Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 7/16/17- Page 2

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 5:37pm

massofmen said: "Ghd is fine, hogans told us all their numbers were sustainable until January and he is never wrong!

I mean sure they have barely been above op costs in the middle of the summer which means that in the fall they will probably be around 500k or less but no worries!

I mean sure they are always on tdf offering 45.00 tix in the middle of the summer and they just opened..but no worries! Hogan's says it's gonna be just fine so it will be!"

^FAKE NEWS^

Sad when you can't even get away from it here.

OR: Actually, you can. Just do a search on everything I have said on this subject and you will see I never said anything attributed to me above. (And that I have called out this fake news before!)

[Skimbleshanks2]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 5:37pm

NO ONE listened to me back in early 2017 when I said GHD wasnt selling on TICKETMASTER... now look at these numbers ... this is a FLOP ... I love ANDY KARL about OMG it's gotta close ... disaster ...

[Acetic Acid]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 5:38pm

Anastasia once again the ultimate dark horse. Critic-proof, award-proof, no Tony performance, and yet it quietly sells out week after week. Hoping it runs for a couple of years.

[massofmen]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 5:40pm

Yes you did. 

Like 3 weeks ago you said their numbers were sustainable until January. You even replied to me on July 9th when I asked if you wanted to amend your January statement and you said you would wait a little bit. 

Updated On: 7/17/17 at 05:40 PM

[froote]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 5:41pm

Acetic Acid said: "Anastasia once again the ultimate dark horse. Critic-proof, award-proof, no Tony performance, and yet it quietly sells out week after week. Hoping it runs for a couple of years."

Very happy for them as I find the negative reaction to this show mostly unjustified.

[froote]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 5:51pm

Low grosses doesn't mean the show is hated by those that have seen it, it means the show has little appeal to those that haven't seen it. I would hardly call either Bandstand or Groundhog Day loathed by many.

[coreman009]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 6:24pm

Most people who see Bandstand have absolutely loved it. It's just tough to build an audience without a star and without a totally original story and score. 

[bear88]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 6:28pm

A few thoughts:

- It's early to get too hopeful about its medium-term prospects, but Great Comet seems to have a non-Groban niche. I agree that it benefits from being a reasonably buzzy new musical that it's easy to get tickets to see. 

- Dear Evan Hansen almost swept the Tonys, so its impressive non-Platt performance shouldn't be too shocking, but it's still striking. Bette Midler goes on vacation, and people lose interest in Hello, Dolly even at bargain prices with a two-time Tony winner. Platt goes on vacation, and there's barely a speed bump with two unknowns splitting the lead role.

- I have been skeptical about the impact of the Tony Awards show, but is it a coincidence that Groundhog Day and War Paint, which had weak performances, have faded badly, while Bandstand has done better and Great Comet, which won the telecast in my view, has exceeded expectations?

[Babe_Williams]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 6:29pm

I am dying to see Bandstand and GHD. So I should probably hop on a plane right now? Lol

[froote]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 6:34pm

I get the point about DEH's performance without its star vs. Hello Dolly's but weren't all of Bette's vacations and days off published well in advance? Whereas we only heard of Ben's vacation about a month ago by which point the shows for that week were already completely sold out. And you can't exchange for a Ben show.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 6:35pm

Gonna go with Hogan's prognosis for "Bandstand."  It's the show that most caught me by surprise, and several friends also came to it relatively late (all of us post album drop). Its gorgeous recording -- those orchestrations and arrangements! -- is one of the best of the season. Hope they do hang on til the end of the year.  When I saw it, the house went nuts.  One of the best, hardest working companies.  

[bear88]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 6:39pm

I agree that it's not a perfect comparison between Hello, Dollyand Dear Evan Hansen. Bette Midler's absences have been well-publicized, far in advance, while Platt's vacation caught people off guard, I am sure. But people still could have bailed in greater numbers. One show is all about the star. The other is more about the show than I expected.

Updated On: 7/17/17 at 06:39 PM

[chernjam]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 8:03pm

It's interesting to see how the box office is playing out.  Couple of thoughts:

- Coming into the season, I thought from all the great press/word of mouth from London that GHD was going to be a hit - and almost bought tickets when the box office opened.  I hesitated (mostly because I was tapped out financially) and to be honest, the visceral reactions of some on here really has kept me from taking the leap.  And therein lies the problem.  Some of these shows list Hamilton like premium prices... Friday I had gone onto Ticketmaster and saw that GHD had TONS of seats.  Had said to myself that if they had good seats (center orchestra) for around $120 I would take the leap.  They were listed for $219.    Not going to splurge for that with terrible word of mouth - as curious as I am.

-- The other issue is it's a nightmare getting into the city this summer from NJ.  The Train situation; continued subway mess...  Again, Friday night I thought about taking a ride in and seeing if I could negotiate at the box office for a better price.  When I checked the traffic on my GPS and saw it was a solid hour and 15 minutes (for what should be a 35 minute ride) there was no way I was going.  Wonder if that's affecting others from coming in as well.

-- Finally, I wonder what are the odds Miss Saigon finishes its run in January.  Hard to believe Cats has been better received that Saigon

[Auggie27]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 8:28pm

Fully agree about NJ Transit this summer. If you have weekday seats, and ride Midtown Direct, you are -- the words of "Spring Awakening."  The weekend trains are the same, but...

I think the NJ trains is an issue in summer box office that's gone under-reported, other than on Twitter. 

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 8:29pm

Groundhog Day reminds me of American Psycho, a great show that somehow did not translate to American audiences. I hope both shows have their deserved success back in the UK and around the rest of the world. 

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 8:48pm

songanddanceman2 said: "Groundhog Day reminds me of American Psycho, a great show that somehow did not translate to American audiences. I hope both shows have their deserved success back in the UK and around the rest of the world. "

 

LOL. Oh, lawd... 

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 9:00pm

chernjam said: "It's interesting to see how the box office is playing out.  Couple of thoughts:

- Coming into the season, I thought from all the great press/word of mouth from London that GHD was going to be a hit - and almost bought tickets when the box office opened.  I hesitated (mostly because I was tapped out financially) and to be honest, the visceral reactions of some on here really has kept me from taking the leap.  And therein lies the problem.  Some of these shows list Hamilton like premium prices... Friday I had gone onto Ticketmaster and saw that GHD had TONS of seats.  Had said to myself that if they had good seats (center orchestra) for around $120 I would take the leap.  They were listed for $219.    Not going to splurge for that with terrible word of mouth - as curious as I am.
 

"

I kind of don't know what the hell you're talking about here. There's tons of discounts for GHD. It's on TDF, todaytix, there's a discount code (GHDTM1), it's on TKTS every day ... If you want a great seat for under three digits for GHD it's easy to get one. 

And I don;t think it has "terrible" word of mouth. Most people who saw it liked it, thought it had its moments, but wasn't as strong as some of the other musicals this year. 

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 9:11pm

What's your problem now Liza? 

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 9:14pm

I wonder how long BEAUTIFUL will hold out. I adore the show (my favorite jukebox musical besides PRISCILLA), but the numbers aren't fantastic for summer.

[little_sally]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 9:16pm

Brave Sir Robin2 said: "I wonder how long BEAUTIFUL will hold out. I adore the show (my favorite jukebox musical besides PRISCILLA), but the numbers aren't fantastic for summer.

 

It's on Goldstar for the first time ever so there are more discounts now than in the past. I can see it lasting maybe another year or so. 

[Callum_brown1]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 9:58pm

Beautiful is closing/has recently closed in London.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 10:03pm

bear88 said: "I agree that it's not a perfect comparison between Hello, Dollyand Dear Evan Hansen. Bette Midler's absences have been well-publicized, far in advance, while Platt's vacation caught people off guard, I am sure. But people still could have bailed in greater numbers. One show is all about the star. The other is more about the show than I expected.

I think Hello Dolly is too much about the star.  I am surprised that the advertising campaign isn't starting to reduce focus on Bette and increase it on the show, since most of her contractual period is pretty much sold out.  The show received great reviews, and is a love letter to musical theatre audiences, who seem to love it whether Donna or Bette is on, but only seem to want to pay for Bette.  It is a bad omen for the future if a five time nominee, 2 time Tony winner can't sell tickets so early in the run...unless Bette is going to play the role until she drops dead after giving about 4,500 performances.  Ticket buyers seem to have concluded they are seeing a star vanity production instead of a wonderful production of a great show.  

Re Evan Hansen, I think we are going to have the same discussions that occurred when the original Hamilton cast left.   Some people were direly predicting -- not me --  that ticket demand was going to be impacted as soon as the next new set of tickets came on the market after the departure of the original cast.  We all know what happened when the next block surfaced.  Grosses are incredibly higher than the original cast because of all the people who are willing to pay higher premium prices, regardless of the cast.  Anywhere it is playing is the same way.  Hamilton is the only star...if Lin happens to be in the cast for awhile, as rumored for the London production periodically, then that is just a bonus.  And, despite the incredible performance Ben is giving and the fact that the show has made him a star, Dear Evan Hansen is the star, not Ben Platt.

One final note, Evan Hansen and Hamilton are viewed as must-see new productions that have entered the zeitgeist.  I think Hello Dolly is incorrectly being viewed by most of the ticket buying public as a (legendary, much loved) star turn of a tired old musical.  Without that star or a new advertising campaign, there may be trouble a lot earlier than there should be.  Hamilton, Evan Hansen (and CFA, for that matter, if not at the same frenzy level) are the stars.  Hello Dolly is not, and it should be...at least a lot more than it is today.

 

 

Updated On: 7/17/17 at 10:03 PM

[MCfan2]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 10:08pm

Auggie27 said: "Gonna go with Hogan's prognosis for "Bandstand."  It's the show that most caught me by surprise, and several friends also came to it relatively late (all of us post album drop). Its gorgeous recording -- those orchestrations and arrangements! -- is one of the best of the season. Hope they do hang on til the end of the year.  When I saw it, the house went nuts.  One of the best, hardest working companies.  

I saw Bandstand on Saturday night, and I couldn't agree with you more. There's something truly special about that show -- great songs, wonderful performances, a lot of heart. And a thoughtful, well-told story, too. I love it and I hope it can keep going for a while.

My friends and I even stagedoored for it, and I haven't done that in ages.  

 

[Auggie27]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 10:28pm

McFan2: We're on the same page.  "Bandstand's" emotional grip is mysterious to me. I'm not a vet, have no inner circle of losses in any conflict. But the show made me tear up early, and stay that way, especially at the end of the first act, a moving closer that with simply and elegantly offered compassion for everyone on stage manages to make us lean forward in our seats and wipe our eyes.  It's an MGM musical, honoring the tropes -- and the troops -- but reminted with a new depth and a helluva score. I'm rooting for it.   

Updated On: 7/17/17 at 10:28 PM

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/17/17 at 10:37pm

massofmen said: "Yes you did. 

Like 3 weeks ago you said their numbers were sustainable until January. You even replied to me on July 9th when I asked if you wanted to amend your January statement and you said you would wait a little bit. "

What I said was that, at that moment in time, I thought they would hold it together until the end of the year. That of course is not what you said above. And what I then said July 9 was that I would withhold judgment for the time being. And that of course is not what you said above. You made that up. If it makes you happy to make crap up, then be my guest. I don't care and I doubt many others do. But when you do it, you will be called out. That's how it works.