Barry Manilow ‘fighting horribly’ with hubby manager amid Broadway flop

https://pagesix.com/2019/08/10/barry-manilow-fighting-horribly-with-hubby-manager-amid-broadway-flop/

 

But The Post has reported it’s struggling to sell tickets and the “Copacabana” star is facing an “ocean of empty seats.”

 “about half the seats for the next three weeks … are still empty.”

Updated On: 8/11/19 at 12:58 PM

The Bubbies and Zaydes are dying out so he doesn't have a demographic any more. 

Who thought this was a good idea?

sabrelady said: "The Bubbies and Zaydes are dying out so he doesn't have a demographic any more.

Who thoughtthis was a good idea?"

What a lovely post.

This was in the NY Post a few weeks ago, just before his show opened and the box office was already struggling to sell tickets  past his opening weekend:

 

Manilow’s looming flameout has surprised a few insiders, who note that in April he extended a residency in Las Vegas after performing his 500th show at the International Theater at Westgate.

“The Vegas crowd is all tourists who will buy tickets or discount tickets to just about anyone who’s playing — even if the performer, like Barry, hasn’t had a hit in years,” one insider said. “The Broadway crowd is more sophisticated and a tougher sell.”

zainmax said: "Seems to be selling fine at the box office."

They had a up week.  I don’t know ifI would call it selling well.  I don’t know if I’d call it a flop either.  To me they are probably pulling in the numbers they expected .

David10086 said: "This was in the NY Post a few weeks ago, just before his show opened and the box office was already struggling to sell tickets past his opening weekend:



Manilow’s looming flameout has surprised a few insiders, who note that in April he extended a residency in Las Vegas after performing his 500th show at the International Theater at Westgate.

“The Vegas crowd is all tourists who will buy tickets or discount tickets to just about anyone who’s playing — even if the performer, like Barry, hasn’t had a hit in years,” one insider said. “The Broadway crowd is more sophisticated and a tougher sell.”"

I call bull$hit! By the same standard, people who go to see Die Walkure are "less sophisticated" than those who attend The Prom because when is the last time Wagner had a hit anyway? (I'm not throwing shade at The Prom, just pointing out how ridiculous the item in The Post is.)

And, besides, everyone knows the Broadway audience in August is, like Vegas, mostly tourists, because every self-respecting New Yorker is out on the Island.

And while I'm on the subject, I think Springsteen may be the only pop composer who can hold his own with Sondheim, but when was the last time Springsteen had a commercial hit? 1980s? Early 1990s?

The Post article is not just nonsense, it is stupid nonsense.

Despite the impression I may have just given, I don't have a dog in this fight. On my budget, I wouldn't pay $150+ to see Manilow (or almost anyone else). I'd save that money to see a good book musical.

To me, Manilow's true genius lies in his arrangements for himself and for Bette Midler back in the day. It's a shame we don't recognize musical arrangement as a talent at least equal to those who hum a tune into a tape recorder for others to arrange and orchestrate.

But to paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of Manilow's demise are greatly exaggerated.

UncleCharlie said: "It's a slightly less that 4 week run. It's grossinga tick less than $1 million a week for a 5 performance/week schedule. It consistently has an averageticket price around $155-160 which this week was only behind Hadestown, Hamilton, Lion King, Moulin Rouge and TKAM, and it's filling 80+% of its seats in a 1500 seat house. He's pulling in about $200k per performance in grosses. I know this board has its favorites which it will gush over endlessly and the shows it just doesn't feel have any right being on aBroadway stage which it will crap on endlessly but all this talk about it's bombing, he has no audience anymore, no one wants to see him, blahblahblah. I don't know, a million a week for 5 shows? It's not Springsteen numbers but I'm not sure what people were expecting if these numbers are considered bad."

I do think the show is making about as much money as they were expecting.      And any NY Post article should be taken with a grain of salt.   

I had a ball too. Sang along the whole time, and suited us just right. I either love or hate PAGE SIX.