Riedel on Investors demanding answers from The Great Comet- Page 4

[HogansHero]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 11:07am

@bear, you've put a lot of meat on the bones of what I was trying to say. Reflecting, there was a lot of square-peg-in-round-hole-ness involved. The target audience was not going to get the show, and those who get the show were going to be turned off by the series of mis-steps. I agree that they seemed to wake up to how to market the show around April, but by then it was too little too late. A lot of us saw a crisis before the first pierogi was cooked, but even as skeptical as I was, I would never have dreamed that Groban's full run would only translate into recouping 15%. That was a wow of epic proportions. 

[haterobics]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 11:32am

bear88 said: "I can't help but think the hiring of Josh Groban was a mistake, even though I thought he was wonderful in the show (and apparently well-liked by everyone involved)."

Lucas Steele intimated that without Groban there was no chance of a Broadway run for Comet, though, so that sort of really changes the parameters of a discussion into how a Broadway show that never would have happened might have otherwise succeeded on Broadway?!

[HogansHero]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 11:54am

haterobics said: "Lucas Steele intimated that without Groban there was no chance of a Broadway run for Comet, though, so that sort of really changes the parameters of a discussion into how a Broadway show that never would have happened might have otherwise succeeded on Broadway?!"

What might have been has been rehearsed here ad infinitum, and though Lucas is a fine actor, I doubt he has any special insight along these lines. That said, I think it is fair to say that the Kagans might well not have proceeded without Groban. Once again we end up with a show of theirs that we can be glad we had a chance to see but that was an abject failure. After OTT, I had to question the sanity of anyone who invested but then I remember PT Barnum. One has to wonder how much more their ability to raise money has been damaged by this show, and especially the "audit." We shall see: I never underestimate.

 

[bear88]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 1:15pm

I thought, haterobics, about Lucas Steele's remark and failed to address it. I agree that Howard Kagan probably wouldn't have proceeded without a star, and Groban was the star they got. His presence certainly didn't hurt the musical, and beefing up Pierre's part strengthened it in my view.

We are almost in a chicken-egg situation. Great Comet may not make it to Broadway without a star, but once you have a star, that creates a different problem. While the marketing needed the sort of approach adopted too late, I suspect the real problem was that the show didn't resonate emotionally with enough people. It did with me, especially the brilliant and moving second act, but even my wife and daughter - who thoroughly enjoyed the show - didn't like it as much as I did. Hamilton, a more conventional musical despite the rap lyrics, converted skeptics and became the must-see sensation Great Comet never quite managed to become. Comet may always have been destined be a beloved show with a larger-than-usual cult following and an unsustainable budget on Broadway.