CONFIRMED: Audra McDonald-led GYPSY to begin previews Nov 2024 — Page 17

I think they could stack this with some great theater actors and make it a very notable show. Is the lady who won the Tony for Paradise Square too old to play Louise? I’d like to hear her belt out “if momma was married.” 

Joaquina is 35. They need someone like 21 year old Maleah Joi Moon, not someone pushing 40.

Jordan Catalano said: "People forget that Audra's last two shows on Broadway ("Frankie & Johnny" and "Ohio State Murders" had something like a 25% weekly attendance and average price of $1.25 per ticket. So people may love her but we have proof that just her alone isn't enough to get people into the theater. It will be very interesting to see how long those seats stay at $400."
 

Audra Singing >>>>> Audra Not Singing

With that said, this will be a HUGE test of her box office power. She has never been a huge draw and I don't think her career has risen significantly since the last time she headlined a musical.

• PORGY didn't sell out a single week of its run (with 300 less seats per night) and did not recoup.
• LADY DAY recouped and filled the house decently well –– but the capacity was less than half of the Majestic (680 seats), she only did 7 shows a week, and it was dirt cheap.
• SHUFFLE sold well in the 800-900K a week range (at just 1080 seats a night) but only ran 19 weeks and, had she stayed with it, might have softened. (see: War Paint, Carousel, Company)

Could it have some million-dollar weeks in the beginning of the run? Absolutely, the fans will flock in early. Could love-letter raves help? Maybe, but LuPone's GYPSY had raves too, opened near the Tonys, closed early, and lost money. If we assume it's starting strong, March would be the time where it shows signs of sagging (about 16 weeks into the run) based on past comps. They'll also be trying to move lots of tickets in the dead of winter.

The producers wanting a Bryan Cranston/Paul Giamatti type or a Zendaya/H.E.R. type is very different than actually securing those people –– and securing them at a pricetag that would not balloon the running costs out of proportion when Wolfe and Audra won't be working for cheap.

If we assume it'll have a cast of 25-35 actors (as is typical for Gypsy when you need multiple children, young adults, and older adults) and an orchestra in the 18-25 range, this is going to need to cross $950K or a million per week just to break even.

Updated On: 5/30/24 at 12:45 PM

She absolutely does not have a 6 month contract. 

RippedMan said: "I think they could stack this with some great theater actors and make it a very notable show. Is the lady who won the Tony for Paradise Square too old to play Louise? I’d like to hear her belt out “if momma was married.”"

I’d like to see Joaquina play Rose someday!
How about Alex Newell or Justin David Sullivan as Louise?

It also was originally supposed to be filmed JUST AFTER the moved-up closing date iirc. A real shame. In many ways our status quo is bleaker now, but that was a pretty singular and alarming moment for Broadway shows. It wasn't really a reflection of Gypsy 08's reception that it was among the bloodbath.

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Jordan Catalano said: "People forget that Audra's last two shows on Broadway ("Frankie & Johnny" and "Ohio State Murders" had something like a 25% weekly attendance and average price of $1.25 per ticket. So people may love her but we have proof that just her alone isn't enough to get people into the theater. It will be very interesting to see how long those seats stay at $400."


Audra Singing >>>>> Audra Not Singing

With that said, this will be a HUGE test of her box office power. She has never been a huge draw and I don't think her career has risen significantly since the last time she headlined a musical.

• PORGY didn't sell out a single week of its run (with 300 less seats per night) and did not recoup.
• LADY DAY recouped and filled the house decently well –– but the capacity was less than half of the Majestic (680 seats), she only did 7 shows a week, and it was dirt cheap.
• SHUFFLE sold well in the 800-900K a week range (at just 1080 seats a night) but only ran 19 weeks and, had she stayed with it, might have softened. (see: War Paint, Carousel, Company)

Could it have some million-dollar weeks in the beginning of the run? Absolutely, the fans will flock in early. Could love-letter raves help? Maybe, but LuPone's GYPSY had raves too, opened near the Tonys, closed early,and lost money. If we assume it's starting strong, March would be the time where it shows signs of sagging (about 16 weeks into the run) based on past comps.They'll also be trying to move lots of tickets in the dead of winter.

The producerswanting aBryan Cranston/Paul Giamatti type or a Zendaya/H.E.R. typeis very different than actually securingthose people –– and securing them at a pricetag that would not balloon the running costs out of proportion when Wolfe and Audra won't be working for cheap.

If we assume it'll have a cast of 25-35 actors (as is typical for Gypsy when you need multiple children, young adults, and older adults) and an orchestra in the18-25 range, this is going to need to cross $950K or a million per week just to break even."

H.E.R. isn't a name to sell off of here. She's talented and has gotten a big push from the industry, but she's not clicking.

Zendaya could clean up the box office. Chloe and Halle should be high on the list. Coco Jones too (this could also correct the colorist recasting of the Broadway run A Bronx Tale)

I’d rather have Denzel as Herbie to ensure the run is long and successful for Audra. 

Isn’t he doing Othello with Gyllenhaal?

jacobsnchz14 said: "Isn’t he doing Othello with Gyllenhaal?"

I didn’t mean him specifically, was using him as an example of a big star.

everythingtaboo said: "I really don't want "star" names in this. Let's keep it to theatre people. Audra is entitled to be the biggest name here."

Nobody is "entitled" to anything, but a name bigger than Audra seems incredibly unrealistic and could throw off the calibration of the production. It would help sales but would have to be billed & paid accordingly (nobody signs onto an 8-figure musical out of the goodness of their hearts) and could cause her salary to balloon too.

Like I said yesterday, I wouldn't expect a Herbie of bigger stature than someone like Denis O'Hare or David Hyde Pierce at best, nor do I expect a Louise on the level of Zendaya or Keke Palmer who is severely overqualified and could choose to do any project under the sun, even despite the persuasion of Wolfe.

Updated On: 5/30/24 at 02:38 PM

I don't think tickets for the first week will sell so quickly due to it being the week before Thanksgiving. Do ticket sales tend to go up during that time?