Jekyll & Hyde (Broadway Previews!)- Page 13

[deborahfan]

Posted: 4/29/13 at 2:19pm

I was sitting in the front row. It was filled. So I don't know when you looked. I was not roaming around the back, hunting for empty seats. And I also took a picture. It was pretty damn full. Oh, and I also went to see the afternoon matinee of Newsies. OMG. There were some empty seats! I bet it's going to close!

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/29/13 at 2:24pm

When the hell did I say it was closing? And I wasn't hunting for empty seats. You do realize the doors to enter the theater are at the BACK of the theater? You have to walk past those seats when you walk in. I got my third row tickets 40 minutes before showtime and had four empty seats in the second row in front of me, and the first row of the theater had three empty seats. Do you have an answer for everything? I saw what I saw. I'm not nitpicking about a a couple of empty seats. I am more concerned with the rows and rows and rows and rows of empty seats in both the orchestra, and more so, the mezzanine.

I'm not sure what theater you were in, but I'm glad it was packed and that you enjoyed the show. The theater I was in had a sh*tload of empty blocks and rows of seats, and I hated the show. Move the hell on.

The official Broadway grosses should be posted any minute now. Why don't you read those? Or do you think some conspirator against JEKYLL is fixing those too...? Updated On: 4/29/13 at 02:24 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 4/29/13 at 2:27pm

Again, deborahfan, the show has been filling about 60% of its capacity. 4 out of ten seats are empty. And those that are sold have most likely been done so at a discount. If they weren't comped.

That isn't rumor mill stuff. That's box office data released by the production.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/29/13 at 2:35pm

If this show were playing at one of the other theaters with less seats, it would be sold out.

You're right, it would look totally full in a smaller theatre. And it would have an even smaller potential gross which would take much longer to recoup (if they even hoped to recoup). But noting what the audience might have looked like in another theatre has nothing to do with how it looks in THIS theatre. It's sort of like saying, "Well, it would have sold out the Sullivan Street Playhouse for an entire month!"

[wicked_beast4]

Posted: 4/29/13 at 2:40pm

Well, that was awful. This was probably the worst thing I have ever seen on a professional stage, and the only show I have ever left at intermission. I rushed the 7pm show last night after having seen Orphans at 3pm, and honestly, there's no other word to describe this production but bad, or horrendous, comical, pathetic and the like, concerning everything from the set to the direction.

I mean, Constantine Maroulis may have an impressive voice, but he was doing some of the cheesiest, awfully melodramatic acting I have ever seen in my life. Deborah Cox couldn't handle the singing, and her acting, well, let's just say that the terrible, inconsistent Cockney accent was the best part about her performance.

The only redeeming aspect was Teal Wicks, but sadly her too-small role was not enough to keep me in the theatre for the second half of this tripe. Please, don't waste your time.

Updated On: 4/29/13 at 02:40 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 4/29/13 at 3:22pm

I actually need to apologize for posting outdated information! The approximate 60% capacity is not accurate. My bad.

The data from this past week show that the production has been averaging 47.7% of its capacity. Strange, considering it has been full with some spotty emptiness here and there and in half the theatre.

[philly03]

Posted: 4/29/13 at 3:37pm

Attempting to be balanced (though its hard for some of you to believe I'm sure), but the show is lacking in all aspects of sales other than day-of (TKTS and Rush seats).

That being said... the orchestra fills up (three or four rows in the back of the theatre usually are scarcely filled, but this theatre is huge). The mezz, however, is a ginormous ghost town.


To the person who critiqued Deborah Cox's singing... she has been totally capable the entire run voice-wise, I don't think that's a fair assessment (naturally I have not been at every performance). I still have no idea why there is all the love for Teal Wicks/Emma in this version of the show (fine voice, but nothing to do and her acting skills are just as melodramatic as people claim about the other performers).

Deborah and Constantine deliver the songs incredibly, and get monstrous applause (no, I'm not preaching standing ovations).

[jnb9872]

Posted: 4/29/13 at 3:58pm

I was there last night. The Confrontation will forever live in my dreams as the single closest I think I'll ever be to feeling whatever made Frank Rich write that Moose Murders review. Good god, what a howler of a show this is. It's what "Spooky Mormon Hell Dream" parodied. What anyone takes from this show besides abject horror at the thought that they intended to play this straight is beyond me.

Anyways, to the point, there were more than three or four rows in the back of the orchestra that were scarcely filled. Center Orchestra, maybe, but the Sides? You could stage a small off-Broadway musical in the back of this house called "Watching People Watch Jekyll & Hyde" and it might do better.

Updated On: 4/29/13 at 03:58 PM

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 4/29/13 at 4:16pm

Kad, I believe it was in the neighborhood of 25-30% this past week. Ouch.

[Pauly3]

Posted: 4/29/13 at 5:07pm

The numbers are certainly bad, but like many things stated on a message board, they are either miss-stated or Exaggerated. This week's attendance was at 47.7%, which (according to the grosses information) makes the average 58.03% for the run so far. Yes, indeed still not good.

As a psycho fanatic, I would be remiss in not also pointing out the average ticket prices shot up to $71 though!

OH, and the show IS very entertaining, dammit!!!


Updated On: 4/29/13 at 05:07 PM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/29/13 at 5:22pm

I believe Wilmington was looking at the gross percentage potential, not the actual attendance percentage. The show had the ability to make $1,557,834 last week. It made $439,586, which is 28% of its potential gross.

[DAME]

Posted: 4/29/13 at 5:30pm

Do they still give out comps in the union lobbys?

[Kad]

Posted: 4/29/13 at 6:00pm

But if it was running in Circle in the Square, it would be a massive hit!

[Amalia Balash]

Posted: 4/29/13 at 7:23pm

I bought a ticket for last Monday's show when I was in town for Easter Bonnet because it was one of the few shows with a Monday performance that I hadn't seen (and I was even less interested in seeing Mamma Mia). I had no particular preconceptions about Wildhorn; I'd liked Scarlet Pimpernel and hadn't seen anything else. I'd liked Bring On the Men and This Is the Moment when I'd heard them in concerts.

The show just didn't work for me on any level. At all. Deborah Cox's songs were the highlight for me. And even they weren't enough to keep me there past intermission.

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 5/13/13 at 1:41pm

I'll admit that I haven't read all the pages of this thread but wanted to put my feelings out there even though the show is closed.

What a big poopoo stinker that was. I'm a Wildhorn fan (not fanatic) but I think his shows are crap. The books are crap but he does write some really great catchy pop tunes.

Everything about this production was so cheap. I get that it's a tour but I saw ELF and thought that was a fairly good touring set. The way Jekyll changes to Hyde with the dumb neck brace and cuff that I guess is supposed to somehow be injecting into his body was laughable. As was the fact that people couldn't tell they were the same person because he let down his ponytail and took off his glasses.

The projections did not work at all for me. Every time they shined a spot on the projections (which was ALWAYS) you would just see the cheap brick stuff it was on. I couldn't tell where anything was set because it was all just random boards hanging down and junky projections that set up nothing.

Constantine continues to be the WORST. Thankfully when I saw ROA his understudy was on so this was the first (and only) time I've had to sit through his laughable acting. He was doing some weird thing with his mouth the whole time but thankfully I was far enough away not to always notice it. He kept adjusting his mic about every 10 seconds which was a really good character choice.

Deborah Cox was brilliant to me. She might not be the best actor or do accents very well but the singing more than made up for it. "Bring On the Men" was one of the highlights except for the hideously clunky stage design with those dumb cords everywhere.

I'll just listen to the concept album for the few highlights of the show and try to erase the experience from my mind.

[philly03]

Posted: 5/13/13 at 1:58pm

I thought Constantine was a great Hyde - he has a great voice as well. He seemed a bit too grimy to be Jekyll to me.

The biggest part in the failure to me was Jeff Calhoun. The staging was great in some places (His Work Nothing More, transition into Alive), and then disaster for either breaking the fourth wall intentionally ("This is the Moment"), trashy ("Dangerous Game"), and over complicated at others ("Bring on the Men"). Thought he did a fine job with B&C, though. He obviously had an integral part of the rewrite.

Deborah was fantastic, I hope she continues to work in the theatre, perhaps more in a cabaret-style role (which I can't believe Lucy wasn't it). "A New Life" was an incredible moment from this production.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/13/13 at 2:00pm

Deborah Cox was brilliant to me. She might not be the best actor or do accents very well but the singing more than made up for it. "Bring On the Men" was one of the highlights except for the hideously clunky stage design with those dumb cords everywhere.

When I saw the show the opening weekend in San Diego. I was almost positive they would have reworked that number by the time it reached broadway. The ropes were definitely awkward. I still really enjoyed the number though. I'm glad they added the dance break with those killer orchestrations for Broadway though.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 5/13/13 at 4:00pm

I cried when I heard "This is the Moment" yesterday afternoon. Cried to hear a song I love performed so terribly. I've loved the music to this show for 15 years but have never seen a live production. I can't say I disliked the show but I would have much rather seen a talented performer in the role(s) of Jekyll and Hyde.

[Jersey Girl2]

Posted: 5/13/13 at 6:51pm

>> Cried to hear a song I love performed so terribly.
Weird- the audience gave him a standing ovation.
I thought it was fabulous.

[ArtMan]

Posted: 5/13/13 at 6:55pm

I saw J & H on May 5. I really enjoyed it. In my opinion, unfair word of mouth killed this show.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/13/13 at 7:03pm

^ I agree. To each their own though. I really thought that this would at least be able to play through its scheduled engagement, but I guess Constantine couldn't sell the show. I am just so glad I caught this opening weekend in San Diego. By far the best thing I have seen. It was like a two and a half hour thrill ride.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 5/13/13 at 8:20pm

"In my opinion, unfair word of mouth killed this show."

Well, the FACT is that it got terrible reviews and no one was buying tickets to it.


That's what actually killed the show.

[ArtMan]

Posted: 5/13/13 at 8:33pm

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 5/13/13 at 8:57pm

That's what I thought.

[philly03]

Posted: 5/13/13 at 9:05pm

"Some" people bought tickets.. but they were pretty much through rush or TKTS day of, and with virtually no advance, why bother to keep open with all the discount tickets?