:18pm

Mamma Mia! is doing just as good in Vegas as it is around the world.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 5:20pm

Broken their contract with Marissa? Since when was SHE supposed to do the Vegas production?

[hushpuppy]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 5:34pm

When will people realize that Las Vegas audiences just aren't interested in book musicals? People go to Las Vegas to gamble, drink, see naked showgirls, see television comics, and maybe see an over-the-hill former pop star (Barry Mannilow) or a moderately-talent singer in an over-produced nightclub act (Celine Dion). Book musicals like AVENUE Q and HAIRSPRAY require an audience to shut up and pay attention, something they obviously not willing to do.

SPAMALOT may survive as it is more of a sketch-comedy than a true book musicals. MAMMA MIA's plot is so inane it doesn't matter, but as for all that blather and hype about Las Vegas being the 'new Broadway' just isn't going to come true.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 5:43pm

Marissa was suppossed to join the show when STACKED was on hiatus. She was supposed to start rehearsals in two weeks.

And if the Vegas audience doesn't like guys in drag... Explain why La Cage and Boylesque have stayed open for many years?

[JustChillin8908]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 5:47pm

I wish Broadway shows would do better in Las Vegas

We Will Rock You obviously didn't do too well since it closed right? I heard it was good and planned on seeing it but then found out it closed about a week before I arrived.

[got-a-light]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 6:31pm

Marissa was supposed to join the show when STACKED was on hiatus. She was supposed to start rehearsals in two weeks?

What happened?

And I think Phantom will be a huge hit. It is going to be a completely reworked huge spectacle. Just what Vegas loves!

[alterego]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 6:38pm

What happened with WE WILL ROCK YOU? Did it die a sudden death?

And what about the Off Broadway type shows such as FORBIDDEN VEGAS,NUNSENSATIONS and MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL? Did they find an audience? Just curious.

I think, for the most part Las Vegas will just become another pit stop for touring shows.

[catstagestud]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 7:19pm

I actually got to see Ave Q last time I was in Vegas. It was enjoyable and though it wasn't sold out, (the orchestra was, but balcony had quite a few seats open) the audience seemed to be enjoying it. We Will Rock You was packed when I saw it in December 2004. Tickets were ridiculously expensive too, but the crowd went nuts during some of the songs. Ty Taylor as Britney Spears was one of the highlights of the show. His voice was amazing and the second I realized it was one of the men from Songs I got really excited. Mamma Mia sells like crazy every night at Mandalay Bay...I'm going to try to take a trip up to Vegas (maybe this weekend for like a day...could be fun. ) to see Hairspray...I hope Phantom does well, not that it's necessary for income in the city but I would love to be able to do a Broadway show in Vegas; I love the city and there's so much to do that's not on the strip too.

Cheers,

Christopher

[keatonbynumbers]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 7:37pm

I'm with hushpuppy. It's Vegas. They want spectacle upon spectacle. Q may have seemed crass enough to appeal to the average audience member in Vegas, but there may have just been too much plot. Not that Avenue Q has a complex plot or anything... but the fact remains that you need to pay more attention to it than you would for Mamma Mia or Spamalot.

I honestly don't know about Phantom. If I can't figure out why it's still on Broadway, I'm sure I won't be able to figure out how well it'll do in Vegas.

[Joshua488]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 7:53pm

I think The Phantom of the Opera will do well in Las Vegas. The fact that it will be a visual spectacle, paired with the fact that it is such a recognizable and well-known entity seems like a good combination. Neither Hairspray nor Avenue Q have the sort of international recognizability that Phantom has.

Same thing with Mamma Mia!; I think it is succeeding because ABBA and their music is so well-known throughout the world.
Updated On: 3/28/06 at 07:53 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 9:21pm

Vegas still beats a cruise ship.

[MrBundles]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 9:41pm

1. Mammia Mia is one of the most popular shows here.
2. We Will Rock You was just an awful show.
3. Hairspray IS doing very well.
4. Most people dont know Vegas has Broadway shows. They want spectacle and headliners. Nowhere else can you see the most expensive theatre in the world (Ka, where the entire stage moves, rotates and turns upside down), and nowhere else can you see Celine Dion and other headliners with shows like this. You can see musicals anywhere.
5. Also, Menopause is full every performance.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 9:48pm

is mamma mia a cut down version?

[alterego]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 9:59pm

So Nunsensations and Forbidden Vegas didn't take then? What is it about Menopause the musical that works (even in Vegas?).I would have thought Forbidden Vegas would have had appeal. Updated On: 3/28/06 at 09:59 PM

[JustChillin8908]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 10:12pm

I saw Mamma-Mia in Las Vegas in December and and actually enjoyed it. No, it is not a cut down version and is in fact the only broadway show currently in Vegas that is not cut down. (other than the soon to close Ave Q, or did they cut that down already?)
Updated On: 3/28/06 at 10:12 PM

[ALWrules]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 10:38pm

I don't think it is a coincidence that the one show not cut down (Mamma Mia) is doing well, and that all the hacked down shows are not doing well. If you want to bring theater to Las Vegas, you should retain it in its orginal form. Starlight Express was there for years, and it wasn't hacked down. Shows can be successful there if they are good shows. When you cut down a show like Phantom or Avenue Q you take away from the quality of entertainment, and in a town like Vegas, where there are a lot of great shows, you need to stay as high up in quality as possible to be able to do well.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 3/29/06 at 12:14am

Exactly. They need to stop cutting everything down. If i pay money to see a show, I'd wanna see the entire thing. Esp with sure fire hits like Hairspray and Phantom, obviously something about them worked, so keep it entact.

[TakeMeOrLeaveMe2]

Posted: 3/29/06 at 10:45am

I'd rather see Hairspray then Phantom anyday!!!! its so much fun n thats what people want there. Plus my boyfriends uncle is Edna in Vegas so its a better plus

[TonyBWay]

Posted: 3/29/06 at 12:17pm

This topic is not completely cut and dry--

Yes Vegas shows are a spectacle, and moreover they are an experience. It is about creating a moment for the audiences. Hence why shows like Cirque du Soleil do so well!

Avenue Q, unfortunately has limited appeal to an audience who would rather spend their money on shows like Cirque, if for nothing else but to have "bragging rights" when they go back home. It's all in the marketing. And it didn't help matters much, when Wynn Hotel & Casino was not drawing in the people it had expected. This is speaking for both the casino and in regards to entertainment. Within the first 2 weeks of Wynn's first show, Le Reve, critics were already panning it and giving it a few months before its demise. Well, it has picked up, re-tooled itself, and is doing respectably.

As for Phantom of the Opera: the experience, I know they have cut down and reduced the show from its original inception, even minimalizing the dance numbers, the show will be unlike any production of POTO you have ever seen, for sure.

"Forbidden Vegas" flopped because it was "Forbidden Vegas" the after birth child of "Forbidden Broadway," a hit in many eyes. People who see "Broadway" ...get it! They poke fun at iconic legends of the broadway stage (Carol Channing) and shows that are easily set-up for attack (Defying Chenoweth-Wicked). People who live and "know" Vegas would have appreciated "Forbidden Vegas," but they were not the ones seeing the show. And although the Westin, which was housing the show was slightly off the strip, it was not a destination!

"Menopause," like "Mamma Mia!" have become successful for all of the implants (tours, sit downs; etc) all over the world. "Menopause" is also done in the Shimmer Theatre, which holds about 350, a modest amounts of seats. And someone I know who works on the show has stated that the show has gone from women in their 50s (going through Menopause) to young couples, and single men.

"Hairspray" is still finding its way as most new shows do. "KA" is not selling out everynight and its been open just under 2 years. Fortunately for "Hairspray" and unlike its sister company in NYC, it will not have to rely or depend on star names in order for it to succeed. It can and will stand on its own in due time.

At the end of the day its about getting butts into seats. In essence you need to know your audience. People were turned off by Avenue Q, because it was very confusing. No one got it or understood what the show was about prior to buying a ticket. Ticket buyers had no insight! Had they used "Lucy" in a showgirl costume or even exposed some of the characters in their advertisements, people may have warmed up to the idea, but they didn't. However, those who are "theatre" saavy, loved the show, as I did, at least a half a dozen times!

Sorry for the long post, but I thinks its important to educate each other in this line of business.
Updated On: 3/29/06 at 12:17 PM