Avenue Q Vegas: Not doing well?- Page 3

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 6:01pm

This whole thread takes me back to the week after the 2004 Tonys
Will these arguments never cease?

[Miki]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 6:50pm

Vegas has tried to turn itself into the Disneyland of the Desert for years now & it's pretty much succeeding. It's not your parent's Vegas anymore. But I'm not exactly certain that matters - Avenue Q's not exactly family friendly anyway...

Posted: 9/13/05 at 7:08pm

MissNY - thanks!

[Meagz]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 5:07am

As much as I would have loved Ave. Q to tour, I don't have a problem with it being in Vegas. I think it's going to take some time, but eventually find the right audience for their show.

I live in LA, and I'm actually driving up there this weekend to go see the show. I'm not complaining - Avenue Q and everything else that Vegas has to offer? Woohoo!

Oh, and plus, I called the box office yesterday and they let me know which cast was playing on Saturday. John T's cast is going on at 10PM on this Saturday if anyone is interested...

[Corine2]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 7:03am

Does anyone know of any hotel/airfare packages?
I think a weekend trip is in order. How long will John be in the show?

[YessicaB]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 9:49am

Somebody asked whether there were alot of ads and stuff. Yes, there are. on every second taxi there are ads saying stuff like:"Avenue Q - see what all the fuzz is about". And the Wynn has this huge billboard in front of it that advertises La Reve (another show), La Bete ( a night club there) and Avenue Q. Und it keep flashing: "Warning! Full Puppet Nudity." They are also playing songs from Avenue Q outside when you walk by the hotel.
And apparently it was on Tv, cause a bunch of people I talked to on the streets responded to me telling them that I had just seen the show, with them having see it on Tv and being anxious to check it out.

Corine. I had to discover that weekend rates in the hotels are ALOT steeper than during the week, so maybe taking a couple of days of during the week would be better (if it's possible).

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 9:53am

Corine, given that they're doing about 189 performances a week, Vegas style, it would be something of a crap shoot which cast members you would see.

If you lived in Vegas, you could do your "save this show" thing that you did for The Normal Heart and Millie. What you were able to do for those shows was nothing short of inspirational.

Also, given how you're the Yenta of NY activities, certainly you know how to find travel package deals by doing a two second search online?

[YessicaB]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 9:59am

Wow. Namo is just a tiny bit sarcastic. Are you still a little tired or just grumpy?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 10:21am

Yes.

But aside from that, Corine has demonstrated that she is a powerful, intelligent and independent woman. When she falls into Helpless Girl Mode it's an insult to The Real Woman she is.

[Gpvegas]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 10:57am

My guess is that the free tickets are not because it is not doing well. I know how Wynn works, he has allowed employees to eat at his restaurants for free and well as stay over night in a room. He feels that this is the best advertisments, positive word of mouth by his employees.

I talked to an usher last night and she stated that they were treated to some restaurants, so that they would be able to make recommendations if asked.

[MasterLcZ]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 11:10am

Yes, It's a mammoth, embarassing disaster. Bomb. Uh Huh. Stone-Cold Turkey. Flop-A-Roonie. People are running out in droves, screaming. Babies are crying. I think Wynn should pass out hemlock spritzers to everyone in the cast. As for Wynn, I hear he's planning to absolve himself of the humiliation by building a pyre of all his impressionists and he's going to throw himself on top of the flames while clutching his new Vermeer.

Updated On: 9/14/05 at 11:10 AM

[Corine2]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 11:44am

Namo,
I am sooooooooooo busy. What I really want to do is sleep.
Vegas will have to wait.

[mikewood]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 12:09pm

When I was planning my trip to Vegas for the end of the month, I came thisclose to buying tickets to "Q" but decided why see a show in Vegas that I can see in NYC?

Maybe, that's a prevailing sentiment.

[YessicaB]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 1:13pm

Mike it's a little different (aparently better - I didn't see it in NY, so I can't judge) so it'd be worth it even if you've seen it in NY. AND in Vegas you can see it with John & Rick.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 1:24pm

Some of us already saw it with John and Rick, so that isn't a selling point. People in Vegas don't know who these people are. It isn't a family show, so it won't grab that demographic, and it isn't a glitzy spectacle, so it loses that demographic as well. The fact that most shows that open in Vegas are trimmed should tell you the type of people who go to Vegas, and most of them aren't interested in theatre, but rather, spectacle. But I do know tha Vegas has nothing in terms of advance sales. But I think the producers made a mistake, not in having the sit-down, but in giving Winn the EXCLUSIVE rights to the sit-down, which prevents any other productions until the Vegas company closes.

[whitless]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 1:34pm

"A mammoth, embarrassing disaster"? Um, no, actually, but thanks for presuming. Avenue Q is doing just fine. It's a word of mouth show -- it was on Broadway, and it is in Vegas. The audience is building every night. As it did on Broadway, as it is in Vegas. We've only been running for three weeks, after all, and haven't even been officially open for a week.

And the audience response has been fantastic. I base this observation on watching the show every night for two weeks straight (I need to nip the "running out in droves" lie in the bud, with apologies to the imaginative MasterLcZ.) The show's in terrific shape, and I think both of the casts are equally wonderful. I assumed I'd favor one or the other, but it's not the case.

So there's an insider view, folks. As one of the creators, I have no worries.

[MasterLcZ]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 1:42pm

Re-read my post again, Jeff!

[whitless]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 2:00pm

Ah, yes, irony, sorry. I think I was still smarting from the delightful "I hope Avenue Q fails miserably" post.

Carry on.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 2:13pm

I thought it was sarcasm. I had to re-read it myself just to make sure. Are any of the changes coming to Broadway? I have no desire to set foot in the tacky city of Vegas (despite my friend's constant begging to visit her) to see a show I can see six blocks from my overpriced apartment.

[justme2]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 2:22pm

I have no desire to go to Las Vegas to see the show, either. I was all ready to snap up tickets to see this show when it toured, but alas....SF has been shut out of seeing the show.

And believe me, not many in SF are willing to shell out the extra money for a plane ticket and hotel room just to see a show. If we were, we'd be flying to NY.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 2:33pm

When Wicked had its tryout in SF, I had thought about going to see it (I lived in Chicago at the time). But there were reasons: 1) I read the book years before, and was curious to see how it worked on stage 2) I had been to SF before and loved it, so I felt the time was ready to go back. I have no desire to go to Vegas, and since I saw the show in New York, I had no reason to go see it in Vegas. Why go to Vegas, when I could go to New York, see it there, and see other shows and REAL culture (obviously now that I live in new York it doesn;t matter). I wasn't so disappointed that Vegas had a sit-down, but rather that no other production in the US can be created while the Vegas production was running. I'm sure Chicago, LA, Boston, San Francisco, and Washington could have sustained long runs. All of those cities have venues that Avenue Q can fit in (especially Chicago, with over 200 theatre companies, I'm sure one of them coukld have reccommended the perfect venue). Why do presenters think shows these days should only be in a particular city for three to four weeks.

[justme2]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 3:14pm

agreed fosse76!

I am tired of hearing announcements that a show is now in SF.."two weeks of performances only!"....then the damn theater is dark for another 6 months.

And DON"T tell me the theater is "being restored" anymore...SF theaters have been using that excuse for too long now!

[Fosse76]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 3:35pm

My favorite is in Chicago, where all three of its vaudeville houses where renovated using corporate naming rights money, yet they still charge people a $3 restoration fee.

[justme2]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 3:42pm

Thank you! We are charged here in SF for the restoration fee as well, and believe me, I'd like to SEE A SHOW in one of these restored theaters!

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 4:01pm

Whitless,

Glad to hear the audiences are growing, just as they had on Broadway. And you're right: Both casts are wonderful. Congrats! And I hope you're getting a piece of the souvenir sales!