http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/04/spider-man-opening-delayed-yet-again/
"The $60-million Broadway musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” the most expensive and technically elaborate show in history, will delay the start of performances this month by two weeks and open in January instead of Dec. 21 because more work is needed on it, two theater executives with knowledge of the plan said Thursday."
blurg - i have tickets for this just after thanksgiving - which depending on when exactly they choose to start previews - i guess from what i just read that will be announced later on today - it might mean that i might have to be at the first preview - which im kinda not happy about.
What's the point in saying anything at this juncture? Anything is possible.
But opening in January (or anytime in winter) ... how many successful shows do that?
Crazy For You 1992
Fosse 1999
Flops
Ragtime 1998
The Capeman 1998
The Dead 2000
Good Vibrations 2005
Little Women 2005
The Little Mermaid 2008
Story of my Life 2009
well, what'll likely happen is they'll keep delaying until the spring. just guessing.
I'm hoping that 10 years from now a book will come out about the creation of this whole thing, much like Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical Follies.
^ Me too!
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/21/05
"Ragtime 1998"
Ragtime only flopped because Drabinsky was moving its profits to the ledger of other shows that were failing.
"The Little Mermaid 2008"
The Little Mermaid was delayed because of the Local 1 strike...and after the accident where an actor plummeted more than 30 feet, the costs associated with that (medical and legal) are added to the show's budget...it never had a chance (despite how awful it was, my understanding is that it was selling very well...but the costs were too high).
Read more: https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessagemodern.cfm?thread=1024032&m=4083761&boardid=1#ixzz14KDEVuZ8
And "Mermaid" actually recouped, if i'm not mistaken.
ETA: I was wrong. I thought I read that it had.
^ You're mistaken. When it closed, it was about half a million short of recouping.
Ironically, I was listening to "An Accident Waiting to Happen" while reading this.
Stand-by Joined: 7/28/09
A little known show opened in Jan 1988.
I think it was called Phantom-something.
It's too bad Taymor couldn't have directed PHANTOM. I've always thought Christine should have been shot out of a cannon into the audience to close out Act 1.
Had Taymor directed Phantom, the chandelier might have actually done something resembling falling and crashing.
I always find the slow motion falling of the chandelier to be even scarier. Like we (as an audience) know it's happening yet we're powerless to stop it and we can only sit back watch as the suspense builds to it's climactic crash.
Stand-by Joined: 8/9/10
does this affect the schedule for the previews?
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/23/08
My favorite part of the article:
"The show’s advance ticket sales so far total about $8 million in hard cash with an additional $2 million to $3 million in unpaid group orders – amounts that would be healthy for the standard $10 million Broadway musical, but low against the $60 million capitalization and the likelihood that the show will cost upwards of $1 million to run each week."
An Accident Waiting to Happen, for sure.
Yes...while a specific date hasn't been announced, previews begin LATE November (losing all the thanksgiving business)
2 weeks late would mean previews SHOULD start the 28th...but I could see them pushing for the holiday weekend.
The holiday weekend when tourists already have tickets to see shows? Doesn't seem like a smart move to me.
Jordan -- I'm not following your post. People already have tix to Spidey that weekend too....if they can go up for the weekend they can start builing on word of mouth...ya' know, unless an actor breaks again.
I'm sure if they throw another $5m at the show, all will end up well.
^ Will that be enough?
Just wait until an audience member gets hurt! Then the spectacle will begin!
"Ow Swiss Miss' spiny thing fell off and severed my carotid artery" gurgle gurgle
haha- I think that given all the recent injuries they should start providing people in the orchestra with helmets upon entry! If I do end up going during the hypothetical preview period, I might bring my own!
I do recall reading the descriptions of some of the flying stuff and thinking that I might have to fear for my life. Haha!
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