I was told the Last Ship is closing in January- Page 2
I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
indytallguy
Broadway Star Joined: 7/13/08
#25I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/30/14 at 11:09pm
"WTF
Kennedy Center honors Sting and no Last Ship number?????"
You could say the same thing for any of his popular hits that weren't showcased. They always pick and choose. The show got a nice mention. And it's possible the live show did feature a number that just didn't make the TV cut. What we see does not reflect all that happens.
Tag
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/19/05
#26I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/30/14 at 11:15pmThey did perform as part of the Bruno Mars finale. There was no separate Last Ship performance.
#27I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/30/14 at 11:15pm
"That's how you know it's a flop."
No, Namo, it's not. It may be a flop, but not because of that. That's just the sort of priceless nonsense people have a penchant for spouting on here.
#28I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/30/14 at 11:26pm
And then there's this:
David Cote "Why You Should See Sting..."
#29I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/31/14 at 1:48am
Looks like the curse of the Alvin/Simon lives on.
All the Way?
Hairspray?
Elaine Stritch At Liberty?
The Music Man?
The King and I?
Biloxi Blues?
Brighton Beach Memoirs?
Annie?
Updated On: 12/31/14 at 01:48 AM
Fantod
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/3/14
#30I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/31/14 at 1:54amThe King and I and the Music Man both flopped at the Neil Simon
#31I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/31/14 at 1:56amI think they mean that the Neil Simon has not had a hit MUSICAL since Hairspray. The same could be said about the St. James, which has not had a hit since The Producers.
After Eight
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
#32I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/31/14 at 4:26am
"The show is not dull, the audiences are."
Audiences are a lot sharper than you think.
Sharp enough to reject a loser like this one.
And I wonder, if Sting hadn't written this, if tv shows would have plugged it until it was coming out of our ears.
I bet Big Fish, Scandalous, Catch Me If You Can, Hands on a Hardbody, Wonderland, and countless other flops would have loved the (over)exposure this dud received.
Updated On: 12/31/14 at 04:26 AM
Fantod
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/3/14
#33I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/31/14 at 4:31amThough, like you said, the over-exposure might not be helping. If audiences don't like the songs on TV, they wouldn't be compelled to see the show. And if Wonderland broadcasted any of their inept numbers on TV, it may have actually closed the show faster.
#34I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/31/14 at 4:33amThe Kennedy Center Honors might have been really good publicity
After Eight
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
#35I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/31/14 at 4:44am
Fantod,
To be honest, as bad as Wonderland was --- and was it ever bad--- it was easier to sit through than The Last Ship.
I kept hoping for them to finally build that ship so that we could escape into the night.
Updated On: 12/31/14 at 04:44 AM
Fantod
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/3/14
#36I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/31/14 at 4:46am
Wow. I didn't think ANYTHING could be worse than that disaster (except maybe The Flick). The Last Ship must be awful.
Updated On: 12/31/14 at 04:46 AM
blaxx
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/05
#37I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/31/14 at 4:47amIf you want to believe in cursed theaters look at the Lyric. Zero hits, all flops.
Fantod
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/3/14
#38I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/31/14 at 4:48amThat's what you get for destroying two great theatres.
#39I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/31/14 at 4:55am42nd street? Ragtime?
Fantod
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/3/14
#40I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/31/14 at 4:57amBoth flops. Ragtime lost its entire investment thanks to the lovely human being known as Garth Drabinsky.
chrisampm2
Broadway Star Joined: 5/26/07
#41I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/31/14 at 5:07amAfter Eight, you write, "if the show were as wonderful as people here exclaim, and the audience as enthusiastic as people here claim, then word of mouth would have brought others to see it." If it were that simple then all good shows would be successful, but certainly you believe some flops deserved to run. No?
#42I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/31/14 at 5:18am42nd Street ran for 3.5 years, are you sure it flopped? what did Garth Drabinsky do to Ragtime?
After Eight
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
#43I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/31/14 at 5:47am
Chris,
You ask a good question, but it's really a complicated matter. Does something "good" "deserve" to run? It depends on how you conceive of both of these terms.
If someone opens a hot-dog stand, and sells great hot dogs for $50 each, and the public refuses to pay that sum for these hot dogs, causing the owner to go out of business, is the public to "blame?" Did the owner "deserve" success? And if food critics extol hot dogs that are actually lousy, and are judged lousy by the public, should the public be expected to buy them just the same, and be excoriated for not doing so?
As far as shows are concerned, they are being presented to the public for its approval --- and dollars. That's just the way the game is played. If the public doesn't give either, than no, the show doesn't "deserve" to run, no matter what I or anyone else thinks about the show's merits.
chrisampm2
Broadway Star Joined: 5/26/07
#44I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/31/14 at 7:04am
Thanks After Eight. Your answer makes great sense.
I have to add that I don't believe a lack of audience support means a show isn't wonderful. Was Donnybrook not good? Or the original Waiting for Godot or Candide? I admit I've rarely been mystified by a show's lack of success but I don't assume a show's commerciality is commensurate with its artistic merit.
#45I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/31/14 at 7:19amOh yes, After Eight, audiences attending theater today are so very sharp. That is why they have kept Mamma Mia running for years. Oh, and Rock of Ages. Let's see, that's right these sharp audiences have turned virtually every junk box musical into a long running hit. Motown? Really? Beautiful? Really? That is why these sharp audiences have been duped into championong junk like Book of Mormon and will pay $400 a ticket. These sharp audiences are why bloated dated musicals like Phantom can run way past their expiration dates. Why shows with men in drag are the screaming height of sophistication. Why every Disney piece of crap like Tarzan, Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid and yes the incomprehensible puppet show know as Lion King run and run and run. Why serious drama is just about dead on B'way and most straight plays cannot sustain a long run without some mediocre !!MOVIE STAR!! to titillate these sharp audiences. Yes, audiences are so sharp; they are so intelligent ; they are so sophisticated; they are, in fact, culturally deprived dullards in polyester that have ruined theater with their plebian tastes. If you think they are sharp After Eight, there's a ticket to Moose Murders The Musical using Madonna's catalogue of songs that I would like to sell you. You'll love it!
#46I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/31/14 at 7:53am
Please keep in mind that shows like The Last Ship as well as Side Show can really be such a tough sell to the general public.
However, I do feel that Broadway should always have room shows that opens Broadway up to a wider audience that makes it more apart of the mainstream entertainment culture (The Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King, Wicked, Jersey Boys, The Book of Mormon, Kinky Boots, Beautiful, & Aladdin).
Both Tarzan and The Little Mermaid flopped so you can count those out of long-running hits.
martianman2
Swing Joined: 3/29/14
#47I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/31/14 at 8:05amIf the running costs are as stated a few weeks back then Sting has pulled back around two thirds of the $1m or so they lost in the 10 weeks before he came. Tickets sales post 1/24 are low according to ticketmaster anyway. If you saw the WSJ café video last week he was more or less resigned to it closing and relying on word of mouth to keep it opened.
After Eight
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
#48I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/31/14 at 8:16am
"If you think they are sharp After Eight, there's a ticket to Moose Murders The Musical using Madonna's catalogue of songs that I would like to sell you. You'll love it!"
Could be.
I certainly had a better time at the play Moose Murders than I did at The Last Ship. It was beyond awful, yes, but I laughed my head off at its outrageous shenanigans. The Last Ship was just a trial by dire.
I also had a good time at Mamma Mia, Rock of Ages, and Beauty and the Beast --- and I don't wear polyester. Nor do I wear jeans when I go to the theatre (or anywhere else for that matter), as do many of our self-proclaimed, sharp "intellectuals."
#49I was told the Last Ship is closing in January
Posted: 12/31/14 at 9:03am
Hey, After Eight, in your proposed paradigm, how do you account for the long-term success of ONCE?
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