Honest Question...........................REALLY!!!!

1) What do you fell is the Number One action a producer can take, be specific!

What do we fell?

Yes, DTL.

Well, advertisements are EVERYWHERE for some shows, Wicked for example. That always helps.

---

A famous example show that opened to mostly unfavourable notices (5) to 1 mixed and 1 favourable yet managed to overcome the bad reviews to run 598 performances is WISH YU WERE HERE.

The show had an elaborate physical production including an actual swimming pool intsalled in the stage of the Imperial Theatre. Instead of going out-of-twon it held previews in New York (This was 1952 when opening in New York was almost unheard of.) It opened on the hot sticky night of June 25th. The reviews, as mentioned were awful, and there was little advance. But directr Josh Logan plunged into work, rewriting the script changing the opening number and re-staging many scenes. By a fluke Eddie Fisher had made a single of the title song and it became a hit record getting lots of air play. This, along with the lack of any serious competition arriving over the summer months helped increase the sales and the show became a hit. A minor hit, but one that lasted a year and a half on Broadway and a year in London and turned a nice profit. The Broadway cast album on RCA Victor is now deleted but the London cast is out on Sepia. Aside from one or two songs, however, its a rather dull score. There has been no attempt to revive it.

---

1) I think marketing is the most important thing. Broadway now is 70% tourists, and successfully marketing your show to appeal to that mass crowd is absolutely ESSENTIAL. Chicago is a brilliant example of a show that has been marketed so precisely and so brilliantly, that is is still a success. It started out with killer reviews and was a hot ticket for years, but from then until the movie, it was all about creating that brand image, that recognizable theatrical flair that made audiences want to see the show.

2) Moving on from my first point, Cameron Mackintosh is a GENIUS at this. Les Mis is a great example, it got pretty negative reviews, but the show's marketing strategy was executed so brilliantly that reviews were not even factored into any major campaigns. EVERYONE knows the image of the poor little French girl.

Updated On: 5/28/06 at 11:11 PM

get Nathan Lane & Matthew Broderick to star? (odd couple) casting "stars" is the way to go.

Bombay Dreams got some mediocre reviews, no? but managed to stay open a bit longer by getting Tamyra from American Idol to sign on. Entertaining Mr. Sloane got some bad reviews but they pushed Alec Baldwin hard.

---

I work at an upstate resort and one of our best promotions was giving away a stay on the Regis and Kelly Show. People booked solely on that. So maybe giveaways where is it advertising like radio, festivals/fairs, baseball games, etc

---

Not that promotions and tv appearences aren't helpful, they are, but things like that really only affect ticket sales for maybe a period of 2-3 months.

Long term consistent things like a strong, simple, but wholly effective marketing campaign really is the answer.

I think if the work is not done before opening there is little that can save a bad show. I would suggest really thinking about what you are producing BEFORE the the reviews come out. In simple terms, don't produce a show that is simply a bad idea to begin with. Look at the track record...Mama Mia and Jersey Boys are exceptions to the Jukebox curse. These shows that failed this season were just BAD IDEAS! Lennon? Good Vibrations? Ring of Fire? Hot Feet? What, besides the cheap overhead and lazy so called moneymaking "hook" made these producers think these shows would succeed? Didn't anyone realize that no one really wants to see a Vampire musical? Describe In My Life to anyone who has not seen it and ask them if they think it is a good idea for a multi-million dollar Broadway musical.
Do your homework and use your head. Then worry about ticket sales afterwords.

---