Dolittle tour in trouble
Dolittle tour in trouble
Dolittle tour in trouble#0
Posted: 9/27/05 at 4:31pm
I have just heard that the Doctor Dolittle tour is probably shutting down for a period of time to work out some of its problems. They will be cancelling scheduled runs in some cities. I am not sure if this is a temporary shut-down or if the plug is going to be pulled for good. This move is being made because of poor reviews and poor ticket sales. I work for one of the theatres that is going to be affected and will let everyone know more as soon as I do.
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#1
Posted: 9/27/05 at 4:35pm
Hrm. I hope that doesn't include Sacramento, because I really want to see it for Tom Hewitt.
(Is it telling that the Doolittle link on the IATSE site is a 404?)
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#2
Posted: 9/27/05 at 4:39pmOne way to help the show and the theatre you work for is to not spread a rumor of the production "shutting for good" if no official announcement has been made.
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#3
Posted: 9/27/05 at 4:39pmI just got notification of this a little while ago and I wasn't sure if I was really at liberty to say anything. It hasn't been announced officially anywhere to my knowledge and all the sites still have all the original tour dates listed. However, we were told today to discontinue ticket sales for the show. I am not sure how long the show will be shut-down, but it will start soon and last at least until the end of this year if not longer (or forever).
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#4
Posted: 9/27/05 at 4:45pmIt is not a rumor, I know that it is not coming here because we have stopped ticket sales and are informing anyone who calls for tickets that the show has been cancelled. I just hadn't seen any official annoucement anywhere else and was wondering if anyone else knew the official reason. I was told that it was due to poor sales and reviews, but have not heard officially that that was the cause. I mainly wanted to inform the many theatre fans and professionals who post on here of this news, and to see if anyone else has any information. Trust me, I am not one to spread rumors.
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/8/05
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#5
Posted: 9/27/05 at 4:50pmWell, I'm in Charlotte, and very interested to see it. I hope that our city isn't one of the cancelled stops.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#6
Posted: 9/27/05 at 4:50pm
>I am not one to spread rumors.<
But you just did. And under the guise of doing it for benevolent reasons.
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#7
Posted: 9/27/05 at 4:54pmno I stated fact...the show has been cancelled in the city that I work in and will cancelled in several other cities as well. Yes I said that I wasn't sure of all the reasons for this because we haven't received all the information yet..so if you want to take that as spreading a rumor so be it.
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#8
Posted: 9/27/05 at 4:55pmhonestly, I don't understand why they made such major changes to the show from it's UK incarnation. the CD is fantastic, but looking at the song list on the tour website it looks to be like they made a lot of unnecessary changes. just go back to the way it was... it seems better...
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#9
Posted: 9/27/05 at 4:56pmThe fact is that the tour stop was cancelled in your city. The rumor-spreading part is your speculation about the tour being cancelled for good.
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#10
Posted: 9/27/05 at 5:00pm
I said I was not sure if it was for good or not...anytime a show is shut down to fix there is the possibility it may be for good (i.e The Mambo Kings, The Miracle Worker with Hillary Swank)....these shows shut down to fix problems and are not coming back. I stated that I do not have any information on how long it will be or IF it will be for good. The only thing I stated for fact was that it is cancelled in my city and several others. The rest will be known soon enough. However, it does no good to argue so I will fly the white flag and surrender. I apologize to anyone I have offended with my post.
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#11
Posted: 9/27/05 at 5:00pm
Well, bad reviews are certainly not a rumor. And a bad review is exactly what the show received in it's recent outing here in Philadelphia. I have more than a few friends who left at intermission, bored out of their minds.
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/columnists/douglas_j_keating/12716622.htm
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#12
Posted: 9/27/05 at 5:03pm
I sincerely wish the cast, crew & creative team all the best regardless of whether one or several or all of the tour stops have been cancelled.
However, it was without a doubt one of the worst shows I have ever seen. Even the incredible Mr. Hewitt could not save it.
The book lagged on and on with mediocre songs interspersed throughout. The costumes, scenery, and special effects were just laughable (perhaps they skimped a bit too much for the tour to be effective?). All the actors were great, doing the best they could, but it was just not enough to save them from this travesty. I know nothing of the London production, but perhaps the story and book/score are just a little too British to be adopted by US audiences. Bring in Thomas Meehan or someone to save it - and quick! I have never seen so many families leave the theatre prior to or during intermission - the show was practically empty by curtain...
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/8/05
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#13
Posted: 9/27/05 at 5:07pm
enjolras, i dont think you have any reason to apologize. I personally didn't think it came of it a "gossip-rumor" way that smaxie is making it sound....Smaxie is probably a 13 year old who finally got their mom's permission to log on to the internet for the first time....joining on 9/26/05 obviously shows that they don't have a lot of experience posting on this site...Let it slide...and take pride knowing YOU didnt do anything wrong.
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/8/05
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#14
Posted: 9/27/05 at 5:14pmby the way barihunk, would you care to copy and post the review? i believe you have to be a member to read the article. Much thanks!
Chorus Member Joined: 2/6/05
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#15
Posted: 9/27/05 at 5:18pm
Some fact to add: As a Broadway in Chicago subscriber, I just received an e-mail that the Chicago dates (were 10/4-16) have been postponed until at least June 2006.
This has been a lousy season for Broadway in Chicago - first losing Woman in White and now this. I'm going to guess that one of the shows already being talked about for late winter and that I was expecting to be in the Spring/Summer 2006 series will replace it.
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#16
Posted: 9/27/05 at 6:11pmI saw in here in Philadelphia. I paid $25, but I wouldn't pay any more to see it. It was what it was and I somewhat enjoyed it, but it was very flawed. The show itself is very weak. I like Hewitt, though.
Chorus Member Joined: 2/6/05
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#17
Posted: 9/28/05 at 9:52am
An article in a Pittsburgh newspaper that you can find a link to here if you search for "Doolittle" (since they misspelled it in the article) says a closing notice was posted yesterday and that it will close Sunday.
Now perhaps the producers do plan to rework it and reopen at some point in the future but as for me with my subscriber tickets in Chicago, I'm going to consider it cancelled, not postponed.
Interestingly, Broadway in Chicago quickly removed all mention of it from their web site.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but it's highly unusual for a tour to close and cancel announced dates since most tours have so much pre-sold through subscription series. So it's particularly surprising that they would close it before a major city stop where ticket prices are higher and there's a much larger population base to support ticket sales. Sales must have really been bad as in almost nothing beyond subscribers.
Broadway Star Joined: 5/9/05
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#18
Posted: 9/28/05 at 9:54am
Here's the article with the closing notice in it!
Closing Notice
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/14/05
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#19
Posted: 9/28/05 at 9:57amI received an e-mail and even a phone call from Broadway in Chicaog that it will be here in June 2006. I noticed on the way to work that the marquise on the Palace Theater had not been changed.
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/20/04
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#20
Posted: 9/28/05 at 10:09amBroadway in Chicago was running commercials for it as late as Monday.
Chorus Member Joined: 2/6/05
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#21
Posted: 9/28/05 at 10:18amI received the same e-mail and phone call saying postponed until June. But since published reports say a closing notice has been posted, at this point there is no announced company to come to Chicago in June and perform. Hence my statement that I'm considering it cancelled, not postponed.
Chorus Member Joined: 4/29/05
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#22
Posted: 9/28/05 at 10:21am
If the show is indeed shutting down for now, I feel very sorry for the cast, especially Tom Hewitt. He is very talented and made an excellent Dr.Dolittle, but he can't seem to find a show with any sort of longevity. Look at Kelli O'Hara-she went from Dracula to Light in the Piazza and now everyone is appreciating her talent.
I am happy I got to see the show in Philly, but I regret I did not get a rush ticket to save some money.
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#23
Posted: 9/28/05 at 10:22amBroadway in Chicago is always unreliable. Whatever happened to Masada? It was announced for the world premiere, then they kept changing the dates, then it disappeared with nary a word. I cancelled my season tickets when Woman in White was pulled and I really have no interest in Tuesdays With Morrie or Martin Short.
Understudy Joined: 7/18/04
re: Dolittle tour in trouble#24
Posted: 9/28/05 at 10:54am
I just saw the show in Philly. What irks me most about the production was the way in which the theatre handled its ticket sales. True, there were heavily advertised $25 rush tickets two hours before the performance I saw (which was a Thursday matinee) but the theatre was 3/4 empty, and the best ticket the box office was willing to sell was in the second balcony. I moved down to the orchestra in the second act but all around me was distractions from crying youngsters (Don't you still have to be at least 6 to attend a Broadway-type show?)and restless senior citizens.
Having said this, I am still glad I saw the show being a great believer in the Leslie Bricusse score, with the exception of the newest song added for the stage production, "You're Impossible." The biggest mistake Bricusse made was not eliminating the talk-sung songs originally written for Rex Harrison's limited singing ability. Tom Hewitt, who can sing, didn't deliver these numbers with the same charm and abundant dry wit that Harrison had. However, Bricusse did give Tom a chance to sing one of Tony Newley's former numbers in the film, "Where Are the Words?", which Tom did very nicely. The book Bricusse wrote was neither interesting to the young ones in the audience nor captivating enough for us veteran theatregoers. It deploys the age old device of having two squabbling opponents end up in a love match. Tom and Nancy Anderson as Emma Fairfax handled their roles convincingly but not excitingly. The rest of the cast especially Susan J. Jacks as Dolittle's faithful parrot, "Polynesia," who takes off in flight at the drop of the conductor's musical cue, are most talented. But what was Rob Ashford thinking when he provides more animation to the puppet creatures representing the animals in the good doctor's menagerie than he does in reinventing what serves as the tired dance routines which form the major production numbers in each act. He does employ one clever device in the use of the Pushmi-Pullyu two headed llama creature, the costume of which is worn by two leggy showgirls who engage in a comical strip tease in their guise as the world's most unbelievable creature. You have to see this number to understand! The sets by Kenneth Foy were well conceived and executed. However, the costumes by Ann Hould-Ward were not up to the standards of her previous work on "Beauty and the Beast," which won her the 1994 Tony Award. Finally, it is a sad fact that the producers of this extravaganza felt that it was necessary to spend more money on making the animal puppets believable rather than putting their dollars into employing a full orchestration for the catchy, tuneful and haunting Bricusse numbers, which sound at times hollow because of the lack of accompaniment in comparison to the original recording made by Lionel Newman and his Hollywood studio orchestra for the 1967 movie. All said, I still believe in taking new shows on the road for tryout and working out the kinks. This one should be given more opportunity for improvements before throwing in the towel since underneath all of the outer trappings there beats a really touching story of how humans should treat one another better and some very sophisticated and touching songs.
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