Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 4/9/23- Page 2

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 4/12/23 at 1:42am

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "bear88 said: "Are teenagers and young adults really going to be clamoring to seeKimberly Akimbo? The star is a woman in her 60s playing a dying teenage girl - and not even in the present day. The score works well enough in the context of the show, but that's not a big selling point either. Its likely Best Musical win will help, but I'm not sure it's going to help enough. I can see it getting a box office boost for the summer, then fading in the fall, especially if Victoria Clark leaves."

The reality is nobody is clamoring to see KIMBERLY AKIMBO. The numbers tell us that. These are close to GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE-level bad, and there is a distinct possibility that it wins Best Musical and does not get the major bump that it wants and closes at the end of summer. David Stone is among the best in the biz, but I just don't think this musical is resonating with the general public. The ad campaign also isn't working, and WOM is tricky on a show like this."

I have a really hard time believing that Kimberly Akimbo would close at the end of the summer if it wins Best Musical. Even the worst performing shows after that win (A Strange Loop, Passion) made it to January.

[binau]

Posted: 4/12/23 at 2:48am

I’m just not sure how you could claim Akimbo isn’t resonating with the general public. The show honestly had one of, if not the single worst advance I’ve seen in years for a new musical. It was horrible. And yet through word of mouth things changed quickly. It had good reviews not just critically but on forums, On show score etc. I get not everyone LOVES it but I sense most people at least like it. It has no stars (sorry but Victoria Clark is not a name or box office draw at all outside a tiny group of theatre fans like us), it has zero marquee recognition and the name doesn’t really tell you anything about it without any context (I think it would be very very difficult to bring in an audience through just traditional marketing channels as I don’t see what would appeal without actually seeing it). But it has managed to build an audience. I don’t see it surviving long without a best musical Tony win and it still is a quirky little off Broadway show that not everyone is looking for when they want to go to [sung in a gay way] BROADWAYYYYYYYYY, but if it does win unlike Strange Loop or even Fun Home the material is less offensive and more wide range appealing. 
 

I have no idea what the age of the audience is but to me it’s exactly the kind of show that could become a viral hit for young theatre goers. It’s a show about teenagers and life - not a 60 year old. It’s not Follies. It has a couple of excellent songs that I think younger people would love (eg Better, Good Kid and maybe Anagram). It may not be a ‘greatest of all time’ score but I do think it’s good and the songs range from serviceable to great. 
 

Even off Broadway I remember it was not a smash hit at all. Yet clearly people believe in this material to mount the show and people are coming. I’m not ready to hammer any nails into any coffins or even buy a coffin just yet. Father Time, tell the man on the moon it’s much too soon. We’re going on a great adventure!

Updated On: 4/12/23 at 02:48 AM

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 4/12/23 at 4:03am

pethian said: "Given that this past week included the first two nights of Passover, Good Friday and Easter, shouldn't we be cautious about too much interpretation of these numbers?"

All of these are things that remove people from the audience not add to them.

EDIT: Unless that's what you were saying and I'm an idiot, lol

Updated On: 4/12/23 at 04:03 AM

[bear88]

Posted: 4/12/23 at 4:37am

I agree that Kimberly Akimbo doesn't need to be a smash hit to turn a profit. It can work as counterprogramming against the larger, splashier, star-laden musicals. The good news for the producers is that they're still able to mostly fill the Booth, but the bad news is that average ticket price continues to be on the wrong side of $100 per ticket, and it's going in the wrong direction. Maybe it was worse last week due to the holidays, with the shows doing very well being family-oriented musicals that draw international tourists. But it still has the lowest average ticket price of any new musical that isn't Bad Cinderella and Shucked, and the lowest weekly attendance of all of them.

The show has a smart, experienced producer, and the strategy seems obvious enough: Wait for Best Musical (which I strongly suspect it will get) and any other awards and ride that wave while keeping costs down. That might work. It did for Fun Home, which not only turned a profit on Broadway despite its dark subject matter but also made money on tour. 

Setting aside the merits of the musical, I just wonder if Kimberly Akimbo might be somewhere in no man's land from a marketing perspective. It's gotten unanimous critical praise, raves from regular Broadway theatergoers, a very good Show Score, and nothing is moving the needle. I just wonder if the show is lacking anything that connects it to the zeitgeist the way Dear Evan Hansen's focus on mental health and social media did, for example.

The Tony Award will help. I just wonder how much.

Updated On: 4/13/23 at 04:37 AM

[JasonC3]

Posted: 4/12/23 at 6:56am

The comments about Akimbo are vaguely reminiscent of those for Fun Home.

Updated On: 4/12/23 at 06:56 AM

[Theater3232]

Posted: 4/12/23 at 10:32am

Can Thanksgiving Play even keep running at those extremely poor numbers? Not sure why 2ST thought a small space at Playwrights Horizons' tiny upstairs theater (with a niche audience) should translate to a Broadway house. Every out of towner I've spoken to regrets seeing it on Broadway and said it wasn't worth the money.  Between that and their current off- Broadway mess, do they need a change in leadership?

And it must be highly embarrassing for Pictures from Home to be playing to such empty houses. Why won't they paper the house? I don't consider paying extortionary $20 fees to Showscore to be a "free" ticket.

Updated On: 4/12/23 at 10:32 AM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 4/12/23 at 11:44am

I have a number of 3-4 times a year attendees who have seen KA.  All pretty much had the same opinion…it is enjoyable, but very slight.  I do not think any recommended it to friends of theirs.  I hope it is able to capitalize on the Tony, but I dare say that it is likely to have one of the weaker numbers at the Tony’s, given the other musicals that are going to be on display.  Plus, given all the late season revivals, I doubt that it will benefit particularly from tourists unless, maybe, it receives a huge number of Tony’s, which is very unlikely, given all the competition.  i imagine it will get 6 nominations, maybe 7.  (Musical, actress, support actor and actress, book and score, director a long shot IMO.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 4/12/23 at 12:42pm

Second Stage truly does have the worst creative on Broadway when it comes to advertising. If you asked an agency to come up with "milquetoast regional subscription house" creative, it would be what 2ST churns out each season. It's beyond stale at this point, and really don't get what their deal is. Uninteresting, bland, and embarrassing. And that's an egregious shame because the theater they produce is routinely fabulous.
 

100% perfect comment.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/12/23 at 1:07pm

Theater3232 said: "Can Thanksgiving Play even keep running at those extremely poor numbers? Not sure why 2ST thought a small space at Playwrights Horizons' tiny upstairs theater (with a niche audience) should translate to a Broadway house. Every out of towner I've spoken to regrets seeing it on Broadway and said it wasn't worth the money. Between that and their current off- Broadway mess, do they need a change in leadership?"

I like Thanksgiving Play as a play and think it is worthy of being on Broadway, and the cast they assembled is doing great work and could get 2 Featured Actress Tony noms. IMO, the 2nd Stage issue is not in the onstage programming & quality of shows (which are usually excellent), it's in the marketing and exploitation of such shows to reach a paying audience –– or any type of audience.

A subscription house this small being less than 75% full at this point in the preview cycle is bad, for a cast that includes two stars of MAJOR & widely-watched network TV shows.

The marketing issues stem from the senior leadership (Carole Rothman and her transient gang of Exec Directors) more than the ad agency or in-house marketing team.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 4/12/23 at 1:27pm

The Good Place had poor ratings after the first season so I doubt you’re talking about Darcy. Chris and Scott are the notable celebrities here as This Is Us was huge and Scott has done a million things in his long, successful career. 
 

[JasonC3]

Posted: 4/12/23 at 1:46pm

I don't disagree that 2ST marketing is a problem, but don't the majority of the comments in The Thanksgiving Play thread suggest the play is slight and some people express surprise that it is being mounted?

[Jarethan]

Posted: 4/12/23 at 4:22pm

Sutton Ross said: "The Good Place had poor ratings after the first season so I doubt you’re talking about Darcy. Chris and Scott are the notable celebrities here as This Is Uswas huge and Scott has done a million things in his long, successful career.
"

I doubt very much that either of them would sell tickets even if the advertising was better.  Audra MacD and Nathan Lane do sell tickets, but it was not enough to make a difference from an investment perspective.  The cast of Thanksgiving play are not names than sell tickets, however good they may be in their roles.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 4/12/23 at 4:56pm

Her name is Audra Mcdonald and the play is selling well, actually. Chris and Scott are well known in much bigger circles internationally than Audra or Nathan ever could be.

 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/12/23 at 4:57pm

I think it's a moot point because the general public wouldn't know any of them are even in the show given the lack of advertising or marquee. 

Also, when I saw Kimberly it was a pretty eclectic audience. Older people, Bridge and Tunnel, younger people, middle age couples. And they all adored it.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 4/12/23 at 5:19pm

Sutton Ross said: "Her name is Audra Mcdonald and the play is selling well, actually. Chris and Scott are well known in much bigger circles internationally than Audra or Nathan ever could be.

But would they sell tickets?  If your answer is 'yes', my response would be 'are you serious?'...I have also read multiple times, although no statistics were provided, that tourists rarely purchase tickets to non-musicals.  So I doubt their 'international fame' means squat when it comes to ticket sales.

Maybe it matters to people on this board, who will purchase tickets specifically to see an understudy, but it is not going to make a difference to typical ticket purchasers.

Updated On: 4/12/23 at 05:19 PM

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 4/13/23 at 3:00am

Sutton Ross said: "The Good Place had poor ratings after the first season so I doubt you’re talking about Darcy. Chris and Scott are the notable celebrities here as This Is Uswas huge and Scott has done a million things in his long, successful career.
"

Granted, this is just one proxy metric for popularity, but here are the amount of followers the biggest stars of The Thanksgiving Play have on social media:

Scott Foley - 1.31M Total Followers 

D'Arcy Carden - 1.19M Total Followers 

Chris Sullivan -  723K Total Followers