Toronto Treat

[golfer727272]

Posted: 4/29/07 at 5:06pm

Kudos to the new renegade theatre group challenging the establishment in Toronto. They are doing it with Quality. The fall subscription packages were announced and started selling Saturday. OUTSTANDING.....Begins in September with The Drowsey Chaperone, and finishes next summer with Jesrey Boys. In between we get to enjoy Spelling Bee, Avenue Q, + two others.
I guess the other guys are still suffering from Lord of the Flops!!!!

[Tkt2Ride]

Posted: 4/29/07 at 7:44pm

Well, sometimes some Theaters just become obsessive at times. I hope you enjoy "Drowsy" and make Bob feel real good sitting in that Chair! Poor Janet, he must be jumping up and down in his sleep by now but happy he got to do the show both on Broadway and in England. Not too shabby. They are still beaming about his and Jonathan's performances out there on Broadway.

Bob and Casey are working on something new, so at least I hope that gives some hope up there but your Independent Theatre is so good too, more money for those well deserved shows in Toronto. Now invest some in good television!

[postergirl]

Posted: 4/29/07 at 8:59pm

What are Bob and Casey working on? Is this what you were referring to in the post about the article you were trying to locate? Inquiring minds need to know.

got the info on the other thread. thanks Tkts. Updated On: 4/29/07 at 08:59 PM

[Tkt2Ride]

Posted: 4/29/07 at 11:22pm

Don't hate me but I didn't ask what the plot was about. I just know they are working on it now. It was a surprise to me because Casey just said Drowsy Lyric stuff. I was like humm.. are they going to change it again? Then Jon mentioned the other Musical they were working on and I saw Bob's article so it all kind of clicked. Then I noticed Lisa was working on lyrics for Mr. Broadway. She must be a whiz! Well, I think she writes some pretty funny stuff. Her ditties turn up in everything they do, somewhere. It was then that I got a feel for how Jon felt about working in New York. Nothing really negative, pls don't take it wrong but most of us like to be home once in awhile too.

So much is going on in Toronto, so he probably wants to be home so that he can help out Mitchell. Like I said, he didn't say never but that he loved working in Toronto just as much. Not everyone wants to live the American lifestyle either. What counts is he loves New York and from what I saw, New York loved him back. But like Dorothy reminded us,"there's no place like home" unless of course it's maybe Bakersfield? Some people like it I guess? Got a job offer?

[Den]

Posted: 4/30/07 at 10:00am

Has anyone been able to secure decent seats for a Dancap package? Everytime I check, the seats offered have always been somewhere in Orchestra Left (except for 3 Mo' Divas which is always Orchestra Right at the Winter Garden).

Do you have to be a $100 Gold Member to get seats in the centre section? It's weird because you don't even get offered seats in Orchestra Right on the other side. It's only Orchestra Left.

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 4/30/07 at 10:14am

I am just glad there is some competition in this city. I think it will be good for everyone.

Akiva

[Glitter]

Posted: 4/30/07 at 12:24pm

I'm thrilled there's a new company here, but I wouldn't exactly call them renegade. Bringing in touring shows isn't really challenging the establishment that much.

The prices are just too high and so far the advertising is really un-inspired.

[anfwesternboy]

Posted: 4/30/07 at 2:08pm

Glitter... agree... and the Dancap packages aren't even much of a deal either. The cheapest regular single ticket price is $50 or $60. The cheapest subscription package is 3 shows from $170... that averages out to $56.67 per show. That doesn't seem like a deal to me. The Mirvish season is 6 shows from $130, and they've always been able to get that kind of low subscription price even when they had more appealing seasons.

And benefits... what are the Dancap benefits? Do we get free, easy ticket exchanges? Show reminders? Priority ticket buying or special ticket discounts for extra tickets? Parking discounts? Restaurant discounts? It doesn't say clearly anywhere. The Mirvish subscribers are offered all these benefits, which are clearly listed on their site. They even get a free Royal Alexadndra 100th Anniversary Coffee Table book, and some Blue Jays ticket freebie.

With Dancap, you have to pay at least $50 for their silver Customer Appreciation Program membership to even get access to the membership hotline, as well as priority ticket access. Why isn't this free with the already hefty subscription price? If I'm paying for a full-season of 6 shows from $310, I deserve some benefits. I don't even know if my package is flexible for exchanges. And you don't even get the same seats for each show. And it seems like you have to pay up-front in full, as opposed to Mirvish's subscription season where you can pay in two segments.

Dancap has a great season, but so far it doesn't seem like much of a deal to me.
Updated On: 4/30/07 at 02:08 PM

[anfwesternboy]

Posted: 4/30/07 at 2:35pm

And somebody else pointed out to me...

But why do they have an 80-year-old grandmother as their spokesperson for a season that includes shows like AVENUE Q and SPELLING BEE??? Nothing says "We're hip" more than having an 80-year-old spokesperson!

[Den]

Posted: 4/30/07 at 2:46pm

My biggest issue with them is that their subscription packages are only for the first week of each run. Because of this, it may actually be better to wait and buy single tickets in order to get the best seats. This is especially true for Jersey Boys which they're planning to run for at least six months. Why don't they assign seats for the full run or first six weeks like Mirvish does and ensure that subscribers get the best seats available?

[anfwesternboy]

Posted: 4/30/07 at 2:57pm

That's why I'm waiting for single ticket sales as well. If I'm getting a subscription I want to be ensured better seats than the general public, and also a substantial enough discount. Otherwise, what's the point of me buying subscriptions when the general public will probably get better seats than me?

I also went to look up seats like you did, and all I was getting was side seating. And the seats were all over the place for every show. One show was Row L, another was Row Q, another was in the Balcony...

Ridiculous.

[metoog]

Posted: 4/30/07 at 5:13pm

Is Bob "the man in the chair" in the Toronto run?

[postergirl]

Posted: 4/30/07 at 5:15pm

Yes.

[metoog]

Posted: 4/30/07 at 5:18pm

Do you have a link from the announcement?
I missed this one. Thanks for the help!

[postergirl]

Posted: 4/30/07 at 6:09pm

www.playbill.com/news/article/107531.html

"Dancap Productions Inc., the Toronto presenter, has promised Canadian star Bob Martin in the role he created. He's expected to launch the tour but no announcement has been made yet about him playing it in other markets."

[golfer727272]

Posted: 4/30/07 at 9:36pm

Must everything be a "Deal"???

These are great shows....and anyone who takes on the Mirvish name in Toronto IS a renegade.

I am looking forward to September

[anfwesternboy]

Posted: 4/30/07 at 11:38pm

lol, i'm all for the shows that they're bringing, but their marketing so far makes them look anything but renegade. If their subscription packages flop, there won't be any "renegade" competition then!

[EricP2]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 6:29am

Golfer, you make it sound like a David & Goliath. If theres a Goliath here its Dancap! Google the guy. He's a drug buisness billionaire who owns his own offshore bank in Barbados. This is a renegade?

[Den]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 1:03pm

The prices of the Dancap subscription packages don't bother me too much because most of their shows are big, recent musicals. I would gladly pay more to Mirvish if they had more shows that I actually wanted to see.

The fact that you don't get the same seats for every show doesn't bother me, either. I think this is a result of the welcome option to choose your own shows (although I wish they had 4-show and 5-show options; I want to see everything but Divas). It's also nice that you get to know exactly where your seats will be when you purchase them, whereas first-time subscribers at Mirvish only know the general location.

But free exchanges should be automatic for subscribers and subscribers should be guaranteed the best seats available. When I first heard the rumours about Dancap, it sounded too good to be true. It kind of turned out that it was.

[Edit: "Too good to be true." I can't believe I wrote that!]
Updated On: 5/3/07 at 01:03 PM

[golfer727272]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 5:38pm

I agree with all you have said. I think they get a month to sort out customer service, and some of the fine tuning expected for premium $$$.

[wallybag]

Posted: 5/3/07 at 3:30am

Why is Dancap charging to much he has 4 current broadway shows Avenue Q, Jersey Boys, Spelling Bee and Drowsey Chaperone and 2 other shows. Mirvish has 2 shows that where on Broadway Sweeney Todd and 12 Angry Men and one West End show Dirty Dancing. Is it Really worth it? Sounds like a rip off. Next Years big hit will be Dirty Dancing. I dont think Jersey Boys can fill the seats for Dancap`s sitdown show. I might be wrong but i think that show will be a big flop.

[Tag]

Posted: 5/3/07 at 3:54am

What would indicate to you that it would be a flop? It has been tremendously successful everywhere else. And don't forget Toronto had another jukebox musical, Mamma Mia, sitdown for 5 years. There is the market for it.

[wallybag]

Posted: 5/3/07 at 5:14pm

True you got a point, corny musicals people like them.

[Den]

Posted: 5/4/07 at 3:33pm

As I understand it, Jersey Boys isn't corny. It's supposed to be a "warts and all" biographic musical. It deals with drug overdoses, jail time, etc.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 5/4/07 at 3:45pm

"$56.67 per show"

Cry me a river. In New York, that's half-price!! And let me add, Jersey Boys doesn't have discounted tickets in New York, so you are still getting a bargain.