Posted: 6/12/17 at 8:19pm
I think that War Paint is one of those productions that's an "unspoken" limited run, meaning that even if attendance and grosses hold up, it will be over the minute LuPone and Ebersole leave.
Posted: 6/12/17 at 8:23pm
quizking101 said: "I think that War Paint is one of those productions that's an "unspoken" limited run, meaning that even if attendance and grosses hold up, it will be over the minute LuPone and Ebersole leave. "
Exactly.
Posted: 6/12/17 at 9:10pm
It still surprises me that the avg price paid for Dear Evan Hansen is only $157 (4th highest after Hamilton, Hello Dolly!, and Waitress.) I'm guessing a lot of fans or scalpers must have bought the low prices back in Nov/Dec? Two months ago I was looking at tickets for the month of June and only premiums were left priced at $250+.
No, the box office did not offer refunds when Ben was out. They did offer to exchange the ticket for another date at the same ticket price but it's almost imposisble to see any non-premium seats out there until 2018.
One more show this season that had actors above the title was Sunday in the Park with George (but to my knowledge Jake and Annaleigh never missed a performance.)
Posted: 6/12/17 at 9:48pm
RippedMan said: "I think War Paint sold a lot of tickets last night with that performance! I think it appealed to exactly who it needed to appeal to.
Were we watching the same excerpt? I have not seen the show yet, and that number makes it likely that I will never see it. I can't see anyone who is not a very regular theatergoer seeing the show based on that number. There was no musicality to what should be their best opportunity to entice the hinterlands to attending.
Posted: 6/12/17 at 9:53pm
quizking101 said: "I think that War Paint is one of those productions that's an "unspoken" limited run, meaning that even if attendance and grosses hold up, it will be over the minute LuPone and Ebersole leave.
That makes no sense unless they conclude the box office will die because they can't find adequate replacements, which is a different reason. They owe the maximum return to their investors.
Posted: 6/12/17 at 10:25pm
Jarethan said: "RippedMan said: "I think War Paint sold a lot of tickets last night with that performance! I think it appealed to exactly who it needed to appeal to.
Were we watching the same excerpt? I have not seen the show yet, and that number makes it likely that I will never see it. I can't see anyone who is not a very regular theatergoer seeing the show based on that number. There was no musicality to what should be their best opportunity to entice the hinterlands to attending.
"
What does "no musicality mean?" It reminds me of that comment that ensemble actor made against Into the Woods in Central Park a few years ago.
Based on the ratings of the performance in that other thread it does seem to resonate with some and not others though - so I'm not too surprised to hear different reactions (which seems to be consistent with the show itself).
Posted: 6/12/17 at 10:48pm
"Face to Face" is a thrilling and smart number, full of musicality. It's not a teeny bop, pop/rock, contemporary song, like most of the other numbers last night. I think it will certainly appeal to those who still crave traditional musical theater. The score sounds like it could be right out of the golden age, something that several critics noted, including Jesse Green who believed it should've been nominated for Best Score.
Posted: 6/12/17 at 11:04pm
Does anyone think Indecent will make it until July? Really want to see it the first weekend when in in NYC.
Posted: 6/12/17 at 11:04pm
Laurapattifan said: "Does anyone think Indecent will make it until July? Really want to see it the first weekend when I'm in NYC.
"
Posted: 6/12/17 at 11:25pm
I mean, I thought it was great. But then again I thought "Waving Through a Window" sounded like bland pop with the same tired metaphor repeated 5 times.
Posted: 6/13/17 at 2:22am
ljay889 said: ""Face to Face" is a thrilling and smart number, full of musicality. It's not a teeny bop, pop/rock, contemporary song, like most of the other numbers last night. I think it will certainly appeal to those who still crave traditional musical theater. The score sounds like it could be right out of the golden age, something that several critics noted, including Jesse Green who believed it should've been nominated for Best Score.
The great thing about this board is that we can disagree as much as we want. I thought it was a completely uninteresting song, devoid of any appeal whatsoever. To you, it was thrilling. So, enjoy...and I will save my money (and, more importantly, one of my available slots...since I no longer live in the NYC area, I get to see only 14 - 16 shows a year on Broadway, and -- if that number is the best they can do -- War Paint is not likely to be one of them, even with Lupone and Ebersole.
Posted: 6/13/17 at 3:02am
LYLS3637 said: "loveinnewyorkcity said: "Also, WOW at Waitress. It's really holding steady."
WAITRESS has had the highest average ticket price behind HAMILTON and HELLO DOLLY for weeks now. Steady is an understatement. Something tells me we haven't seen the last of Sara.
God, I hope that's true.
War Paint still doing well. But did they lose some premium tickets? Why did the potential gross drop?
Anastasia doing strong without the Tony's. I hope they can stay there. Usually I'm in a panic about catching shows before and after the nominations and awards sink shows but this year it seems like everything I'm interested in will be fine for quite a while.
I will be keeping an eye on Bandstand just out of curiosity. They had one of the more successful performances but as people have noted, the Tony's doesn't get fantastic ratings.
Poor Indecent. I've only heard good things from word of mouth (outside of critic reviews).
Posted: 6/13/17 at 3:42am
War Paint only did 7 shows if the table is accurate. If so the potential gross would be lower as would the total gross - so I wouldn't say this week was much of a dip. I'm interested to see how the show does for the next month before we start to suggest slowing down. Looking ahead the advance has slowed a little bit - but I am reminded that shows seem to be able to turn around a lot of tickets at short notice. War Paint did not have a strong advance before previews. Neither did Sunset. But they managed to get interested buyers just in time.
Posted: 6/13/17 at 4:59am
I have to say that I saw Miss Saigon not too long ago on a Saturday night and more than half of the balcony was empty. I don't know if that is a normal thing, but if it is, I think their limited run may be reeeeally limited.
Posted: 6/13/17 at 8:50am
I know the original production played there, but the Broadway Theatre seems like a barn for Miss Saigon at this point in time.
War Paint does have a "traditional musical theatre sound" that many desperately miss. A friend of mine loved it and he hates most modern musicals simply because of the pop/rock scores.
Posted: 6/13/17 at 9:12am
GeorgeandDot said: "I have to say that I saw Miss Saigon not too long ago on a Saturday night and more than half of the balcony was empty. I don't know if that is a normal thing, but if it is, I think their limited run may be reeeeally limited."
If the choice is between a new show and this revival and one has already seen it before, I would think that most will pick the new one. That would explain the available seats. I had an open slot on a Monday night last month with very few choices and went for Saigon. I'm glad I did though.
Posted: 6/13/17 at 9:25am
Ado Annie D'Ysquith said: "I know the original production played there, but the Broadway Theatre seems like a barn for Miss Saigon at this point in time."
The Broadway Theatre is pretty huge, and the same is true of The Palace, home of the Sunset Boulevard revival. I have to wonder if both of these shows (Saigon and Sunset) would've been better off going into smaller houses that are easier to fill.
Posted: 6/13/17 at 9:49am
Lot666 said: "The Broadway Theatre is pretty huge, and the same is true of The Palace, home of the Sunset Boulevard revival. I have to wonder if both of these shows (Saigon and Sunset) would've been better off going into smaller houses that are easier to fill.
"
Well - for Sunset - bascially up until it's original closing date (May 25) it was over a million a week for 7 performances. And in some seasons, Glenn Close returning to this role would have taken up all the oxygen on Broadway. This year you had Jake Gyllenhall up the street... Bette Middler's return... a couple mega-family musicals (Anastasia, Charlie) not to mention what was expected to be a huge hit - Groundhog Day. So I see your point, but think that The Palace made sense at the time - and I'm hoping proves to be a good bet and that the producers make their money back.
As for Miss Saigon, I kind of think that the popularity of this has always been overblown. The "controversy" over the castings... it all felt forced to me. And seeing "This is the Hour" on the Tony's reminded me instantly of "One Day More" from Les Miz (which I thought 20 years ago when I first saw this)
Posted: 6/13/17 at 9:54am
Six Degrees only selling tickets until this Sunday, Closing Early.
Updated On: 6/13/17 at 09:54 AM
Posted: 6/13/17 at 10:09am
chernjam said: "Lot666 said: "The Broadway Theatre is pretty huge, and the same is true of The Palace, home of the Sunset Boulevard revival. I have to wonder if both of these shows (Saigon and Sunset) would've been better off going into smaller houses that are easier to fill."
Well - for Sunset - bascially up until it's original closing date (May 25) it was over a million a week for 7 performances. And in some seasons, Glenn Close returning to this role would have taken up all the oxygen on Broadway. This year you had Jake Gyllenhall up the street... Bette Middler's return... a couple mega-family musicals (Anastasia, Charlie) not to mention what was expected to be a huge hit - Groundhog Day. So I see your point, but think that The Palace made sense at the time - and I'm hoping proves to be a good bet and that the producers make their money back."
Good points.
chernjam said: "As for Miss Saigon, I kind of think that the popularity of this has always been overblown. The "controversy" over the castings... it all felt forced to me. And seeing "This is the Hour" on the Tony's reminded me instantly of "One Day More" from Les Miz (which I thought 20 years ago when I first saw this)"
This same production, with the same principal cast, broke box office records a few years ago in London (I saw it there in 2014):
"More tickets were sold in a single day than for any other theatre show. By tea time on Monday, the first day of sales, £4.4m had been taken at the box office, beating the record set in the West End by The Book of Mormon – which took £2.1m in one day in March – and on Broadway by The Producers which took $3m in 2001."
I like Miss Saigon a lot more than Les Miserables, which has always felt too "preachy" to me, and "This Is The Hour" is right up there with "Kim's Nightmare" for my favorite number in the show. I always get chills when the gun fires and that chorus comes in.
Updated On: 6/13/17 at 10:09 AM
Posted: 6/13/17 at 10:11am
TexanAddams18 said: "Six Degrees only selling tickets until this Sunday, Closing Early."
Shame. No surprise though considering how empty the house has been nightly.
Posted: 6/13/17 at 10:59am
I don't think War Paint will last the summer. It wasn't a sell out in Chicago by a long shot, even though it was advertised as such. Much like Gypsy with LuPone which closed early and didn't recoup (with major Tony wins) I know this show would be front loaded with fans that would quickly peter out. With two star salaries, I don't know how long this will last. They should have done a limited run with a non-profit.
Posted: 6/13/17 at 11:02am
How much longer can Sweat last? Roundabout is going to want that theater back sooner rather than later and the grosses wouldn't justify a move.
