Broadway Grosses - OUCH for Shrek and Mary Poppins! — Page 2

Aren't the terms different for South Pacific since it is produced by Lincoln Center? LCT is non-profit.

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Updated On: 9/14/09 at 05:52 PM

Blaxx, Yes I mean to say about the times review, Brantly didnt completly tear it apart like he did 9 to 5. So I was considering that good in that sense. It was a OK review

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millie_dillmount, you're right due with saying that grosses are different/don't matter with shows like South Pacific due to the fact that they are non profit productions. They technically can't flop or recoup for that matter.

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Ugh! Even Wicked is down.

I think South Pacific is actually now just making money for Lincoln Center. It made back the money for the non profit rather early on since the minimums for a Non-Profit show are a little lower.

With productions like Piazza and South Pacific running for a while, it gives LCT the chance to perhaps be more adventurous with less well known material in the future.

"Mr. Brantley said this though: "TRUE HAPPINESS. Shrek The Musical is DEFINITELY A CUT ABOVE, in the best tradition of screwball comedy." He also called Sutto's performance, "an inspired, take-charge musical comedian in the tradition of Danny Kaye and Carol Burnett." "


What, do you work on Shrek's publicity department? If you're going to hack up a review, at least use [...] to show you did it.

Brantley ACTUALLY said:

"Tis love, the fairy tales tell us, that turns dross into gold and clods into gods. So it seems appropriate that about halfway through the leaden fairy-tale-theme costume party called ?Shrek the Musical,? which opened Sunday night at the Broadway Theater, it?s a love scene that gives us a startling glimpse of true happiness."

"?Shrek,? for the record, is not bad. The maiden Broadway venture of DreamWorks Theatricals (a stage-oriented arm of the company that made the movie), in association with Neal Street Productions, it is definitely a cut above the most recent offerings from its creators? direct competitor in cartoon-inspired musicals,Walt Disney."

Hardly high-praise, considering Brantley loathed Tarzan and Little Mermaid.

The only aspect of the show he DID outright praise was Sutton. Don't go forming a Frankenstein's monster of a rave review out of out-of-context words.

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Updated On: 9/15/09 at 01:11 AM

"Ugh! Even Wicked is down."

I hope your "Ugh!" was not serious. Are we going to point this out every week it encounters a 2 to 3% decrease in audience attendance percentages while it is still in the high-90% range? We have seen these percentages before.

Wicked BARELY declined. It is still pulling in one of the largest grosses on Broadway and more than enough to cover weekly running costs.

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"I disagree about a Xmas surge in sales, however."

Shrek made $1,268,342 and $1,260,282 during the weeks ending 12/28/08 and 01/04/09 which are holiday weeks and it was running during the same time as "White Christams."It also made over $1,000,000 during Thanksgiving weekend.

"I disagree about a Xmas surge in sales, however. With the limited run of White Christmas at the Marquis, the two MSG shows, Nutcrackers ad nauseum and a possible two-week run of A Xmas Carol with F. Murray Abraham, James Garner, Stockard Channing, Timothy Hutton, Wayne Knight and George Wendt......there's a lot of competition for holiday business."

What are you talking about? If you look at past grosses, there is usually a surge in sales for most shows open during the holidays. The competition doesn't matter, especially when the number of tourists increases during the holiday seasons. People who can't get tickets to the shows like White Christmas will buy tickets to other shows instead. Also, tourists may see multiple shows. If Shrek is around by the holiday season, it will see an increase in sales, especially since it is a family-friendly show.

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Rock Of Ages and Next To Normal were Off-Broadway shows first and everyone got to see them at first including critics.

Shrek was reviewed in its out of town tryout and received more tepid reviews on Broadway than either Rock of Ages or Next to Normal. Since Seattle, Shrek just didn't generate much buzz or enthusiasm even with its MAJOR branding recognition.

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