Riedel's latest on LEAP

[roadmixer]

Posted: 5/2/12 at 12:51pm

Interesting that he fails to mention that his prophecy regarding Spider Man getting the nomination didn't pan out!

http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/leap_puts_its_faith_in_tony_Gpauk2s5w0qoDA6hpij6RL

[Kad]

Posted: 5/2/12 at 1:06pm

He was actually... civil. For him.

[dexter3]

Posted: 5/2/12 at 1:06pm

At least this one isn't so snide. And filled to the brim with unrevealed sources.

[roadmixer]

Posted: 5/2/12 at 1:22pm

Riedel is obviously talking to people associated with the producers on LEAP otherwise he wouldn't know about meetings and such would he?

[BroadwayBen]

Posted: 5/2/12 at 1:25pm

Is it really $2 million? Is that additional money, or part of what they capitalized at?

[roadmixer]

Posted: 5/2/12 at 1:29pm

Who knows where he is getting $2 million from. It may be a real figure repeated by a snitch affiliated with the producers or it may be a wild estimate. The beauty of Riedel is that he is a gossip columnist so he can say almost anything as long as it isn't against the law.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/2/12 at 2:13pm

If his figure that they are bleeding 1/4 of a million dolloars a week is right, then running costs are at about 500K. That's a lot of money to make sure they can keep running.

And then there are the costs of performing at the Tony awards -- which I've heard is pretty expensive.

[Kad]

Posted: 5/2/12 at 2:17pm

To keep costs down on that front, I wouldn't be surprised if their Tony number was just Raul singing a solo in costume. No set, no ensemble.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/2/12 at 2:21pm

That won't sell tickets. And that'll be there last time for a turnaround.

[ken8631]

Posted: 5/2/12 at 4:48pm

If Raul performs on his own maybe they'll wonder why he wasn't nominated.....

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 5/2/12 at 4:54pm

He was actually... civil. For him.

Exactly my thought, Kad. Except you worded it better.

[averagebwaynut]

Posted: 5/2/12 at 10:36pm

To BroadwayBen's question, it's actually a little less horrifying if they raised an extra $2 million. Baffling -- that anyone with any sense whatsoever would loan them money in their present state -- but less horrifying than if they have $2 million in unspent money from the capitalization that they're willing to throw away over the next 6 weeks. If I was an investor and found out that they were knowingly going to throw away the remaining 16% of capitalization, I'd be absolutely livid. If they take a loan, I'd still be upset because it would likely delay my ever seeing a penny back from subsidiary rights. But that's hypothetical money (and not likely to be much given the length of the Broadway run). If they have that much capitalization funds left over, that's real money they're throwing out the window.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/2/12 at 11:07pm

It's hard to believe that they're raising the two million to stay open instead of just raising money to record it and hopefully make some money back on the amateur rights. Seems like it could be a popular regional title just because of Menken's name.

[CurtisB]

Posted: 5/2/12 at 11:39pm

The orch tonight was fairly empty. I don't know how the balcony looked.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/3/12 at 12:17am

Getting nominated actually hurt them in the long run... they are going to lose more money by trying to stay open until the awards. I do not see the point in staying open considering they a) won't win and b)performing will most likely not bring in an audience.

[bobs3]

Posted: 5/3/12 at 12:33am

Didn't the producer Chase Mishkin put an additional $2 million of her own money into URBAN COWBOY despite the negative reviews in hopes of a Best Musical nomination Tony? It closed a week after the Tony nominations came out where there was little enthusiasm for the show.

Some of these producers are extremely wealthy and sometimes fall in love with their shows and their casts and have no problem writing a big check to keep it open.

[SondheimFan5]

Posted: 5/3/12 at 2:18am

The producers have been offering Leap of Faith tickets for $4.00 (yes, my decimal is in the right place) to students, friends, families, etc. since they day after opening, and that was before the nomination came out. Anything to get people in the seats.

And its not like there are any pull quotes to advertise with.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/3/12 at 5:54am

Considering their average ticket price was only 24 dollars last week, that doesn't suprise me one bit.

REALLY makes me want my money back.

[ggersten]

Posted: 5/3/12 at 10:33am

There may not be "pull quotes" from publications - but they have a snazzy ad with enthusiastic persons who saw the show. They could use those quotes.

[Tom5]

Posted: 5/3/12 at 12:29pm

LEAP has been pulling in less than 20% of potential grosses for 4 consequtive weeks. I don't see how anything could save it. That money might be better invested in new shows - lots of them.

[roadmixer]

Posted: 5/3/12 at 5:56pm

Pull Quotes...

http://leapoffaithbroadway.com/press/reviews/

[PlayItAgain]

Posted: 5/4/12 at 3:11am

there street team was walking around times square offering 29 dollar tickets....

[ClumsyDude15]

Posted: 5/4/12 at 7:22am

At what point does it become useless and they just give up? Honestly, when you're the biggest joke on Broadway and your grosses/average ticket price is what is, when do you just close up shop and save yourself the humiliation?

They should have done with Riedel said - been happy with the nomination, closed, and moved on. What do they have to gain from this? They're bleeding money as it is!

Updated On: 5/4/12 at 07:22 AM

[tazber]

Posted: 5/4/12 at 7:59am

With the egos being what they are I'm willing to bet that some of the novice investors have convinced themselves it actually has a shot of winning.

Clearly some (read: these) theatrical producers are not rational economic business people. They don't answer to stockholders, only their own whims.

Cutting losses is not a concept they care about.

[newintown]

Posted: 5/4/12 at 9:31am

I think the nominating committee would have looked like they had a bit of integrity if they had just reduced the category to three nominations. Leap of Faith, while it may not be the joke that Spider-Man, Bonnie and Clyde, Ghost, are, has no redeeming qualities at all.

There would have been no shame in admitting there were only three productions worth nominating for an award, even if "Best" is merely a relative term. "Best" ought to include some meaning of "good," not just "least bad."