Lansbuy in ALNM until?

[abitoftap]

Posted: 2/14/10 at 7:24am

We're visiting from the UK the first week in May.
We saw ALNM at the Menier (closeup!) last year. Despite some reservations, we'd like to see it again as long as AL is still in it.
Any idea when she's contracted till?

[ArtMan]

Posted: 2/14/10 at 8:42am

There has been alot of speculation about this. On their site it states till April 4. I personally don't believe she will leave the show two months before its end. In Entertainment Weekly magazine it stated catch Zeta Jones and Lansbury until June. I hope this is true since I bought a ticket for May 5. You may have to take a gamble and just go for it. This is a hard show to get tickets for and unless you are a student, they have standing room rush tickets, tickets may not be available if you wait too long. But my luck is sometimes mixed. I am going to London in March and was happy to see Sister Act cast resign (Patina and Sheila), but I am missing Tony in Priscilla by six days. But at least I still get Jason and Oliver. Hope this helps.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 2/14/10 at 9:50am

Angela is currently contracted until April 4, with an option to extend until June (the same date as Catherine). I don't believe the topic of extending has been raised yet, but I am not sure.

[abitoftap]

Posted: 2/14/10 at 11:56am

Thanks for the replies.....I've accepted we'd have to pay top dollar (although the premium seats are a step too far!).

We've seen a few of the subsequently transferred shows at the Menier ( SITPWG, LaCage, ALNM and the curent Sweet Charity, which will probably transfer later this year), but never after the transfer. It'll be interesting if we do get to see ALNM again, how a show transfers from a tiny, tiny theatre where you're practically sitting on the casts' laps, (or have a Cagelle leap onto your table), to a traditional proscenium space.

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/14/10 at 12:43pm

". I personally don't believe she will leave the show two months before its end."

The show isn't ending in June. It's an open-ended run. The other cast members (not sure about Hanson) signed for a year.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 2/14/10 at 3:27pm

When she was on "The View", Catherine said that she was in it until June, however, Angela is only signed until April. I do think though that because of the TONY's Angela will stay until June with Catherine.

[ArtMan]

Posted: 2/14/10 at 5:58pm

ljay889, if Zeta Jones leaves in June and Angela in either April or June, unless they replace with two equal powerhouses, ALNM will end in June after the Tonys. I don't care how long the othes have contracted for. No one including tourists are going to pay $160 for a less than stellar cast. It could run with a different cast, but their price structure will definitely change I don't see it happening. My opinion!

[wdwfreak]

Posted: 2/14/10 at 6:01pm

I pretty sure they can get actresses that can be able to fit their "star-power". Even so, if they win Tony's (especially Best Revival), they don't need a star to be in it. Look at Hair. They have no one in their cast that people would know and after the Tony's their grosses, were great.

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/14/10 at 6:06pm

Artman, I will be SHOCKED if it closes in June. First off there has been talk of Zeta-Jones returning in the Fall. I am sure they will try to find two ( or at least one) star replacements. They'd be stupid to close this in June, especially if it wins some Tonys and has recouped.
Updated On: 2/14/10 at 06:06 PM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/14/10 at 6:08pm

But the question is: would ALNM be doing as great at the box office had it NOT been for the casting of both these women? Probably not.

And simply getting more powerhouses isn't a guarnatee, either. God of Carnage replaced with some pretty well known names, and their figures are a FRACTION of what the intitial cast pulled in. Yes, they are still running, but for how much longer?

HAIR won the Tony Award without "star power" so it doesn't need star power to keep going.

[ArtMan]

Posted: 2/14/10 at 6:12pm

Hair had its original cast after the Tony's. Hair's ticket price structure is more affordable. But most important, Hair is more of an icon show that ALNM. Many of Hair's numbers were recorded by singers in the sixties and were hits on the radio. Most nontheatre people only know one song from ALNM. Anyway, if ALNM goes on after June, then fine. I just hope that Zeta Jones and Angela are there May 5,eight o clock performance. My birthday. Then I will have a reason to have a drink.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 2/14/10 at 6:18pm

And simply getting more powerhouses isn't a guarnatee, either. God of Carnage replaced with some pretty well known names, and their figures are a FRACTION of what the intitial cast pulled in. Yes, they are still running, but for how much longer?

They may be making a fraction of the earlier grosses, but they're still pulling a profit. Night is probably (as musicals go) inexpensive to run, and could survive making less than the $900,000K they're pulling now.

They'll need, at the very least, a name for Desiree. I suspect they could get someone with some recognition who could bring in a decent sized audience, provided they begin discounting.

But the question is: would ALNM be doing as great at the box office had it NOT been for the casting of both these women? Probably not.

Let's not suffer any disillusions. The show is selling because of Zeta-Jones, not Lansbury. We won't know for sure until after next week, but the fact that the show is VERY aggressively discounting and on TDF for the week Zeta-Jones is out indicates Lansbury has absolutely no effect on the box office receipts. The tourists are not paying to see her. She is someone who, after they're in the theater, thumbing through the Playbill, they say, "Oh, look! Jessica Fletcher (or Mrs. Potts) is in this show, too!"
Updated On: 2/14/10 at 06:18 PM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/14/10 at 9:45pm

As per usual -- good points AG^ I'd forgotten that tix showed up on TDF for CZJ vacation.

(And I admit: I didn't look closely at the $ coming in for GofC -- just the percentages.)