Bright Star's financial troubles- Page 4

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 5/10/16 at 11:27am

newintown said: "I'm constantly amazed at the number of people who are entirely unaware of the principle of Chekhov's Gun - that is "If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off."

The most obvious clues to upcoming events could be carefully laid in most audience members' laps, with  a large sign describing how it will come out, and they still will be surprised. I remember people actually gasping at the Act I curtain line of Proof, and wanting to stand up and ask, "What else could possibly have happened after that obvious set up?"

But perhaps most people only pay partial attention when watching a play, film, or TV show, using other parts of their mind to think about other things, like dinner or the trip home or if the person sitting next to them will touch their leg or not.

 

"

It's truly amazing. When people gasped at the 'reveal' in Bright Star, I wanted to just let out a loud "Are you f***ing kidding?" 

People who aren't particularly paying attention can be surprised by the only possible outcome that a situation has set up. 

 

[Up In One]

Posted: 5/10/16 at 11:51am

How many shows have come in and done poorly in its early run and got turned around by reviews or awards? I'm thinking not many. Gentlemans Guide is probably the best example, it struggled got the Tony moved into hit status and then trickled off - not a great run for a Tony winner. 

How many times have we heard only the Best Musical award is worth something and this year that is not going to happen for anyone other than Hamilton. It looks like only Waitress and On Your Feet came in with high interest and both had music industry stars involved. Gone are the days of opening on Broadway and hoping they will come. Another reason to be shocked as to why Steve Martin isn't being played for all he can. We all know Cyndi Lauper had a huge part in the success of Kinky Boots as did Carole King with Beautiful. It's no wonder there are so many music industry shows lining up - they've usurped the movie adaptations. 

 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 5/10/16 at 6:14pm

Some quick suggestions for how to fix Bright Star. I'm just going to mark the whole thing as spoilers to avoid making it complicated.

 

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1. Make it more religious. You could keep most of the show intact and have it be believable if it were more of a religious parable, morality play, etc. You know who's good and who's evil. You're waiting for the bad people to get punished and the good people to triumph. Just add in more lessons about hard work and prayer and belief in God and we'll be rooting for the family to be reunited instead of wondering if the show really doesn't realize we've already figured it out. The bones are already there with her family and the quasi gospel/church song near the end. You could also abandon whatever subtlety they were trying for with the mayor which makes him rather bland. By adding in more lessons about ambition, hard work, etc. it might also (barely) make the mother and son seem more similar and both obscure that secret and have it seem less suspicious that she keeps helping him and handing opportunies to him.

2. Fix the scene where they throw the baby from the train. Not only is it very predictable that the baby will live when you see the bag flying slowly and dramatically overhead but it's stupid. It's ridiculous. There has to be a better way to stage that. If nothing else, just have him throw it through the window upstage.

There are, of course, other options. But these would be the quickest and easiest.

[TFMH18]

Posted: 5/10/16 at 9:26pm

Uh, per the above "suggestions," the show has opened and is therefore "frozen." They aren't rewriting the whole show to make it more religious.

[ChiTheaterFan]

Posted: 5/10/16 at 9:45pm

I for one am glad they didn't go the religious route. I see the show as pure feel-good fluff. It's just entertainment. It's not realistic but it allowed me to escape reality and enjoy a romantic story. If they had added a religious aspect I think it would've felt preachy to me personally. 

[BroadwayNYC25]

Posted: 5/10/16 at 9:49pm

"Unlike The Visit, Bright Star DOES have commercial appeal (it's a feel-good musical starring a dynamo cast and catchy songs). And also unlike The Visit, a performance on the Tonys could actually make viewers want to see the show. "

 

yeah totally, a feel-good musical ends the first act with a baby flying out of a train.

[ChiTheaterFan]

Posted: 5/10/16 at 9:54pm

You might want to add a spoiler alert.

 

For me, a feel good musical ends happy. If it has an emotional roller coaster it serves a feel good purpose for me. I can't think of anything I'd call a feel good romantic musical without some sadness along the way. 

 

Similarly She Loves Me is a feel good musical even though

 

 

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It deals with an attempted suicide. 

 

[binau]

Posted: 5/10/16 at 10:11pm

Up In One said: "How many shows have come in and done poorly in its early run and got turned around by reviews or awards? I'm thinking not many. Gentlemans Guide is probably the best example, it struggled got the Tony moved into hit status and then trickled off - not a great run for a Tony winner. 

"

I was just thinking about this. Gentlemen's Guide is a good example. They had heavy losses until the Tony Noms and eventual win. 



Fun Home is another show that might not have made it without the Tony win, but if I recall even that had greater steam than Bright Star did at this point in time.

next to normal is another show I can think of that started pretty slow and eventually made it. But that show was very inexpensive to run. I actually don't know of any musical since that has had a weekly nut as low as that show (was reported in the NYtimes if I recall to be around 250k-275k per week).

 

 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 5/10/16 at 11:21pm

" Uh, per the above "suggestions," the show has opened and is therefore "frozen." They aren't rewriting the whole show to make it more religious."

Oh, I know. I'm just making the argument that the show was fixable, even late into previews. They were just clearly happy with what they had.

[uncageg]

Posted: 5/10/16 at 11:46pm

In my opinion, Bright Star does not need fixing. It seems people want to mold it into what they want it to be instead of enjoying it for wat it is. Yeah, you see something coming from a mile away and I think they wanted you to so you would gasp, as the entire audience did when I saw it, at that moment in Act II. Didn't see it coming and I think that is what they wanted. As far as the baby at the end of Act I, well that is what inspired the making of the show. Stop picking it apart and just enjoy it for what it is! 

This has been quite a diverse year on Broadway and I, for one, find it thrilling that I can see something like this, then see a visually brilliant axe murder set to music and then see some of the best tap dancing  by a kick ass cast on the face of the earth all in one season!  JMO

[ChiTheaterFan]

Posted: 5/11/16 at 6:04pm

I agree. If someone doesn't like it, that's fine. But I feel like the "fixes" are suggesting a totally different musical. 

 

Lack of predictability doesn't make or break a musical.  I mean so many people adore She Loves Me. Spoiler alert:

 

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Georg and Amalia end up together!

You saw that coming before you even got to the theater.  

 

Bright Star isn't meant to be some thought provoking piece with a message. It's just a sweet show. If you don't like it, that's totally cool. But I feel like the general reaction from people who have seen it is largely positive. I don't think these qualms people have are the reason it's not faring that well. I think it's just that most people don't even know what it is, or if they do, the idea of a bluegrass musical set in North Carolina 70 years ago or whatever isn't that appealing. Unfortunately I have no idea what the solution is, which is why I'm not a producer or in marketing!

[starcatchers]

Posted: 5/13/16 at 9:48pm

Per Jeff Blumenkrantz on twitter, Steve Martin joined the band for tonight's entr'acte. I feel like this might be a sign of future (not surprise) things to come. 

[ChiTheaterFan]

Posted: 5/13/16 at 10:10pm

Not surprising. And smart I think!  I think my family and I are going to go the day of the Tonys. I hope he's there that day. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/13/16 at 11:29pm

It's not on TDF anymore, so someone's going to see it.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/13/16 at 11:30pm

Oh, I don't know...Will gads of folks buy tickets to MAYBE see Martin play the banjo for less than five minutes??

 

I'd like the show to succeed, it's sweet and Cusack is worth the price of admission, alone.

[asmith0307]

Posted: 5/14/16 at 12:08am

I was at the show tonight, and it looked like a pretty full house. Of course, the audience went crazy once we realized it was Steve (I have included a video from Hannah Elless below). I loved the show. Yes, you can see the reveal from a mile away, but that isn't unusual to me. I can only think of two shows in the last few seasons who had a twist/reveal that I didn't predict by intermission: Curious Incident and It Shoulda Been You. 

 

 

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Called it that the Dad killed the dog, but not the mother still being alive.

 

Knew within a few minutes that David Burtka's character was gay... Sierra and Montego, not so much.

I'll probably head back over to the Cort to see it again here soon. I have seen Carmen a few times over the last number of years (South Pacific and First Wives Club off the top of my head), and this role is so right for her. Paul Alexander Nolan was fantastic too. 

https://twitter.com/HannahElless/status/731319705210892288

[uncageg]

Posted: 5/14/16 at 12:30am

That sounded like a pretty full house! Thanks for sharing the video.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/14/16 at 12:52am

I think it would do well regionally. But not sure how it would tour. It's a pretty small show. But Cusack is still giving the best female performance of the season. 

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 5/14/16 at 1:13am

The thing is, is that the two times I've seen the show people have gasped, squealed... audibly CRIED even when the reveal was made. So even if around here it's "stupid" or "seen coming from a mile away," it's clearly entertaining and shocking audiences so why can't people around here just let it go? I swear I heard a woman yelp when I saw the show for the first time during previews. 

What is shocking to most audiences may not be shocking to the more-than-average-attendance Broadway audience, sure, but it is still working to do what it set out to do and I don't see anything wrong with it. 

The suitcase is a little silly, but so what? Shake it off. 

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 5/14/16 at 1:39am

Is there any chance Carmen could win over Cynthia? I loved Cynthia's performance so much but something about Carmen is truly enchanting. I'd love to see her win honestly 

[PortiaJ]

Posted: 5/14/16 at 5:02am

Scarywarhol said: It's truly amazing. When people gasped at the 'reveal' in Bright Star, I wanted to just let out a loud "Are you f***ing kidding?" 
 

Yup. This was pretty much my experience of seeing the Bright Star tryout at the Kennedy Center. During intermission, you can sketch out the entire story arc in to come in Act 2.  I had kind of hoped there would be a fix by the Broadway opening. I want to give them credit for writing a bluegrass musical, and I do like the cast, but it is hard to get past that Bright Star storyline. 

[Melissa25]

Posted: 5/14/16 at 5:31am

What are the chances of an Errivo / Cusack tie?  This would be my dream outcome.

[TFMH18]

Posted: 5/14/16 at 9:50am

Count me among those who think Carmen is giving THE Tony-winning performance this season. Unfortunately, if momentum is to be believed, Erivo has it in the bag. And it's too bad, too, because I think in a different season Tony voters would have loved to go with the Broadway newcomer who has spent years in the business and is finally making her debut in the role of a lifetime. Still, thrilled she is being recognized with a nomination and rapturous praise from all who see her.

[John Adams]

Posted: 5/14/16 at 10:22am

I don't know if it's fair to say that Bright Star has "financial troubles". It makes it seem like the show has some kind of fault, or done something 'wrong' when (I believe) it's in the same financial boat, and has taken the same financial risk as most Broadway shows post-9/11. ...and so many shows 'fail' in the sense that they don't have nearly as long a run as those pre-9/11.

Our national economy has sucked eggs since 9/11. Speaking only for myself, I know that it's very unlikely I'll make another Broadway trip like the ones I used to take pre-9/11, because the expense no longer justifies the return. I know that if it weren't so cost prohibitive, I'd have already seen Bright Star. I think it's possible that a significant amount of other former Broadway patrons are in the same situation, and that hurts Broadway's economy. So, yes ...I'm one of "those guys". I blame the economy, not the show, but I'm also old enough to remember what life was like pre-9/11 and, right or wrong, I feel like there's a huge difference.

To my mind, Bright Star is another example of the financial "new normal" (remember when that phrase was everywhere?). I think there's higher financial risk for all new Broadway shows - meaning that there are limited exceptions like reliable revivals, or Disney screen-to-stage shows.

I wonder if Bright Star is performing as financially expected on Broadway, knowing that Tony nominations (and perhaps wins), word of mouth RE: the Broadway production, and sales of the OC album will allow the show to make its money elsewhere (regional productions, touring companies, etc.). The show may not be having "financial troubles" so much as just living out 'how things go' nowadays.

Updated On: 5/14/16 at 10:22 AM

[asmith0307]

Posted: 5/14/16 at 11:18am

I was talking with a producer once who told me that it's not unusual for people to invest in a show, even though they don't believe it will recoup on Broadway, as they will get first shot at ventures that tend to be much more successful/ or will automatically get profits from with their initial investments (regional/tour, licensing, album, etc.). For example, Gentleman's Guide was predicted to not last as long as it did, and although the tour seems to be doing well (I haven't looked at their numbers in the most recent markets), it will probably make a killing (pun slightly intended) in the regional/licensing circuit. I have talked to a number of people who are just waiting for the rights to be released.