Brooks Confirms 'Frankenstein' for Hilton, Casting- Page 2

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 10:47am

The reason it's rude is because THE PIRATE QUEEN deserves at least to post a closing notice before other people are already saying it is going to close. Do we all know it? Yes. But Brooks just proved to have no etiquette. Of course he is plugging his show but what a distasteful way to do it.
And I assume that if Brooks is out there telling everyone his show will be playing at the Hilton is because contracts have been signed and THE PIRATE QUEEN has already been kicked out. This show should have just closed out of town or had another workshop, really.

[p.s.]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 10:49am

Classic Mel Brooks

"Size Matters" is classic Mel Brooks --
It is a self-reference to his ego.


p.s. IMHO


pps: Can you imagine Mel Brooks ever saying and meaning:

"In my humble opinion"?

[best12bars]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 10:51am

If you move into an apartment because it becomes available for rent, do you apologize to the tenant who was there before you?

[bjh2114]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 10:54am

Yankee, I agree that the non-mention of the Pirate Queen was better than nothing, but mentioning the Hilton theatre in general was a mistake in my opinion. Let PQ post a closing notice. The article could have simply said "Mel Brooks has confrimed that Young Frankenstein will star [insert names here] and will play an out of town tryout before coming to Broadway in the fall, awaiting the freeing up of an appropriately sized theatre for what is to be a fairly large show." Then, we all know what he's talking about. Everyone in the theatre business would know he meant the Hilton is probably going to be free, but at least it's respectful enough not to feed Pirate Queen to the dogs, mention or no mention of the show itself.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 10:58am

They didn't "steal" the theatre away for Young Frankenstein. It was available for them to them to move in. Easy to do the math.

So why not wait for the Pirate Queen's closing notice if the theatre is officially available now? Clearly it won't be that long now for the notice to come out if the contracts have been signed.

If you move into an apartment because it becomes available for rent, do you apologize to the tenant who was there before you?

Typically when you rent an apartment, you know that it's going to be vacant first. A landlord doesn't just bring you in to show you the apartment while someone is still living there, unless they have already been announced as evicted. I don't know what kind of apartment searching you've done Best. Plus nobody is asking for an apology, just a little tact or grace.
Updated On: 5/25/07 at 10:58 AM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 10:59am

But think about all the other shows that have done the same. We knew that Spring Awakening would play the O'Neill before Sweeney Todd closed....It was pretty well speculated that Curtains would take the Beck before Wedding Singer closed....Tarzan at the Rodgers....Mermaid at the Fontanne. Movin' Out and Beauty and the Beast were/are still breaking even...

Reading the transcript of the interview, found here (http://www.stevefriess.com/podcast/brookstranscript.htm), you see that Brooks says nothing more than "It looks like the Hilton Theater."
Updated On: 5/25/07 at 10:59 AM

[lawyerman]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 11:02am

i dont see what the big deal is.

since YF wont be loading into the Hilton for at least another 4 months, theres no reason for PQ to have to post any notice whatsoever in the immediate future.

so is Mel Brooks supposed to wait until August to confirm the Hilton, and pretend until that time that even though he doesnt have the St James anymore and even though he has no other confirmed theater for his megamillion smash, he isnt quite sure where the show is going?

In this case theres an obviousness factor that outweighs the etiquette breach everyones whining about

[jordangirl]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 11:05am

Unless, as was already stated, the summer tourist business keeps The Pirate Queen open well into the fall, in which case Mr. Brooks WILL be out of his theatre of choice.

Then the obvioiusness IMHO would be "why didn't he look at downsizing a tad and going for a theatre he KNEW would be empty?"

[DrTheatre]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 11:05am

You have to remember guys, it's all about MONEY, WHAT WILL SELL and to be honest with all of you, he is being very rude. It is like your boss hiring your replacement and not telling you your fired until the replacement has been hired.

It is very rude and I will not support the show now. Of course no one will care, it will still make a big splash.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 11:10am

"you see that Brooks says nothing more than "It looks like the Hilton Theater."

I guess that's true Yankee, so I should be faulting the author of the BroadwayWorld article, the title of which is "Frankenstein to Play the Hilton", as though it were definite. Also, with those other examples of yours, yes, there was speculation. But Curtains, Spring Awakening, and Mermaid all waited for closing notices to be posted before they were officially announced as taking the theatre.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 11:10am

I'm sorry, how is it Brooks' fault that the producers of PQ are not giving their cast notice when obviously they are leaving the theater? First of all, producers are not obligated to give more than a weeks' closing notice per the union. Secondly, Brooks is not like "your boss hiring your replacement", he's not the boss. He has nothing to do with PQ. He's stating facts.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 11:15am

since YF wont be loading into the Hilton for at least another 4 months, theres no reason for PQ to have to post any notice whatsoever in the immediate future.

Uh, that logic makes NO sense. Just because YF won't be loading in for a few months doesn't mean anything. If Pirate Queen is going to close by the end of the summer, they would most likely want to put a closing date up so as to advertise the last day tickets are being sold for. That way, they can really push to sell out those performances. Little Mermaid isn't coming until November, Beauty posted a closing notice in what, March? The Producers posted a closing notice in January or February, with the next show, then YF but now The Grinch, not planning on coming in until the fall. The timing of closing notices and new shows opening have nothing to do with each other.

[IssaMe]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 11:18am

Having worked in TV and film for many, many years, to me this is a typical illustration of the difference between Hollywood people and Broadway theater people.

To a lesser degree than in the past (but still somewhat applicable), there is a certain standard of behaviour in the theater that has never applied to other areas of entertainment.

Mr. Brooks is not a theater person (despite the success of "The Producers"). He acts and reacts as a Hollywood film person typically does. And to theater people that comes off as rude and arrogant.

It's a matter of different cultures in the business...he is only being himself - as crass as that may be. And through it all, he really doesn't fit in with the theater world all that well. His wife, on the other hand did, however. Class and the Ass.

[mallardo]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 11:23am

Rudeness issues aside, I'm surprised that Young Frankenstein is projected as so big that they need a theatre the size of the Hilton. There's an old rule that comedy doesn't play well in big sets - I wonder what they have in mind?

[DG]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 11:25am

Show BUSINESS.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 11:26am

Little Mermaid isn't coming until November, Beauty posted a closing notice in what, March?

Oy vey. They're both produced by Disney. That's the silliest comparison I've ever heard.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 11:27am

The contractual issues being worked out with some of the principles are apparently over their accommodation arrangements in Seattle during the out of town run (the hotel, car service, etc.) It's something very minor, but enough to prevent their signature from going on the dotted line (though it will all certainly be resolved by the time of the formal press announcement.)

The only person whose still in the process of primary negotiations is Andrea Martin, but that's because she wasn't confirmed to be available until recently (therefore stalling her signing period.)

[bjh2114]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 11:30am

Oy vey. They're both produced by Disney. That's the silliest comparison I've ever heard.

Um, not really Foster. By his logic since Little Mermaid isn't opening until November, Beauty could have waited until the end of it's run, like towards the beginning of July, to post a closing notice. How stupid would that be? VERY! I don't care about who's producing what, a closing notice still has to do with ticket sales, not loading in the next show.

[fengshuihellnyc]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 11:31am

1)Do I think what Mel said is rude .... Yes He should have been informed by a theatre rep to not mention this until a closing notice was posted as per theatre tradition. So someone somewhere isn't doing their job.

2)Do I think that what susan Stoman has Done with invading the theatre during a rehearsal discussing YF in front of the PQ cast is even more rude and Distasteful. MOST DEFINATELY. Personally if someone deserves to be crucified its Stroman.

3) But hey. If people are out to make money and thats all they care about anymore... Maybe the only career either of them will have is with each other.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 11:34am

An announcement is coming in the next week or so about the St. James Theatre's new tenant. It would have been obvious then that YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN would be going to a different house.

I don't see anything particularly arrogant in Brook's statement. We all develop personal emotions for certain beloved musicals, but the decision to offer the Hilton to Brook's musical was the decision of the theatre owners and it was a decision made purely from a business perspective.

Brooks does not need to apologize to THE PIRATE QUEEN, nor does that production need BWW posters to rally around it to protect its "feelings" -- this isn't the school playground kids, its a major moneymaking industry.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 11:37am

"2)Do I think that what susan Stoman has Done with invading the theatre during a rehearsal discussing YF in front of the PQ cast is even more rude and Distasteful. MOST DEFINATELY. Personally if someone deserves to be crucified its Stroman."

First of all, that story from the Post was not completely true. While Stroman did indeed receive a tour of the theater, none of the cast or crew of "The Pirate Queen" were present (though they did find out about it the next day.) They'd finished rehearsing that day earlier in the afternoon, while she came in that evening.

Second of all, how is Stroman to blame for being given a tour? The management at the Hilton were the ones who decided to show her and Brooks around. If you want to fault anyone (which is unnecessary to begin with,) it should be those who run the theater, not Stroman.

[kec]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 11:37am

"But think about all the other shows that have done the same. We knew that Spring Awakening would play the O'Neill before Sweeney Todd closed....It was pretty well speculated that Curtains would take the Beck before Wedding Singer closed....Tarzan at the Rodgers....Mermaid at the Fontanne. Movin' Out and Beauty and the Beast were/are still breaking even... "

Speculation is all well and good, but didn't the official announcements for those shows going into their houses come AFTER the previous tenants posted closing notices?

[Kungaloosh1937]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 11:37am

Beauty posting a closing notice a week before shuttering would be stupid. The show has been around forever so fans will flock to see it one last time in its final months.

Pirate Queen posting a closing notice months ahead of time would be stupid. It's new enough that people will think, "Well, that show just opened and it's already closing. Must not be very good."

The truth of the matter is that an announcement HAS to be made about Young Frankenstein and it does not behoove its producers to wait until Pirate Queen finally gives up.

[D2]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 11:38am

Well said, Michael Bennett.

Updated On: 5/25/07 at 11:38 AM

[fengshuihellnyc]

Posted: 5/25/07 at 11:41am

Actually Bennett. I didn't like PQ and I still think its rude so I guess that thought works for you but in reality isn't what the issue is. I'm sure some of the people on here do love PQ, but I strongly disliked it and feel that people need to have some tact about how they do things, either to make money or not. It doesn't hurt to think about the actors that are in PQ. Besides some of them may want to work with stroman or brooks in the future or even a better point may have worked with them in the past.
Burning bridges is not the way to make the theatre community Support you.
THE MOVE WAS COMPLETELY TACTLESS!!!!