Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...- Page 2
Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#25
Posted: 10/19/03 at 8:42pmB'way11,you're suggesting Fosterchild "support the show no matter how bad it is"? What the #%#* kind of sense does that make? Then you go on to say... "than re-register as a different user name". How do you expect to be taken remotely seriously, when you make comments like those?
re: re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#26
Posted: 10/19/03 at 10:16pm
"Some 12 year old arm chair quaterback who likes to think they are part of a major billion dollar industry..."
Are there really very many minor billion dollar industries?
Stand-by Joined: 9/12/03
re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#27
Posted: 10/19/03 at 10:30pm
My..another "witty" comment from Nacho. What a dull suprise.
And yeah Tuttle. I'm also tired of these so called experts who come laong making some grand projection about a shows fate due to their "exclusive" insider information.
Foster...you can't abck up your statements so why even bother to make them? Do you really need the love and respect from this baord that much? Well...you aint gonna get it.
Broadway Star Joined: 7/18/03
re: re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#28
Posted: 10/19/03 at 11:37pm
"Zoom":
You want back-up for my statement? Well, the first piece of "back-up" is Rob's initial post about the show handing out marketing surveys at this point in the run. That's a horrible sign. The other form of back-up that I'll offer is the grosses:
http://www.playbill.com/features/article/82162.html
A show that JUST opened that has as much of a life ahead of it as you all say should NOT be the second lowest show, in terms of percentage of seats filled. That's pathetic.
Joined: 12/31/69
re: re: re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#29
Posted: 10/19/03 at 11:41pm
wow! bitterness party of two!
Zip and Orphan need to take a time out and go in the corner and think about what they did.....
Broadway Star Joined: 7/18/03
re: re: re: re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#30
Posted: 10/19/03 at 11:45pmBitter? How? I hate how discussions get out of control on here. My initial post commented on Rob's initial post regarding audience surveys and then everything goes haywire. If you love Little Shop 100% then great, but why bother even getting in the discussion?
Joined: 12/31/69
re: re: re: re: re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#31
Posted: 10/19/03 at 11:48pm
But if you read you would notice that many of us stated that it is not due to the lack of success of LSOH but of marketing for any show.
They have these types of surveys for Dinner Teaters, Symphony Halls, and such.
That is what we were saying.
I mean, did you mniss that part of the conversation or what?
Broadway Star Joined: 7/18/03
re: re: re: re: re: re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#32
Posted: 10/19/03 at 11:49pmNo, but maybe you missed the part of the conversation where I informed you that LSOH has been handing out these flyers since the first week of previews, so the fact that they're STILL trying to figure out who the heck is paying to see the show eight weeks later is a bad sign.
Joined: 12/31/69
re: re: re: re: re: re: re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#33
Posted: 10/19/03 at 11:53pm...and you know firsthand this is the one hundred percent reason?
Broadway Star Joined: 7/18/03
re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#34
Posted: 10/19/03 at 11:55pmThat what is 100 percent the reason? Why they're handing out the flyers? YES! If a show is at 60% just weeks after getting some nice reviews and after spending money on big ads that don't seem to be working, they're desperately trying to figure out what they're doing wrong.
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/15/03
re: re: re: re: re: re: re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#35
Posted: 10/19/03 at 11:56pmThey haven't been handing them out since the first week. They handed them out the first week and then the second time I say it 2 weeks later they weren't handing them out. maybe they are doing it now since the show is open see if the responses are different then during previews.
Broadway Star Joined: 7/18/03
re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#36
Posted: 10/19/03 at 11:57pmWell, I didn't go the first week. A friend did and got one. I went the THIRD week and did get one... Either way, the fact that they're handing them out at all is a bad sign!
Joined: 12/31/69
Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#37
Posted: 10/20/03 at 12:00am
..again I have to ask you.. how do you KNOW this is a bad sign... I mean do you KNOW this is the reason why they are passing these out?
I feel like you are trying to avoid the answer ~~
Why is that?
Broadway Star Joined: 7/18/03
re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#38
Posted: 10/20/03 at 12:21amDo you think that if the show was doing well, they would be paying the extra expense of hiring marketing people to do this extra work? The show has a very small advance, so they're nervous about the future. I can't believe this discussion is still going...
Featured Actor Joined: 6/30/03
re: re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#39
Posted: 10/20/03 at 12:24amThat is definitely accurate. The show isn't sold much past January.
Joined: 12/31/69
re: re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#40
Posted: 10/20/03 at 12:25am
but if you were really that bad off you probably wouldnt have the money to spend to find out whats working and what isnt and to pay marketing people, etc.
-Christina
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/1/03
re: re: re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#41
Posted: 10/20/03 at 12:56am
Heyyyyy whats with all the drama. Does any of this reallly matter? Just chill out everybody.
:)smile:)
re: re: re: re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#42
Posted: 10/20/03 at 1:33am
AGAIN, the marketing surveys are generic--they could be stuffed in any Playbill in this city. Why would that have anything to do with failure or success? They just want to know how people find out about shows in 2003. That's all. What radio stations. What publications. Who the audience is. That's it. It never says, "Oh dear audience member, how can we fix this show?"
The frustration with your posts isn't that you discuss the financial aspects--a worthy discussion--but how you discuss them. You seem to wish the show harm, as opposed to merely discussing it. In addition, you belittle others in the process.
Not cool.
re: re: re: re: re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#43
Posted: 10/20/03 at 7:53amMorning All! Well speaking just on grosses LSOH is not doing well, it needed to be a big "HIT" and instead it's a "hit", and I don't hate the show at all, far from it, I love the book and music, my problem has been the casting. We'll see what happens after the holidays, they need to bring it to at least the low 80's to survive.
Broadway Star Joined: 7/27/03
re: re: re: re: re: re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#44
Posted: 10/20/03 at 9:40am
I just happen to think that the reason for the low grosses with this show now, is because of the season. Hell, they decided to open in the fall, the season in which the theatre suffers somewhat. Had they opened during the summer, as they originally planned, it would have been a different story. Furthermore, the leads of the show are not "superstars". As much as I love Kerry Butler, she is not as well known as say, Bernadette Peters, and even Bernadette isn't a mega star. However, her name gets butts into the seats at the Shubert. I have to agree with jrb -- it seems as if a few of you contributing to this thread wish the show harm. There doesn't seem to be any tone of regret that the show is not at full capacity - it seems more of a "See I told you so attitude....." and a "Let's drink to Little Shop's failure..." It's fine if you don't like the production, but I think it is rude and immature to wish a show to fail. Again, I have to reiterate that I am not worried about Little Shop's success. They will be fine, and I feel that they will be around for a while. Come Thanksgiving and other big holidays, they will get more butts in the seats. The thing that this show has going for it is that it is well known, and that people love it. Furthermore, the performances are pleasant and entertaining. I for one, wish the show well. And by the way, I am NOT a child. I might be considered a kid to some of you older posters, but I am definitely not some uninformed child. Thank you.
Cheers,
The Balladeer
re: re: re: re: re: re: re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#45
Posted: 10/20/03 at 9:48amRight you are Balla concerning the time they decided to open, a show such as LSOH which, is in amny ways a much better "summer open", I think things should pick up as holiday buying season kicks in, and while I was very passionate about the casting choices regarding the show I don't wish it ill. I am more interested in the business end of it, as you say it's a popular show which has a very well know name, yet's it's never been above 70% so far, it's a puzzle that the producers are suprised by, as it proves nothing is a sure thing in entertainment.
Leading Actor Joined: 7/29/03
re: re: re: re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#46
Posted: 10/20/03 at 10:13am
I'm going to join w/ those who say that a marketing survey this late in the game is not a sign of a show being on its last legs. Having said that... shows that don't need help designing their marketing obviously don't need to do that.
LSOH is a TERRIFIC show & gets an extremely diverse crowd. The question for the marketing team is which part of this diverse audience is going to pay the most to get through the door.
Stand-by Joined: 8/8/03
re: re: re: re: re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#47
Posted: 10/20/03 at 10:47amOk...so far we have Rob getting a survey last week, Penny getting one the first week of previews, and FC getting one the third week of previews...but Penny didn't get one the third week of previews. Might they possibly only be handing the surveys out on specific nights? I think its unreasonable to jump to drastic conclusions when no one really has any idea about the show's marketing research strategies. The only way to make a logical assumption would be to find out the exact shows during which surveys were distributed...then you could make at least a semi-educated guess as to what they mean. Until that time...please stick to facts and figures you actually know, like the sales grosses.
re: re: re: re: re: re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#48
Posted: 10/20/03 at 10:55amThe production must earn $350,000 a week to break even, and at this point has a 3 million dollar advance. It's not on anything resembling "last legs".It would be much better if the weekly grosses were better than 80%. What the marketing people are doing is seeing what their current audiences income and interests are in relation to how they spend their entertainment dollars.
Broadway Star Joined: 9/9/03
re: re: re: re: re: re: re: Saw Kerry in Little Shop tonight...#49
Posted: 10/20/03 at 11:14am
Sheekala: I appreciated your commentary on Little Shop. The New York Times has an article in today's paper which supports not only what you have said (mostly) but also that Little Shop is NOT "doomed".
"To be sure, the producers gambled here. So far the production, which must earn $350,000 a week to break even, has been bringing in about $125,000 a day in gross ticket sales. "
While maybe not a MEGA hit, a show that is breaking even in 3 days is not DOOMED.
Perspective people.
The Show That Ate the Original Cast
Videos
