Posted: 5/23/17 at 5:54pm
Posted: 5/23/17 at 5:54pm
Friday is a weird day to start, but, it's probably one of the most heavily attended nights and it's right in the middle of the week so he doesn't have to start by doing a full 8. He can ease into that schedule.
Posted: 5/23/17 at 6:06pm
ljay889 said: "Mildred Plotka said: "I think War Paint is also appealing to women with the subject matter. Makes for a great girls night out.
"
This is absolutely a contributing factor.
"
Yes. I think Patti (in particular) and (perhaps) Ebersole's names have probably helped lift this off the ground and given it some great momentum - but the grosses have been so high (much higher than Patti's recent shows on Broadway) and sustained I do wonder if this is starting to build an audience outside the two leads. I can only speak anecdotally but when I speak to older people there seems to be something intrinsically appealing about the subject matter/story.
Plus, when people actually attend the show I'm thinking they must be enjoying the show more than the demographic on this forum and giving positive word of mouth (I don't know what we are here, but I'd guess we don't have as many women here as there are in a Broadway audience) - and with some great acting performances, singing, an interesting story and a few stand out songs. I wouldn't be surprised.
Posted: 5/23/17 at 6:22pm
Edited Message (for sense)
My guess would be that he went on because he'd just had his "put-in" rehearsal and the show wanted him in that night. Friday afternoon (though sometimes Thursday) is the usual day for put-in rehearsals. The cast member going in to the show uses full costume, show props, wig/hair make up, etc. Most of the put-ins I've witnessed have full lights and, sometimes, full orchestra.
In most shows, I've seen the actor go on that same night after the put-in. Sometimes there's a single day time rehearsal after the put-in for corrections and the first performance is then the day after the put-in. Having said that, I've also seen a few shows where the actor being put-in was scheduled to start performing on the following Tuesday.
Updated On: 5/24/17 at 06:22 PM
Posted: 5/23/17 at 7:38pm
The HELLO, DOLLY! numbers are spectacular, of course, but imagine if Scott Rudin had decided to follow the HAMILTON model and grab back some of the scalper's $$ by charging $549 for regular seats...oh, well. It's all good! And when Donna Murphy starts doing Tuesdays, the 8 perfs counted per week will surely take Hello, Dolly way over the $2M mark each week...astonishing numbers for someone like me who remembers following box office totals when $100K a week gross for a show was extraordinary.... :)
Posted: 5/23/17 at 7:40pm
"Good in that it's an upward trend? Other than that they aren't doing well. Bandstand's days are numbered"
For a show that got mixed reviews, no major Tony nominations, is not based on famous movie and does not have a superstar in the cast, they are doing pretty well. They grossed over $600,000 which I assume covered the cost because it did not seem to me a big budget show. I think with the right publicity they could make through the summer months and than maybe get help from word of mouth. The several people I know that have seen it enjoyed it.
Posted: 5/23/17 at 7:42pm
Why do you assume that covered cost? Not to mention all the marketing they've been doing? Check back in a couple months and we'll see who's right.
FWIW I really liked the show. But these are just facts.
Updated On: 5/23/17 at 07:42 PM
Posted: 5/23/17 at 9:23pm
thealtoslament said: "Going to be curious to see what effect this coming weekend has for Kinky Boots's entire weekly gross, what with Brendon Urie joining the show and all. (Is it also just me or is a Friday a weird day to start?)
"
No it is not weird to start a new person on a weekend. Just recently Sara B., Will Swenson and Chris Diamatopoulos (sp??) started at Waitress on a Friday also...I am sure there are others but those just come to mind.
Posted: 5/23/17 at 10:23pm
It's only weird because usually a replacement starts on the first performance of the week - normally a Tuesday. But, I think with "major" replacements, it makes sense. They usually do a put-in on Thursday, and then they've only got to do Fri-Sunday before they get a day off.
Posted: 5/24/17 at 12:34am
My friend was looking for a show to bring her mother and her friends to, and WAR PAINT was my recommendation. They loved it, and told their friends to buy tickets. I can only imagine situations like this are keeping their ticket sales steady. Plus Patti in a musical is a big draw.
BANDSTAND keeps slowly climbing. Hopefully they can keep it up.
Posted: 5/24/17 at 4:04am
Loving the numbers for Anastasia! Hoping Bandstand can continue to climb!
Posted: 5/24/17 at 8:33am
"Why do you assume that covered cost? Not to mention all the marketing they've been doing? Check back in a couple months and we'll see who's right."
I don't know if they covered the costs but I would think they are close since it does not seem like it would be expensive show (only 1 set) to put on in comparison to some others on Broadway. I never said it would be a long running show (wish it could be) but said I think it could make it through the summer. Most shows even in trouble can survives the summer when it is high tourist season.
Posted: 5/24/17 at 8:54am
neonlightsxo said: "Why do you assume that covered cost? Not to mention all the marketing they've been doing? Check back in a couple months and we'll see who's right.
FWIW I really liked the show. But these are just facts.
"
Can you tell us what gross will cover their costs?
Posted: 5/24/17 at 8:56am
Poor Indecent. And Sweat. And Six Degrees. I just want to believe that Broadway CAN be a place for great plays, but these grosses are bleak.Present Laughter has the highest gross AND the highest potential of gross for any play currently running, and even that is only at 76% capacity (of a theater they aren't using the balcony for).
Meanwhile, I'll be darned. I thought Kinky Boots was on its way down and out last year, but they really seem to have found a comfortable groove. And how On Your Feet continues to stay open with the grosses it's pulling in remains a mystery to me. I'm obviously the pits at predicting when shows will throw in the towel!
Posted: 5/24/17 at 10:06am
The producing mentality for plays is very different from musicals. No one goes in expecting much more than breakeven, and in some cases they don't even expect that. Everyone knows off-B is a better place to see plays; bringing them to Broadway is about profile. Also worth noting that if you produce 4 plays on Broadway, you likely will have spent no more than 1 musical. And of course most musicals fail. If you have one that's a hit out of the 4, you are ahead of the game, plus the downside risk is finite where as the upside is not.
Posted: 5/24/17 at 8:31pm
HogansHero said: "The producing mentality for plays is very different from musicals. No one goes in expecting much more than breakeven, and in some cases they don't even expect that. Everyone knows off-B is a better place to see plays; bringing them to Broadway is about profile. Also worth noting that if you produce 4 plays on Broadway, you likely will have spent no more than 1 musical. And of course most musicals fail. If you have one that's a hit out of the 4, you are ahead of the game, plus the downside risk is finite where as the upside is not.
"
That's interesting. I'm coming over to NYC from London for my annual trip next month and really want to see Six Degrees more than any other show (except Dolly of course). I also wanted to see Glass Menagerie but guess that isn't happening any more (RIP). Last year I saw Jessica's Long Day's Journey and IIRC that wasn't even on tkts? Just out of curiosity, what made it so popular? It's hard to make the case that Jessica Lange is a significantly bigger name than Sally Field or (definitely) Cate Blanchett.
Posted: 5/25/17 at 10:09am
A couple things. First, you had the superior Glass Menagerie in London this year, so no need to get worked up about missing ours.
Long Day's Journey was indeed quite a hard ticket. It was a Roundabout show so they have a lot of subscribers (ie does not rely on commercial ticket buyers), and it's also a well known play here, and one that doesn't get done as often as Menagerie. It was also extremely well reviewed, and Michael Shannon was in it. Three out of the four leads were nominated for Tonys. Also, it was good. Does that help?
Posted: 5/25/17 at 10:34am
Any show running in a Broadway theater is expensive to run. The set is only a small factor in that.
Correct me if I'm wrong (I'm sure I would be regardless of the qualifier), but aren't Bandstand's instrument-playing actors also treated as members of AFM802?
Posted: 5/25/17 at 11:27am
I would think so yea, so they're basically double paid. And it's actually quite a big show. I'm sure there are a lot of dressers backstage, etc.
Posted: 5/25/17 at 12:40pm
neonlightsxo said: "A couple things. First, you had the superior Glass Menagerie in London this year, so no need to get worked up about missing ours.
Long Day's Journey was indeed quite a hard ticket. It was a Roundabout show so they have a lot of subscribers (ie does not rely on commercial ticket buyers), and it's also a well known play here, and one that doesn't get done as often as Menagerie. It was also extremely well reviewed, and Michael Shannon was in it. Three out of the four leads were nominated for Tonys. Also, it was good. Does that help?
"
That's definitely good to know - thanks for reminding me that Roundabout is a non-profit, I had forgotten that. I only ask because both are in the canon of great 20th century plays (i.e. not a magnet for typical tourists that want to see something light and pithy) and both were lead by actresses of a similar stature. I underestimated how much reviews count towards a production's success. And after seeing Cherry Jones' Amanda this year (twice) I was curious to see Sally Field's take on the role, but some things aren't meant to be!
