Las Vegas Hairspray Closing? — Page 2

You don't know how many of those same people support theater in New York. People do not go to Vegas for theater.

Period.

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I'm not looking for an argument. It just seemed like you were generalizing that all Vegas tourists are too lowbrow to appreciate theater.

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"...maybe some of this Vegas cast will be relocated to Broadway.".

The problem with that is that the Equity tour comes to an end this month as well so those folks will be looking for work, too. Isn't the guy playing Link in the tour going to NY? I thought I read that here. I'd prefer to see Austin Miller given a chance to play the role on Broadway.

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As someone who has gone to Vegas at least a dozen times and to Broadway shows for over 40 years (I guess I may have hit the 100s by now), I'd love to offer my opinion here.

First off, when I travel to Vegas, I am not thinking of a Broadway show. Frankly, Mamma Mia was the only one playing during my last trip and I opted to wait til I could see it in New York. My sense was that I would enjoy it more in the beauty of the New York theatre with the cast I wanted to see. Again, I had the luxury of seeing it where I wanted to see it, although that may not be the case for everyone that travels to Vegas.

Not all that travel to Vegas are cigar smoking blackjack players or little old bag ladies dropping money into the slots. Be careful before you categorize everyone as looking for naked breasts and other unmentionables. Vegas attracts many of the many big name comedians and holds on to such old standbyes as Wayne Newton. Frankly, people can see a Broadway tour anywhere. Where else can they see these things?

The really interesting issue that comes to my mind here is what is really going on with Hairspray itself. The Equity tour is closing. Now, the Vegas show is closing. What does all this mean?

Updated On: 6/6/06 at 12:14 PM

"The Equity tour is closing. Now, the Vegas show is closing. What does all this mean?".

The Equity tour has been running a few years and has hit all the major cities, some of them twice. It is being replaced by a Non-Equity tour that will hit the smaller cities.

Vegas attracts many of the many big name comedians and holds on to such old standbyes as Wayne Newton. Frankly, people can see a Broadway tour anywhere. Where else can they see these things?".

Branson, Mo springs to mind.

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"The really interesting issue that comes to my mind here is what is really going on with Hairspray itself. The Equity tour is closing. Now, the Vegas show is closing. What does all this mean?"

Nothing. The national tour had a very succesfull run and the broadway company still has lots of juice left in it.

Vegas is just not the right enviroment for a broadway show"

I agree with DAME. The timing of those two productions closing says nothing about the fate of the show. The Broadway production is doing very well, and still has a lot of life in it. That won't be closing for a long time still

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I loved it when DAME said Vegas is not a theatre Town, maybe JERSEY BOYS will have a chance.

Here's the problem, and I saw it in Toronto too:

Hairspray has a lousy marketing campaign. The logo is recognizeable but the campaign never goes further than that. No one (outside New York and the theatre community at large) knows what it is about.

The stupid tag line '16 year old Tracy Turnblad has a dream as big as her hair. Can she get the boy and still have time to change the world?' is as vauge as possible and makes the show seem stupid and fluffy.

In fact, the show has a great message and is very funny and enjoyable. This 90 minute version I bet is 5 times better then the original too. All the crappy, boring and sluggish parts have been trimmed. Without those, the show is fun, quick, energetic and never drags.

I have an intimate knowledge of the show from working at it in Toronto. I must have seen it 105 times, and YCSTB almost every show. People leave this show loving it, and the last 2 hours they just spent in the theatre. They are energized, engaged and entertained.

But the marketing campaign never attempts to expand it's audience. It's all based on word of mouth and logo recognition. It never attempts to convey the show to the public. Why do you think so many people are suprised when they leave. I can't tell you how many people would see me after the show and say 'wow! that was really good! I had no idea!'.

I worked in the lobby, and the majority of the people coming in had absolutly no idea what they were doing there, or what they were going to see. Segregation is never mentioned. The show's message of acceptance is never conveyed. They just think they are going to see fluff.

It's a shame. I love this show. People who see this show love it. But the producers and marketing company have never had an interest in letting the world know how good the show is.

It's a trap when you think you can save money on marketing because you have such a good show and it did so well in New York. But the rest of the world is not Broadway and every other city doesn't have a New York audience that runs to things in flocks and makes a show a success. They needed to work harder in Toronto and Las Vegas. Too bad they didn't.

It sounds a lot like greed and comeuppance to me. The producers of Avenue Q turned their backs n the road houses and chose to go to Vegas. They, in essense, said screw you to the longtime partners of Broadway who have spent decades and billions of dollars cultivating an audience and chose a quick return from Vegas, the most temporary town in the world.

The whole idea of taking a show on the road was to bring Broadway to the outer states - and increase tourism to New York. If you can see a show at a sit down in any of a dozen cities across America, the need to visit New York is diminished. The road houses siphoned off some of Broadway's potential audience, but at least they shared the wealth. Vegas just offered the producers a chance to make all their post-Broadway $$$ in one place.

As for the other shows that fave failed, it's all a matter of a miscalculation of audience. People do not come to Vegas for any kind of intellectual stimulation. They come to get away, to commit a "sin" of gambling, some drinking, maybe a visit to one of the brothels, do some shopping, put the kids on a waterslide - I don't see intellectual stimulation there.

Going to a Vegas revue or to see Tom Jones or Celine Dion does not require any serious concentration. Like most of the rest of Vegas, you sit back and go "wow."

But theater requires at the very least, a will to pay attention. At 100.00 a ticket, when 40% of the time involves dialogue, you have to follow along. It may just be too much for people who are calculating which Black-and-White slot machine to hit next.

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I'm not surprised in the least that Hairspray is closing Las Vegas. I wasn't surprised when Avenue Q closed, either. Neither show was right for Vegas.

Hairspray is about a teenager. A large part of its demographic appeal is to the youth market (especially teen girls). When I saw Hairspray in NYC at least 1/3 to 1/2 of the audience was under 20 years. Las Vegas gave up on the youth market. It's now marketing to the savvy hip 20 something. This market isn't interested in seeing a Broadway show that isn't edgey or "sexy". Hairspray is wonderful show with wonderful music and a wonderful message, but the wrong demographic appeal.

Avenue Q was wrong for the Wynn which has a large international clientle. First, they weren't really sure what the show was, and, second, a lot didn't really understand the cultural references or humor.

Both wrong shows for Vegas.

Mamma Mia works because it has recognizable hits that appeals to both of these demos. 20-somethings like the kitchy appeal of songs that they grew up with and ABBA has always been bigger internationally than in the US.

I think that Phantom will succeed, even cut down. At least, if they up the spectacle enough to make it different from the Broadway and touring versions. I think Phantom has a better marketing hook in general than either Hairspray or Ave Q. (Of course, it didn't help that the movie was a dud.) It's still a gamble, but it will be interesting to see if it pans out. I'm feeling more positive for this one.

Just my humble thoughts...

ticketmedia guy:

FINALLY, someone says it.

Thank you.

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I try.

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