NOW he says he saw this coming? What happened to all your posturing about this show picking up steam, that there was no way this would close, that this was going to be a HUGE hit?
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
OK guys. Break out the confetti and champagne. You got your wish. The show is closing
Now onward to the next target which is, I believe, It Should Have Been You. Let us start a death watch over that show & guess what is going into the theater after it closes even though it has not opened yet.
Nothing shocking. Another good show closes . That is Broadway. SH*T happens. Feel bad for the cast but life goes on.
Just grabbed my front / center mezzanine ticket for the final performance. This will be my fourth time seeing the show - and I am very saddened by it's untimely demise. I give the cast a lot of credit for all of the work they have poured into this show. They are a very talented group. I am happy that I will be there - this will be the first time that I have attended both the Opening and Closing of a show.
I thought the continued painful limp this show took through the winter was mindbogglingly insane. But to suffer through all of that and to NOW close is mindblowing. I wonder if the percentage loss (which I estimate to be over 150% of capitalization) is the highest ever? There is only one competitor for that record.
And to our dear sweet but confused Pinto, I hope you have learned something from the experience that will serve you in the future.
Hogan, what am I supposed to learn? These were all predictions. Your guess was as good as mine. You guys were saying this show would close mid February so really I was more right than you! Why did they run this long though just to close now? They made it this far, why couldn't they just wait 4 more weeks to see what happened. Wasn't that the plan? I don't get these producers...
>>Hogan, what am I supposed to learn? These were all predictions. Your guess was as good as mine. You guys were saying this show would close mid February so really I was more right than you! Why did they run this long though just to close now? They made it this far, why couldn't they just wait 4 more weeks to see what happened. Wasn't that the plan? I don't get these producers...<<
Lessons: 1. Don't be sure of anything. And you were not making predictions - you were claiming certainty and knowledge and that you would be proven right. And for the zillionth time - most people didn't say the show "would" close; they were saying it should close and they couldn't understand what was keeping the show open. 2. Broadway producers may not act logically. Staying open this long didn't make a lot of sense. Closing now after all of the time doesn't seem to make sense either. Except, that the money must have finally run out OR a stop clause was invoked/threatened. They've already recorded the show - so it's not using that money (ala High Fidelity) - unless they're saving money in case they have a chance to perform on the Tony Awards, and need that cash. 3. Quality has nothing to do with the success or failure of a show. 4. Do not invest in a Jason Robert Brown Broadway show. 5. If cast in a Jason Robert Brown Broadway show, do not sign any long term lease or buy any expensive items that can't be returned.
1. Don't speak in absolutes about something that is not susceptible to that quality of certainty.
2. Don't try to recharacterize the certainty of your absolute pronouncement as a prediction when everyone can see what you said. (It's one thing to try the revisionism route when you originally said something dumb at Joe Allen's after everyone had had a few drinks; it's quite another when it is hard-coded into the content of the very website you are writing on.) As a corollary, don't suggest to others that they said one thing ("this show would close mid February") when what everyone (myself included) said was that it rationally should have closed then (or before). Also demonstrable on this very website.
3. Don't be irrational, but also don't assume producers will be rational.
4. Admit when you make a mistake. It's called Grace. And that's not a reference to the show of the same name that played less performances than Honeymoon a few seasons ago.
5. Get me comps to your opening night on Broadway. Because by then you'll have learned that it may not run that long afterwards, no matter how good you think it is. And because you know you want me to see it.
6. Pay attention to ggersten's list that he snuck in while I was writting this. Everything he says is a good lesson too.
" I wonder if the percentage loss (which I estimate to be over 150% of capitalization) is the highest ever? There is only one competitor for that record."
Has anyone rushed this show recently? What were the seats like? Thinking of going Friday. Are theaters every flexible about the 2 ticket limit? My parents are coming to town but won't be there til the afternoon so was hoping to go there solo and pick up 3 tixs.
HONEYMOON IN VEGAS just announced that they will be closing in April. Surprised?
"Mostly, I loved the size of these people's emotions. Nobody has emotions this size anymore. Outsized emotions. Operatic emotions. Kushemski and Vanda are like Tristan and Isolde, they're Paolo and Francesca. Nobody's in total thrall like this anymore. Nobody's overcome by passion like this, or goes through this kind of rage." Thomas, Venus in Fur
How come there's no comments when JRB musicals close about "why would anyone invest in this" like some other composers (Wildhorn, Lippa, etc) have had longer runs, successful cast recordings and international runs. This will get nominated for a ton of Drama Desk Awards most likely (because they still love him even after he trashed their organization's nominating process), but I don't see any Tony nominations.
I am not very hopeful of a JRB adaptation of A League go their Own and I love that movie! I wish they just leave that movie alone and not make it into a musical!!!
To the comment about not investing in JRB shows, it hardly ever seems that his music is the actual problem. He writes beautiful music. Just always seems to be involved in the wrong projects. His music was the best thing about Bridges, besides the individual performances of course.
But guys, we're still 100+ posts shy of 1,000. Will it be possible to finish strong in the last 5 days of our run? He said/she said arguments will only take us so far. Now is the time to rally.
I was going to use the next few days to try and get a ticket to Hedwig before Lena's last performance. I'm not sure if I want to switch to getting a ticket to Honeymoon.
@philly, not so sure about the DD. After all, in addition to what's on Broadway, there is some serious off-B competition that will be in play.
@jenna-while it is true that JRB's shows have suffered for reasons besides the music, it is also true that his music absolutely does not sell tickets in meaningful volumes. Cult does not a Bway composer make. I've said a number of times that Brown should never have left the NFP world; it's where his work belongs. Tragic what chasing the almighty dollar can do.