Riedel's post-review Spiderman column- Page 3

[Scott Briefer]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 1:38pm

I never lied about knowing someone with box office information. I just didn't state this until I saw other people lying about sales. It only became relevant when it was reported that sales were poor, when in fact, they're not.

You may call me pathetic for caring enough to prove my point. Perhaps there's truth in that. But, I'm so tired of the lies here.
Updated On: 2/10/11 at 01:38 PM

[Scott Briefer]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 1:40pm

themysteriousgrowl: you haven't been following, my decision to include the screen captures wasn't because of tazber. Someone earlier claimed they randomly went to Ticketmaster to check seating availability and found over 600 seats on 23 February. I checked Ticketmaster and it just wasn't so.

Keep up.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 1:57pm

Oh, so you're just ignoring tazber's request to provide proof about your box-office information, then? Okay. Then we can all assume you are a liar. Thanks!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 2:02pm

Look, I don't think anyone here has intentionally lied about anything as far as SPIDERMAN is concerned.

But my friend told me his friend at the box office said the show is closing the end of March.

[Scott Briefer]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 2:12pm

Maybe, here is where I didn't keep up. I didn't realize I was being asked to prove my connection to Ticketmaster. Well, I don't know how to prove it. I have a friend who works in their corporate offices who I've known for over 20 years. We're old friends and both passionate about theater. That's not great proof and I'm sorry for that. I'm okay if you don't believe me.

What I find curious though, is that I have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that there are less than 600 seats for 23 February and nobody has commented on that. I really would like for someone to explain why they're more interested in villainizing (spelling?) me than what has been proven. There are less than 600 seats showing and someone reported that there were more as a means for making a comment about Spider-Man's dwindling ticket sales.

If in fact there were 600 seats between when he looked it up and a few moments later when I check, then I'm wrong in accusing him/her of lying, but god, Spider-Man is selling a ridiculous number of seats quickly if that is so as I checked moments after it was reported here.

PLEASE COMMENT ON THE 600 SEATS THAT MIRACULOUSLY DISAPPEARED.

[D2]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 2:14pm

I bought 'em.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 2:17pm

PLEASE TELL US WHY YOU THINK THE USHERS HAVE ALL OF THE INSIDE INFORMATION AND ARE ONLY TELLING IT TO YOU?

[Barney Stinson]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 2:20pm

Scott, the poster referring to "600" tickets said there were hundreds and he/she "guessed 600".

That's not lying, it's estimating, and possibly exaggerating. No different than what you have been doing.

First off, your screen grabs conveniently leave out the balcony, which has over a hundred unsold seats alone (night performance).

You also stated there were fewer than 100 unsold seats to that performance. Countem up (all of them), it's well over 100, I can tell just by eye balling it. Over 200, actually.

So are you lying? Yes or no? You are so quick to call everyone else a liar, when you are doing the exact same thing.

As for April, sales are NOT just fine, that's a flat out lie. Not from you, perhaps, but from whoever your source is. They are pretty scary for a show with a $1.2 mil nut. They may end up fine, but as of now, they aren't so hot for such an expensive show.

And again, what's the connection leading to this obsessive defense of Spider-Man?

[Scott Briefer]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 3:22pm

Ticketmaster's site doesn't allow for my computer to shrink the image small enough to fit in the balcony. The balcony for those performances, plus the seats I've shown doesn't come anywhere near 600 unsold seats.

This is silly, no matter what I type, you guys are going to believe I'm wrong.

As for the usher comment... If you were reading carefully, I spoke with several ushers, a lighting and sound engineer and Ms. Taymor. Why do you ignore my other sources and keep referring to only the usher. The reason for the one usher's comments is only that he said he had seen every performance and stated that he thought the show had made major changes over the course of its previews.

As for the comment about Spider-Man closing... I can only say that I've check with my friend at Ticketmaster and that information hasn't made it to them yet. If it's true, I suspect we'll be hearing about it soon enough.

[Q]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 3:23pm

"This is silly"

That alone shows me that Scott isn't a liar.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 3:28pm

Footage of a briefer at 1:14?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1GJZcFQRsM&feature=related

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 3:40pm

You're really stuck on that 600 number Scott. I got the feeling that was just a number the original poster threw out there. They didn't do the exhaustive research you have.
The fact of the matter is tickets are not only readily available but are already being heavily discounted. I can buy a ticket in the orchestra for tonight at 40% off if I want. Not a good sign for a new blockbuster musical that has so much publicity.

[bryan2]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 4:08pm

I have a friend who has a sister who has a friend who has a cousin whose boyfiend is related to a woman whose husband knew a janitor who worked at Long Island railroad who overheard a person who said her sisters best friends mothers best friends sister knew a janitor who worked for ticketmaster who knew the CEO who said the show will close in March

[fingerlakessinger]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 4:10pm

I cant get past the fact that he is throwing "liar" around so much.
No one has lied. The show has ALOT of empty seats starting around mid-march. I just checked the 8:00 show for March 1, and there are a crap load of available seats, and if they are holding back on more seats, that is REALLY not good. And just for fun, I checked March 8th, and again, you have a HUGE amount of seats to choose from. For a show that has a weekly nut that by now is well over $1.2 million, that is dangerous.

And again, you spoke with Tech advisors and ushers who WORK at the show. Of course they are not going to say "yea, we have been in previews since November but there are no major changes even though the show is crap."

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 4:33pm

"As for the usher comment... If you were reading carefully, I spoke with several ushers, a lighting and sound engineer and Ms. Taymor. "

Okay, I'm just going to be the one to call you out on this. I have smelt bologna in most of your posts from the start of all of this.

You went to ONE show and managed to talk to a handful of ushers two crew members, Ms. Taymor and everyone in the mens bathroom at intermission (see, I DO read your posts)...

First off, ushers have more important things to do when the house opens than to stand around and talk to one guest. Same with the crew members. And do you think ANY of them are going to stand in the place they work and bash their job? No.

Let’s go back and look at just a few of the things you’ve posted, shall we?

“When I spoke with Ms. Taymor she on three occasions said how hard they were working to perfect the musical. I didn't doubt her.” (THREE TIMES?! HOW LONG WAS THAT CONVERSATION, BECAUSE I CAN’T FATHOM IT BEING MORE THAN A FEW MINUTES AT THE MOST)

“I am a Julie Taymor fan.” (OBVIOUSLY)

“If on the other hand, you're talking about an egotism that is inappropriate, I don't think you have Ms. Taymor pegged. From all accounts she's a hard worker and demands excellence from her company, but most are not complaining. In fact, most are honored to be working with her.” (AND HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS?)

"From most internal accounts, the cast and crew of SMTOTD are a tight community. AND extremely supportive of Ms. Taymor's work." (AGAIN, WHO IS TELLING YOU THIS?)

"While waiting, I immediately befriend one of the ushers stationed at the auditorium entrance. We had an extensive conversation." (YEA, BECAUSE USHERS HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO BEFORE A SHOW THAN HAVE EXTENSIVE CONVERSATIONS)

"As I was one of the first in the theater, I had lots of time to get myself settled and to speak with some of the other ushers. Again, all of them huge fans of the show. Hmmm?" (AGAIN, IT SOUNDS LIKE THE USHERS ARE JUST STANDING AROUND. WTF?)

"The house staff at the theater told me that Ms. Taymor is extremely gracious. One of the ushers told me a story where the ushers were gathered talking about the show." (BECAUSE USHERS JUST LOVE TO CHAT!)

“I am not someone who judges good theater by it's box office success, but by it's word-of-mouth.” (FUNNY, THE WORD OF MOUTH HAS BEEN TERRIBLE. AND YOU SHOULD BE USING ‘ ITS’, NOT IT’S)

"My intermission was completely different than those others reported here. In fact, I was standing in line for the men's room and a man a few people behind me was on his mobile being even more emphatically positive about the show than I have been here. This sparked several conversations with the men on line and even into the urinals." (YOU SEEMS TO BE HAVING ANAWFUL LOT OF EXTENSIVE CONVERSATIONS WITH JUST ABOUT ANY ONE)

“As for the applause... I too experienced a sort of loll regarding the final curtain call. Here's my take on that…”
“I suspect that if Ms. Taymor had walked onto that stage, people would have gone wild.”
(SO, THE AUDIENCE DIDN’T REALLY APPLAUD, BUT YOU THINK THEY WOULD HAVE GONE BONKERS IF THE DIRECTOR WALKED ON STAGE???)

"The book made sense and was engaging. I kept waiting for the jokes that were going to fall flat. There were none. I kept waiting for the horrific writing, it all seemed genuine and motivated. What was I seeing? Had they changed the show so much overnight?" (NOW I JUST THINK YOU ARE JERKING US OFF)

"The comments that Ms. Taymor and the SMTOTD company were monsters pushing the company beyond any reasonable safety, just isn't so. For those who made those comments and continue to do so, you are just uniformed and cruel." (SO, IF YOU ARE THE INFORMED ONE, WHO TOLD YOU THIS? THE USHERS?)

"From most internal accounts, the cast and crew of SMTOTD are a tight community. AND extremely supportive of Ms. Taymor's work." (I’M GUESSING THIS IS THE USHERS AGAIN? MAYBE THE SOUND GUY? OR THE LIGHT GUY? WHO KNOWS BECAUSE YOU WEREN’T SURE WHO IT WAS)

"Ms. Taymor is far more interested in making us think about the very stuff that legends are made of and perhaps through that personal exploration, feel". (YOU KNOW, MAKE THE AUDIENCE FIGURE IT OUT SINCE THE SCRIPT ISN'T TELLING THEM ANYTHING)


You sound like the crazy person who wanders up and talks to anyone who looks like they might be associated with the show.

Unless they are friends of yours, then that's what you are.

Updated On: 2/10/11 at 04:33 PM

[fingerlakessinger]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 4:53pm

^One word...Bravo

Updated On: 2/10/11 at 04:53 PM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 5:37pm

This thread is so weird. So, for Scott to talk to Julie Taymor, crew members and ushers to the extent that he did, I'd have to assume he's seen the show about six times. That being said, what on earth do you think they're going to say about the show to a member of the paying audience? How awful they think it is? I doubt it. You're just not going to find very objective opinions that way. Especially during a crowded performance. I used to be an usher. They will say something nice to make you smile and feel you haven't wasted you money so they can get back to whatever they were doing. It's not that they are "lying" so much as they are being tactful to both you and the show for which they work.

And yes, I believe there are probably lots of seats available in April (and probably March). I got second row center of the Flying Circle in November for a performance after Christmas when enthusiasm was still pretty high for the show before all the bad press hit and the opening night delays.

Updated On: 2/10/11 at 05:37 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 7:00pm

I talked to Julie Taymor before a performance and all she kept asking me was if I had accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. I took that as a warning and hauled ass out of the theater.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 7:30pm

Jesus is steering clear of this mess

A neighbor of ours saw it last night & surprisingly gave it 3 out of 5 stars. He hated the music

He brought us a Playbill so now I can have a souvenir of this without having to see it.The list of songs was very unappealing.

Not a toetapper among them.

Updated On: 2/10/11 at 07:30 PM

[Kalimba]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 7:47pm

Diva, honey, Kalimba bows to your greatness.

I just can't imagine Julie Taymor wanting to talk to anyone when she's in the house to observe her show.

When do ushers have time to talk to patrons extensively, unless there are no patrons to show to their seats. The extent of any pleasantries I've ever had with an usher is to say hello and thank you.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 8:10pm

Not a toetapper among them.

But there are all those SHOES!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 9:57pm

I think I want to marry this thread.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 9:57pm

Knowing Julie, like I know Julie, I don't think she would be too talkative in "Director Mode" when it isn't going all that well. There would be a lot of pacing, staring off into space and sighing.

[beensince1987]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 10:05pm

I wonder how much is "Major Changes". So many people here who have seen the show many times and pretty much everyone saying not much have done to it.

A song is cut, then that is A change.

Few songs cut and few put in, few scenes cut and few new ones in, huge flying battle scene between Spider-Man and Spider-Woman, (not a lame argument while they are walking around the net) THEN I think that is a Major Change.

If Taymor cuts Shoe Song, then that would be a HUGE change.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 2/10/11 at 10:15pm

Not a toetapper among them.

And you know that just by the list of songs?