HONEYMOON IN VEGAS struggling on Broadway

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 9:59pm

Honeymoon in Vegas Faces a Press Agency Switch Up as Sales Still Struggle

[cryan71]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 10:17pm

something needs to pop. There has to be some success in new shows or investors are going to run.

I think it might have to do with the marketing of shows. There needs to be some disruption in the traditional marketing mix.

Honeymoon in Vegas got pretty good reviews -- why aren't people buying tickets?

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 10:24pm

It is a shame but it aint gonna make it . Problem is bad marketing and people are simply getting tired of sky high prices. They have only a limited amount to spend on theater so many quality show simply cannot be seen by a majority of people. As prices continue to escalate, this will happen more and more often. Best of luck to the cast and creative team.

Like many recent good shows before it, people simply aint buying it. How Wicked & Mormon are thriving and this & other shows before it struggled is a mystery to me.

I used to get really bummed but it is happening so often now it simply is not worth getting worked up about. This is especially true as it will keep on happening. Why anyone invests in a show, with the odds of failure much more than that of a success, escapes me.

I have the CD and saw it and will get a naughty version so I will content myself with that. JRB can't catch a break.

Updated On: 1/30/15 at 10:24 PM

[Pootie2]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 10:27pm

"Honeymoon in Vegas got pretty good reviews -- why aren't people buying tickets?"
A few tourist comments

[After Eight]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 10:48pm

Aside from the fact that the book and score both stink, the lack of understanding on the creators' part that there is nothing funny about a woman dying of cancer, and that an audience might be disgusted/ offended at being forced to endure a "comic" song about it by her husband is truly astounding.

Is it arrogance, obstinance, an audience-be- damned attitude, or just plain stupidity on the creators' part?

They had two months of previews to get rid of that song.

They didn't.



Updated On: 1/30/15 at 10:48 PM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 11:02pm

This should dispel the rumor we are one & the same person After 8

It is your opinion nothing more or less. The same holds true with me. I did not find the cancer song that bad. In addition, to say the show is failing because one song you did not like was not removed is asinine

Both my wife & I had cancer (me twice) and we were not offended by it at all. You are intitled to your opinion. The bottom line is the show is not failing because of one song. My reasons stated previously are, I believe , the reason. You may have your own opinion but the song is not the reason. The 2 month preview period during the holidays was the most insane thing I have ever seen. It is like the producers wanted it to flop to get a tax write off.

Updated On: 1/30/15 at 11:02 PM

[smallvillefan16]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 11:24pm

Maybe people are getting tired of seeing movies turned into shows?

Then again, when this was announced it just had flop all of it.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 11:37pm

Shows fail. It happens. Even to shows with good/decent reviews. It has ALWAYS happened. This has little to nothing to do with price.

How can we know why the public isn't interested? I think it has far more to do with the lack of interest in the original film than anything else. I had little interest in this vehicle, and then totally lost that when I heard the samples from the recording.

Roxy -- for someone that MONTHS ago swore off ever seeing live theater again BECAUSE of the price, you seem to see enough shows.

I'm a single, mom working at a public school, I'm certainly not rolling in the dough. I do, however, see a huge percentage of shows -- how? Because I save my money, I look for discounts, I live simply. All which suits me fine. If a show is too expensive, or my budget is too tight, I don't go. And while I might be disappointed, I don't whine about it nor do I expect that the world owes me everything I want.

[philly03]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 11:44pm

Bridges I was a bit surprised by the lack of audience - both because of the actual musical had a great score, and the book/film, although over two decades old, was pretty engraved in culture.

Honeymoon in Vegas I never saw the film, have no intention to, and don't know too many people who have seen it. Unless you are going to make a film substantially better, there is no point in turning it into a musical. Jason Robert Brown picks some truly terrible source material for plenty of his musicals, and his pompous attitude doesn't mesh well with "commercial theatre," considering I don't think he's ever had a chart-hit, and clearly not one popular Broadway hit.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 1/31/15 at 12:11am

"I wasn't really interested in the movie when it came out 23 years ago and I've long since forgotten about it but now that it's been plucked out of obscurity and the occasional 3 a.m. airing and made into a Broadway show, where do I pay my $320 for a pair of tickets?" said absolutely no one.

You can be disappointed if you want, but no one should be surprised.

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 1/31/15 at 12:24am

Have we ever considered, maybe this whole thing is just a setup for season 3 of SMASH?

[lotiloti]

Posted: 1/31/15 at 10:06am

Considering the negativity displayed on this board. This visitor was pleasantly surprised, when I saw it over Christmas. For me, it is a great example of what Broadway does best. Good old fashioned musical comedy. Regarding the 'cancer' number. How anyone could be offended, is beyond me. I imagine practitioners treating cancer sufferers, would consider it a good & timely reminder. My thoughts on Broadway generally. It seems to me producers have veered full tilt, for the teen & children's market (Wicked, Mormon, Spring Awakening and the endless Disney's as an example). Using pester power, to get parents to pay for the tickets.If it wasn't for the London imports,quality theatre for the grown ups seems very thin on the ground. In the week after my return to London. I saw the Donmar's 'City of Angels' and 'Assassins' at the Menier. It reminded me, of just how lucky I am to be this side of the pond. But I'm sure I will return to NY next Christmas, it's become a habit.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 1/31/15 at 10:11am

I think it all has to do what catches the tourists eye. Especially families. Wicked and Aladdin, and The Lion King are probably the most family friendly shows and thus they get more people to their shows. And then the Book of Mormon is popular, because its funny and has tourists attention to it. Although its really sad. I do wish that the American public one day becomes aware of theatre and broadway and make it the new football. Oh and what's happening tomorrow??

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/31/15 at 10:24am

This weather aint helping either

JRB is the Rodney Dangerfield of composers - his shows get no resect from the public

Glad we saw it however

[mc1227]

Posted: 1/31/15 at 10:44am

HIV has many hurdles but I think having Tony Danza as the prime star is a disadvantage. While he's a known name to tourists, he is not a known Broadway star. He is replacement caliber at best. That issue alone will sink a show. McClure is an incredibly talented actor but not a star that will sell tickets (however, I would see him in anything) so they really needed to bring in a true Broadway star to make this show sell. Very poor marketing and ads for this show have not helped. The tv ad makes this seem like a cheap Vegas production and as it's already been said, people aren't spending their hard earned $ on that.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 1/31/15 at 10:44am

Left unspoken in most of the above is that these failing shows are just not very good. Good enough to attract the attention of a portion of the sort of people populating this board, but not of broad popular interest. What is it about Honeymoon in Vegas that commends itself to anyone's attention as anything more than expensive "entertainment"? That's sufficient for folks who choose to focus their entertainment dollars on musicals, but most folks have broader interests and, more acutely, nothing about Honeymoon in Vegas appeals to the broader population. That may be a bitter pill to swallow, but it sums up the disconnect between most musicals and the popular society within which we exist. The options are for it to recede into some non-commercial cocoon, or to begin the arduous process of reintroducing musical theatre and contemporary culture to one another.

So it may make people feel better to blame it on the weather, the ticket prices or any other scapegoat, but I think we all know what the actual problem is.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 1/31/15 at 10:47am

I said it when it was at the Papermill, the title alone suggests low-rent entertainment, something that ought to be cheap and available at home. And once you've paraded around a set of Elvis impersonators as the show's meme and presumed cultural marker for a good time (does no one recall the sequel to "Best Little Whorehouse"? that thought that was the freshest image since G.B. Shaw played puppeteer in the "Fair Lady" poster?), you've underestimated the public's appetites and wallet thickness. "Vegas" in a title is hardly a "let me spend $126, pronoto!" sure thing, yet I've heard people actually say that. When you adapt a middlebrow film that's not exactly in everyone's DVD collection, you are dealing with a commercial gamble. Many people love it, but the "why is isn't it catching fire?" issue is odd among people who should know better.

Updated On: 1/31/15 at 10:47 AM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/31/15 at 11:01am

Sine Brantley and many critics gave it a thumbs up, I assume they must be lowbrow as well.

Sorry it will not make it but that's life.

[HenryTDobson]

Posted: 1/31/15 at 11:14am

"Jason Robert Brown picks some truly terrible source material for plenty of his musicals, and his pompous attitude doesn't mesh well with "commercial theatre," considering I don't think he's ever had a chart-hit, and clearly not one popular Broadway hit."

Yes, I'm sure JRB's pompous attitude keeps all the tourists away. He's a household name after all!

[indytallguy]

Posted: 1/31/15 at 11:22am

So I'm a theatre-lover who is in NYC 4-6 times a year. I catch as many shows as I can when I visit.

Nothing I have seen or heard about this show makes me feel that I need to see it. When a visitor has limited selections and with ticket prices being what they are (even with discounts), I think a lot of us are looking for the must see shows, the ones I'll regret not having caught.

What makes a show must see obviously varies for the individual, but I think the principle holds pretty true as one that guides people's decisions. And for Honeymoon in Vegas, neither the source material, nor the cast and this production, has suggested this is a show that needs to leapfrog over the many other options available.

[Fantod]

Posted: 1/31/15 at 11:26am

In who's household is Jason Robert Brown a household name?

[lotiloti]

Posted: 1/31/15 at 11:46am

'In who's household is Jason Robert Brown a household name?'

Sorry Fantod, have you not heard of sarcasm ?

[Fantod]

Posted: 1/31/15 at 11:52am

Wow, I really didn't recognize that sarcasm. Maybe I need more sleep.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 1/31/15 at 12:01pm

Fantod is from a more simple time when people were more plainspoken.

[goldenboy]

Posted: 1/31/15 at 12:05pm

Honeymoon in Vegas is a fun old fashioned musical. I had a blast and its the best I've seen since Book of Mormon. I don't get why people are not going.

The lead producer made a huge mistake with the 8 weeks of previews. The 8 weeks of previews let all the air out of the balloon. There wasn't much advertising out to justify the 8 weeks of previews. The advertising that was out was insufficient and lackluster.

Honeymoon exudes the best of Broadway: Tuneful; feel good; Laughs and great specatacle. What's on stage is fantastic. I would urge people to go see it.

Unfortunately, what's behind the scenes; the lead producers bad decisions of eight weeks of previews--even the choice of theatre (they originally had the Brooks Atkinson) have been not so good.

This is a wonderful musical. This is a damn shame.