Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 12/17/23- Page 3

[kurtal]

Posted: 12/21/23 at 10:51am

Jonathan Cohen said: "Jarethan said: "I researched Ani DeFranco, since I had never heard of her. The article I read said that she has released 20 'albums; with total sales of around 400,000 copies. Sounds pretty niche to me, so I will be very surprised if she has any noticeable impact on the box office. Chris Sullivan -- absolutely no way."

I'm a little more familiar with DiFranco, I liked herLittle Plastic Castle album when it came out in 1998.

Anyway, she has 254.1K monthly listeners on Spotify. In comparison, Barry Manilow has 5.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify and currently has a struggling show on Broadway. Granted that's not apples to apples - Manilow doesn't appear inHarmony, and while he does write the songs, it's not tunes his fans are familiar with.

However, I'd guess her being in Hadestown is just a fun thing forDiFranco to try, as opposed to stunt casting expected to dramatically boost ticket sales."

I think both of these casting choices are more about getting Hadestown Stans super excited about the show, as they both have roots with the show.  As mentioned, DiFranco was on the original concept album.  And then Chris Sullivan played Hermes in the NYTW production -- bringing a *very* different vibe than Andre DeShields would ultimately bring.  And of course, they also have their own fan bases.  DiFranco is an icon among indie/queer/folk circles, and Sullivan has a fan base from his time on This is Us.

I think the producers are making really smart "stunt" casting choices.  The show has demonstrated that it can survive with no giant names, but they're bringing in people with dedicated fan bases but also whose ethoses fit with that of the show.  I think if they can keep a consistent $750-850k/wk gross, they're positioned to run for a while...longer than I expected for sure.

 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 12/21/23 at 12:16pm

Theatrefan2 said: "I don't really agree on Hadestown. It may not have had major name ot brand recognition, but the Greek gods / myths angle is some what of a hook. A lot of people are interested in that. It's enough to get peoples attention. It's also a subject that isn't done a whole lot on broadway.

A musical about a dance is a fairly common musical story."

Name ‘em. 

[GottaGetAGimmick420]

Posted: 12/21/23 at 12:33pm

RippedMan said: "Theatrefan2 said: "I don't really agree on Hadestown. It may not have had major name ot brand recognition, but the Greek gods / myths angle is some what of a hook. A lot of people are interested in that. It's enough to get peoples attention. It's also a subject that isn't done a whole lot on broadway.

A musical about a dance is a fairly common musical story."

Name ‘em."

(Some are better arguments than others but when I think of a "dance"/"party" as a major plot device in a musical...)

The Prom

Carrie

Bye Bye Birdie

The Wedding Singer

Grease

Footloose

Hairspray

Zombie Prom

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 12/21/23 at 12:37pm

Deleted because the poster above has a nearly-identical list (+ WSS)

Updated On: 12/21/23 at 12:37 PM

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 12/21/23 at 12:50pm

West Side Story

Cinderella 

My Fair Lady

Paradise Square

Cats (It is the Jellicle Ball, after all)

Hello, Dolly! (though just an oft forgot subplot)

[Kad]

Posted: 12/21/23 at 1:17pm

Hadestown has become an established property in and of itself by this point, something that people will go see because they recognize the title and probably know people who have recommended it to them. It's a known commodity and therefore a safe bet for ticketbuyers.

(It's also a show that's been regularly declared as on its last legs repeatedly by members here over the last couple years, and yet here we are).

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 12/21/23 at 1:21pm

It’s rare that someone doesn’t forecast Hadestown’s demise in a weekly grosses thread. 

[bear88]

Posted: 12/21/23 at 2:39pm

Kad said: "Hadestown has become an established property in and of itself by this point, something that people will go see because they recognize the title and probably know people who have recommended it to them. It's a known commodity and therefore a safe bet for ticketbuyers.

(It's also a show that's been regularly declared as on its last legs repeatedly by members here over the last couple years, and yet here we are)."

That’s what makes Hadestown feel a bit unusual. It’s not a classic long-running musical where there’s no question it is doing fine based on the box office. It’s not Chicago, either, puttering along due to brutal cost-cutting and stunt casting and tourists familiar with the film.

Hadestown isn’t even that old, at least on Broadway, especially when one factors in the lost time due to the pandemic. What I don’t know is whether it’s slowly winding down or has established itself as a familiar Broadway musical that tourists recognize and will see regardless of who’s in it. The full theater suggests the latter, even if the average ticket price is lower. The show also isn’t limited on who it can cast, not by race or gender. That gives the producers a lot of flexibility, and they’re under less pressure because the show recouped long ago. 

I am just trying to think of an original musical analogous to Hadestown​​​​​​ that ended up running a lot longer than expected because it became a known commodity.