Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
http://www.broadway.com/Gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=541372
Good for them. I'm sure it has something to do with their new (and genius) marketing plan:
Like when you're entering the Disney theme parks, they have people to take a Polaroid of you under the sign.
You know what, YankeeFan, your posts always make me smile.
Anyhoo, congrats to them... it's quite an accomplishment to recoup.
Understudy Joined: 12/31/69
Oh thank you Jesus! I was SO afraid Oprah would lose money on this show.
Gosh, doesn't it feel like Color Purple has been around forever? I can't believe it's only been one year. Congratulations to the producers. This was a risky endeavor which paid off. They couldn't have known when it was announced for Broadway that Oprah was going to come in at the 11th hour and give them a bajillion dollars worth of free publicity. Rape, Slavery, Lesbianism..not an easy sell. That said, does anyone else feel like the tag "The most loved musical on Broadway" is unearned?
Congrats to all, and thank you, Oprah.
Im seeing this show in April here in Chicago and I am really looking forward to it. I have the cast recording and love it to pieces anyway congrats Color Purple...how long do you think it will run?
why did the show have to gross $60 million dollars in order for them to make back the initial $11 million dollar investment? is that just how it works?
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/15/05
Well, the show grosses around $900,000 a week, but if you take out theater rental, cast and crew, etc. it doesn't give much to the producers. But I'm glad they recouped. And it does seem like the show's been around forever.
What about the taking of pictures? I've never heard about that.
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
She gave them one million dollars.
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/5/04
why did the show have to gross $60 million dollars in order for them to make back the initial $11 million dollar investment? is that just how it works?
Yep. Pretty much. The show was capitalized at approx. $11 million initially (plus various other advertising and marketing expenses on top of that -- the Tony performance alone probably cost a few hundred thousand dollars), costs around $600,000 a week to run and has been grossing around $900,000 to $1,000,000 a week for most of the year, so, yeah -- if you do the math, it would take 50+ weeks to recoup, if the weekly profit has been around $250,000 or so, on average.
By comparison, WICKED took 14 months to recoup it initial $14 million investment -- so yes, it sounds about right for COLOR PURPLE (in a slightly smaller theatre and not quite being completely sold out) to take 12 months to recoup $11+ million.
This musical was my only real disappointment during my recent theatre trip. I was happy to see so many African American actors working but it's not a show that I will go back and see again.
This is one of the shows (along with "The Producers") that's been on my "to see" list forever, but I never seem to make it. And yes, I find the guy with the polaroid kind of tacky. I always feel like I'm walking into Toys R Us when I see him snapping pictures of people under the marquee.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/05
Congragulations to this amazing show! I am very glad to hear that it recouped so quickly, and yeah, this is definitely a show I would love to see again!
:)
Wow. That's great news. The Color Purple is a great show, and with the tour starting soon, it can only go up from here.
I wonder why they don't start two companies for the road. I think the producers could handle it. Maybe one in Los Angeles and one in Chicago, then branching off from there.
And do we think this will play in London? I don't know.
I had no doubt that something associated with Oprah would recoup very quickly! Congrats!
Another question is, would this show have lasted as long and recouped without Oprah?
I haven't seen it yet so I don't know. I've heard both positive and negative reviews.
What difference does it make? It's a fantastic show and people are seeing it. It has one of the most talented casts on Broadway. People are coming in from out of town to see it. It's exposing new folks to Broadway and NYC. Oprah has absolutely been a wonderful help in the show's success.
Realistically, the show would not have recouped this quickly without Oprah's help. During its first few months, she was pushing this thing like no other. First she visited the cast, then she had them on the show for some great performances of songs, then she invited them back, and then appeared at various functions to promote it.
Then after LaChanze won the Tony, she came on the show. The show has definitely received a boost from Oprah, although I'm sure it would've recouped eventually without her help.
And let's not forget, she finally decided to go on the Letterman show on the night TCP opened and that was a big deal both for her return to the Letterman show and him walking her to the theatre for opening night. That got a lot of press.
Yay! Congrats to the producers, creative team, and cast :) I was there last night (for my third time)! It's such an amazing show!
I think though that it has a lot to do with Oprah but also just the extrodinary talent of the show. I also think the movie and book helped as well
What's "amazing" to me about this show is that it has lasted for a year on Broadway. Good performances, set, costumes etc. but the book, music and lyrics were immediately forgettable.
I love the cast recording. It's in my car and I love belting out the songs while driving to work. It's very uplifting!
'Hell, NO!'
OT: Why are Tony Award performances so expensive?
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