BIG FISH to Close on Broadway December 29, 2013- Page 5

[ErinDillyFan]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 11:11am

I saw Big Fish in Chicago and was underwhelmed. It is a show about fantastic happenings and bigger than life characters. Except for the forest scene with the fortune teller. It lacks the magical supernatural aspects that the movie conjures up. They needed more wow moments in the staging.

I don't know what the future sales look like, but with so many huge musicals on broadway, I find it strange that they budgeted a show that can't make it with 80% houses. A show should be able to pay the bills with 70-80% of the house and then look foreward to 90+% houses during the holidays and summer vacation traffic.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 11:19am

But Big Fish never made it to 70% (or 80%) of their gross potential. The highest they ever got was 62.4%, and most weeks were in the 50s or worse; last week hit a low at 47.17%.

Sure, the house can be at 92% capacity, but if you're only making 50% of the gross potential that just means you've handed out a lot of comps!

[Kad]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 11:24am

Yeah, saying "the house is packed!" is misleading. You can fill a Broadway house easily. Filling it with people who paid full, or close to full, price is something else entirely.

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 11:49am

I had read a lot of the advance chatter about this show on here, so maybe that helped lower my expectations, but when I went two weeks ago, I was completely captivated. I didn't think the story itself had broad appeal, but I did have an amazing night and got totally swept up. I'm not surprised it is going, but I do think the cast was great all around.

Posted: 11/11/13 at 12:13pm

is it fair to say Norbert is to Kelli O'Hara? They are BROADWAY stars. people who know and love Broadway know their names, possibly book tickets because they are in shows....but Tom Hanks, they are not.

I'm just confused because their grosses would not lead one to a closing notice. Were there grumblings of this or is it fairly out of the blue?

[Up In One]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 12:32pm

Their current grosses were slipping week by week and the future including the deadly January February time frames probably looked anemic . There was no way they were going to compete with the big new musicals coming down the pike..

[Brick]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 12:34pm

This one was pretty DOA. I've been hearing nothing but bad word of mouth since previews began.

[Comden Green]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 1:37pm

yep, I didn't like the movie. was skeptical about it as a broadway musical. I saw it because I wanted to see nlb and bobby steggert. I am still kicking myself for missing their last broadway efforts (catch me and ragtime). i'm glad I saw this one. better-than-expected show and contrary to most here I didn't dislike the music and I will buy the cd when it, ultimately is released. (everything gets a cast recording nowadays, right?) ultimately, if I can get a discount, I don't require that every broadway show I see be a blockbuster.

[kissynose]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 3:07pm

Ive seen 95% of all the Broadway musicals in the last 20 years. This was one of the few I wanted to walk out on. All I could think was...just die already and end this torture. Not as bad as Adventures of Tom Sawyer but up there with Dance of the Vampires and Urban Cowboy.

[Jungle Red]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 3:20pm

I knew I'd never get to NYC to see this, but it's a shame that it's closing so soon. I love reading John August's blog and I love the movie.

He posted a blog about discounts. Link is at bottom.

(I love how Jane2 used "esoteric" a few pages back.)
Seeing BIG FISH for less

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 3:26pm

is it fair to say Norbert is to Kelli O'Hara?

Yes, I think that is a completely fair assessment. I don't think people know them from anywhere else. Both incredible Broadway stars though.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 3:30pm

I'm very sorry for everyone involved in this ambitious project. I agree with those who think word of mouth was the bigger problem. Of course word of mouth is effected by a mediocre score, a confusing plot, unsympathetic characters and so on. But we have seen shows with big-drawing stars go up in flames because of bad word of mouth, and shows without them become big hits simply because people loved them.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 3:30pm

I'm very sorry for everyone involved in this ambitious project. I agree with those who think word of mouth was the bigger problem. Of course word of mouth is effected by a mediocre score, a confusing plot, unsympathetic characters and so on. But we have seen shows with big-drawing stars go up in flames because of bad word of mouth, and shows without them become big hits simply because people loved them.

[jdrye222]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 3:53pm

I really think it is the score that did this one in. If the music had been better I think the reviews would have been more enthusiastic. With the music being so god-awful, it really didn't stand a chance ...
I'm not saying the rest is without flaws, but I think the score is the main problem that did it in.
Why anyone would hire Lippa for this show after his debacle of a score on ADDAMS FAMILY, i have no idea. Total disappointment.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 4:02pm

Absolutely.

[theaterfan862]

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

Really sad news! I really liked the show and Loved Norbert's performance! I am a bit surprised because Big Fish does have the ingredients to be a hit with a few changes.

[karen24]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 4:18pm

I'm sad about this mainly for all of the years of effort that went into it and all of the cast and crew who will be out of work. And because I am one of "those people" who will go to see anything NLB does, because I think he's amazingly talented, but I consistently come away with the feeling that he deserves better material. I didn't see "Last Five Years," but I think that might have been the best-quality score he's had to work with (I know some on here will disagree.) "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," "Catch Me if You Can," and now "Big Fish" - all three seemed to me to be big-budget productions that had very talented performers but did not have great music or lyrics.

I hate to think that "Big Fish" failed because NLB, Kate Burton and Bobby Steggert aren't "names" outside of the Broadway universe. I guess I can't deny that had Hugh Jackman been in the title role, it might have run longer. But a Broadway in which no musical can even have a chance because it doesn't have that kind of "name" above the title or on the production team is one that I'd find pretty depressing. I have to think that a show with a truly good score can survive without movie-star/TV-star "names". Of course, now I'm looking at the ones currently playing and having a hard time finding one, except maybe for "Once" - but it won the Tony.

Oh well. I hope NLB finds something better to be in. I saw a recent interview with him on Broadway.com, and he mentioned that after 17+ years of doing almost all newly-developed shows, he may well be ready to do something easier, like a revival. I wonder what it will be?

[onedaymore]

Posted: 11/12/13 at 11:25am

Hmmm...perhaps Norbert Leo butz could replace Cumming in the Cabaret revival once he's done? Idk. Any other ideas for NLB in a revival?

[Noel&Cole]

Posted: 11/12/13 at 11:36am

I caught BIG FISH this weekend....

I have the greatest respect for everybody involved. Making a new musical is not easy. I also see where their head was...this show has the ingredients to be great and the team assembled had a track record to make you think it could pull it off.... but strange things happen in the rehearsal room..

I was extremely depressed to sit through one of the dullest nights at a musical in a long a time. This show just didn't work. I feel bad for everyone being out of work, but I also understand why this didn't do better. It just wasn't entertaining enough. Yes, the end choked you up, but that's because it's a touching story on paper. You'd have to be stone not to feel something. But getting their was no fun. Norbert was great, but I found him far more entertaining in both DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and CATCH ME. It was good performance, but it wasn't my favorite by any stretch, and finally the score.... it just was dull.

So it's always sad to see a show close quickly given all the work that goes into them BUT I also understand why this wasn't worth $140 a ticket to people.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/12/13 at 11:39am

Advice for NLB - avoid the Neil Simon @ any cost. The Neil Simon is starting to the rep as being a bad luck house after Hairspray.

[Noel&Cole]

Posted: 11/12/13 at 11:44am

Mr Roxy-- In Fairness to the Simon.. Scandalous was not it's fault. They wouldn't have worked in any theatre

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 11/12/13 at 12:49pm

"I really think it is the score that did this one in. If the music had been better I think the reviews would have been more enthusiastic. With the music being so god-awful, it really didn't stand a chance ...I'm not saying the rest is without flaws, but I think the score is the main problem that did it in."

I respectfully disagree. I don't think there was one thing that really worked in this production (except for some of the cast)..it was a big hot mess all around. To blame it on one thing is not even close to how many problems filled this show. Bad direction, gimmicky tech, non magic in what should have been a magical storyline, uncreative choreography, all over the place story lines that didn't flow together well and dull staging. Music wasn't great but with great music, this still would have been a huge mis-step. Making Andrew Lippa the scapegoat is just way too easy...and in my opinion, just wrong.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/12/13 at 7:19pm

To Noel

I did not blame the theater.

[mybigsplash]

Posted: 2/12/14 at 10:18pm

Absolutely totally and 100% called it. Had the inside info months and months ago. Just had to rub it in.

[AKarp2013]

Posted: 2/12/14 at 11:42pm