Ave Q - Vegas to close May 28- Page 3

[emo_geek]

Posted: 2/15/06 at 8:27pm

They don't know...it hasnt even closed in vegas yet.

[rebels]

Posted: 2/15/06 at 9:47pm

The Vegas news is disappointing, but--I guess not too surprising.

I saw the 10pm show last Friday in Vegas--it was a full house. It was fabulous & the audience loved it! Since it was my first time seeing it anywhere, so I'm curious as to what songs & scenes were cut out to make it a 90-minute show in Vegas?

Hope to see Avenue Q on my next NYC visit.


Jersey Boys Blog: www.jerseyboysblog.com

Updated On: 2/15/06 at 09:47 PM

[Craig]

Posted: 2/16/06 at 11:41am

Corine -

Rick will never have to worry about finding work. And John Tartaglia isn't in Q anymore....

Posted: 2/16/06 at 11:47am

When did he leave?

Does this mean he's doing his Jonny and the Puppet show permanently?

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/16/06 at 11:54am

There's a good story on the Avenue Q closing in today's Times:

"In a telephone interview, Steve Wynn, the resort's owner, said yesterday that the decision was largely about real estate. His initial plan had been to build a separate theater for "Spamalot," but he said he would be able to save millions — and allow for more casino areas, convention space and hotel rooms — by simply converting the "Avenue Q" theater into a theater for "Spamalot."

But Mr. Wynn also conceded that "Avenue Q" hadn't sold as well as he had expected.

"If I was making $10 million with 'Avenue Q,' this wouldn't be a tough decision," said Mr. Wynn, who put up the $2.5 million to mount "Avenue Q" in Las Vegas and built a $40 million theater for it to play in. "But it was playing right on the cusp."

The short-lived run of "Avenue Q" in Las Vegas will probably give pause to many Broadway producers who have seen long-running blockbusters and newly minted hits alike head to the desert chasing seemingly no-lose propositions. In the case of "Avenue Q," for example, producers calculated that they could save touring expense, get a custom-built theater and harvest an ever-replenishing audience of Vegas visitors. Theater operators around the country, meanwhile, worried that Broadway productions would bypass them, as "Avenue Q" did.

But while the Broadway version of "Avenue Q" continues to draw healthy audiences, Mr. Wynn said the Vegas version struggled to find a niche in a city where the potential audience is constantly in flux.

"The trouble is how do you sell 'Avenue Q,' " Mr. Wynn said, pointing out that Las Vegas audiences "turn over every week, so word of mouth takes longer to penetrate a market."

Kevin McCollum, one of the show's producers, seconded that, saying a bigger theater made some Vegas crowds seem skimpy. (The show's Broadway home, the Golden, seats 796.) "Twelve hundred might have been a little big for us at 10 shows a week," Mr. McCollum said. "That's 12,000 seats a week. At 50 percent of that, we're selling out in New York."

And while "Avenue Q" still made money each week, Mr. McCollum said he understood why Mr. Wynn had decided to close it. "It was still profitable, but it wasn't $1 million a week," Mr. McCollum said. "Obviously, Steve had to make a choice."

The closing brings to an end a saga that began at the 2004 Tony Awards when "Avenue Q" shocked Broadway by winning best musical over the favored "Wicked." Days later, the producers surprised Broadway again — and angered many on the road — when they announced that they would forgo a national tour in favor of an exclusive run in Las Vegas.

Yesterday, however, the producers of "Q" were already pursuing options in other major American cities — Mr. Wynn dropped the exclusivity deal as part of ending the Vegas run — and had gone so far as to send a series of Valentine's Day cards to presenters suggesting that they "have a deeply satisfying moment of schadenfreude" and then consider booking the show.

"I've already gotten the phone call," said Randy Weeks, executive director of Denver Center Attractions, which books two large theaters in Denver. Mr. Weeks, for one, said he suspected that "Avenue Q" would have a life on the road. "We tend to have short memories," he said. "Business is business."

How the "Avenue Q" closing will affect other Broadway shows in Las Vegas remains to be seen. "Hairspray" opened there on Tuesday, with "The Phantom of the Opera" coming soon. "Spamalot" will open in a refurbished — and slightly enlarged — version of the theater "Avenue Q" played in next February."



http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/16/theater/newsandfeatures/16aven.html?hp&ex=1140152400&en=79504f5c8de15b94&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Updated On: 2/16/06 at 11:54 AM

[MissNY]

Posted: 2/17/06 at 10:26am

Johnny left Q Vegas in the begining of Dec. He's now working on a number of things including "Johnny and the Sprites" and a new solo act to hopefully play here around April