HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO from Jacob Yandura & Rebekah Greer Melocik sets Broadway premiere - Page 2

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 7/21/23 at 11:27am

I'm sure the producers are hoping it succeeds, and I love that there are more neurodivergent stories being represented on Broadway, but does this seem like a move that was made so they could market it better to regional theaters?  I haven't seen the show, but from the clips that are online I agree that it feels "cute".

[MiniMenzel08]

Posted: 7/21/23 at 1:57pm

I’m autistic and in the minority with this one. It just doesn’t resonate with me. Mostly for reasons I won’t mention here that have to do with the representation of the spectrum. While I’m so happy for autistic representation (and very happy for the actors themselves), I personally don’t like the thought of autism being thought of as cute or even just monetized. I feel like everyone’s heart is in the right place, I just don’t know that this is going to do as well as they think. I also am just waiting and waiting and waiting for a show that has an autistic character but does not focus on autism. That, to me, is the inclusion we need to see. 
 

Also, it’s blatantly obvious that they moved so fast because they have money. That makes me a little worried too, that they didn’t really develop it to be as good as it can be. They just went to Broadway because they can. *shrug* Could be wrong, though. Hope I am. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/21/23 at 2:31pm

Hi MiniMenzel, I wanted to apologize as my statement was not calling autism cute, but the overall show itself. I posted the video below of show clips from Syracuse and either teenagers will flock to this because they are able to relate (DEH) or it will flop (Trevor). I am hoping the former occurs. 

 I also am just waiting and waiting and waiting for a show that has an autistic character but does not focus on autism. That, to me, is the inclusion we need to see. 

I think that is something we will definitely see at some point, although not soon enough.

 

[MiniMenzel08]

Posted: 7/21/23 at 3:02pm

Hi, Sutton Ross! 
 

I’m so sorry! I actually didn’t mean to say that you (or anyone) thinks it’s cute. I think I replied to your directly instead of the forum.
 

I actually think it looks “cute” myself, which is one of my main issues. I’ve actually seen all the clips and have heard music and read scenes outside of what’s online, and I just feel like it’s…well, cute. There are a few other reasons I can’t connect, most of which make me feel like the target audience is neurotypicals instead of people like me. But I hope very much I’m wrong! 

And I totally agree about whether teens will flock to it. I’m 19, and while I don’t plan on flocking, I feel like a lot of people in my age range might. Or maybe they won’t. Either way, I’m curious! 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 7/21/23 at 3:06pm

chrishuyen said: "I'm sure the producers are hoping it succeeds, and I love that there are more neurodivergent stories being represented on Broadway, but does this seem like a move that was made so they could market it better to regional theaters? I haven't seen the show, but from the clips that are online I agree that it feels "cute"."

For a show like this Broadway is way too expensive to merely serve as a loss-leader for licensing. Licensing pays back investors with a tiny trickle. The team obviously believes (justly or not) that they have a show that can resonate with mass audiences in the way that DEH, CFA, Fun Home, and to a lesser extent The Prom did. We'll see how that all plays out.

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 7/27/23 at 12:52am

Really weird that people think this is being rushed to Broadway, it has been in development for like 5 or 6 years, it was apparently the LAST show that Harold Prince had anything to do with per this Playbill Article from January of 2018

The show did a full World Premiere out-of-town last Fall, and since has done a full development workshop.

 

Now FROZEN, that was rushed to Broadway.  

Updated On: 7/27/23 at 12:52 AM

[inception]

Posted: 7/27/23 at 12:52pm

BoringBoredBoard40 said: "

Now FROZEN, that was rushed to Broadway. "

LET IT GO!

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 8/10/23 at 10:15am

First listen: "Building Momentum"

Also, tickets are on sale with promo code DANCE30

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 8/23/23 at 11:28am

New song released: "So Much in Common"

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 8/24/23 at 10:52am

An EP will be released on September 6th

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwVM1eoL-Ur/

[OhHiii]

Posted: 8/24/23 at 2:18pm

Having listened to it several times since they released it, Building Momentum is a pretty solid song. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 8/24/23 at 2:29pm

The songs in this are wonderful, I just hope they did a lot of work on the book. 

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 8/30/23 at 10:25am

New song: "Getting Ready for the Dance"

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 9/27/23 at 1:44pm

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 9/27/23 at 1:45pm

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 9/27/23 at 1:56pm

Love the diversity of this cast. I hope it's a hit!

 

[theatregoer3]

Posted: 10/2/23 at 11:38am

Sutton Ross said: "Love the diversity of this cast. I hope it's a hit!"

I agree! I can't wait to see it. I'm grabbing tix for the first preview.

 

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 11/4/23 at 2:56am

Considering this starts in ten days the lack of buzz is concerning ...and boy are there a bunch of tickets still available for previews...

[Kad]

Posted: 11/4/23 at 10:04am

What buzz should there be for a little-known original musical that has no big names involved…?

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 11/4/23 at 11:58am

I feel like I am getting ads all the time so I don't know I figured the last comment on this thread would have been a month ago

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 11/4/23 at 12:21pm

BoringBoredBoard40 said: "I feel like I am getting ads all the time so I don't know I figured the last comment on this thread would have been a month ago"

This is how advertising based on your browsing history works.

I expect they have a hefty cash reserve built into the capitalization and are expecting to operate at a loss during previews and the first few weeks post-opening. Hopefully sales will grow as buzz builds. They have a lot of discount options out there and may be hoping for strong WOM.

[quizking101]

Posted: 11/4/23 at 12:42pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "This is how advertising based on your browsing history works.

I expect they have a hefty cash reserve built into the capitalization and are expecting to operate at a loss during previews and the first few weeks post-opening. Hopefully sales will grow as buzz builds. They have a lot of discount options out there and may be hoping for strong WOM."

See, I’m browsing Broadway stuff on an hourly basis and I have maybe seen an ad for the show once or twice. I’m getting a lot more for Purlie Victorious, Here Lies Love, and Shucked, SLIH, and Harmony.

While the Macy’s Performance was indeed a coup for them to land, I’m not sure how it will bolster sales through the lean winter months. I expect HEAVY papering to happen throughout the preview period. 

To be quite honest, I’m really not sure the audience is there to sustain a Broadway run. If they opted for a smaller off-Broadway theatre like NWS, I could see it possibly building an audience.

But also if they are thinking this is going to be a loss leader for regional stagings, my question would be how many regional theatres are going to find people on the ASD spectrum to play the roles with the limited resources they may have? I feel like you’re going to have a lot of neurotypical people playing the roles and it’s going to be a situation like Sia's godawful “Music” film…

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 11/4/23 at 1:04pm

Has anyone here seen the HBO documentary this show is based on? Curious to hear how something like that has been musicalized in the coming days. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 11/4/23 at 1:04pm

A Broadway mounting is too expensive to be a loss-leader for regional licensing, especially considering the profit split between authors & producers. Touring or international, maybe, but this show on paper doesn't necessarily feel like a slam dunk for those territories. A show recoups pennies at a time with licensing.

The other shows you mention might be outbidding OHIO for your eyeballs.

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 11/4/23 at 5:26pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "Has anyone here seen the HBO documentary this show is based on? Curious to hear how something like that has been musicalized in the coming days."

I watched it soon after the first few songs were released, and as I work in Adult Foster Care I found it easy to get into. It's really cute and all of the people the filmmakers follow are instantly likeable and relatable. There are a number of sequences where I could easily see musicalized - explaining the dance's rules, characters seeking out the right dresses, etc. It's also worth noting that based on the released character list, this isn't a case of using the premise of the doc as a jumping-off point for an original story - the cast are actually playing the people from the documentary.

There's also one subplot that culminates in a line so perfect you'd never buy it if it had been written by a screenwriter:

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

one of the characters is very shy and sometimes has problems reaching out to others. At one point the man who runs the program says he knows someone who wants to ask her to the dance.  She excitedly says "Oh, is it [X]? I think he wants to ask me!" and the program leader says he has already asked someone else, leaving her crestfallen. She turns down the person who then asked her and eventually goes to the dance alone. 

She's clearly feeling a little bit sad at the dance. The rules of the program do say, though, that if someone asks you to dance you have to dance with them at least once. She sees [X], the guy she clearly has a crush on, and walks up to him when he's not with his date. She says to him:

"I don't know how to dance, but I really want to dance with you."

If that line isn't in the musical, I want my money back.

Updated On: 11/4/23 at 05:26 PM