Brooklyn Opens on Broadway Tomorrow -- Page 2

[steveshack]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 10:29am

Variety slammed it badly in a pre-opening review. Bodes ill.

[TheGaIsSilent]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 10:33am

We should start seeing some cheater-reviews about noon.

[Amneris]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 10:44am

David Rooney "accidently" released before tonight... on a mailing list. He basically shat out the show lol. Reviews are you reviews. You can't help good or bad ones. It's opinion pieces and everyone needs to decide for themselves by coming to the show. If everyone listened to what they read about "WICKED", it would have closed ages ago, as well as numerous other shows.

[Corine2]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 10:46am

Wicked is a good show. It is a masterpiece compared to Brooklyn. It makes sense! The costumes and sets are magnificent.
Brooklyn has great talent, but that is all it has sadly.
Ramona Keller is a star.
Hope she is cast in Dreamgirls soon. Updated On: 10/21/04 at 10:46 AM

[Amneris]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 10:48am

Brooklyn makes sense. Especially now with certain changes. They have linked everything together so it flows wonderfully. But, had people listened to what was said that "wickeds score was horrible" "it's schwartz's worst score yet".. business wouldn't be 100% capacity every week.

[JeffG]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 10:48am

Corine, for a lover of theater, you certainly have your knives sharpened for this show. I am still confused that if you didn't like the music and lyrics, why this show would be better in concert.

[TheGaIsSilent]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 10:53am

LOL. Corine, do you EVER have any idea what you're talking about?

[Amneris]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 10:57am

Corine is very smart and I respect what she has to say but, I just wish people wouldn't jump for joy for bad reviews. Turn it around and think if you were in a show and everyone was having pools on when the show was going to close.

[Corine2]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 10:58am

I am glad they made changes. I hope it does well.
I thought the cast were very talented.
I just thought it was a waste, as the cast are so talented.
Updated On: 10/21/04 at 10:58 AM

[JeffG]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 11:09am

"very smart and I respect what she has to say"

Amneris, who knew you were funny?

Corine, you haven't answered my question. I'm not being mean, I sincerely want to know why you think a concert version of a score you don't like would be better

[Amy Archer]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 11:26am

Corine is very smart? She can't even form a proper sentence.

[wickedfan2]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 11:40am

Amneris - I agree....The only thing the critics liked about Wicked was Cheno and who's laughing now... Theatre is packed daily AND Idina won the tony...So...

if the bash Bklyn...who cares...Those actors are all outstanding and I hope they survive regardless...

[Corine2]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 11:48am

Jeff-
The story did not work. But I liked the singers.
I actually like Margo Channing's idea better.
To put them in a different show.

[JeffG]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 11:58am

Ok Corine. Liking the voices and suggesting a concert version of Brooklyn are very different. If you don't like the score, you don't like the score. Just making an observation.

[Corine2]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 12:00pm

I liked the score, I hated the story. The voices were incredible, but it did remind me of star search.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 1:24pm

Wicked was already a sold out hit in previews BEFORE the reviews came out and after they did, it continued to do capacity business. Why? Great word of mouth and a great marketing strategy that completely capitalized on the deep well of love for "The Wizard of Oz" in the populace. Most folks in the audiences for Wicked didn't know or care about reviews and frankly didn't care about Idina or Kristen (you'll notice that the box office doesn't change even a fraction of a percent when the understudies/replacements are in). It's all about the Wizard of Oz and the big sets and costumes -- a big spectacle of a show that makes people feel like they've "gotten their money's worth" for the $100 they shelled out (personally, I'm not much of a fan of the show, but facts are facts). It was critic-proof from the moment of the first preview and the reviews had zero effect on the box office.

Brooklyn, on the other hand, desperately needs a VERY positive slate of reviews. It is heavily discounted and still can't crack 70% in weekly attendance. Perhaps some in the audience will find it charming, but others are going to wonder why the heck they spent $100 (or even $55) for a show with sets and costumes made out of trash and a cast of 5. Word of mouth has been "mixed" at best and if Brantley pans the show (the only review that really counts), there goes the over-35 NYC and suburban audience, which every show MUST have to be able to run.

You can't compare Wicked to Brooklyn -- they are two COMPLETELY different shows and are in two totally different situations.

[TheGaIsSilent]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 1:31pm

Margo,

While some of your thinking is spot-on, I think if the VERY mediocre production of "Fiddler" can bring in the 35+ suburban crowd, BKLYN should be able to do the same, reviews be damned!

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 1:43pm

It seems to me the last time everyone jumped on Corine for trashing a show before it had a chance to open was PRYMATE. I'm only sayin'...

[NBC]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 1:44pm

But Fiddler is Fiddler...even if you don't like it, and despite whatever flaws this revival might have, this show is a classic, and will more easily attract groups and families than the untested Brooklyn, I think. (Which is one reason, despite whatever the quality of Brooklyn, that producers keep bringing in revivals instead of new musicals, alas.)

I'd never seen Fiddler before, and I didn't love this production, but I liked it well enough and have to admit that I got choked up once or twice just hearing those songs and seeing the classic Robbins choreography performed live.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 1:45pm

Fiddler is Fiddler, one of the most famous, beloved, honored and popular shows in the history of the musical theatre. It swept the Tonys during its original incarnation and ran eight years, and then became a successful movie. The suburban Jewish audience alone -- many of whom feel that it's a moral obligation to take children, nieces, nephews, cousins etc to see it who were too young to see the last revival -- can keep Fiddler afloat for a year or two all by itself.

Brooklyn is a totally brand new show by a totally unknown creative team and a totally unknown (to people who don't frequent theatre chat boards) cast. It has no awards, no history, no movie tie-in, no "ethnic" appeal, and no one affiliated with it that anyone has ever heard of. If, on top of that, the reviews are terrible, give me one reason why that same 35+ suburban crowd would be interested in hiring babysitters, driving all the way into the city, paying for parking and then shelling out $100 a piece to see this show?

Updated On: 10/21/04 at 01:45 PM

[Matt_G]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 1:46pm

Simple, Margo. Because Eden Espinosa understudied Idina Menzel in WICKED.


Duh.

[midtowngym]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 1:47pm

Wicked wasn't sold out last year (my recollection), although it filled the high-capacity Gershwin nicely (maybe 80-90% ?) I still used a 25% off discount code and got great seats twice. It was clear however, that momentum was building and the audience loved it (i enjoyed it.)
I did feel like the only one who cared that it was Kristen & Idina (i did hear 'joel gray'stated a lot during intermission!)

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 1:57pm

Your recollection is incorrect.

While, yes, it did have a discount code available (that's how I saw it) attendance numbers were:

-- Week ending 10/12/03 (1st week of previews) -- 98.9% capacity
-- Week ending 10/19/03 (2nd week of previews) -- 96.6% capacity
-- Week ending 10/26/03 (3rd week of previews) -- 99.2% capacity

As I said, the show started out as a box office phenomenon from the very first preview and continues to be one to this day.
Box Office Grosses

[Alex The Gopher]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 1:59pm

I've been looking foward to this one sence the theatre started putting up posters.

[midtowngym]

Posted: 10/21/04 at 2:01pm

Jeez Margo, that's what i get for disagreeing with you. You're a friggin Broadway Encyclopedia!