Michael Reidel: RAGTIME to Close January 3rd?- Page 4

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 4:14pm

Reidel prints rumours and speculation. He's right about as often as he is wrong. He just throws all this stuff out and if some of it sticks he considers himself golden.

With the (mostly) great reviews (13 raves, 7 positives, 4 mixed, 1 negative and 1 pan) business should be stronger for both this production and FINIAN'S RAINBOW. Reviews alone do not sell tickets, but they generally help create a buzz that can get a show started. I notice both shows reduced their discounts right after opening and when they did attendance went down but the overall grosses went up. Just not enough.

One thing my friend pointed out after our week in New York: A LOT of current shows deal with race issues: SOUTH PACIFIC, WEST SIDE STORY, FINIAN'S RAINBOW, MEMPHIS, RAGTIME... Is to getting to be too much of the same thing?

[WestVillage]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 4:17pm

"I'm going to show how naive I am and ask then why it's not available on TDF? "

It is on TDF, and has been. Only up for one performance at the moment, but I've seen lots of dates, and surely more will appear.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 4:31pm

I was AT the day after thanksgiving matinee....and I can only speak for the mezz.....1/2 empty.

I loved it and just made plans to see it again the day after Xmas. Which now I'm doubly happy about since it seems as if it will be my last chance.

Also: someone BRIEFLY posted another thread listing a diff Jan date as closing...but it got yanked super fast. Therefore, it must be true.

Such a shame.

[wendilin622]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 4:37pm

Very sad. I was hoping to give this production another chance, even if I didn't like the original production when I first saw it.

[artscallion]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 4:39pm

"...Therefore, it must be true."

The date listed in the thread that was yanked was 1/16. That happens to be the date the original production of Ragtime closed. I bet the OP of that thread came upon an article about the original's closing and posted here too hastily, then asked for deletion upon realizing this. Therefore, we know not yet what must is true.

Updated On: 12/2/09 at 04:39 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 4:41pm

^ I think that is what happened. In the link it said "tour to follow." So I am sure that is from the original production.

[Dagobert]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 5:39pm

David Merrick once put a show "on vacation." Oh, Kay opened in November 1990, then shut down in January and reopened in April, albeit briefly. He claimed that "everyone" would be doing this in the future given the cold, cruel months of January and February.

One wonders why any show opens in November. Or why maybe someone does not try the Merrick method sometime.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 5:46pm

Since it was an interesting case - Merrick did shut down Oh, Kay! at the Richard Rodgers in January and attempted to reopen it in April at the Lunt-Fontanne, but it only played for a handful of previews before he shut it down again. It never actually reopened.

[GatorNY]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 5:46pm

I check what's on TDF just about every day, and I have only ever seen it once. If it's there now, then great, because I certainly want to see it a few more times before it goes away. Guess I've been looking at different times then you.

Updated On: 12/2/09 at 05:46 PM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 5:55pm

It's on TDF with limited availability for exactly one performance: Sunday evening, December 6.

The discount code is not valid on weekends.

These producers are absolute idiots. Do they think the crowds are going to suddenly storm the box office because Whoopi raved about it?

[MusicSnob1]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 6:25pm

"This would be a very stupid move on the Producers part in my opinion. The Holiday season will increase sales and therefore increase word of mouth and eventually it will find it's way."

WTF??

That makes absolutely no sense. I could elaborate but massofmen is taking care of it for me, thank you.

And in case you forgot... the Holiday season ends on Jan 2nd. They would still have to get through the rest of the month, Februrary, and beginning of March. That is next to impossible - especially considering how their Thanksgiving sales looked.

You seem to be obsessed with this production and that's fine. I love it too. I'm a huge "Ragtime" fan. But you honestly do not know what you're talking about. And your age is really showing.

Updated On: 12/2/09 at 06:25 PM

[Oldschool]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 7:38pm

My sources within the production have not given any indication of any closing. That being said, if you look at shows other than the established shows, none of the new shows are surviving in this economy. I can't help but suspect that if Birdie is closing, then Finians and Ragtime can't be far behind, at least with the current weekly grosses. Time will tell. I'm glad that it got a send up on The View. They need that kind of press.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 7:41pm

This is a disturbing trend.

Shows that get good reviews still cannot make it

Superior Donuts
Ragtime
Finian's Rainbow

I have a theory but will not say it for offending some with complaints.

[musicalman2]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 7:42pm

Reserves only hold out so long. This show is great, but it is just a numbers game about reserves and weekly operating costs.

[Testing1232]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 8:00pm

Ok, I am about to lose total faith in Broadway !!!

Love this production !!!

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 8:21pm

They should also be making the morning news shows circuit and perform a couple of numbers. Didn't Memphis appear on the Today Show this morning?

[Basely Tearful]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 8:24pm

They did and I don't think that performance will help sales.

[dshnookie]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 8:36pm

These producers are absolute idiots. Do they think the crowds are going to suddenly storm the box office because Whoopi raved about it?

Now, if only Oprah would throw the show a bone. That'd be Steady Rain business right there.

.
.
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kidding of course :P

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 8:38pm

dshnookie, believe me, that idea crossed my mind this morning.

[April Saul]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 8:57pm

I check TDF pretty often, and up until the last few days Ragtime had only been up there for a performance on Halloween and one the day before Thanksgiving. The day I bought my ticket at the box office before Ragtime opened, I mentioned to the guy behind the counter that I'd rather buy a discounted seat (and it was a terrific deal, about $50 for second row center) than chance TDF. He said he didn't think it would ever be on TDF and if it was, that'd mean it was failing. Then I shocked him by telling him I'd seen Jersey Boys for $33 on TDF! They seem to think that putting a show up there is a death knell, whereas I see it as potentially building an audience...but I agree with the poster on this thread who keeps talking about the economy.

I think Broadway producers really underestimated how bad things are, and how nervous many of us are about spending money these days...people will go for the safe, proven shows or the ones with stars. I'm glad I got so see and really enjoy Ragtime, and I'll keep my fingers crossed. Glad also that I'm seeing Finian's tomorrow, since that one seems to be threatened as well.

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 9:13pm

Another one to strike off my list for my New York visit in March. Ragtime as well as Bye Bye Birdie and Finan's Rainbow that will also announce soon.

Big mistake to not put Ragtime up at TDF, lot more people will see the show, I being one of them, would not pay $125, more people, more word of mouth. This show needs discounts and time to find its audience. This show has been badly produced.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 9:31pm

They did and I don't think that performance will help sales

I turned it off. I wanted to like it since I've heard so many good things about it but it couldn't hold my interest.

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 9:35pm

Sorry, but, SON OF A BITCH. Well, just got my tickets for December 13. I missed the original, I'm not gonna let this one get away too.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 10:06pm

TDF puts bodies in seats, but it doesn't really help a show in the long term. It brands it as a discounted product and forces down the average ticket price. Getting too reliant on it to fill the theatre can be fatal to the show's long term life. Any word of mouth generated probably leads to people telling people they can also get seats to Ragtime through TDF or at a discount. What they need are the people who will pay full price so the show can run at cost or profit. I think the reviews - good as many of them were - were either not good enough in the right places or make the show sound good for you, like so much medicine.

As far as getting on morning shows... most importantly, the morning shows have to want you and that's not a given in Ragtime's case. Ragtime has two strikes against it in that it has no stars and would be costly for a morning show to book it, to pay so many actors, musicians, wardrobe, wig, etc. And shows like the Today Show, Regis, The View etc are watching their dollars very carefully these days.

At any rate, if the fall season has taught us anything - shows without a name of some sort are going to be an increasingly impossible sell in the current economy.

[leefowler]

Posted: 12/2/09 at 11:08pm

It's not that hard to put yourself in the mind of a tourist, visiting New York City, looking for a Broadway show to see. Why would you see Ragtime? There's no stars, and you've never heard of it. Billy Elliot won best musical, and all your friends saw and loved Wicked, so of course those are your first choices. If you can't get into those, you have West Side Story (because you love the songs) or Chicago (because you loved the movie).

I'm a big fan of Ragtime, but if I had family in from out of town, I wouldn't expect them to be interested in seeing it. They'd want to see something with a star, or a title they've heard of. I mean, they're spending fortune on seats, so they've damn well better see a show they can brag about when they get home to Dallas.

Updated On: 12/2/09 at 11:08 PM