[Title of Show] Moment of Truth

[johnsons]

Posted: 8/23/08 at 1:10am

Alright I love [Title of Show] as much as the next person- hence my Hunter Bell icon. But the continuous 45-55% attendance is worrying me. I know shows have started with low attendance and become wildly successful, but do you guys think [Title of Show] will be able to hold on to the Lyceum all the way to Tony time or even to the January date it's selling tickets through?

[blaxx]

Posted: 8/23/08 at 1:12am

I'd worry about the weekly grosses, not the attendance.

[johnsons]

Posted: 8/23/08 at 1:15am

True- but the weekly gross is still under 200,000. Which is definately isn't high. . .I t gives me the fanboy shivers when I think about TOS making it all the way to Broadway and not stay open for the Tony's. . .

[logan0215]

Posted: 8/23/08 at 1:22am

I regret even acknowledging this thread or bumping it but:

1. D,V.D

2. If you're truly a fan of the show, why would you create a thread to further fuel the nay-sayers?

3. Worrying about the shows attendance OR grosses is not going to help the show. Worry about the closing notice when the closing notice is posted, but don't put the final nail in the coffin. "Let the paint dry"

4. A sleeper hit can still happen, just keep telling 9 people (and Oprah).
Updated On: 8/23/08 at 01:22 AM

[winston89]

Posted: 8/23/08 at 1:28am

I was talking to a friend of mine about this. You can't honestly tell how a show is dong based on attendance alone. We were using Young Frank as an example, but I feel like it can apply to any show.

A show might be sold out. But, there could be a whole chunk of the orchestra that got sold via TKTS. Therefor, the show might be ful but it isn't making as much money as it would if the show was selling out at full price.

[HITcards]

Posted: 8/23/08 at 2:54am

The point about tickets sold through discounts or TKTS is exactly why they also post the average ticket price. And unfortunately for TOS, it's been less than $50 lately. In the "grosses" chart, the most important information is really Theatre Size, Avg. Ticket Price, and Attendance %. Sadly, TOS isn't doing great in any of those areas, but let's see what the 9 people can do.

[GatorNY]

Posted: 8/23/08 at 2:24pm

Logan- I thought you meant dvd as in something you could get on netflix....then I got the Die Vampire Die reference and I thought it was brillint! Good job!

[Elphabatize]

Posted: 8/23/08 at 5:41pm

1. Do you not get the point of the song Nine people's favourite thing at all??

2. Even with "low attendance" or "low grosses", what's the production value of the show? Compared to other shows, nothing. As long as they're covering the rent, wages of everyone involved, publicity, etc., they'll be fine.

3. Everyone involved never had huge dreams of making millions of dollars anyway. They just wanted to do something original and something that spoke to people and I think that they have done exactly that.

4. As much as I would love it if they won a Tony, would it change how I feel about the show if they didn't? Not at all.

Trust me, they're fine. Updated On: 8/23/08 at 05:41 PM

[englishtoser]

Posted: 8/23/08 at 6:05pm

Erm, the Lyceum has bills to pay... I hope and pray [tos] will play forever, but it won't... it will probbaly close on September 14th, 21st or 28th through sad but true financial realities ((

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 8/23/08 at 6:29pm

I really, really, hate threads like these and don't understand why tossers are predicting the ending of the show? Why not just live it up while it's still here?

[englishtoser]

Posted: 8/23/08 at 6:57pm

I'm not predicting the end of the show, just a soon-ish end to their Lyecum run. Or do you think a show only exists when it's on Broadway? [tos] has gotten to Broadway which is awesome, but if it closed at the Lyceum tomorrow, it would still live on in future touring perfs, cast album sales, regional/drama school perfs based on the Rogers&Hammerstein published book ect, the fact the people in it will be doing other things.... when [tos] closes on B'way they don't take the people who were in it out back and shoot them like knackered ponies, you know... They go on to do other things. What's your problem?

[[tos]tralia2]

Posted: 8/23/08 at 7:01pm

Not claiming to know how Broadway business is done, but, out here in Aus, I'm currently studying a Theatre course about creating production companies, and a big part of that lately is business classes.

When working out budgets etc you work out Box Office takings on a 'worst case scenario' basis.

The worst case scenario figure we use is 30% therefore [tos] is doing 10-15% above that.

If you work out your budget correct for 30% and can get everything paid with 30% 40-45-even more% is making them money.

But whether that is how 'Big Broadway Shows' are worked out is a different matter.

My two cents though is that, who cares when a show is going to close! I have found a lot of people from the 'Broadway Crowd' are soooo negative it's unbelievable. Maybe it's because you don't realise what you have.

For us to get a show it takes years. We JUST got Wicked. We're JUST about to get Avenue Q, we JUST got Altar Boyz. We had Lion King only for the first time a few years ago. And then they don't hang around, they're usually national tour shows. So we get them if we're lucky for about 6 months, and then they're gone.

We've never had things like TKTS...it's always been full price, or cheaper matinees...and cheaper matinees I mean maybe a normal seat at Wicked is $119.50 aus and we pay $101.50.

Wicked has introduced a lotto system (finally)
Altar Boyz has rush tickets.
We're about to get Billy Elliot and Jersey Boys down here in Melbourne.

But I don't know how many hundreds of dollars I have to spend on no discount shows.

So Broadway People.
Remove your snide quips about when a show is going to close. Cherish it, love it, make it successful. Encourage the people behind it.

Because you are soo lucky to have soo much right on your doorstep.

Viva La [title of show]

[englishtoser]

Posted: 8/23/08 at 7:26pm

[tOZer], as I now call the Australian [tos] fan (we so smashed you at the Olympics, btw): I totally want the Broadway run to run to Christmas at least 'cause I understand from your awesome video blogs you are making it over to B'Way mid-Dec, and that - beyond anything else - is why they should, if at all possible, run through the year. 'Cause the biggest [tos] fan in the world - ie YOU - so needs to see the show on B'Way. *fingers crossed all round* x Updated On: 8/23/08 at 07:26 PM

[[tos]tralia2]

Posted: 8/23/08 at 7:44pm

Lol [tOZer] I love it!

[tos]tralian does also work!

Ugh where did all your last minute medals come from! We were beating you all first week!

Anyway- if it did close before I got there I would be disappointed yes. But my main issue is the mentality of the negative Broadway people.

I would never wish for any show to close, especially at the high level that is Broadway. To have made it there is something special, really special.

So many of us can only dream that our works will EVER get there, and then so many people post ridiculous hate about shows, and not just [tos], I've seen a lot of Hate for lots of shows. And I can't comprehend it. Sure maybe you don't enjoy a show...but some posts just blow me away!

Christmas is four months away! (This time in Four months I will be leaving NY ) but [title of show] or no [title of show] (and the first one my money is on) it will be the greatest trip of my life to date.

Thanks for your support englishtosser.

*attempts to think of witty english tos reference*

Hmmm you'll have to get back to me!

[Weez]

Posted: 8/23/08 at 7:45pm

But you do have Anthony Warlow. I envy your good fortune!

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 8/23/08 at 9:06pm

it will probbaly close on September 14th, 21st or 28th through sad but true financial realities

What gave you these precise dates?

[winter_sky]

Posted: 8/23/08 at 9:12pm

Those are Sundays.

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 8/23/08 at 9:15pm

I figured. Just wondering why those specific three came to mind.

[englishtoser]

Posted: 8/24/08 at 1:55am

As I understand it, Tony judges have been told they can attend [tos] any date up until Sept 9th (you have to offer Tony judges a spread of 15 or 25 or something dates they can attend one of for free in their judging capacity). The fact that a specific date, more than six months before the judging deadline, has been given has many assuming [tos] will close sometime soon after said Sept 9th. I ain't got a clue myself to be honest, but looking at the grosses I think that's a fair shout. I hope I'm wrong.

[goldenstate5]

Posted: 8/24/08 at 2:15am

Personally, I keep saying that I'm never shocked when I hear that [tos] is near closing on Broadway. I always knew it would be a short-lived run, but not because it's a bad show, definetly not that. It's because Broadway is way too commercial and expensive for it. It's sad to say, but artsy, Sondheim-esque (or just plain Sondheim) shows don't do well on B'way, movie-based, jukebox or those with high concepts (Ave Q in particular, also Spelling Bee) do. [tos] may seem high concept at first, but only to a theatre fan. To any tourist, it's one hell of a confusing description. But there's SO much more outside of Broadway. Tours, OFF-Broadway (where [tos] started and should've stayed [much more profitable IMO]), foreign markets (it could do very well in London), the list goes on and on. Why does Broadway have to mark the end? Did Hunter and Jeff really expect this show to be a huge, mega-hit in this unfortunately commercial landscape. Few shows on Broadway that are long-running are very good, even. [tos] will make more elsewhere, when it's cheaper and more accessible. Do a tour, which will attract theatre fans from all over. In fact, I'm really banking on a tour. Maybe if it's nominated for quite a few Tonys, the process will be speeded up? Whatever, my main point is that [title of show], at least in today's world, is not exactly a Broadway show. In fact, it's everything but. It's not a bad thing at all, it's just that it should get out of Broadway and into something that can give it the success it deserves...

[Byron Abens]

Posted: 8/24/08 at 2:32am

Just looking at numbers a tour is probably out of the question. I can not picture a producer taking a show which has a hard time playing to 50% capacity on Broadway out on the road where ticket prices do indeed tend to run lower and houses are bigger.

In the major markets the road houses make the Broadway theatres seem awfully small in comparison. I still remember going to the Palace for my first Broadway show (Beauty and the Beast back in 94) and the Marquis the next night (Damn Yankees) and being surprised at how small they actually seemed. This was after several years of seeing touring shows back home in Cleveland where the smaller of the then two road houses the Palace beats the Palace on Broadway by 1000 seats, and the State is nearly double in capacity.

Now, with these numbers in mind, take the 450 people on an average night seeing [title of show] and put them into the road houses. It will feel like playing to an almost empty theatre. Not an attractive prospect for a producer or an actor.

[englishtoser]

Posted: 8/24/08 at 9:14am

I think [tos] would do well on the road. Looking at the show's MySpace or Facebook there are loads of "please come to Florida", "please come to Chicago" etc messages. It seems loads of their internet fans are young, teenage drama student types who can't afford to hop on a plane to NYC. I think a limited tour - three or four nights per city in 400-ish capacity venues - of cities with performing arts schools would sell really well. The beauty of [tos] is that the cast and crew is so small and the set so easy to transport (I'd ditch the Broadway set and go back to essentially a bare stage) that the costs normally involved in operating a touring production simply don't apply.

[winston89]

Posted: 8/24/08 at 9:27am

I don't think that this show will do well on the road. It is not even getting an audience on Broadway other the the tossers. If people are not going to want to see this on Broadway then there are slim chances that they are going to see it on the road.