Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 3/3/19- Page 2

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 3/5/19 at 1:15am

I take this personally. My beloved Golden Age musicals, well two of them, not able to outdraw the likes of Mean Girls? A generation of theatergoers who didn't grow up to the strains of "Getting to know you, Getting to know all about you" and "Whenever I feel afraid." Or "All I want is a room somewhere, Far away from the cold night air." During this period very good revivals of Carousel and Fiddler on the Roof were not given the respect and the audience deserved.

My Fair Lady, with a second cast some preferred to the original, and named the best musical of the year by the Times and I think New Yorker. Given the cold shoulder?  So, why was Laura renewed? She was no draw, the March schedule had to be mangled to fit Benanti's schedule. I would have liked to see a fresh young face. Much as when Laura replaced Rebecca Luker in The Sound of Music, and was called an improvement by the Times. I had a crush on Rebecca from Prince's Show Boat and I remember thinking how hard it must have been for Rebecca to read that review.

So couldn't they have brought in Emma Stone? Oh yeah. Her voice was good enough for Sally Bowles but not for Eliza Doolittle. Reese! Definitely Reese. She was June Carter in the Johnny Cash biopic. But did she do all her own singing? Never mind. The Beaumont would be humming every night.

Speaking of Carousel, does everyone realize that many tourists think that Julie and Billy are a mixed race couple? Joshua Henry as Billy gave a fantastic, Tony-nominated performance. But many outsiders don't realize that even in Maine a colored man would not have been permitted at that time to mingle with and touch white women at the carousel. Don't like them seeing Billy as just another violent African American who of course beat his white wife.

Anyway, on recently viewing the DVR of South Pacific, I believe that it most deserved to be the one that hung around for two years. Grand in scope and gravitas, two broadly memorable songs of love and loss in "Some Enchanted Evening" and "This Nearly Was Mine." The "unique-in-musical-theater" "Bali Ha'i", whose first three notes ignite an overture that I have been known to listen in on a 20% repeat loop and listened to it played twenty times.

[theaterlyfe19]

Posted: 3/5/19 at 8:09am

Waitress' run costs are relatively low, no? It recouped, it has a new star coming in who could be a huge draw. We won't know until Shoshana comes in and we see what her grosses are like. While yes, there are a lot of shows coming in this/next season (I think this season? Or have they all been announced?) and they have to pick theaters, a lot of shows this season are limited runs. They could close and those new shows could choose those theaters. It doesn't have to be the one that a show coming up on its third anniversary is in. I say wait and see. You never know. 

[getupngo]

Posted: 3/5/19 at 8:45am

laurensambrose said: "Those My Fair Lady grosses are making me nervous :/"

I just saw it this past week, and both of the entire far side sections had maybe 10 -15 people sitting in each

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/5/19 at 8:57am

theaterlyfe19 said: "it has a new star coming in who could be a huge draw."

 

Shoshana Bean, a huge draw? For whom? People who watch Wicked riff compilations on Youtube? Nothing against Shoshana Bean but she's far from a box office name.

[theaterlyfe19]

Posted: 3/5/19 at 9:07am

JBroadway said: "theaterlyfe19 said: "it has a new star coming in who could be a huge draw."



Shoshana Bean, a huge draw? For whom? People who watch Wicked riff compilations on Youtube? Nothing against Shoshana Bean but she's far from a box office name."

Never assume anything. You don’t know. People were so excited when she was announced. So yes, she could be a huge draw and not just to the Wicked fans *insert eye roll here* 

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 3/5/19 at 10:20am

theaterlyfe19 said: "JBroadway said: "theaterlyfe19 said: "it has a new star coming in who could be a huge draw."



Shoshana Bean, a huge draw? For whom? People who watch Wicked riff compilations on Youtube? Nothing against Shoshana Bean but she's far from a box office name."

Never assume anything. You don’t know. People were so excited when she was announced. So yes, she could be a huge draw and not just to the Wicked fans *insert eye roll here*"

Not to discredit Shoshana but the only people who know who she is are the people that are posting on message boards like these and that will not keep Waitress afloat. She is not a name by ANY means.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/5/19 at 10:42am

Shoshana Bean is wonderful but she's hardly a name that will draw sustained crowds.

[haterobics]

Posted: 3/5/19 at 11:46am

theaterlyfe19 said: "People were so excited when she was announced."

What excites Broadway message boards often doesn't excite the theatergoing populace.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 3/5/19 at 12:19pm

theaterlyfe19 said: "Waitress' run costs are relatively low, no? It recouped, it has a new star coming in who could be a huge draw. We won't know until Shoshana comes in and we see what her grosses are like. While yes, there are a lot of shows coming in this/next season (I think this season? Or have they all been announced?) and they have to pick theaters, a lot of shows this season are limited runs. They could close and those new shows could choose those theaters. It doesn't have to be the one that a show coming up on its third anniversary is in. I say wait and see. You never know."

I can't imagine the Bean will have any perceptible impact on BO, unless there happens to be general pickup across the board, in which case an uptick will not really be due to her presence.  I doubt that 95% of theatergoers even know who she is...'oh, was she the one we saw in Wicked'.

[NYCblurb]

Posted: 3/10/19 at 11:19pm

theaterlyfe19 said: "Waitress' run costs are relatively low, no? It recouped, it has a new star coming in who could be a huge draw. We won't know until Shoshana comes in and we see what her grosses are like. While yes, there are a lot of shows coming in this/next season (I think this season? Or have they all been announced?) and they have to pick theaters, a lot of shows this season are limited runs. They could close and those new shows could choose those theaters. It doesn't have to be the one that a show coming up on its third anniversary is in. I say wait and see. You never know."

I do not believe Shoshana is going to goose the egg up much more from it's previous running average.  SB is a fine workhorse replacement but not a draw for ticket buyers do you think?

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 3/11/19 at 12:50am

Shoshana Bean has made a name for herself in the music/concert world as she has been performing all over the world since she left Wicked in 2006. She may not be Sara Bareilles level but people know her name.

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 3/11/19 at 1:46am

GiantsInTheSky2 said: "Shoshana Bean has made a name for herself in the music/concert world as she has been performing all over the world since she left Wicked in 2006. She may not be Sara Bareilles level but people know her name."

They may know her name but 'Oh yeah, I've heard of her" isn't likely to translate into "She's in Waitress? OK, I was on the fence but now I gotta go."