Top Broadway Stars- Page 3

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 3:34pm

"Matthew Broderick (who's days as a Hollywood "name" are 20 years in the past -- put him above the title of a major film now and watch it flop immediately)."

Margo...I think that's irrelevant. If Debbie Gibson, Melanie Brown, Drew Lachey, or Joey Fatone were to release albums now, they'd sell next to nothing, but they are still stunt cast in shows like Beauty and the Beast and Rent. Why? Certainly not because they are the best candidates for the roles, but because they do sell a certain amount of tickets.

Broderick is the same way (though he may very well BE the best candidate for a role...my point is how well-known his NAME is...). Though in Hollywood, his name will do next to nothing nowadays, people do mostly know him from his Hollywood work---and I'm talking pre-Producers. I just asked my whole family how they'd heard of Matthew Broderick first, and they said they knew his name, but they were not enitrely aware of his theatre career UNTIL The Producers.

I do think Peters and Lane are the Broadway stars who have box-office draw. They are primarily known because of theatre work, not film work. And just because Gypsy flopped, that doesn't mean Peters wasn't a draw. The attendence levels decreased greatly when she was out.

Foster is a different story. If I'm not mistaken, once she left Thoroughly Modern Millie, ticket sales were down, and the show closed not long after. I don't think people necessarily know her name persay, but she WAS "the girl who won the Tony for Thoroughly Modern Millie" to a certain amount of people, and to the degree that it did affect the box office.

And quite honestly, many who expressed an interest in seeing Little Women wanted to see that same girl--granted they made the connection. Many did not.



Updated On: 7/8/05 at 03:34 PM

[cserannie]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 3:51pm

I agree.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 3:57pm

good idea with broderick and parker