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

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 12:40pm

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

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

[OKBroadwayFan]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 1:02pm

I was sitting front row of the mezz in the middle. Great seats.
I loved this show. It truly captured the feel of the "middlesize" Texas town, (I'm from Oklahoma---I know middlesize Texas towns). The woman car dealer was exactly what a woman in Texas in that position would have been!
Keela Settle was a standout, but all of the performers captured the characters. Loved the way they moved the truck, kept it from being stale. This will make a great regional production. This show should not be closing--it is better than many of the shows I have seen recently.

[OKBroadwayFan]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 1:04pm

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! :)

[matty159]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 1:25pm

I saw Joel Gray outside at intermission too. Had to wrangle my friend in from making a scene and fool of herself. Oy.

I was quite pleased with the TDF seats...Mezz B 2,4. Perfect view.

And Whizzer...sorry I missed you. I saw you heading in and then couldn't find you.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 4/15/13 at 6:21pm

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!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/15/13 at 6:28pm

Maybe you'll find it at the Flea Market this year!

Also, if anyone has a windowcard from this show that you're willing to part with please let me know! Preferably signed but unsigned would be ok...

[notabb]

Posted: 4/15/13 at 7:03pm

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.

[Movidude742]

Posted: 4/15/13 at 7:22pm

The show became something special. I saw the 2nd preview and I didn't dislike it, but I didn't quite like it either. Once they made the changes that were needed and froze the show it was really pretty damned good.

so glad to have gotten in for the final show.

the part that irks me most about the closing . . . it ended up with one fewer performance than Scandalous. This show deserved so much better than that.

I don't understand why they seem to have made zero TV appearances. There was no attempt to capitalize on the rerelease of the documentary. I really think the producers dropped the ball marketing the show.

more's the pity

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/15/13 at 7:25pm

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

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 4/15/13 at 7:32pm

What is the cast saying? I haven't heard about anything other than Hunter's insane amount of tweets.

[best12bars]

Posted: 4/15/13 at 7:34pm

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.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 4/15/13 at 8:02pm

"'this one will go down in my memory as a broadway musical that featured the ridiculous lyrics "Walmart, Walgreens, Mickey D's, Applebees'"

Funny, I found that song to be especially poignant. I think anyone over the age of thirty understands the meaning. Sometimes it makes me sad that there will come a time (if it's not already here yet) where people will have never known what it was like to go to a mom & pop shop. Where they knew you and what you liked. The lyrics may seem ridiculous to those who don't understand the commercialization of America. But, to some of us they're anything but.

I was at the second to last performance. Tamara Tunie was two rows behind me and Tommy Tune was across the aisle and a few rows back.

Updated On: 4/15/13 at 08:02 PM

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 4/15/13 at 8:07pm

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.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 4/15/13 at 8:12pm

I didn't even think of that I just figured Tommy Tune was there to see Keith Carridane and Hunter Foster.

Updated On: 4/15/13 at 08:12 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/15/13 at 8:16pm

"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

[PlainMushroomWit']

Posted: 4/15/13 at 8:31pm

I saw the show Saturday matinee. My friend had gotten us tix over a month ago, not knowing we were just gonna get in under the wire. Did not love it, but was very glad to see it, and felt bad fot everybody that it was closing so soon. Had a great seat, 2nd row left aisle in the Orch., and enjpyed the show, especially the same highlights that everyone else dug. And as an added bonus, very much enjoyed checking out Kathleen Elizabeth Monteleone throughout the show.

What has surprised me is how much the show has stayed with me since seeing it. I hope everyone involved finds a new gig real soon!

[Playbilly]

Posted: 4/15/13 at 8:52pm

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

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 4/15/13 at 11:10pm

Keith is a name for sure! Not only an Oscar winner, but "Dexter's Keith Carradine" and "Tony nominated Keith Carradine." Hunter is also a Tony nominee, which was never mentioned in the marketing.

They just didn't know how to translate the feel of this show to the greater public.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/15/13 at 11:14pm

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.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 4/15/13 at 11:22pm

It's true. Look how Kinky Boots in plastered all over the subways. I mean you can't take a train at 42nd St and not be immersed in KB ads.

Matilda and Cinderella are on every corner too.

A good marketing effort may not have guaranteed Hardbody being a hit, but it was dead on arrival without the attempt being made.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/15/13 at 11:30pm

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.

[grumpyoptimist]

Posted: 4/16/13 at 1:02am

Jordan, see my post a couple slots under your first one on this thread...I was sitting next to people who came only knowing it was "about Texas" and nothing else about the show. I gotta think if they just woulda marketed Texas they get to about a 60% house every night without trying. maddening...

[Eris0303]

Posted: 4/16/13 at 1:56am

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.

[newintown]

Posted: 4/16/13 at 12:18pm

Not sure why Hartman and Serino/Coyne are getting all this hate - I saw posters everywhere - subways, phone booths, magazines - and TV spots constantly.

They were trying to sell the show on the "these are the common men" approach, like Working and Ring of Fire.

It didn't work, but no need to pretend there was little marketing, and all of it bad.

"I gotta think if they just woulda marketed Texas they get to about a 60% house every night without trying."

I don't see your logic - are you saying 60% of Broadway audiences are from Texas?

Updated On: 4/16/13 at 12:18 PM

[grumpyoptimist]

Posted: 4/17/13 at 1:46am

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.