BroadwayNYC2 said: "Again, this is Mannilow’s team. Of course working in tangent, but they’re the ones driving this. This ain’t no genius Broadway marketing monster."
Whatever it is, it's fortuitous that he's willing to have them in his concerts and do this type of promo for the Bway show this far out.
As far as the "shot out of a cannon" comment, really no different than any obscure actor who gets a lead role and suddenly has to deal with both playing the role + promoting it + being flaunted by the press (Linedy G, Lorna C, Zegler, Platt in DEH, Jersey Boys, the obc of Hamilton, etc)...I guess these guys are lucky that they're an ensemble, not individually carrying the show. The real whiplash happens if a show fails and all that stuff goes away quickly.