apetricc12 said: "I think we would have a much clearer picture of how well The Music Man will do or won't do with Hugh Jackman not at the helm if they put tickets on sale during his two scheduled vacations - one in August and one in September.
Currently, tickets aren't on sale for either week.
While I do think that plenty of people came to see the show the week that Hugh Jackman was out with COVID due to the accessibility and affordability of tickets (I was one of those people), I also think that what poster Jarethan said is true.
There are plenty of people who probably already had their travel plans in place by the time they found out about Hugh no longer being in the show. At that point, I imagine some of these people decided to just see the show regardless. When I saw the show, I was talking to a group of four people who did just that. The question, of course though, is would they have purchased in advance knowing Hugh would be out? When they purchased their tickets, he was scheduled to be in.
I also imagine that there's a good chunk of people who didn't buy their tickets via Telecharge, therefore they didn't get the notice about Hugh being out and showed up at the theatre not knowing he was out.
The show brought in more money than I expected it would ... still ... it's a HUGE drop from where it was."
Maybe also a lot of people are great fans of the show/movie itself and had wanted to see this new revival and bought tickets in advance? Also, some were celebrating occasions ( birthdays, anniversaries, reunions) which happened on certain dates timed with seeing the show?
i had seen the show a few times earlier with Hugh. But i had guests from out-of-town coming for one of the dates-without-Hugh and I decided to go ahead with it. The box office people were helpful and let me exchange my 5 side orchestra seats to Row C-center at practically the same price. I did ask for a refund for another date...and will use it to get tickets when I get back to NYC ( hopefully with Hugh back in the role).
I think it was their astute management which allowed flexibility to the box office people to make instant decisions so people can get into the show. Another family member asked for the cheapest ticket at orchestra level and got it for $99. It was an edge seat but later on, the usher suggested he move forward to an empty seat to get a better view. But I did hear a couple say to the box office staff that they were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary with the show, but the wife insisted she wanted a refund! Also, another lady was trying to reschedule their dates for a group which wanted to see it with Hugh...and the box office people seemed extra-helpful. The box office people should be commended for facilitating (and doing it patiently) for all kinds of requests.
Their social media accounts have never been aggressive ... only support the show but never to be ahead in promoting it. Of course they did highlight the change with Max but that was it.
The show also had a large cast of kids ( some in key roles) and some were on their last shows the past week. They are quite popular and had drawn some fans themselves. We will miss " Amaryllis". but it seems they may still keep "Winthrop" in the cast for sometime?
In the meantime, Hugh has shared on Twitter/Instagram that he will definitely be back at the Winter Garden on Wednesday. Btw, he may not be off on vacation for the September break - but may be going to some filmfests to promote his new movie ( The Son is already rumored to premiere at the Venice filmfest - although he said it isn't confirmed yet if he is going there?).
But all these are good news for this show, which have not been welcomed by some of the critics and the chatterati... but the show itself seemed has its own huge fanbase. Of course Hugh is the icing on that cake!!
