Equus - Sales Down?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 9/10/08 at 9:53am

Last night I saw two commercials for Equus almost back to back. (The pattern went Equus commercial, another commercial, Equus commercial). Are they hurting for sales?

[dshnookie]

Posted: 9/10/08 at 9:57am

well I walked by TKTS last night around 5:30 and saw it on the board for a 50% discount - not sure if that means anything. I'm seeing it tonight - hope it is worth the full price ticket.

[WickedBoy2]

Posted: 9/10/08 at 10:12am

OK calm down!
Yes its one of the biggest shows in New York at the moment. Just remember that it was also one of the biggest when it premiered in London - that season, with all the fuss and publicity you could muster it still wasn't a 100% sellout. (ave 75/80%)
Its got a name in it but its subject and content will limit its audience in New York as it did in London- maybe a little more.
Just enjoy having such a spectacular production in your city. They don't come along that often.
*The title of this thread is not very nice by the way- sensationalism at its worst!

Updated On: 9/10/08 at 10:12 AM

[Unknown User]

Posted: 9/10/08 at 10:15am

It's just that he loves theater but is too cheap to pay for it so he's bitter they are charging top dollar for it.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 9/10/08 at 10:16am

Daniel Radcliffe told me on Monday evening that it wasn't sold out and that I should continue encouraging people to come see the show. Once the rave reviews come out, hopefully sales will start to pick up! (and i'm sure it's already selling pretty damn well)
Updated On: 9/10/08 at 10:16 AM

[WickedBoy2]

Posted: 9/10/08 at 10:22am

It made £M's in the West End as it will do there.
Don't forget all those TV ads have been paid fro and will be show whenever needed.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 9/10/08 at 10:54am

"*The title of this thread is not very nice by the way- sensationalism at its worst!"

Read into it whatever you want. I am not promoting sensationalism. I think Richard Griffiths is a really good actor and I'm glad that he is available for New York audiences to see him perform.

I ask the question because usually shows don't advertise when their box offices are hot or when there has been a lot of buzz generated.

I'm trying to determine if sales are slowing and if they are is it because of the show's material, is it because nobody is interested in seeing an Equus revival or is it because of a slowing Broadway economy.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 9/10/08 at 10:57am

I'd kind of suspect a slowing economy. People are hestitating to spend that kind of money right now, although the biggies will continue to sell out.

[WOSQ]

Posted: 9/10/08 at 11:04am

To me, showing a television ad at this point in previews is to supplement the ads in other forms like the papers and/or the web.

A television buy is announcing that this play is currently playing on Broadway. The fact that it is also trying to further spur ticket sales is also part of it.

When the original A Chorus Line moved uptown in 1975, there was an ad all over local television even though the show was sold out for months at the time.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 9/10/08 at 11:17am

WOSQ, I thought about that but ACL was settled on Broadway for an open ended run. Whereas Equus is a short run.

TV ads are extremely expensive. I know that Equus probably doesn't have a huge overhead but it seems like tv ads would be wasted money.

[once a month]

Posted: 9/10/08 at 11:24am

The advance is ove three million. Nuff said!

[WickedBoy2]

Posted: 9/10/08 at 11:25am

I thank you! Enuf said!

[WOSQ]

Posted: 9/10/08 at 11:33am

I would say this buy was budgeted.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 9/10/08 at 12:21pm

I think the people who were in this for the "Harry Potter" thing bought their tickets long ago. I think the 'sell out' potential of the production is ultimately going to depend on word of mouth.

Doubly so, because I actually don't expect reviews to be great. The original iconic production ran for years, and is vividly remembered by those who saw it. This production takes too many elements from John Dexter's origianl staging, but does everything in an inferior way. And Radcliff and Griffiths are no Anthony Hopkins and Peter Firth...

But that said, the show has clearly hit a chord with some people on this board who I think are coming at the material with fresh eyes. How interesting would it be if the show ended up being a word of mouth hit amoung younger people who are ultimately swept away not by the presence of Harry Potter but the power of a script, that even in this watered down incarnation is undeniably theatrical?

[Vespertine1228]

Posted: 9/10/08 at 6:40pm

The commercials must be for people who normally never go to the theatre they're hoping to snag with the Harry Potter name. I'm sure sales aren't bad with the normal crowd, who are all pretty much aware of the show. That said, I think an element of this crowd is waiting to hear reviews as well.

I think by October it should be a hot ticket.

[Patash]

Posted: 9/10/08 at 8:30pm

Since it's just one of those British talky shows with "horse gimmicks" what do you expect?

(See another Equus post if you don't get this one).

[Mamie]

Posted: 9/10/08 at 10:01pm

It's a little off topic but I bought a DVD the other day and found an ad for Broadway's Billy Elliot on it. I can't say I've ever seen an ad for a Broadway show on a DVD.