Broadway Legend Joined: 4/3/09
Do you guys think that Billie Joe Armstrong's final performance (2-27-11) Will also be American Idiot's final show?
I have a feeling it will be because honestly people are going now to see "The Billie Joe show" not American Idiot.
Just wondering what everyone else thinks
It wouldn't surprise me. The show was not doing well when he wasn't in it. It did do well around Christmastime though.
Stand-by Joined: 10/8/10
I doubt it. It;s doing great business even before BJA stepped in.
Edit: I was wrong. Eh I assumed.
Updated On: 1/3/11 at 11:23 PM
I honestly believe it will hold out until Labor Day.
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/3/09
thing is
It wasn't doing great and they are bringing in Billie Joe to bring it $.
I remember when we came in for that week in October the grosses went WAYY up, but then after he left then went back to the usual BAD numbers
I wonder tho with him leaving at the end of February will his run bring them enough $ for them to sustain till April(ish, May) when it starts to get busier again.
I guess only time will tell
But then I feel like if they were planning to close in February woudln't they announce it by now?
"thing is
It wasn't doing great and they are bringing in Billie Joe to bring it $.
I remember when we came in for that week in October the grosses went WAYY up, but then after he left then went back to the usual BAD numbers"
That's what I was about to post... lol. I think they'd rather, or should, have the show go out with a bang with someone associated with the original source material, rather than "Here he is... He's gone and numbers are down, should we close the show or bring him back again?".
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/3/09
True Jacob
I was actually just thinking to myself
Why don't they find the other 2 guys and call it Green Day Live
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
Since October, 'American Idiot' has been playing to half-empty houses. The only 2 weeks in which it cracked $1 million was the week in October, when Billie Joe Armstrong filled in, and last week, when he appeared again. It's as if the core Green Day fans are mostly only interested in seeing him. It'll probably slump back down during the weeks he's not in it.
Broadway grosses: 'American Idiot'
Updated On: 1/3/11 at 11:39 PM
Why don't they find the other 2 guys and call it Green Day Live
So true!
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/1/04
Why don't they find the other 2 guys and call it Green Day Live
Because they're not lost?
I think it all depends on how they do when Billie is there. If they do really well and reach over 1 million every week then they won't close it but if they don't do as well as they hoped then they may close it.
I think it will hold out.
The money they will make when hes in it will be enough to sustain them a bit longer once he goes and the smart producers seem to wanto to do all they can to keep the show open. It would not suprise me if they bring a 'name' in to the show after his run is complete.
Broadway Star Joined: 1/6/05
Broadway Star Joined: 5/23/06
Can we delete this thread? It's stupid. It's a possibility, of course, but these threads are just annoying.
No, but really, if you check the grosses, there have been maybe TWO weeks since it started previews that it didn't make it's weekly nut (around $425k). As long as they're still making money and able to return money to investors, they have no plans to close.
I'm going to go start a new Spider-man thread now.
Where did the $425K weekly nut figure get reported? I am not saying it is wrong, just curious about a source since I had not seen any reports of the show's nut. (They are not easy to find.)
Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com
Broadway Star Joined: 5/23/06
On a sidebar...I'm still wondering how FINIAN'S RAINBOW, which played to fuller houses and higher grosses than AMERICAN IDIOT, closed after 110 performances while AMERICAN IDIOT, barely breaking 50% and having somewhat low grosses, is continuing to run?
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/28/09
I am really curious just how bad the weeks without Billie Joe will be. I mean, I know that they are going to be pretty empty, but I'm guessing that not only will they be as low as they were traditionally when he wasn't there, but probably even lower because people might be avoiding shows without Billie Joe. I'll be there the Friday of his first hiatus, so I'll be able to see for sure.
Stand-by Joined: 7/1/09
On a sidebar...I'm still wondering how FINIAN'S RAINBOW, which played to fuller houses and higher grosses than AMERICAN IDIOT, closed after 110 performances while AMERICAN IDIOT, barely breaking 50% and having somewhat low grosses, is continuing to run?
They have the power (and probably the money) of Green Day behind them
Swing Joined: 1/24/11
no it's not going to close after he leaves on the 27th, if you've ever checked 'broadway grosses' on playbill.com, it tells you the numbers each show made on a weekly basis. american idiot makes about average or higher then the majority of other shows.. and even more during billie's performances. american idiot hasn't even been on broadway for a year yet
Swing Joined: 1/24/11
plus, if you think about it, these musicals can't be selling out everynight, they have 8 shows a week.. and they really only target one area (unlike a green day concert)
Okay... please tell me why, if not for needing a higher gross, Billie Joe and next week Melissa Etheridge are in the show? Comparing it to other shows is no gauge on how the show is doing. If Melissa doesn't spike ticket sales during her week you better believe it's closing Feb. 27.
plus, if you think about it, these musicals can't be selling out everynight, they have 8 shows a week.. and they really only target one area (unlike a green day concert)
Yes they can. Shows have, do, and in the future will.
Updated On: 1/24/11 at 09:13 PM
Let's not forget that Billie Joe is more than stunt casting- he is the creator of the show, composer, lyricist and librettist. And far from being a tacky, tawdry move, most critics tend to prefer his take on the role.
Tony Vincent gave a sinister but nuanced performance as St. Jimmy that emphasized the sexual aspect of his symbiotic relationship with Johnny. Bille Joe plays the part pretty literally as Johnny's alter ego/evil twin. I wonder if the lack of apparent "depth" to Billie Joe's portrayal is part of the reason the show is better received with him? That ambiguity in the character was one of the main sticking points a lot of people had with the show, as the duality of the characters is only referenced once in book and once in lyric, plus the symbolic death ceremony near the end.
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