PARADE On Broadway - Reviews & News Thread — Page 13

Nice, thanks for that sleuthing. 17! My friend was wrong.

JRB is credited as co-orchestrator on the show's website. Don Sebesky and JRB were credited as orchestrators for the Encores production, which may be the credit here too if this is a reduction, not a re-orchestration.

Updated On: 2/20/23 at 08:30 PM

People posted multiple discount codes in this very thread. They exist already.

I was about to say the same thing. While I never thought it would sell out in an instant, I thought it was enough of an 'event' that it would do better than it is currently doing.

BoringBoredBoard40 said: "Can we finally admit Ben Platt isn't a draw "

People who only know him from the EVAN HANSEN movie are probably staying away in droves.

I think if more people were to hear how beautiful this score is, that would help. God I hope they do a cast album! I can’t wait to see this in April!

Yeah but they're selling thru August.

Josh Groban is a draw for Sweeney Todd but only the first month is sold out.

IdinaBellFoster said: "I think the difference here is Kimberly Akimbo has a cast of 12 including standbys, where Parade is over 30. That isn’t even counting the much larger orchestra for Parade."

Kimberly is ultimately a "feel-good" musical, whereas Parade is a "feel-bad" musical.

I have to wonder how much of the Platt "backlash" exists exclusively in an internet bubble. Other factors may be contributing to the anemic sales. Parade WOM being "it's a tough watch but well done & good performances" isn't exactly a ringing endorsement to the masses.

Six years ago, Ben Platt was a Tony darling and seemed to be adored by anyone who saw his absolutely brilliant performance on stage. I was moved the entire time, what a performance! We all knew who his Father was back then and no one seemed to care, we were all just admiring his work on stage. And since people follow in their parents' footsteps in virtually ALL industries, it was never an issue for me.

Then, the film happened. He was defensive and extremely arrogant about it the entire time. This film wouldn't have happened if I WASNT INVOLVED. Alright, bro. Well, it was one of the worst things ever so congratulations. Just pure cringe. Since then, I couldn't care less if he's in anything and I would never go see a show just because he's in it. He made a choice to behave like that. Just nah.

People will see serious, tragic, depressing, and sad plays every day of the week. That will always be true. But since Broadway re-opened, I think people are looking for a little fun at musicals for the most part. This is a hard sell. I hope all shows are successful of course, but it's expensive, limited, and the advance sales don't seem to be there.

Just my 2 cents, the Ben Platt fan base from Dear Evan hansen was anywhere between 13-17 back in 2018, at it’s peak. Now they are 18-23, and as somebody who was part of this grouping, they either grew up and continued to love theatre or moved on by now. Something that’s different, however, is now they do have jobs and money to go out and see Parade, especially if they live further. Summer months (aka, after May) will be great for this show, because they will be out of university, ready to travel, and have the money to do it in a way that a lot of them couldn’t when other “youth power” fanbase shows like Be More Chill and Beetlejuice were around.

It’s also unrealistic to expect Platt on his own to sell the show singlehanded based off of his name, Everybody saw what happened to his solo tour (TLDR: he only sold the floor, it was very empty , they had to comp people, and sold it on Goldstar). We’re even seeing with Josh Global in Sweeney Todd that a name that was reliable among the youth fanbase (He was in Great Comet of 1812, which was the exact same season as hansen) once upon a time will not be immediately reliable in advance right now. We’re savvy, we have money now but are still learning to be responsible.

I hope this doesn’t read too awfully ramble-y, but in summary we cannot rely on big names from 2017 (Ben Platt and Josh Groban) to sell shows anymore. They need to be in a quality show with positive or at least lukewarm word of mouth, and their fanbases that now have money need to be energized and ready to go to the show for full price, which they may not be able to do at this point in their lives with this economy.

However, I am going to see both (with rush tickets, as I always do). And, anecdotally, I checked on my school’s website for their theatre group tickets, and Parade has 2 dates both with a “selling fast” banner next to it, but I can’t find Sweeney Todd listed, so it’s possible that it sold out already or is not available for school groups yet. I’ll say I’m optimistic about both shows finding success this season!

There’s protesters outside with signs that leo frank was a pedophile…

Update-it’s a white power, Neo-nazi group

Updated On: 2/21/23 at 07:34 PM