Equus- A Low Advance?- Page 2

[Smaxie]

Posted: 8/16/08 at 12:11pm

Yeah. The Al Capp character from Li'l Abner, who travels around with a black storm cloud over his head.

[njohn]

Posted: 8/16/08 at 1:11pm

"Could it actually be because the play is very much of its period and the psychology in it is weak? Could it be because the events that build up to Alan Strang's breakdown don't actually justify it? And you can spot them coming.

If producers want a cruddy 70s play with uncut **** better to revive The Romans in Britain where there are six of them. Or, better still, revive a decent 70s play such as The Changing Room where you get a whole bloody rugby team."

I completely disagree. Equus is profound and deserves its reputation.

[broadwaytourist]

Posted: 8/16/08 at 2:49pm

I think things will definitely pick up nearer the opening. I'm making may semi-annual trek to NYC in part for Equus. I'm 48 so not in the typical HP fanbase, but am a huge HP fan anyway. There are a lot of us older ones out there. Daniel Radcliffe is one of the few actors we've had the privelege of actually witnessing improvement in his acting over a period of years. As opposed to such actors as Dakata Fanning and Haley Joel Osment who hit their strides early and have failed to show any growth. Radcliffe's improvement is measurable from film to film. I really want to see what he can do with the Equus material. Plus, Richard Griffiths is no slouch in the acting department. I can't wait!

[adamgreer]

Posted: 8/16/08 at 3:34pm

Is $3 million really that bad for tis play? Given the current economic climate, which was the whole point of the article, this seems pretty good. Radcliffe is not an Oscar winner, the way Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington were. Hell, Morgan Freeman and Maris Tomei couldn't even fill their theater HALFWAY.

However, I suspect Radcliffe will receive much better reviews than those actors, based on what we've read about the London production.

I'm sure once the "buzz" picks up, tickets to this show will be hard to come by.

[AntonEgo]

Posted: 8/16/08 at 4:22pm

I definitely think it's the high prices and not that people don't want to see it. I am very excited for this show, but am waiting to get tickets to see if discounts become available or even standing room.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/16/08 at 4:33pm

I DEFINITELY think that both the economy and the high cost of the tix are playing a big part.

EQUUS tix are 116.50 even if you want on stage obstructed view.
Billy Elliot is 127 (unless you want to go Sat NIGHT 137.)

I understand that production costs are through the roof as well...but if folks can't afford to go what's the point?

That being said, personlly I felt tix prices WERE worth it for Equus but will wait to see Billy Elliot once discount codes appear.

[Patash]

Posted: 8/16/08 at 5:10pm

A pair of tickets to Equus cost $249.50 (to all those of us who must do them online or by phone). If I were going to be in New York I'd still splurge and see it, but I'm not. But for many people I think it really is a matter of the pricing getting out of hand -- and many are willing to spend that for a lively FUN evening of a big musical, but not for a serious play which they may or may not enjoy and which will make them think. Someone else mentioned that when times are "bad" people spend less for serious things. I've heard from many theatregoers that they will pay full price for a big hit musical, but they never pay full price for a straight play since most of them go on discount. I think many are waiting for the discounts to go into effect -- whether they do remains to be seen.

Still, I must admit I'm eating my hat over this one, because I thought the scalpers would buy them all up in a heartbeat like they did for Three Days of Rain and others.

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 8/16/08 at 5:20pm

I'm planning on doing standing room for this and only because Richard Griffiths is in it.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/16/08 at 5:24pm

Have they announced that they're having standing room, or are we still just assuming they will? I'm not sure which I'd choose if it comes to dropping some extra cash or waking up early and waiting on a line, but I must see this one way or another.

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 8/16/08 at 5:49pm

Standing room is listed on Equus' page on Telecharge.

And emcee- I didn't recognize you with that avatar, lol.

[Gobstopper]

Posted: 8/16/08 at 7:41pm

It's not an issue that HP is bigger in the UK than in the U.S. The series is just as profitable here as it is there.

However, Daniel Radcliffe, himself, is much more famous in the U.K. than he is here. In the States, he's essentially that polite boy who plays Harry Potter. In the UK, he has a much bigger profile and is hounded by paparazzi who want to know about his love life, etc.

So I think it's more of a Daniel thing than a Harry thing.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 8/16/08 at 8:26pm

"It's the Economy, stupid!"

The British pound is twice as strong as the American dollar. That means the British theater-goers have more disposable income, while we Americans have to think of gas prices and home heating bills.

Yes, I want to see this production of EQUUS because it's one of my favorite plays, but I'm hoping for some deep discounts.

Updated On: 8/16/08 at 08:26 PM

[Patash]

Posted: 8/16/08 at 8:53pm

Who said the pound is twice as strong as the US dollar? Is this some sort of confusion because it takes two dollars to buy a pound? God forbid you weren't traveling in the days just before the euro when it took 2000 Italian lira to buy one US dollar. Would you have said that the dollar was 2000 times as strong as the lira? Dollars and pounds are two different currencies -- they are not supposed to be (nor were they ever) equal in value. I'll agree the British economy is stronger, but let's not overstate things.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 8/16/08 at 9:12pm

If I were to travel to London, I would think twice about attending a play or musical because it would cost me double in American dollars.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 8/16/08 at 9:37pm

Wexie You have described @ least 1/2 the people on this board.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 8/16/08 at 10:45pm

Including yourself, Roxy.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 8/16/08 at 10:46pm

Let us not forget yourself Dolly.

[Patash]

Posted: 8/16/08 at 11:29pm

I'm not sure what you mean by it would cost you double? A dollar does not equal a pound. They are two totally different currencies. While a show might cost you twice as many dollars as it would pounds, the top price in London for most shows is roughly $100 dollars, very much the same as it is in New York. What's more, you can get true half price tickets for many more shows and with better seats in London at TKTS. Get over the idea of "how many of their currency" it costs you. Their currency isn't yours.

Let's be more specific. The top price for Billy Elliot on Broadway is $136.50. The top price for Billy Elliot in London is $116.50 US dollars. So how can you say it costs you twice as much there? It's actually $20 cheaper! If you're suggesting that because we use different kinds of money than they do and it takes twice as many of ours as theirs, then are you really going to say seeing it would cost the Japanese 206 times as much as it does a Brit? After all it takes 12,882 yen to buy a single ticket there (62.50 pounds top price). Do the math.
Updated On: 8/16/08 at 11:29 PM

[Weez]

Posted: 8/17/08 at 7:10am

AH AH AH!

$110 for a Broadway ticket = £55 for a West End ticket. Therefore Broadway tickets and West End tickets are VERY SIMILARLY PRICED. It's called an "exchange rate". Look it up.

Granted, when you take *incomes* into account, the UK minimum wage is higher than the US minimum wage, so it takes fewer working hours for a UK dweller to buy a UK ticket than it does for a US dweller to buy a US ticket.

BUT if you're a UK dweller travelling to the US, you will be spending the same on a ticket that you would spend in the UK. Or vice versa! US dwellers coming over to the UK will be spending pretty much the same on a ticket that they would in the US. So can people please DROP this bizarre misconception that one ticket is twice the price of the other?!

'Sides, you're not the only ones suffering an economic downturn right now, the only difference I can see is that here in the UK, we call it a "credit crunch". Yeesh!

Updated On: 8/17/08 at 07:10 AM

[Vespertine1228]

Posted: 8/17/08 at 9:24am

I have a feeling once it actually starts things will pick up. I think the curiosity factor alone with propel sales to sold out levels.

[Scripps2]

Posted: 8/17/08 at 10:57am

"Equus is profound and deserves its reputation."

I know plenty of people who either caught or were caught by their parents in flagrante delicto during adolescence. I also know many people who struggled with the conflicts between religion and carnal desire during adolescence. None of them reacted in the way that Alan Strang did.

I went with three friends: none of us knew the play and we could all work out at the interval more or less what was going to happen in Act II.

OK - it's not cruddy as I may have originally suggested and is reasonably good, but its profundity was lost on us.

Updated On: 8/17/08 at 10:57 AM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/17/08 at 11:23am

What's so bad about a $3 million dollar advance?

[maliatkb8]

Posted: 8/17/08 at 5:34pm

First, I wanted to address the comment made about Harry Potter being more popular in the UK than in the US. Although the series is immensely popular worldwide, it consistently reaches its peek in the American market. For example, on the 7th and final books first day of release, it sold 2.7 million copies in the UK and 8.3 million in the US. Therefore, it's untrue that the Brits are bigger Potterheads then the Americans. Just thought that needed to be said. (PS: You also have to assume that just because you're a die-hard Harry Potter fan, the majority actually being in their late teens - early 20's, doesn't mean you're a die-hard Daniel Radcliffe fan).

I do agree, however, that high ticket prices and the ages of Daniel’s fans are playing a big part in the ticket sales. For one thing, Americans are far less accepting of nudity than the British are. As a matter of fact, the Brits welcome it, so it seems more likely that the younger D-Rad fans were able to see it in the UK. In the US, it's not so likely. Plus, most young people can’t afford a ticket and a flight to NYC.

[singingbackup]

Posted: 8/17/08 at 5:56pm

Maliatkb8:

By my trusty calculator, 2.7 million copies sold in the UK with a population of 61 million trumps 8.3 million copies sold in the US with a population of 300 million. 4.4% of the total UK population bought the book as compared to 2.7% of the total US population. US might have more books sold but it's a whole lot bigger than the United States. Make sense?

[Gobstopper]

Posted: 8/17/08 at 7:04pm

The percentages don't matter. It's still more people buying books in the U.S. even if it isn't the greater percentage. More people = more money.