Cody Simpson to make Broadway debut in Anastasia as Dmitry

[Br0adway]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 6:46pm

Zach leaves 11/25. Cody starts 11/29 for 11 weeks.

Is this the beginning of stunt casting to save Anastasia?

[\_(•_•)_/]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 6:48pm

Tf? why you gotta ruin Anastasia with him

[MannPhan24601]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 6:50pm

I was obsessed with this kid in middle school and saw him 9 times in concert and met him twice . He has a really nice family . i was just listening to his newer music last night and I thought it sounded much better than his old stuff. I saw a tweet from him yesterday saying that he was in NY and wouldn't have any more concerts after his show in Chicago in a few weeks so I was thinking he got cast in something .  He's a good 10 years younger than Christy Altomore so that would be interesting

Updated On: 10/16/18 at 06:50 PM

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 6:52pm

We posted at the same time. Haha. MannPhan, I share the same sentiments. Especially his age compared to Christy. Hoping he does well.

[\_(•_•)_/]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 6:53pm

Anastasia is now the newest Victim of Stan- twitter. Not a good reaction to the casting announcement

[SomethingPeculiar]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 6:55pm

I don't know who he is, but he's got 7.6 MILLION Twitter followers. So he should add something to the box office. Could be another Brendon Urie situation?

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 6:58pm

_(•_&bull_/ said: "Anastasia is now the newest Victim of Stan- twitter. Not a good reaction to the casting announcement"

Since when does Stan Twitter mean anything?

Updated On: 10/16/18 at 06:58 PM

[MannPhan24601]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 6:59pm

Here's another thing, when my mom & I saw Kinky Boots last month , there were Australian tourists sitting next to us. My mom was telling them that I was obsessed with Cody back in the day but "moved on to Broadway".. Kind of funny that this is now happening

[kelsey1389]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 7:00pm

I think this is probably a somewhat misguided attempt to stop Anastasia's numbers from slipping more than they already have been. Misguided because no one over the age of maybe 15 (?) really knows/cares about this guy. I'm a pretty young theatergoer myself but his fanbase is tweens. I don't think this is going to go over well with the Anastasia fans. At all.

[Br0adway]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 7:02pm

SomethingPeculiar said: "I don't know who he is, but he's got 7.6 MILLION Twitter followers. So he shouldaddsomethingto the box office. Could be another Brendon Urie situation?"

 

I would think it should help the box office but his target demographic is 15-20 year olds with little to no money. That demographic might not help the box office (like a Be More Chill situation). I've also never heard of the guy. I'm from Philly so if they're also targeting Australians to come to the USA to see him then Anastasia casting directors/producers are crazy. 

 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 7:05pm

MannPhan24601 said: "Here's another thing, when my mom & I saw Kinky Boots last month , there were Australian tourists sitting next to us. My mom was telling them that I was obsessed with Cody back in the day but "moved on to Broadway".. Kind of funny that this is now happening "

If we’re being totally honest I used to rewatch the episode of so random he was on daily for like the entire summer of 2012. I was in love.

[GreeneStreet]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 7:07pm

This is getting a really negative reaction on all the social media accounts.

This isnt really a great idea if they are trying to make a few extra bucks, his fan base consist of girls under 15.

[MannPhan24601]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 7:08pm

kelsey1389 said: "I think this is probably a somewhat misguided attempt to stop Anastasia's numbers from slipping more than they already have been. Misguided because no one over the age of maybe 15 (?) really knows/cares about this guy. I'm a pretty young theatergoer myself but his fanbase is tweens. I don't think this is going to go over well with the Anastasia fans. At all."

 

I'm 20 and most of his core  fans were older than me back in the day . I'd say they'd be about 22-26 now if they are still around 

 

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 7:12pm

Does this show really need stunt casting?

[GreeneStreet]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 7:14pm

To be honest, if they casted someone like Ben cook or any other newsie, they would be fine.

[Br0adway]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 7:20pm

While we're at it, lets talk about the rumor going around that Christy was leaving in Feb/March.

If he's only there for 11 weeks (so that is Feb sometime), and the rumor that Christy is leaving in Feb, do we think the show might be closing? Could bringing him in for these 11 weeks be the deciding factor for if the show stays open or closes? 

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 7:26pm

GreeneStreet said: "To be honest, if they casted someone like Ben cook or any other newsie, they would be fine."

Cast. Casted is not a word. (sorry, it's the pet peeve to end all pet peeves for me)

Updated On: 10/16/18 at 07:26 PM

[Bwayfan292]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 7:26pm

I have not seen this many people upset over a casting then when Carley Rae Jepsen was cast as Cinderella.

He doesn't have many acting credits other then some animated movies he voiced in.

This might be good for them and help boost sales up a bit.

To be honest im kinda frustrated, I understand this is a business and you need stars to run and sell a show, but what I liked so much about the show was that it was basically a cast of zero names. It wasnt this big hollywood shabang. So im kinda upset the show now has to stunt cast to keep it running. But thats broadway for ya!

[StardustsChild]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 7:28pm

disneybroadwayfan22 said: "Does this show really need stunt casting?"

This is my point exactly. The show is doing great in the box office. This feels very preemptive - also, as someone who vaguely grew up alongside Cody Simpson (same age as him, he did a show at my middle school when we won a contest, etc), I doubt he will work as stunt casting. Yes he has a lot of social media followers but if you look at his actual engagement, a lot of those aren't actively engaging with him in a way that could translate to ticket sales/a dedicated following. Plus Brendon Urie had expressed interest in Broadway beforehand, and this is out of nowhere. 

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 7:28pm

...who?

Updated On: 10/16/18 at 07:28 PM

[SomethingPeculiar]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 7:31pm

The grosses keep floating between the 500K-700K range, so producers wouldn't waste money on a "star" if they didn't actually need one -- especially during the typically-lucrative month of December. If he's a draw, this could give Anastasia a big Christmas sales spike and help it coast through the darkest days of winter (11 weeks would take him through mid-Feb). It feels like a strategic move.

And... If he has fun doing it and isn't embarrassingly bad, he could sell the heck out of a short run in Australia.

[VotePeron]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 7:31pm

Why stunt cast? Why him? This makes no sense. Even Cody, whose music I’m actually a fan of won’t get me to sit through this bore of a show for a third time.

Not to start rumors, but do we think Zach Madkins is collateral damage in all this? Kind of like Brittain Ashford in Great Comet? Such a shame. I hope he left on his own accord and finds work soon, he’s so talented. 

Updated On: 10/16/18 at 07:31 PM

[Br0adway]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 7:53pm

VotePeron said: "Why stunt cast? Why him? This makes no sense. Even Cody, whose music I’m actually a fan of won’t get me to sit through this bore of a show for a third time.

Not to start rumors, but do we thinkZach Madkins is collateral damage in all this? Kind of like Brittain Ashford in Great Comet? Such a shame. I hope he left on his own accord and finds work soon, he’s so talented."

 

I started following Broadway right around the Great Comet thing (I still don't know what happened there anyway) but I too hope he left on his own terms. I hope they did go to him and say "you're not brining in the money we wanted so good bye" (but honestly, was Derek Klena brining in a lot of money?). 

Zach did post a few tweets about saying bye to a bad relationship. Maybe he was talking about leaving Anastasia and something negative happened while he was there? I mean it happens in every work place so I wouldn't be surprised. (Unless that's the Great Comet thing? Lol) 

 

[Elegance101]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 7:54pm

This is one of the more random casting choices I’ve seen.

Also, they are not “doing great” in terms of weekly grosses.

[MannPhan24601]

Posted: 10/16/18 at 8:17pm

Remember the David Cook going to Kinky Boots thread ? This seems so negative compared to that even though there were so many "is this a joke " comments?? Feels like Broadway is casting my childhood