THE GREAT COMET Announces September Broadway Closing; Final Performers for Role of 'Pierre'- Page 12

[bear88]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 12:03pm

Maybe you're right about the Aug. 27 show. It looked like there were plenty of seats available, but it was late when I looked, and I'm not in a position to check again.

As for any possible tour, wouldn't the logistics of getting tents in city after city be more logistically difficult and expensive than rearranging the show for more traditional venues? Sure, the mezzanine and balcony folks would lose a lot of the interaction, which would change the experience. But in the end, I'm not sure that would hurt ticket sales much on tour.

If I'm an investor in the show, I don't want to spend more to set up and dismantle tents all over the country to bring in fewer ticket sales. I would happily see the show in a tent, but I just question the financial viability of doing that.

If it does tour, which I'll believe when it happens, I would be very surprised if it doesn't end up at the Curran in San Francisco.

[LxGstv]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 12:04pm

JustAnotherNewYorker said: "It's clearly because it's the final performance that sold out the 3rd (that's why I'm willing to spend freely for a Banquette seat for the 3rd). If they did try to extend, I think they would have to refund many of the seats for that day, so I don't really see it benefitting them much or happening. 

 

As for the Curran, maybe--but I think the tent or single story is more likely. The construction necessary to get it to work in a traditional proscenium theater [with mezz/balcony and bolted seats] does not lend itself to short residencies

 

"

I don't think that "I thought it was the last show, but they extended it" warrants a refund... I'm sure it still says all sales are final, the refunds given were specifically if you brought them to see Mandy Patinkin...

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 12:15pm

There have been meetings for the last few months about the redesign of the show for a tour.  I don't know the outcome of those meetings, but I they will be playing traditional theaters...including The Curran.  

[JustAnotherNewYorker]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 12:18pm

LxGstv said: "JustAnotherNewYorker said: "II don't think that "I thought it was the last show, but they extended it" warrants a refund... I'm sure it still says all sales are final, the refunds given were specifically if you brought them to see Mandy Patinkin..."

I think the "you announced it was the final show, sold tickets without the customary discount, and then changed" is at least as much a cause for a refund as the change in Pierre. I don't see them being able to change it without lots of trouble and challenges

 

SonofRobbieJ said: "There have been meetings for the last few months about the redesign of the show for a tour.  I don't know the outcome of those meetings, but I they will be playing traditional theaters...including The Curran.  "

It will be interesting to see what they do. A rational producer would price out the options and the potential sales, and decide which makes the most financial sense subject to artistic input (and since they've done both tent and theater, both are on the table). Unclear that the producers of Comet will do....

Updated On: 8/10/17 at 12:18 PM

[JayElle]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 12:19pm

BwayJoe said, "o chime in that this guy Casal is an ass and I simply won't support anything he does"

I've many playbills and his name isn't in any, including yesterday's.  What role does he play, if any? Is he wardrobe b/c he's not listed with swing or ensemble players.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 12:20pm

He's a friend of Oak's.

[10086Sundays]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 12:22pm

leighmiserables said: "bear88 said: "I glanced at Telecharge last night and saw that Sept. 3 almost sold out. But isn't that simply because many fans of the show want to see the final performance? The Sunday show a week before it closes has plenty of seats available as of now."

Unless there's something wrong with how it's coming up on my computer, there's only about four tickets left for that Sunday as of now. 

I don't think the influx in ticket sales is enough to warrant any extension beyond a few weeks, but I do think one of that length is very possible. "

It must be your computer, I just looked at every show for Aug. 25 - 27th and there are lots of tickets available in every section.

LxGstv - Telecharge, especially with Great Comet, has been very lax with letting people change seats and dates for any reason.

[JayElle]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 12:26pm

I get he's a friend of Oak's, but articles suggested that Oak went to his "room" to discuss. What room?

And if Oak made a decision based on this jerk, it's Oak's stupidity.  If all of these accusations are true that he didn't rehearse w/cast regularly, fought with director, etc., then Oak may have created his own chasm and burned bridges for the future, though the audience didn't think so yesterday with standing ovations during "Dust & Ashes."  And I will say his Sat night performance was better than his Sat matinee.  

Geez, what will we talk about once it's closed?? 

[leighmiserables]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 12:29pm

10086Sundays said: "It must be your computer, I just looked at every show for Aug. 25 - 27th and there are lots of tickets available in every section."

Yeah, it was definitely a glitch or something. I tried it on an incognito tab and it showed all the actual available tickets. 

[Rainah]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 12:29pm

JayElle said: "I get he's a friend of Oak's, but articles suggested that Oak went to his "room" to discuss. What room?"

I believe they were referring to OAK's room, not Casal's. Casal is merely a friend of Oak's and it not in any way involved with the production itself.

[irishgator1]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 12:57pm

My family and I are going to the final performance; having never been to the final performance of any show, I was curious what might happen under these sad circumstances? Speeches?  Wondering if the actors will still go to the stage door?

[JustAnotherNewYorker]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 2:20pm

irishgator1 said: "My family and I are going to the final performance; having never been to the final performance of any show, I was curious what might happen under these sad circumstances? Speeches?  Wondering if the actors will still go to the stage door?"

My experience (I've done a bunch of final performances). Speech or speeches (creatives, producers, actors). Lots of extraneous entrance applause (the audience will have seen it for the most part). Occasional Hamming, mugging, and or ad-libbing (I recall a very passionate kiss in one closing when it was usually a peck). Creatives often stage door, actors generally do, but it's usually a bit later than usual.

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 2:46pm

Random thought bubble: I was listening to the soundtrack last night while working out and was thinking that Elvis Presley might have sounded great singing Pierre's music.

[JayElle]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 2:50pm

I was at Groban's last performance.  Howard Kagan was sitting with family in what I call the bleachers (banquettes) and Dave Malloy was on the other side of stage first row of banquettes.

Lucas (Anatole) Steele did the tributes.   With Oak, it kinda would be funny if they threw tomatoes.  Seriously, if Oak did all they suggested and wouldn't take action on the cast's appeals, I will be amazed if they behave so friendly. I guess that's true acting.

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 2:56pm

JayElle said: "I was at Groban's last performance.  Howard Kagan was sitting with family in what I call the bleachers (banquettes) and Dave Malloy was on the other side of stage first row of banquettes.

Lucas (Anatole) Steele did the tributes.   With Oak, it kinda would be funny if they threw tomatoes.  Seriously, if Oak did all they suggested and wouldn't take action on the cast's appeals, I will be amazed if they behave so friendly. I guess that's true acting.

 

"

Well it's called being a pro. Julie Andrews and the rest of the MFL cast hated Rex Harrison personally because he was a huge ass to everyone, but they all recognized his skill and the greatness of his portrayal of Henry Higgins so they all worked together through the Broadway and West End runs and would have worked together again if Julie had been given the MFL film. 

Here's the tribute to Josh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXu5B-o3veA&spfreload=10&scrlybrkr=5c7e4113

Updated On: 8/10/17 at 02:56 PM

[JayElle]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 3:08pm

Poison said, "so they all worked together through the Broadway and West End runs and would have worked together again if Julie had been given the MFL film."

Apparently that's what lacked here i.e., allegedly Oak not responding to co-actors pleas to contact Mandy or make a public statement.  And producers didn't give Julie the film b/c non-singing Audrey Hepburn was a bigger box office draw.  And Marni Nixon dubbing Audrey's singing with no credit to Marni for decades?  Bad.

Seems the $ affects all.    Great you got the final. We had security hovering over us to prevent it.  Now that Groban is gone, they said it's okay to shoot curtain calls.

[bear88]

Posted: 8/11/17 at 2:05am

Stage Door Sally said: "Thwarted in my efforts to see Mandy in The Great Comet, I finally saw the entire show online.

Overall, I am glad I saved my hard-earned money. I agree with others that sitting on stage was the way to go to be up close to the actors. Sitting in the mezz, I may have left at intermission. It was a noble effort and should be applauded as such. Where it fell short for me was it was sing-through. It would have benefitted from dialogue because the exposition was confusing as hell. Also, in the end, the plot was ultra simplistic. Complex characters, simplistic plot. Groban was WONDERFUL. Would have been worth it to sit on the stage to see him. Denee Benton was also very good. But the special effects and extra little things in this production were lost on me. I never engaged with the show. Perhaps it was meant for a younger audience. In any event, I could see this as the grandfather for similar interactive shows in the future. Someone has to be the groundbreaker.

I find this reaction to a bootlegged version of the show fascinating, for a variety of reasons.

First, the obvious one. Entering the Imperial, through the "bomb shelter" and then into the sumptuously decorated theatre is, in a striking way, an actual part of the experience of seeing Great Comet. Even a professionally shot and edited film would not be the same as being there, grabbing for tossed pierogis from members of the cast and gazing in wonder at the beautiful set. The show casts its spell before a note is played, if you let it. (And there's actually an artistic point to all the pretty spectacle, which becomes clear later.)

The critiques, and my observations:

- The show was confusing but simplistic. I have read variations of this from others, too often for me to discount it. I read such critiques so often that I made sure to read the section of War and Peace on which the musical is based, both to avoid confusion myself and to give a plot summary to my wife and daughter so they wouldn't be confused. Some people had trouble following the exposition; others had no trouble at all. This doesn't make anyone smart or dim. It's just an interesting but troubling problem for a show to have. Hamilton had pages and pages of rapped dialogue and was also sung-through, but it didn't hurt that show, perhaps because the basics of the American Revolution are familiar to most Americans and because Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote a far more conventional musical (rap battles notwithstanding). 

- The bells and whistles detracted from the story. At times, that's true. "The Opera" and "The Duel" (the latter of which is inconveniently taken from an earlier section of War and Peace that I hadn't read yet) are the most confusing songs in the musical. A lot of stuff is happening, and while some of it is great - Anatole's rock star introduction, for example - it's a lot to take in the first time. You have to be paying attention to grasp all that's occurring, and in person, there are a lot of distractions (strobe lights, cast members running all over the place). But otherwise, I didn't think it was at all confusing. But others disagree, and that obviously wasn't going to help the musical become a hit for casual theatergoers or people thrown off by the goings-on. When I attended the show, I could see some people relishing every bit of the experience, and others sitting back and looking uncomfortable. That's no small problem for an expensive Broadway musical.

- Groban and Benton were great. I strongly agree. Groban really surpassed my expectations, and was a wonderful Pierre as an actor whose performance as a depressed rich man who finds grace and hope was genuinely moving to me. Benton was a real find. So you liked the leads, but are glad you didn't bother with the show. Again, that's a problem for a Broadway musical. 

- The show wasn't engaging. This is obviously a matter of taste and what you find compelling. But plenty of people didn't find it compelling enough to turn it into the monster hit it needed to be because of the huge costs. How long would Great Comet have had to run, bringing in around a million dollars a week, to break even? Three years? Four? Is a national tour, which I want to see, just going to be throwing good money after bad?

It's easy to blame bad producing for a lot of this. They had no post-Groban plan and even Groban himself - as terrific as he was in the musical - posed a bit of a marketing problem. He's the sort of mainstream performer who appeals to older people because of the type of music he usually sings. But the Groban fans weren't going to be natural Great Comet fans (although some became fans). And his presence created expectations for a star vehicle, a la Bette Midler in Hello, Dolly. But Groban isn't at that level of stardom, certainly on Broadway, and Great Comet was not built around him anyway. Until the last 25 minutes of the show, Pierre is often a bystander, sitting in the orchestra pit, except for a couple of big ballads and the beginning of "Letters" to start the second act.

My sad conclusion, because I loved the show, is that Great Comet was simply too ahead of its time, too "weird" in creator Dave Malloy's own word, to thrive on Broadway at this time, at its high costs. Hamilton may have shown a path forward, but Broadway audiences remain a conservative group (not politically) that wants familiarity in most of its big productions unless something really catches lightning in a bottle. The producers screwed up in many ways, but I just don't see how the show as it's now constituted could ever have succeeded as a big-budget Broadway show unless they had a bunch of stunt casting replacements lined up. And with the partial exception of Ingrid Michaelson, they didn't even have one. They had Hercules Mulligan from Hamilton, and we see how that turned out. 

Updated On: 8/11/17 at 02:05 AM

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 8/11/17 at 4:18am

poisonivy2 said: "Random thought bubble: I was listening to the soundtrack last night while working out and was thinking that Elvis Presley might have sounded great singing Pierre's music.

 

"

Is "cast album/cast recording" an extremely difficult SAT word that takes forever to memorize?

[schubox]

Posted: 8/11/17 at 7:41am

I've seen plenty of bootlegs in my day, and I don't really have an issue with them, but the one for Comet is garbage. It's shot from way too high and to the side. And it doesn't do a good job of capturing what is going on. Capturing this show with one single camera, no matter where it is, would pretty much be impossible though 

[Audrey33]

Posted: 8/11/17 at 7:53am

Agreed. Bootlegs can be a great capture of the show but this one is not.

[Itonlytakesajourney]

Posted: 8/11/17 at 8:19am

I'd just about kill for BroadwayHD to film/livestream this, but it's never going to happen. Bootlegs for this show are very bad and I can't make myself watch it, the show just isn't immersive when recorded on a choppy cell phone camera. 

[Stage Door Sally]

Posted: 8/11/17 at 8:31am

I understand that a bootleg isn't the definitive way to see a show or is fully able to capture its essence. But from the one I saw I definitely got the story. I think it would be fun for some people being seated on stage and interacting with the actors, and getting trinkets like pierogies and egg shakers.

But as Hamlet says, "The play's the thing." I don't believe the book worked for this one. I hope there will be future interactive shows. The right one will be a theatrical blast.

[JayElle]

Posted: 8/11/17 at 11:53am

Dancingthrulife said, "Elvis Presley might have sounded great singing Pierre's music."

Yes, he would've....and even more so in that jeweled white jumpsuit. What a voice.  And his twin died at birth. Imagine if he had survived what that would've been.

[JayElle]

Posted: 8/11/17 at 11:56am

Sorry, DancingThruLife was quoting Poison Ivy re: Elvis, but I still agree he'd be great.

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 8/11/17 at 12:32pm

JayElle said: "Dancingthrulife said, "Elvis Presley might have sounded great singing Pierre's music."

Yes, he would've....and even more so in that jeweled white jumpsuit. What a voice.  And his twin died at birth. Imagine if he had survived what that would've been.

 

"

I think Elvis's voice has the huskiness and the baritonal sound for Pierre. The only thing is that I think Elvis had too much magnetism for Pierre who is supposed to be plain and dumpy. But singing Pierre's music? He would have been amazing. Actually Elvis might have been great as Phantom too.