GROUNDHOG DAY scraps its national tour!?!?- Page 2

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 1/9/18 at 8:07pm

pretty sure groundhog day did not fail on bway because the lead character was a white male with a good job...
i saw it and while im glad to have seen andy karls performance the shows songs were mostly unmemorable(i cant name one and i own the cast recording) karl couldnt and didnt try to replicate murrays comic genius that carried the film, and i also dont feel karl or the script created the same level of empathy for the lead character and go along and engage in his transformation.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 1/9/18 at 11:57pm

Sorry, but the show is great. I mean, the lyrics are incredible. The fact that there is an entire song dedicated to a secondary character that is brilliant and beautiful. And the fact that it was an interracial relationship that had nothing to do with race. Or the fact that a bigger girl was being wooed by a smaller guy and no one was concerned by her weight. It's just so progresive and gorgeous. I think they made a dumb producing mistake of bringing it to Broadway instead of the West End and then Broadway. Had it been brought over this season it probably would have stood a chance given the amount of juxebox shows. But who knows.

[ArtMan]

Posted: 1/10/18 at 10:14am

The Other One said: "Groundhog Day is a show about a spoiled, entitled straight white man who learns, over a long period of time, the error of his ways. Look at the current cultural climate. No one is lining up to see shows about such people anymore, and that's putting it gently. This is what I meant about it being produced at the wrong time.

Ironically, it might have played better outside of New York (and California), but because it initially flopped there it lost its chance at being seen where it might have registered."

In your previous post you stated it "was a very likable show".  You now say it failed because it was about "a spoiled, entitled straight white man.  No one is lining up to see shows about such people anymore".  Are you stating that instead of "such people"  if the main male character was a spoiled, entitled straight black man it would have succeeded?

[RippedMan]

Posted: 1/10/18 at 10:23am

Hopefully some great regional theater can figure out a wait to mount this show on a much smaller scale. It deserves to be seen. 

[The Other One]

Posted: 1/10/18 at 10:30am

ArtMan said: "The Other One said: "Groundhog Day is a show about a spoiled, entitled straight white man who learns, over a long period of time, the error of his ways. Look at the current cultural climate. No one is lining up to see shows about such people anymore, and that's putting it gently. This is what I meant about it being produced at the wrong time.

Ironically, it might have played better outside of New York (and California), but because it initially flopped there it lost its chance at being seen where it might have registered."

In your previous post you stated it "was a very likable show". You now say it failed because it was about "a spoiled, entitled straight white man. No one is lining up to see shows about such people anymore". Are you stating that instead of "such people" if the main male character was a spoiled, entitled straight black man it would have succeeded?"

Not necessarily.

 

[sparkledust]

Posted: 1/10/18 at 5:35pm

RippedMan said: "Sorry, but the show is great. I mean, the lyrics are incredible.

Eh, they're fine on an album but damn near impossible to decipher i the theater.

The fact that there is an entire song dedicated to a secondary character that is brilliant and beautiful.

Because no one has ever written a song dedicated to a secondary (or even tertiary, which is what her character was) character before.

And the fact that it was an interracial relationship that had nothing to do with race.

Well you just made it about race by calling it an interracial relationship.

Or the fact that a bigger girl was being wooed by a smaller guy and no one was concerned by her weight.

Because they weren't main characters and had no development whatsoever?

It's just so progresive and gorgeous.

Choosing not to call out the differences between actors (fat vs thin, black vs white) isn't progressive - its what a modern musical does.  I think that if it had been about the differences in the actors then it would actually be retrogressive and dated.

[Kad]

Posted: 1/10/18 at 5:37pm

Touring is a big financial gamble these days and Groundhog Day's Broadway production was huge and, ultimately, a flop. This really shouldn't shock people.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/11/18 at 1:59am

I never saw the show because I hated the cast recording so much.  I think they made a smart decision.  I just don't think this would have been successful on the road.  While I don't believe it will ever happen, I would love to see Bandstand tour.  I am guessing that it would be a lot cheaper than Groundhog Day, which might help; I also think that the hinterlands would enjoy this a lot more than GHD or TGC.

[Skimbleshanks2]

Posted: 1/11/18 at 12:07pm

Californian said: ""I am surprised ANDY KARL has not lined up any gigs since the BROADWAY run ended -- what a shame!!"



From what I understand, he's had surgery to repair the knee he injured in the show, and has been recuperating

"

It's annoying that he's doing another LEGALLY BOUND with ORFEH and a bunch of no-name guest stars ... I hope he can break away from that stuff and do another show soon

[newintown]

Posted: 1/11/18 at 12:17pm

"It's annoying that he's doing another LEGALLY BOUND with ORFEH and a bunch of no-name guest stars ..."

It's better than temping.

[massofmen]

Posted: 1/11/18 at 12:22pm

from what I understand is that he signed a tv development deal. bye bye broadway

[antonijan]

Posted: 1/11/18 at 2:20pm

Goodluck.  Hopefully it comes black one way...or another.  Maybe Sacramento Music Circus aka Broadway Sacramento in the round!

Updated On: 5/31/18 at 02:20 PM

[Mystic54]

Posted: 5/31/18 at 7:29pm

We saw the show in June 2017. Thought it was brilliant. It would have played well in smaller cities and sold out in places like Atlanta's Fox Theater wherr they are hungry for something less esoteric, relatable. Maybe New Yorkers viewed it as low brow and Broadway had too many hot shows at once. Everyone I talked ho loved it. The critics loved it. To call it a flop is true in the sense of the run time but this show was a winner in every other sense of the word. Hope someone rethinks this.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 5/31/18 at 9:08pm

MTI just secured licensing for the show. Hopefully we'll see some regional and amateur productions spring up.