Anyone going to last performance of Hardbody tonight? — Page 2

When a quality show likes this does not succeed, you can see why the current theatergoing climate is all geared to supershows like Kinky & Matilda.

People are more than ever looking at the bottom line re ticket prices and are opting for the supershows to alledgedly get more bang for their buck.

HOAHB was arguably one of the best new musicals in recent memory. It should have gotten a bigger audience. It is a shame it could not hang on until the Tony nominations came out as I think they will get a slew of them. Thank God there will be a cast album.

Unfortunately it looks like only big shows can succeed , I loved it much more than Wicked which I have no idea why it is still running.

By the way, Joel Grey was sitting a few rows behind us. Glad the cast got a great enthusiastic sendoff.

Theatermania got us 2 nd row orchestra off to the left side. Initially thought so far over would be a problem but it turned out fine

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Updated On: 4/14/13 at 12:40 PM

Since I know that everyone looks like their avatars....I kept my eye out for a man that looks like Jordan and Whizzer in his car! :)

Hi Matty! Too bad I missed you. It would have been great to say hi and catch up.

HA, OK I wish I had Somers' car to walk around in!

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Jordan , I'm with you. There were plenty of threads for people to be assholes on but a thread about the closing performance is the one you choose to be a piggy on, really? No wonder some people hold back from posting on the board when they see the unnecessary ugliness . A lot of people really liked or loved this show and were moved by it ,we don't need some self righteous prig telling us we're wrong. It's a shame there's no respect for people having a different opinion. Much like Aftereight who says he respects others opinions and then says things like ( and this is my favorite of his many quotes ) " I like what's worth liking" . I'm just glad that a recording will be made after all. I'll have another chance to hear my favorite song ( after the showstopping Joy Of The Lord ) If I Had This Truck. Glad I was able to see the last show.

The cast absolutely blames the marketing of the show for its failure and they are NOT shy in letting that be known.

It's a shame when good shows can't find an audience (fast enough).

It's also a shame when offbeat subject matter isn't given a chance. I realize with high ticket prices, people expect "big things" on stage. They don't even know what they mean by that. But it better have tap dancing, explosions, flying, kids, dogs, songs they know, a story they know, or all of the above ... or they're not shelling out the money to see it.

New is harder and harder to come by.

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With the number of celebrity sightings it sounds like they may have been pushing to get the Tony voters in to ensure its eligibility. Even if they don't end up getting nominated I hope that the producers did make the push to make sure it's at least a possibility.

"But if it looks the same everywhere you roam tell me, how do you know when you've gotten home..."

Lyrics from that song being made fun of. A song that if, like Eris said, you're over the age of 30 (and probably younger than that), you can really appreciate. Even in NYC when everything now is either a Duane Reade, Chase Bank, Dunkin Donuts or a McDonalds. Even a place as special as this is turning into a city just like every other city. And it's a damn shame.

Updated On: 4/15/13 at 08:16 PM

Keith Carradine is a name, and they really failed to market him. Hell, they could have said, "Oscar winner Keith Carradine". Amateur marketing.

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I'd believe that if they even tried to market it AT ALL. They kind if just put it in a theater and called it a day.

If they had attempted to market it to southern tourists, they would have had a ton of business, especially with high tourist season approaching. The show is about a contest so even if they're not giving away a car they could have done some fun contests in Times Square to get media coverage. I mean, there's a million and one things that could have been done.

A friend of mine lives in Texas and I saw so much of her in the show. Things she had said to me were said in the show. This show was pure Texas and they definitely dropped the marketing ball.

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If the marketing didn't work, if not "bad" it was a least a failure. On a show that once you got people in the theater, audiences by and large seemed to like it.

I am not saying 60% of Broadway audiences are from Texas. But it goes back to your "common man" comment: Texas, Iowa, Nebraska...these places represent the heartland, and I've gotta think people from the heartland represented this show's demo. A quick way to get those folks attention is to say "these people are YOU." You get a couple hundred people a night in just on that, plus the audience they were getting on the natural, and THEN you're at 60% and maybe can hit your nut.