Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
HBBrock
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/11/07
#1Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/21/10 at 9:37pm
HUGE EXPECTIONS when it was announced.
Mediocre reviews.
Ticket prices that are WAY too high.
Where are the discounts for this show? No way this could be selling that well already.
#2Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/21/10 at 9:43pmLast I heard, they were selling pretty well actually.
#2Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/21/10 at 9:45pmHow could it not be selling well. The Addams Family is an widely recognized franchise... at least in the U.S anyways... and then you also have to take into consideration two people named Bebe Neuwirth, and Nathan Lane.
Rant, Wickud, Rant, Wickud, Rant! We're not gonna pay Rant! 'Cause everythink is Wickud!
"Leave Walt Disney Theatricals new sparkling production of The Little Mermaid on Broadway alone!!!"
lakezurich will be played by Paul Groves in the BWW musical
"Leave Walt Disney Theatricals new sparkling production of The Little Mermaid on Broadway alone!!!"
lakezurich will be played by Paul Groves in the BWW musical
HBBrock
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/11/07
#3Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/21/10 at 9:49pmYoung Frankenstein was also a widely recognized franchise. It was Mel Brooks' follow up to The Producers. Was the most anticipated show of that year. Starred some big Broadway names also.
#4Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/21/10 at 9:52pm
In my office, I'm the guy that everyone goes to when they want to know about theater (obviously).
The one show that everyone has been asking me about is THE ADDAMS FAMILY. Regardless of how good or bad the reviews were in Chicago, there is definite buzz about this show among people who are not regular theater-goers. I definitely think it will sell well...at least for a few months. I do hope the issues from Chicago can be fixed and that the show is a hit. I'll be there on the 8th, 16th and 31st. I will keep the baord informed of any changes I notice.
#5Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/21/10 at 9:52pmEek, I hope not. That was way too painful to sit through.
::bust a move::
TheatreFan4
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/12/09
#6Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/21/10 at 9:53pm
Young Frankenstein was one movie. Addams' Family is a comic, 2 movies, a cartoon, TV show. It's been engrained in the society for many many years. I'd wager it that has more draw than Young Frankenstein.
BTW, Young Frank had it's ticket prices set BEFORE it was even in front of a paying audience.
#7Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/21/10 at 9:54pm
"big Broadway names" but only one marginally household-ish name.
"AF" has 2x the marginally household names of "YF" and I'd venture more "brand recognition."
#8Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/21/10 at 10:15pmYeah, the only name in Young Frankenstein that would be even slightly recognizable to any passerby would be Megan Mullally.
Rant, Wickud, Rant, Wickud, Rant! We're not gonna pay Rant! 'Cause everythink is Wickud!
"Leave Walt Disney Theatricals new sparkling production of The Little Mermaid on Broadway alone!!!"
lakezurich will be played by Paul Groves in the BWW musical
"Leave Walt Disney Theatricals new sparkling production of The Little Mermaid on Broadway alone!!!"
lakezurich will be played by Paul Groves in the BWW musical
ifuweregay93
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/19/06
#9Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/21/10 at 11:24pm
And even in that case would be hard to recognize, really.
Everyone knows Nathan Lane, either by face and name or a character. My 13 year old cousin finds him hillarious, after I dragged him to The Producers Movie when he was 9. He never looked at "old ladies" the same after that.
#10Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/21/10 at 11:49pmBebe Neuwirth isn't really a household name outside the tri-state area. "You know, what's her name, Fraiser's ex on Cheers" isn't going to sell that many tickets to tourists.
Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never knowing how
Wanting life but never knowing how
HBBrock
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/11/07
#11Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/22/10 at 12:39amI hate to break it to you all....but neither of the leads are massive names to most of the country that doesn't follow Broadway.
#12Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/22/10 at 12:39amBebe's as much a household name as Megan Mullaly -- actually more.
#13Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/22/10 at 12:43amNathan Lane could take a crap on stage and it would sell out every night. Updated On: 2/22/10 at 12:43 AM
TheatreFan4
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/12/09
#14Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/22/10 at 12:54am
I hate to break it to you all....but neither of the leads are massive names to most of the country that doesn't follow Broadway.
And yet The Producers sold out every time he came back to the show...
HBBrock
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/11/07
#15Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/22/10 at 12:54amWrong....one word - NOVEMBER.
BrianS
Broadway Star Joined: 10/8/07
#16Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/22/10 at 1:31am
I don't understand this thread at all.
Young Frankenstein DID have a specific wrong path, but it was one of Hubris. Of treating group ticket sales as second class citizens. Of a creator who ignored the input and advice of others. Of source material that was much more suited to film than to stage than The Producers.
None of these issues apply to Addams Family. Addams Family has some challenges ahead, but they are apples and oranges to what Young Frankenstein was dealing with.
If the audience could do better, they'd be up here on stage and I'd be out there watching them. - Ethel Merman
#17Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/22/10 at 3:46am
Bebe's as much a household name as Megan Mullaly -- actually more.
Completely disagree. "Household name" means all households, not just musical theatre fan households. The average American would recognize Karen from Will & Grace before they would Lilith from Fraiser.
Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never knowing how
Wanting life but never knowing how
#18Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/22/10 at 5:42am
I could walk out my front door here in Australia, and at least 95 out of the 100 people would know who both those names above the title are.
Well I didn't want to get into it, but he's a Satanist.
Every full moon he sacrifices 4 puppies to the Dark Lord and smears their blood on his paino.
This should help you understand the score for Wicked a little bit more.
Tazber's: Reply to
Is Stephen Schwartz a Practicing Christian
WishingOnlyWounds2
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/25/08
#19Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/22/10 at 7:09amSince the Marquee has been put up at every show I have gone to I have heard someone mention "Nathan Lane and Bebe Neurwith in The Addams Family" ...their names get the job done.
2008: Feb. 18- Rent, Feb. 19- Curtains, April 18- Xanadu, April 22- Wicked, April 26- Legally Blonde, May 31- Wicked, June 13- The Little Mermaid, June 28- Wicked and Young Frankenstein, July 2- The Little Mermaid, July 6- A Chorus Line and Legally Blonde, August 16- Xanadu, September 13- Legally Blonde and 13, September 28- Xanadu and Spring Awakening, Oct. 12-GYPSY and [title of show], Oct. 19- Hairspray & Legally Blonde, Nov. 9- Wicked and 13, Dec. 14-13, Dec. 26- Billy Elliot, 2009: Jan 1- Shrek, Jan 2- 13 and Wicked, Jan 4- 13, Feb 17- In The Heights, Feb 19- Billy Elliot, Feb 22- Sweeney Todd (tour), March 28- Mary Poppins, April 4- Mamma Mia!, April 15- Jersey Boys (on tour), April 25- next to normal & 9 to 5
May 1- Billy Elliot, May 3- Spelling Bee (tour), May 8- Chicago, May 21- Wicked, June 6- Everyday Rapture, June 23- The Wiz, June 25- Hair July 15- Shrek, August 9- Wicked, September 7- Rock of Ages, October 11- Next To Normal, October 23- The Marvelous Wonderettes, November 7- Ragtime November 29- Dreamgirls, December 25- Billy Elliot, December 30- Finian's Rainbow, 2010: January 9- Bye Bye Birdie, January 16- Memphis February 17- The Phantom of The Opera, February 18- God of Carnage, March 7- Billy Elliot, March 31- American Idiot
#20Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/22/10 at 8:41amAnd don't forget Terrance Mann! (In our household anyway....)
winston89
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/18/06
#21Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/22/10 at 8:47am
I remember being at the US Open one summer and there was a rain delay. They were showing shots of people in the crowd on the jumbotron and there was a shot of Bebe. My first thought was of her in the original revival cast of Chicago. However, my dad pointed her out to me as if I didn't know who she was and said that she was from Cheers.
I responded that I knew who she was due to the fact that I knew that she was on Broadway. So, with that, I do think that there is not enough credit given to her on her ability to sell tickets or as to how big her name is.
I just want to add something. I don't think that November didn't sell well due to Nathan Lane being in the play. I think that it didn't sell well due to the fact that it wasn't Mammet's best work and got mediocre reviews at best.
"If you try to shag my husband while I am still alive, I will shove the art of motorcycle maintenance up your rancid little Cu**. That's a good dear"
Tom Stoppard's Rock N Roll
Updated On: 2/22/10 at 08:47 AM
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#22Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/22/10 at 10:37amYou know what would make a great musical? All the threads bitching about Adams Family!
winston89
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/18/06
#23Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/22/10 at 10:59amActually Joe, that is all part of act III of Broadwayworld the musical. I am surprised you didn't get the memo on that one.
"If you try to shag my husband while I am still alive, I will shove the art of motorcycle maintenance up your rancid little Cu**. That's a good dear"
Tom Stoppard's Rock N Roll
DrewBill
Stand-by Joined: 4/22/08
#24Is The Addams Family going down the same wrong path Young Frankenstein did?
Posted: 2/22/10 at 11:46am
A couple of years ago, I was out with friends at a bar/lounge in Boston. Nathan Lane came in alone (he was in town with "Butley"), and seated himself at a table that was probably the most "high profile" spot in the room -- he was obviously there to be noticed.
But the sad thing was, no one recognized him at all. I was close enough to overhear his conversation as he attempted to "chat up" a few guys, but none of them had any idea who they were talking to.
So, while Nathan Lane is a huge star in theater circles, I don't think he's a "household name" in the world beyond. Personally, I think he's famous enough to get a show noticed by major media beyond the normal theater world outlets, but not a big enough name to single-handedly guarantee a show's success. (I think the same of Neuwirth as well.)
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