Betty Buckley out yesterday. — Page 3

Some people think since they haven't heard of someone, no one has. On a thread about The Band's Visit someone said no on had ever heard of Tony Shalhoub (or thoughts to that effect). Shalhoub's TV show Monk where he played the "Defective Detective" was one of the most popular shows of its genre, and was water cooler talk the next day after it aired. So, trust me, people have heard of him. As for Andrea Martin, her stint as Aunt Voula in My Big Fat Greek Wedding made her instantly popular and her face is quite recognizable to many people.

SweetLips22 said: "And???"

LOL, Sweet Lips. I thought the same thing. Adam Greer is right. Andrea Martin wouldn't sell more tickets, than Betty. As Jorge says, tours play subscription houses. People are going for the show. A name is just icing on the cake.

Call_me_jorge said: "I honestly don’t think a name can help a tour really. Tours play subscription houses, so people are already going to see the show with a name or not. You can put Bette or Jessica in there and the show will sell the same."

Honey, If Bette was doing the tour this thing would be sold out everywhere. Subscription or no subscription.

ArtMan said: "But dobig names really tour anymore? Back in the day, they did. I can't think of a A list movie and or tv star who has been in a tour in years."

No they don't. But that is different than saying that if there was a big name attached it wouldn't sell.

If it had a better name it would sell better. Those of us who watch The View know that even Joy Behar was offered the tour before Buckley. The wish list was long.

Is the entire tour really selling bad? The show is coming to Orlando in December and it has sold really well. I may have driven down to see it, but I have a cruise on my agenda at the same time. Of course, if someone like Bette or another A list star was in the tour, it would be a sellout. But Andrea Martin and Joy Behar are not A list stars. I wouldn't have driven downtown (where our venue is) to see Joy Behar.

DAME said: "Mister Matt said: "I would have to guess the theater was no more than 60% - 70% full. I hope the tour can sustain itself financially.

That's not uncommon in Chicago where the bigger tour productions book 4-5 weeks, but the first 2are the subscription performances. It's the same with tryouts unless they have HUGE names involved (The Producers, Spamalot, The Addams Family) or an obvious juggernaut hit show (Lion King, Wicked, Billy Elliot, Hamilton)."

Sales don’t appear to be that great in LA either."



Is it set that Betty is doing the LA performances? There had been buzz that Bette would be doing the show there ---with the Broadway principals.

Bette's Turban said: "Mister Matt said: "It doesn't help that this is a TERRIBLE time to bring a show into Chicago. The weather is traditionally awful (everybody gets sick during the annual Halloween cold snap) and the run ends before the tourists come in for the holidays. The nearby Christkindlmarket, which brings LOADS of people daily into the Loop doesn't open until the final two days of performances."

It also doesn't help that there is no Bette or the likes of her and it is a very old show ."

That last line says it all. When we left the theater last night I noticed many younger members of the audience were audibly mocking the show. If you've never seen Dolly! before, it's a creaky old mess of a show, really; the book just doesn't make sense. I had to explain to my husband what was going on in the Harmonia Gardens scenes and the courtroom scene, because if you've not seen it before, especially the way the end of the dance scene in Harmonia gardens is staged in this version, those scenes just make no sense at all. He had no idea what on earth Dolly was doing there, what Ernestina was doing, or why the police showed up. This show didn't really put those parts over, I agree.

But mostly, in a theater scene like Chicago, where you have great theater companies like Steppenwolf and the Goodman and the Red Orchid, plus Hamilton still packing them in two years running, this show, without a STAR! DIVA!, isn't going to excite audiences. And Betty Buckley isn't that kind of diva, at least not in this show; she can't overcome the material, she never transcends it. She's just too--quiet. She comes off as older than Horace, as well, which is an odd visual. I've not heard any buzz about it, other than the surprising rave review from the Tribune. And I'd also agree with those who say the Oriental Theater is too big for this production; that might have contributed to the disappointing, creaky feel of this production, the night I saw it (11/10). It's not a huge cast, but it's a huge stage and house. And the way they built out the stage left a great hole in the middle - the pit was in front of the build out - that, frankly, made me worry throughout the show. I was afraid someone was going to fall into it (although I'm sure that wasn't really a possibility; they must have put some cover over it, but still, it worried me from my seat).

Updated On: 11/11/18 at 12:28 PM

BalconyClub said: "Ticket sales are sluggish for the evening performances Tuesday through Thursday, November 13-15.

The top 8 balcony rows are blocked on Ticketmaster for the next 3 nights.

"

I think the time of the year has something to do with it. Everyone and their mother has been winning the Dear Evan Hansen lottery in LA this evening.