Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 1/21/18 — Page 2

I wonder if OOTI really need to step up the marketing of Lea Salonga. Not sure why they are wasting time and money bringing in Norm Lewis and Tamyra Gray for marketing purposes (assuming the rumours were true - which based on the Director's husband's tweet sure sounds like it) when they aren't leveraging the biggest asset they have in the cast. With over 5 million twitter followers it seems like people know who she is (maybe the general public know her work more than her name - so that could be emphasised in an ad). And yet, if I go to the website there is nothing about this on the main page (only Ken D's latest 'innovation' - the Best Price Guarantee). If I click 'reviews' - there is no pull quotes on the page about her.

Not sure why they are downplaying her involvement and sitting her below the title. Maybe they didn't want the show to be dependent on her/disappoint fans given it's more a featured role. But still. If the show is in dire straits I see this as a missed opportunity.

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Just wondering where the potential ticket holders for Dolly ended up since it only did two shows for the week.

Well, if you write up a survey, we can ask them.



It' s the middle of January, they stayed home.

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I'm excited about these Kathryn McPhee to Waitress rumors. If they are true, do you guys think she has enough star power to keep Waitress powered forward for another year until (wishful thinking) Sara comes back for a third stint? It'll be interesting to see what happens to the grosses as soon as Sara and Jason leave. Obviously a big drop, but how far and how long...

I gotta ask, who's seeing Beautiful and A Bronx Tale? I guess Beautiful might be a touristy one but A Bronx Tale? Anyone know?

Warbucks2 said: "But it seems like it is less an issue with the show and more that you don't like one of the producers. Have you seen this production of OOTI? Was there some noticeable aspect of Ken Davenport's producing that comes through in the production? I saw the show and didn't notice it. I credit Arden more for what I saw."

But you're in a thread about grosses, not where people measure the aesthetic value of shows.

Warbucks2 said: "I've been trying to figure out from our earlier back and forthwhy you have such a bone to pick with OOTI. But it seems like it is less an issue with the show and more that you don't like one of the producers. Have you seen this production of OOTI? Was there some noticeable aspect of Ken Davenport's producing that comes through in the production? I saw the show and didn't notice it. I credit Arden more for what I saw.

PS. I don't blame you if you don't like a whole production just because you hate one guy attached to it. That's how I feel about the Patriots. It's just helpful for me to know not to waste my breath trying to make logical arguments in response to your quips and jabs about anything with Davenport attached to it. And, by the way,you should know there's nothing rational you can say that will make me like the Patriots until Brady is gone. And if Tom Brady starts producing musicals, so help me."

I saw and liked the show. I don't hate anyone (except our happily shared Brady/Patriots hate, which doesn't count). I have nothing against any responsibility KD has for the show on stage (any more than I did for his Spring Awakening). My focus (here and always) is on the objective information about the show's business plan (a) which no experienced successful producer would touch with a 10 foot pole, (b) which is demonstrably a roadmap to failure and (c) that follows a pattern of inept budgeting and marketing that is, IMO, worthy of scorn. Should KD (who has the chutzpah to charge people to teach them how to produce) learn how to produce before his next show, I'll be first in line to shower the production with accolades.

Some people on this board have suggested I hated them. I don't hate any person; I do hate some ideas, and that's basically my feelings about this as well.

I hope you look good in green. I don't but I will be wearing it on 4 Feb 2018.

Jets, so the green comes naturally to me

Haterobics: Good point! This thread is about grosses and Hogan has been repeatedly beating down OOTI over its grosses and in this thread I guess that is appropriate.

Hogan: You’re a good guy. I like you. Great response and I think we may see more eye to eye than it seems, not just regarding Brady. If we’re just talking about grosses here and that’s the metric then I understand why you might question why a producer would touch OOTI. Are you also surprised a producer would touch the other 80% of shows on broadway that don’t turn a profit? I don’t get what makes this one so obviously bad. Apparently the folks on this board (generally) and the critics (almost unanimously) also seem to be missing problems that seem so obvious to you.

TheatreRocks said: "Once on this island got a 99.53% average capacity this week. That is pretty good, no?"

Capacity doesn’t really factor into the gross, though. You need to look at the gross vs. potential gross percentage.

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Warbucks2 said: "If we’re just talking about grosses here and that’s the metric then I understand why you might question why a producer would touch OOTI. Are you also surprised a producer would touch the other 80% of shows on broadway that don’t turn a profit? I don’t get what makes this one so obviously bad."

It is not just the grosses. It's the potential, the costs and the marketing. This is a venue that has a relatively low potential. This show is not costly but also not cheap. And (as I think I have said before) there was no marketing plan that described a path (a word I have used before regarding shows that seem to be proceeding cluelessly) to success. "Build it and they will come" is not a path to success, and I don't think they have ever conveyed to the broader potential audience a reason to see this. (In other contexts they call this a hook. )

There are plenty of other shows that don't make objective sense and I have commented on a fair number of them. Sometimes people believe in something that doesn't find an audience. But successful people are focused on a plan even when it fails, and here when you combine the elements mentioned above, you don't get to the finish line. As I have said, the only way this show succeeds is to create a demand that yields premium prices. You can't sit on the sidelines and expect that demand to spontaneously generate.