MJ recoups

[inception]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 12:32pm

https://playbill.com/article/broadways-mj-the-musical-recoups

Any thoughts?

It seems to have done better than most predicted. 

I haven't seen it.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 3:56pm

I actually thought it had already recouped, given the business it has been doing.  The economics of Broadway are more baffling than ever, and they have always been baffling.

[BETTY22]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 4:06pm

This show is a monster hit and will be an even BIGGER hit in London. 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 4:17pm

BETTY22 said: "This show is a monster hit and will be an even BIGGER hit in London."

Wasn’t it originally in London.  I know there was a Michael Jackson musical, and I thought it was this one.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 4:21pm

Jarethan said: "BETTY22 said: "This show is a monster hit and will be an even BIGGER hit in London."

Wasn’t it originally in London. I know there was a Michael Jackson musical, and I thought it was this one."

You’re thinking of Thriller - Live, the concert revue that ended its long run about a month earlier than expected because of the COVID shutdown. 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 5:13pm

Kind of shocked they they were able to recoup in a shorter time frame than Moulin Rouge. Wonder how far off they are from recouping.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 6:07pm

Wasn't Moulin Rouge ridiculously expensive?  Between the set and everything I think their capitalization was quite high.  And I assume it's probably more expensive to license music through a bunch of different artists than it is just from one artist (also Moulin Rouge probably has to pay royalties for the movie too, right?), so I imagine their weekly running costs are somewhere around $1 million with the cast size as well (not that MJ has a small cast either)

[BroadwayGuy12]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 10:50pm

Congrats to MJ and all involved. I haven't seen the show, but it's always nice to see something become a financial hit, especially in this day and age.

Regarding Moulin Rouge, a Broadway Journal article from last week about the extension of the New York City Musical and Theatrical Production Tax Credit featured the following, buried several paragraphs in:

"Among the first movers that received the entire $3 million tax credit: Moulin Rouge!, the lavish, $28 million musical jukebox musical, which has recouped on Broadway, production spokesman Adrian Bryan-Brown told Broadway Journal"

Article here: http://broadwayjournal.com/new-york-extends-3-million-broadway-tax-credit-disneys-aladdin-approved/

[dangeresque49]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 10:56pm

Call_me_jorge said: "Kind of shocked they they were able to recoup in a shorter time frame than Moulin Rouge. Wonder how far off they are from recouping."

It's crazy because I thought the staging was better for MJ. I think a lot of the work was actually done by Michael and his crew for the tours. This show had material that pulled mostly directly from those sources that honestly prob saved money. Also I do not think people understand that for a ton of black Americans this was THE MJ concert they never had and it delivered. People are mostly not thinking about the controversies when booking this. As a performance I think it is one of the best on broadway in years an greatly underrated in part due to the subject. 

I will also say Frost was so good as MJ it is hard to see anyone being as good. A lot of shows die when a level of performer like Lea Michelle exits. I am interested to see the performances from other people in the role.  

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 11:12pm

sad when garbage like this makes insane money

what a lazy production 

[Ke3]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 11:15pm

As I said in the previews thread, MJ has devoted fans who don't believe he did it, but there is also a general apathy towards the allegations surrounding him. I don't know if it's because he's no longer with us but even among people who believe he did it there tends to be a *shrug* sense about it. This was always going to be a big hit. The mans legend has only grown in death.

[AKarp2013]

Posted: 5/17/23 at 12:34am

BoringBoredBoard40 said: "sad when garbage like this makes insane money"

Yeah, how dare a show you don't like be successful. The audacity of it.

Hush.

Updated On: 5/17/23 at 12:34 AM

[GrecLivminyordamidro]

Posted: 5/18/23 at 12:25pm

inception said: "https://playbill.com/article/broadways-mj-the-musical-recoupswebpage

Any thoughts?

It seems to have done better than most predicted.

I haven't seen it."

 

I think this show has an unreal future!

 

 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/18/23 at 2:17pm

People always seem to not understand that this big mega musicals are the reason why producers spend money on the Kimberly Akimbo's of the theater world. It's a good thing. 

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 5/18/23 at 2:32pm

Regardless of where you stand on the actual MJ and his “alleged” wrongdoings - the show is a hit and a lot of hard work went into it. “Lazy” in terms of another jukebox musical that will print money? Sure. The people involved with creating the show are far from lazy. just because you don’t like the source material doesn’t make it bad. 

[SweetLips22]

Posted: 6/23/23 at 1:13am

This is the wrong thread but I as reading about the forthcoming tour I was surprised at how many cities[I'm from Australia] throughout America have theatres large enough to hold this and obviously other shows.

Also the length of stays, from 5 days.Do they sell out, is it not profitable to stay longer and what is the life on the road for the performers? So many cities in such a short time, where do they stay, do they pay for their own accom.? how do they travel? Just curious about the whole touring set up.

It must be extremely tiring for everyone, not just the performers but the bump in and out and the tech. equipment in each theatre.

Appreciate any answers from people who have done and those who know people who have done.

 

 

 

[bear88]

Posted: 2/23/24 at 8:35pm

dangeresque49 said: "Also I do not think people understand that for a ton of black Americans this was THE MJ concert they never had and it delivered. People are mostly not thinking about the controversies when booking this. As a performance I think it is one of the best on broadway in years a greatly underrated in part due to the subject.

I will also say Frost was so good as MJ it is hard to see anyone being as good. A lot of shows die when a level of performer like Lea Michele exits. I am interested to see the performances from other people in the role."

I saw the show on tour last night in San Francisco. I got lottery tickets for $30 each. The Orpheum was sold out. The actor who played the adult Michael, Roman Banks, did a fine job overall. (I can’t compare him to Myles Frost.)

The musical had its moments but I was a lot more bored than I was expecting, mostly because the book - while occasionally clever in structure - was increasingly monotonous but kept intruding on the real reason most of the audience was there - to hear and see an ersatz Michael Jackson performance. (The real Michael Jackson stopped performing in the United States decades before his death.)

But there’s enough to satisfy the Michael Jackson fans, of whom there are many. I’m not surprised it is a big hit, both on Broadway and on tour.

[KarenValentine'sheadband]

Posted: 2/23/24 at 9:49pm

Good for them but I thought it was terrible. The book is a horror and laughable at the same time. I can't believe it was nominated for so many Tony awards. Love the music and dancing of course. Smooth criminal and Thriller were exceptional. 

[buffalospeedway]

Posted: 2/24/24 at 6:49pm

BoringBoredBoard40 said: "sad when garbage like this makes insane money

what a lazy production"

It wasn't garbage, nor was it lazy. Myles Frost was transcendent, and Christopher Wheeldon's choreography was excellent.

Also, I'm not sure why people are surprised that this recouped. It is a musical about the biggest pop star of all time, a pop star who also had a massive global following.

[BETTY22]

Posted: 2/24/24 at 7:22pm

Monster hit. I wonder what pop star musical we will get next? After success of Elton John and Queen film, maybe one of these.