CAT Fails to Recoup

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CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 1:40pm

I don't think anyone is surprised by this.
‘Cat’ Ticket Sales Fall Short of Recouping Costs

"Pardon my prior Mcfee slip. I know how to spell her name. I just don't know how to type it." -Talulah

CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 1:59pm

I probably would have gone to see this if it had another star in it, not a big fan of Scarlett.

"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one". -Felicia Finley-

I think this goes to show that the success of VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE was a combination of factors--rave reviews, an equally well-known star in Liev Schreiber, a smaller theatre etc.--and not simply Scarlett on stage. Here, as a headliner in a popular play, she couldn't overcome mixed reviews and a large house to sell.

"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe." -John Guare, Landscape of the Body

CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 2:26pm

Liev Schreiber is a name and a very respected actor but I wouldn't say he's equally well-known, especially outside of New York. I'd consider Ciaran Hinds as well known a name as Liev. I think the fact that it got mediocre reviews was probably the biggest issue combined with the fact that it was just on Broadway two other times in the last 10 years or so and the fact that this was Scarlett's second time on stage, not her first. The feeling may have been that she seems like she will do this periodically, so let's wait to see her in something that got good reviews. Pacino was in a mediocre Glengarry and that recouped but while internationally known, I don't think Scarlett has quite that kind of ticket selling pull just yet with Broadway audiences.

Updated On: 4/2/13 at 02:26 PM

CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 2:35pm

I don't think Scarlett has quite that kind of ticket selling pull just yet with Broadway audiences.

That's exactly the point I was making. The producers obviously thought that she was, though, which you can see by the salary she received, the fact they were willing to revive a play that's been done to death for her, etc. A lot of that was likely based on perceiving her as the main reason BRIDGE was so successful, when in actuality she was one of a handful of factors. (Also, I would strongly question the assertion that Ciarin Hinds is as well known as Liev Schreiber. I highly doubt most people outside of the community of dedicated theatre/film fans would know Hinds by name, at least in America.)

CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 2:36pm

They should have really pushed the Benjamin Walker nudity a little bit more.

"Pardon my prior Mcfee slip. I know how to spell her name. I just don't know how to type it." -Talulah

CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 2:37pm

It's a real shame. It was a fantastic production that should have been seen by more people. I really would have put money on this being a completely sold out run early on.

CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 2:40pm

Too big of a theater and not a good director. Should have played a smaller house and become more of an event rather than always appearing on TDF.

CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 2:41pm

Who could have known you'd need an intimate theater for a play that takes place mostly in a bedroom?

#10

CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 2:44pm

"I think this goes to show that the success of VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE was a combination of factors--rave reviews, an equally well-known star in Liev Schreiber, a smaller theatre etc.--and not simply Scarlett on stage. Here, as a headliner in a popular play, she couldn't overcome mixed reviews and a large house to sell."

I agree but my takeaway is that View was a very good production with great word of mouth (as well as good reviews) and Cat was not. I'd go so far as to say that very few if any leading ladies could have sold this production better than Scarlett. I also think with the right direction a Scarlett-helmed Cat could have been much more successful both artistically and at the box office.

#11

CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 2:46pm

AC, I think we are in violent agreement. I wouldn't underestimate however, the popularity of Ciaran Hinds. It's not a name people immediately recognize but he's been in some major films (There Will be Blood, Munich etc.) and when they see his face, he's one of those people that generate the "Oh that guy. I've seen him in a bunch of things" type of reaction, at least as much as Liev Schreiber who's mostly done smaller indie type films (with a few exceptions like Salt) and by movie fans is as well known for being with Naomi Watts as he is for his film career and I'm not trying to knock him cause I think he's terrific.

henrikegerman - I think you are spot on. I saw it and I think she did a great job but I could also see the reasons the critics had their issues. So much of the talk during previews was about the weird "choices" Ashford had made. Never a good start to a Broadway run.

Updated On: 4/2/13 at 02:46 PM

#12

CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 2:58pm

^thanks, Fisherman but I think Ashford's worst blunder was his conception of Maggie, and obviously I felt Scarlett's performance suffered because of it.

#13

CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 3:03pm

Point taken. I should have more accurately stated that she did a great job doing the role justice given the direction she received.

Updated On: 4/2/13 at 03:03 PM

#14

CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 3:20pm

The direction was a huge problem. He had some really dumb ideas. I saw it in previews and he had Brick's friend Skipper running silently around the stage! Evidently he got rid of that one before the opening. The set was not very good, either. And the show was too noisy. I thought Scarlett did pretty well given the burdens she was laboring under.

Updated On: 4/2/13 at 03:20 PM

#15

CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 3:24pm

I think Scarlett on stage in CAT in a small theater like the Booth or even the Court, would have been so much better. We could have seen her slinking around the stage better. Instead, I was having a hard time understanding what anyone was saying and her voice got so raspy by the end of the show.

#16

CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 4:01pm

I just didn't buy Scarjo's Cat. She came out like a harpy.

Those Blocked: SueStorm. N2N Nate. Good riddence to stupid! Rad-Z, shill begone!

#17

CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 4:07pm

Grumpy Cat could have made this a hit.

#18

CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 5:20pm

Liev Schreiber has been in a bunch of main stream films. Wolverine, Manchurian Candidate, Sum of All Fears, Kate & Leopold, The Omen, all three Scream movies. These aren't huge hits, but I don't think you're accurately accessing his career.

Jesus saves. I spend.

#19

CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 5:26pm

Meh. I was interested in seeing it but never got around to it. No great loss, I guess. What do we think about Tony nominations?

I know you. I know you. I know you.

#20

CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 5:31pm

I think Tony nominations are great, how 'bout you? :-P

#21

CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 5:33pm

Best Actress seems especially crowded this year. Off the top of my head:

Morton
Metcalf
Tyson
Taylor
Midler
Shaw
Hecht
Chastain
Johansson

Looking at that list, I'd say Scarlett is far from a lock, with little chance of winning if she was nominated. Honestly, of the principals, I think Walker is the only one truly worthy of a nomination (which is unlikely), and aside from maybe lighting, I don't see it picking up technical nominations. It might take a revival nomination but it won't win.

#22

CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 5:40pm

I hate to hear this. I really liked this production, even though I was not crazy about Scarlett's Maggie, either. I have been a fan of Ciaran Hinds for years, but not from theater. I first saw him on PBS/A&E in Persuasion, Jayne Eyre and Ivanhoe. Of course, he has done many films since then. He was even one of the owners of the opera house in the Phantom movie. I hadn't thought about him doing a musical. I was so pleasantly surprised when I saw that he was in The Seafarer on Broadway back in '08. He was the real reason I wanted to see this production and I thought he was extremely good as Big Daddy.

#23

CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 6:15pm

If there wasn't a production of "CAT" every other year on Broadway, maybe they would have stood a chance.

"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."

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#24

CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 6:31pm

I thought Ciaran Hands was the real star.

Regarding the set, the effect of the curtains blowing in the wind towards the end was exceptional.

#25

CAT Fails to Recoup

Posted: 4/2/13 at 6:42pm

^^ So did I Phantom.

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