TABOO

[Dakota]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 12:03pm

60%!!

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 12:04pm

Sounds like my algebra 2 grades.

[EVGIRL]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 12:12pm

Better. But the average ticket price is down, because of the discounts, so Rosie is still losing money. Every thing on Broadway does beter in the holdiay season. Taboo is still on the low end in percentage attendance especially compared to other musicals like Wicked and the Boy from Oz.

[Chevstriss]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 12:16pm

I really loved Taboo in London. but I'm not sure its even recognizable in its Bwy form.

Alot of the fun was being surrounded by the actors in the tiny space and they even had a bar onstage that you could actually walk up and use.

The score impressed me, I hear it diffrent.

[EVGIRL]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 2:07pm

I totally agree with you. I also saw and loved Taboo in London, and didn't care too much for the Broadway version. I didn't think the changes to the book worked at all, and missed the audience interaction and the feeling of actually being in a nightclub, with the bar, that the London show had. Just goes to show when you spend more money on something it doesn't necessarily make it better. I think it would have worked better off Broadway, maybe doing a 9 p.m. and a midnight show so it seems like going out to a club, more than going to a traditional theater.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 2:12pm

"I think it would have worked better off Broadway, maybe doing a 9 p.m. and a midnight show so it seems like going out to a club, more than going to a traditional theater."

ala The Donkey Show

[WOSQ]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 2:49pm

I actually spent money and went to see Taboo last week. I have no vested interest in the show one way or another except that I do like to see shows that work and run. I went with no expectations having read the overnight reviews which were contemptuous and then the weeklies which were less so.

Taboo isn't nearly as bad as all that and has several things to recommend it, not the least of which are the actors. There's a lot of talented people up there giving it all they've got. The kid who plays George as well as Raul Esparza are above the rest although no one was bad except the author who is more miscast than anything. Maybe the show needs to be about Leigh Bowery who is the most interesting personage at the Plymouth.

Some of the songs land nicely and they are always well sung. The staging varies but rarely embarrasses. The costumes work although the set is kind of ugly.

The big drag (no pun) is the by-the-numbers, life-lesson-in-Act-Two book. Maybe in a musical bio we don't need or want to see the fall and maybe the rise will do just fine. I get enough 'Life Lessons' from my own so-called life, and I don't know that I need to see other's mistakes dramatized (Same thing applies to Boy From Oz).

So is Taboo a washout? A waste of time? Not to me. Not perfect, not by a country mile, but entertaining in its way nonetheless.

Commercially it does belong off Broadway, like in the Minetta Lane. The economics of Broadway can't/won't support a show like this.

Rosie says she's going to keep it running through the Tonys. Let's see, 200 grand a week times 20 weeks equals....

[thebigkrakowski]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 2:59pm

Will it really make it to the Tonys? I'm not a big Taboo fan, but I admire Rosie's gumption.

[mebice]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 4:02pm

I love the london cd! I play it at least 18 hours a day. I am not joking either. I am still in love with it. I love the characters, love the score! However, I have heard that the broadway version is different. Even if this is the case, if i could, I would go see it in a heartbeat. But from what you have all described, it sounds like it would be good in a club setting. I think rosie has a lot of passion and I think that is wonderful. And she said herself that she has the money to back this up, so let her do it. She is a big girl and she knows what she is doing. :)

[EVGIRL]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 7:20pm

I didn't say it was bad. It was entertaining as far as the singing, acting and the costumes. But the book didn't work for me. They were very unclear about the story they were trying to tell and the flipping between the two very separate storylines didn't allow you to care about the characters, which is the most important thing in any play or musical. I actually liked the Boy George storyline better than the Leigh Bowery one. Maybe that was because Euan Morton is a much better actor than Boy George. In the London version, the main storyline was fictional with real life characters like George and Leigh woven in. The main character was similar to Marcus and he had interactions with both George and Leigh as well as a female fashion designer, creating a love triangle. I think they made a mistake by going to the traditional cliched celebrity biography format. The London show was also more fun, and wasn't as heavy on the "life lessons".

[Broadwaylilhead]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 7:32pm

We should start a betting pool of when we think this show will post its CLOSING NOTICE..... the show is said to be loosing over a million and half a week... ouch

[cabarethed]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 7:38pm

I may have originally made a point to see it for Raul, but now I wouldn't care too much if he happens to be out when I'm there. I adore his performance, but I love so many parts of the show. It's definitely flawed, which is very apparent in Act II...but I just love the score and themes. Obvious that the sometimes heavy handedness is of the Rosie influence, so I just try to ignore it. Euan, Raul, and Jeffrey are brilliant. Cary and Sarah are wonderful with what they have to work with. I'm not the biggest Liz fan- I prefer Brooke Elliot by a long shot. Then again, I don't care for the character of Big Sue. Once again, it's the hand of Rosie. I've been getting used to Boy George's performance every time, and I'm finding things I like about it. He is pretty damn funny...esp. in his two solos. I feel that Ich Bin Kunst is one of the best parts of the show.

I may have been putting Rosie down here, and I was never her biggest fan, but I do admire her for not backing down and making the show available here. I still think she should lower student prices.

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 8:01pm

I'd like to see this show just to see how bad it really is.

[LC]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 8:02pm

"the show is said to be loosing over a million and half a week... ouch"

1.5m ???

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 8:14pm

"the show is said to be loosing over a million and half a week... ouch"

just which connoisseur of gray matter said that? having seen it twice, the only way they could possibly be losing a million and a half a week is if they were doing 32 productions a week, round the clock with 4 different casts. and then only maybe. geez, at most the nut's like $500,000 and they're short of that by $125,000 in weekly grosses. if we're going to talk about money can we at least either be somewhat grounded in reality or completely out the window? ya'll know i like things black and white.

[cabarethed]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 10:36pm

It's not a bad show. It just needs to fix up the book and to be in a smaller venue.

[johny0828]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 10:38pm

me and my sister went to see taboo in early december. even with 2 leads out that day( raul and liz) we both REALLY enjoyed the showed. the music was amazing and the cast is awesome! it was very sad to see a great show playing to a half empty theater.we sat in the first row of the mezz and they were 2 other people in our row. we also waited at the stage door and the cast were very friendly and thanked us for suppporting the show.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 10:43pm

It really isn't that bad as people make it out to be--it does, however, need major book revision.

I'm definitely buying the OBC.

[Benzy92]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 10:52pm

I, for one, cant wait to see the show. However, I think it is obnoxious how they are holding back seats. You can get 6th row center day of for a holiday week which is pretty sad. When I went up to the box office for a Sunday mat. in the deat of winter (mid- January), it was either first row (no thanks) or row K all the way to the side! I guess Ill just have to wait day of.

[WOSQ]

Posted: 12/31/03 at 9:43am

Economics:
Taboo has been reported to have a break even of 500 grand a week. With royalty waivers and perhaps some rent concessions, that could come down 75 Gs or so which is still above what the grosses have been. Figure 100-200 loss per week which is still not chump change. They might even make a little money this week (ending Sun 1/4/04).

1.5 million in a week is not in the economics of Broadway yet. The potential full gross for the Plymouth these days is probably about 800 grand. The figure would be in Variety. It would be difficult to lose twice as much as you can possibly make.

If they have a stop-clause in their lease however, Taboo could be booked out of the Plymouth (one of the most desireable houses in town) by another show due in the spring.(Stop-clause=falling below X amount of money two weeks in a row.) That is if the Shuberts feel they could make more money that way.

As the saying goes, we shall see.

[theatremom]

Posted: 12/31/03 at 1:22pm

I saw Taboo last night, Tuesday performance, and the house was full. I was in Row C mezz. Seats were filled up to the last row and sides of the balcony, and boxes. First time I have seen this since previews. The audience appeared to be a real mix of younger people, couples, families, some children, senior citizens; I suppose you typical holiday week Broadway show crowd. And the audience response was great throughout.

I have seen the show several times since just before opening night, bringing back friends and going with a friend who has seen it a lot more than I have. I see the flaws in the book and story, but I adore the music and the performances. Somehow, seeing this show makes me feel good; so I go back.

Sadly, the last few times I was there (after opening), the house was half empty, empty sides of orchestra, 2/3 empty mezz. So being there last night in a crowded theater, fighting my way through the crowd to return to my seat after intermission was a really great feeling. Supposedly, discounts were not valid this week, so hopefully, this holiday trend will translate into a more profitable gross for the week, and maybe stir some word of mouth as well.

I have noticed, as well, that the cast is just getting better as they become more comfortable in their roles. They have always been superb, but the fun and playfulness between the actors is increasingly evident. The actors have apparently been ad-libbing a bit, especially Raul, who gave a little different performance each time I saw him. He is hilarious. Special kudos to Euan and Jeffrey as well.


Oops, this is Jo125 posting from a friend's account. Forgot to log on to mine. Updated On: 12/31/03 at 01:22 PM

[JO125]

Posted: 12/31/03 at 1:40pm

Sorry, previous post from Theatremom was mine. I forgot to log on to my own accout before posting.

Jo125