BWW poster, "Pippin" in Philly's Bright Lights, Big City- Page 2

[Al Dente]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 2:51pm

Wish I could have seen the show. Pippin(John) seems to be getting alot of good notices both on and off this board. And to add to Ruprecht, yes, the Prince would be to blame no matter what anyone said or thought of Bright Lights. Certain cast members alone could have generating enough ticket sales to keep it running a bit longer *but*, people would have to know those actors were in Phila doing a show at the Prince in the first place.

[PB ENT.]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 3:11pm

Happy for Pippin, for sure. Hopefully this will lead to continued "sightings" on stages.

The Prince, The Arden etc. run hot and cold with their shows and their PR campaigns. I know some of the PR & Mgrs. at the Prince. ( Good people) They've got a nice but fairly local following. It's tough to predict a winner IE: Arden's "Sweeney" and Prince's "Dreamgirls" were both local talent yet hit the motherload for success as well as NY attention. Who knew?

Just because a local theater books a Broadway talent doesn't change the PR budget or stragedy in all cases. FYI, Bright Lights was posted on 2 theater boards and in most Philly/SJ papers.

Marketing is not easy.

[ruprecht]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 7:42pm

Really, the only "theater boards" I saw it on appeared what seemed to be all of two days before the run. I got email blasts from some of the cast members alerting me to their involvment with the show long before I saw it anywhere else. Not argueing with you PB but I saw the show and it deserved MUCH better than it got and I disagree with you about "budget not changing depending on talent". It should have and could have made a difference. There's NO other reason to have say, a Lou Rawls in Me and Mrs. Jones or Orfeh& Andy in Blbc.

[PB ENT.]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 8:10pm

I respect your opinion, but tell me, where else would you advertise a limited run production in a city 90 min. from NYC?
I know that the Prince has a very hefty mailing list because I did a partial trade out with them for a show I worked on this year.

If a known name or two is involved, wouldn't their individual PR people want to co-promote, perhaps in advance even? Some do this.

The Prince likely covered their normal region for a limited run production in the Philly area. Beyond that they might have needed assistance.

I didn't catch the show or know the budget or attendance numbers so I can't say if extending was an option or not.

At least it was a successful run with good reviews. Certaintly another well deserved notch.

BTW, Arden's "Forum" was a huge hit too. Again local talent that got a nod on the boards.