Riedel: 9 to 5 gets fired Labor Day - Page 2

[Barney Stinson]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 10:13am

I don't know for sure, but I actually doubt Dolly has any of her own $$ in this. Sure she's getting royalties and a producer's fee, and if they were actually making money, I'm sure she gets a chunk of the profit, but I wouldn't think Dolly Pardon would have risked her own $$ for this, when she didn't have to.

Meaning, the decision to pull the plug probably isn't hers.

[DancingThroughLife2]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 10:13am

i also think 9 to 5 would do very well touring. Its score is catchy and has cool, yet expensive, scenery, and its just all in all a veryyy funny show

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 10:24am

Something I thought was nice in the article is that they encouraged Dolly to keep writing and compared it to Elton John. His first few musicals didn't do so well, and now look, he has a tony award-winning show under his belt.

See, and I thought the comparison to Elton John was very strange, given that he'd already had two successful shows under his belt when he wrote Lestat. The Lion King was a huge success, and John had already won a Tony for the highly successful production of Aida. It's not as if Lestat was his first Broadway outing.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 10:32am

Also, I'm pretty sure Billy Elliot was already open for a year in London when Lestat opened.

[massofmen]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 10:45am

see, i told you so.

[BroadwayBound115]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 10:51am

I stand corrected.

Which theaters are open for them to transfer to if that is really what they intend to do.

[massofmen]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 10:54am

When was the last time a broadway show switched theaters.
Do you know how much money that would cost? Think about it.

They have to redo all the sets because i am sure the dimensions will be different. A load out costs anywhere from 500,000-700,000 and a load in costs about a million.
So where do they get all that money from JUST for the load in and outs? NO where. They used all their reserve from trying to keep the show alive in the marquis when they weren't making op costs.

There is no way this show will move theaters. It will become a tiered tour just like legally blonde and make good money on the road. Again, I liked the show very much. Sad to see it go because I thought it was fun, but there is no way financially that the show will move theaters.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 10:57am

massofmen- I agree with you that "9 to 5" will not move theaters, nor would it be a good idea, but the last time a Broadway show moved theaters was very recent: "The 39 Steps" just moved to the Helen Hayes after having moved into the Cort.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 10:59am

A shame for any show....Gee...how fast do things need to "catch" on before they throw the towel?


But my favorite part:

"The Little Mermaid" is also closing Labor Day. When this fiasco opened to lousy reviews in January 2008, Disney executives ran around town telling everyone that the reviews didn't matter because "The Little Mermaid" was like "Bank of America."

Let's see.

Bank of America stock price, January 2008: $50.

Bank of America stock price, July 2009: $13.

You know what? Those Disney executives were right!

[bjh2114]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 11:14am

You know, I really wish that people would stop giving Joe Mantello a hard time. Yes he has had a few duds in his day, but what director hasn't? Mantello is a two time Tony winner for his brilliant work on both Take Me Out and Assassins, and his productions of Glengarry Glen Ross and Love! Valor! Compassion! were also spectacularly done. And to be perfectly honest, while Julia Roberts was a dud, I think his direction on Three Days of Rain was actually pretty decent. Yes Wicked, his best known, is not his best work. Yes 9 to 5 isn't the most spectacularly directed show ever. But, he has done some really amazing work in the past. People on here talk about him like he's freakin Francesca Zambello. Give the guy a break.

[Mark_E]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 11:16am

"but the last time a Broadway show moved theaters was very recent: "The 39 Steps" just moved to the Helen Hayes after having moved into the Cort."

The 39 steps is also TINNNNNYYYYYYY compared to 9 to 5.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 11:19am

Mantello is a hack who got lucky a few times.

[Justin D]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 11:20am

You really cant compare transfering a play to a musical, generally Musicals are way more complicated in set and sound design. Most plays dont even have a set change.

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 11:23am

I'm with yankeefan, the good shows that he was able to helm the past five years, were good because of the actors involved. Glengarry Glen Ross had a brilliant ensemble and Blackbird featured two masterful actors in Jeff Daniels and Alison Pill. I believe his successful works have been despite his presence.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 11:26am

I skipped the show this weekend because I had planned on seeing it in October, and in the back of my mind I was worried the show would close come Labor Day. Guess I was right.
Riedel is a lot of things, but usually he's right.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 11:28am

Wicked would have been a mammoth hit with or without Mantello at the helm. It's not as if there's anything particularly innovative about his direction (and I say this as someone not afraid to admit that I really like Wicked).

[bjh2114]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 11:28am

I respectfully disagree with Yankee. I strongly believe that Take Me Out was certainly a product of Mantello's vision and work. I think the same of Glengarry which, while having a wonderful cast, could have been a fest of scenery chewing. Instead the performances were perfect. And Love! Valor! Compassion! (in my opinion his best work) was brilliantly crafted. Would another director have done a good job? Possibly. But i don't think that takes away from the great productions Mantello DID accomplish.
Updated On: 7/29/09 at 11:28 AM

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 11:35am

The point is he hasn't done masterful directorial work (if you want to call it that) in years. And I don't believe you can credit Mantello for restraining the scenery chewing in Glengarry Glen Ross. I credit that pitch perfect ensemble of actors who knew what they're doing. If he had the capacity to restrain scenery chewing he certainly lost it over the past few productions, i.e. The Odd Couple and November.

[homeimp]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 11:39am

This is a 9 To 5 thread. Why the crack about one of the best and most varied musical theater scores of the decade?

[kchenofan]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 11:48am

Can we be optimistic here? If Megan goes back to Wicked, she might prevent Anneliese van der from being Glinda. Somebody GOOD will actually be back on that stage (with the exception of Alli, who I actually liked).

[bjh2114]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 11:56am

You can't blame Mantello for the scene chewing monster that is known as Nathan Lane. No matter who the director is, Lane always chooses to do the same thing (in the recent Godot and Nicholas Martin's recent production of Butley it's the same story). However, Dylan Baker and Laurie Metcalf were fabulous in November. I wouldn't consider that show a scene chewing fest with the exception of Lane who is notorious for it.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 12:16pm

"see, i told you so".

Seriously, are you twelve, massofmen? Or do you just behave that way? You also told us Hair would be a huge flop - and many, many other things that proved not to be true. Seriously, you need to get over this "I am a prophet" thing. Seek professional help.

[Robert Taylor]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 12:18pm

I'm sure it will be very popular on tour, so the show is not a total loss.

I, for one, am looking forward to it being revived years from now with a new (much, much better) book. The show could have been so much better but, for me at least, the book just shot the show in the foot from moment one.

[philly03]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 12:29pm

It'd be flat out bizarre if it transferred, but ten years ago people didn't think Frank Wildhorn was serious about transferring the already mega-flop THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL into the Neil Simon after a (or 2) year and a half disastrous run at the Minskoff. New scaled down sets/et al. Hey - they even did a Pre-Broadway mini tour as well before that!

If Dolly has the money, who knows, maybe SHE will be the one financing an entire transfer. Maybe she/the producers will somehow think it's a good idea??


Off-Topic, but my favourite thing about musical theatre flops,...people ALWAYS criticize the book (if they love the show) and say how if it was different, the show would be so much better. ..Probably not!

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 7/29/09 at 12:35pm

Lane was actually considerably restrained in GODOT, especially compared to his other recent shows.

Mantello doesn't direct - he blocks. And he lets the actors figure everything else out himself. With good actors, it works. With celebrities who've never been on stage before, he doesn't know what to do.

Need I relay the THREE DAYS OF RAIN story again, where I saw him spend the entire performance with his head in his hands?