There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#0There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 1:45pm
Cats stays forever & despite killer reviews WAOVW will close prematurely
Unfortunately,it shows what people want & that is sad.
sanda
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/10/04
#1re: There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 1:46pm
excuse me, but what is WAOVW?
Updated On: 7/24/05 at 01:46 PM
#2re: There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 1:47pmWAOVW?
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#4re: There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 1:52pm(Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?)
#5re: There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 1:52pmWhy is it sad? In the final analysis, Broadway is a business.
#6re: There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 1:52pmWomen Against Overweight Vanna White?
--Aristotle
TheatreDiva90016
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/10/04
#7re: There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 1:54pm
"Women Against Overweight Vanna White?"
ROFL
#8re: There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 1:55pm
Ah OK, Virginia Woolf.
Who goes to see a play besides us theatre patrons? New Yorkers, maybe. Tourists generally look for musicals.
--Aristotle
magruder
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#9re: There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 2:18pmEven so, plays that receive reviews like the Virginia Woolf revival usually have legs, at least for a couple of months. Plus, it has a genuine star in Kathleen Turner. But it never caught fire at the box office, and it's certainly not because the play has been overexposed on Broadway. By comparison, Glengarry Glen Ross started out of the gate with much stronger box office. It might just be that there were too many new plays and starry play revivals vying for the limited pool of playgoers.
#10re: There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 2:20pm
DENZEL WASHINGTON!!! was in a play and it bombed!
THAT tells you something...
--Aristotle
magruder
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#11re: There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 2:22pmIt might have not gotten great reviews, but Julius Caesar did phenomenal business and made over $1 million in profit.
#12re: There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 2:24pm
Still, didn't it close because they couldn't fill the seats?
And was it really a million profit? I thought I read it barely got its money back...?
--Aristotle
magruder
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#13re: There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 2:26pmNo, it closed because it was a limited run, and could not be extended any further. And it did much more than cover its costs.
#14re: There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 2:27pmHmm. Perhaps I am thinking of another recent play with big name?
--Aristotle
magruder
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#15re: There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 2:30pm
Excerpted from Variety:
Posted: Thurs., May 26, 2005, 10:00pm PT
'Caesar's' profit hailed
Bard drama bringing in big bucks
By ROBERT HOFLER
"Julius Caesar," starring Denzel Washington, has recouped its $3 million capitalization, according to the show's producers. Magic day was Sunday. Investors and participants now look to share about $1 million in profits before the production shutters June 12.
A limited engagement, the Daniel Sullivan-helmed "Caesar" opened April 3 to mixed reviews.
Box office has been buoyed by premium tickets, which have pushed the average-price ticket to a pricey $84.71, the third highest on Broadway after "Wicked" ($86.13) and "700 Sundays" ($105.90).
TheEnchantedHunter
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/27/05
#16re: There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 2:34pm
It's got nothing to do with justice. People will not spend money and go to revivals like VIRGINIA WOOLF and GYPSY when there are equal or superior versions available to them on video or on cable 24/7.
TheEnchantedHunter
Ted Hunter, Cane, NH
Updated On: 7/24/05 at 02:34 PM
magruder
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#17re: There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 2:40pmBut you can rent Glengarry Glen Ross, with Al Pacino, Alec Baldwin and Jack Lemmon, yet people are still going to THAT revival.
TheEnchantedHunter
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/27/05
#18re: There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 2:51pm
But GGR hasn't been around the block in various incarnations for 40 or 50 years or, despite its Oscar nod, a standard-shattering, notoriously well known film like WAOVW. And by contemporary standards, it's considered "high art."
TheEnchantedHunter
Ted Hunter, Cane, NH
magruder
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#19re: There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 2:54pmAt the same time, Virginia Woolf hasn't been on Broadway for over 30 years. And Albee is at the height of a sort of career renaissance. I think the reasons for the revival's failure to catch on are more complex than you are suggesting.
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#20re: There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 3:04pm
I hold that the reason VIRGINIA WOOLF was not as successful in this revival is Bill Irwin. Despite his TONY win, the guy has no sex appeal and animal magnetism. He and Kathleen display no sexual chemistry and tension between them. That is a crucial component.
It's a superlative play, a terrific production. The casting of each of the four leads is a critical component.
It remains my opinion that Irwin was the weakest link, and when that weak link is one of the two major links on which the play is grounded, the play just doesn't get the support it needs to survive.
Updated On: 7/24/05 at 03:04 PM
ZONEACE
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/10/05
#21re: There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 3:06pmVANNA WHITE IS NOT FAT, SHE JUST HAS CONTROL ISSUES
#22re: There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 3:32pm
I really liked Irwin. He's not Richard Burton but I think his interpretation is just as valid.
I think, sadly, the reason that Virginia Woolf didn't catch on with audiences is that it's not a fun, entertaining evening out. It's a difficult play. Superficially, it's four complicated but irritating people arguing all night. Of course, there's way more to it than that (failure! impotence! ambition! parenthood!) but I think that it requires a lot more effort on the audience's part to find its deeper meaning than say, Doubt (which I also liked). Several audience members around me left after Act II because all they saw was four people yelling at each other. I don't think this is the fault of the production; audiences unfortunately just aren't exposed to this kind of play often and it often lacks direct appeal to them or they don't know how to respond to it.
Chevstriss
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/30/03
#23re: There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 6:43pm
most tourists have been seeing V. Woolf OVER AND OVER at piss poor community theatres. Kinda sours the taste.
Its a fav of low budget theatres.
#24re: There Ain't No Justice On Broadway
Posted: 7/24/05 at 7:09pm
Not getting really off topic - but I think regardless if Gypsy dosen't bring a big crowd nowadays (basically because all the teenies flock to Wicked/Rent and probally don't know a thing about Gypsy) I think Gypsy will be back every decade or so. Look how much it's been revived already - I definitely think there will be another Gypsy revival 8-10 years from now. It's a show that is always fresh and ejoyable each time it's on Broadway.
Updated On: 7/24/05 at 07:09 PM
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