WOMAN IN WHITE - First Preview- Page 5

[sharon1]

Posted: 10/31/05 at 10:47am

Omigawd!!!!!!!!!Would you be my investment counsellor? I was told by someone at the theatre over a month ago that tickets were going "quite nicely, thank you." Also that groups were "doing really well". If that means anything. I just can't wait to see the show and December 26 seems an awfully long time away right now. Also, the first time I heard the five million dollar quote was also about a month ago so I am sure it has gone up a few dollars by now

[Eastwickian]

Posted: 10/31/05 at 10:53am

Being ignorant in these areas I'm not going to quibble with your maths

However, I find the theory that Marian kills herself at the conclusion of the play an intruiging one. I've seen it a couple of times and it has never occured to me, but it's certainly an interesting idea...

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/31/05 at 10:58am

"Who wants to know everything and see everything before they even step into the theatre? That's what happens when everything is done Disney style."

That makes no sense at all.

[FriedmanFan]

Posted: 10/31/05 at 11:42am

In direct response to the last post, I took the Disney comment to mean that everyone and their mother knows what happens in Tarzan and by now everyone knows about The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. They aren't new stories. Not that that is a bad thing. They provide wonderful entertainment for all ages. But with shows like The Woman in White people are coming to the theatre not knowing what to expect. While Wilkie Collins novel was very popular, the majority of people who will see the show have not read or even heard about it. Plus it is only LOOSELY based on the novel so the story has altered quite a bit. I think its exciting to go into the tehatre not really knowing what to expect. The suspense musical is quite rare! Now I'm not knocking Disney really but I doubt people are going into B and the B wondering if Belle is gonna get eating by the Beast in the end.
SPOILER----As for the ending...I saw the first ending so I can't comment on the second. I shall see that soon enough. The first ending was dark and certainly fit the piece although the wedding sounds nice and I have heard good things about it. I never took it as Marian was going to kill herself. She says as long as they live its "All for Laura" She is never going to desert her or do wrong by her again. I think killing herself would go directly against that. She wants Laura to be happy that is why she makes the decision she does in the end. I think a wedding inwhich Marian attends would show this in the best way.
On the box office numbers-My head is still spinning from the math. I too heard a 5 million advance weeks ago so I would imagine it woudl have climbed. I do believe the name Webber doesn't sell like it used to but it still sells. Blockbuster or not I believe this show will run and do quite well!
It is so great to hear people are enjoying the show! I have had friends see the first few Previews and everyone of them have loved it! I cannot wait to see this again!

[VinnieTheIceman]

Posted: 10/31/05 at 11:44am

BWAYboi_yes, weekly running costs of 250-300K? Are you nuts? Your numbers are far off from reality...if only it was that easy.

[FriedmanFan]

Posted: 10/31/05 at 11:47am

Can we start a separate thread for The Woman in White numbers? I can't take all of this math.

[DAME]

Posted: 10/31/05 at 11:55am

Chinaberry,
How dare you. I did see this stupid show with my neice. If I remeber correctly it was some kind of X-mas scheduled performance.. Don't be ragging on me just because I didn't like something. I am entitled to my own opinion. And I never "review" a show without having seen it. I leave that for "wishIhadatony."

Updated On: 10/31/05 at 11:55 AM

[BWAYboi_yes]

Posted: 10/31/05 at 1:08pm

Please keep in mind that those weekly running costs are based on a real analysis, if you'd like to challenge it, how would you break the money down? Also, keep in mind that I did not include any royalties in the weekly running costs, those were factored in seperately, even though they are costs that are weekly.

[Piazzaslight]

Posted: 10/31/05 at 4:22pm

I think BWAYboi might have a point. When I went to get my tickets for the EXTREME REAR MEZZANINE seats, December 11th (The date I'm going) was the earliest we could see it. It must be doing decent.

[Now Ulla Dance]

Posted: 10/31/05 at 4:50pm

Trust me, don't listen to vinnie, the show is doing very very well

[jo]

Posted: 10/31/05 at 5:45pm

Wouldn't weekly running costs of $ 500-600 K be the more realistic figures? I've seen this range quoted in the past for current or recent shows. In addition, you have to spread out the initial capitalization for this show ( was it $ 9 million plus?) over time, before you see some net profits.

I do recall it took sold-out shows like WICKED much more than a year to break even. The Boy From Oz which closed after a year only made it to profit level during the last week or so ( there was an article by Michael Riedel along these lines) and that was after sellout weeks after the TONYs.

Let's hope word of mouth ( and critics' reviews) is generally positive for this show, so it can bring in the box office cash.

[jo]

Posted: 10/31/05 at 5:50pm

Hey, have you seen the box office numbers for the first 3 performances

https://www.broadwayworld.com/grosses.cfm

$ 352 K for 3 performances or about $ 117 K per performance. A 95.7 % capacity and $ 78.64 per ticket ( despite the discounts )

Hope those numbers hold up !

[442namffug]

Posted: 10/31/05 at 6:09pm

Oh gee...96% full...only 3 previews

Wow Vinnie. You are so right. WIW is suffering. Real Bad.

Thanks for your truthful and reliable information.


Updated On: 10/31/05 at 06:09 PM

[Piazzaslight]

Posted: 10/31/05 at 6:13pm

Whoever said that those who think WIW will not be a success obviously hasn't seen this wonderful show. Keep the numbers up.

Also, for the ending, do they still have Marian still singing the whole, "I close my eyes..." thing? They'd better. That's my favorite part of the whole damn show.

Updated On: 10/31/05 at 06:13 PM

[AnotherDay46]

Posted: 10/31/05 at 6:50pm

Yep it's still there.

[Piazzaslight]

Posted: 10/31/05 at 6:52pm

Oh, good. Thanks, anotherday!

Oh, and I sent you a PM asking that question... Delete it.

[AnotherDay46]

Posted: 10/31/05 at 7:00pm

Haha, too late ^^'

[VinnieTheIceman]

Posted: 10/31/05 at 7:23pm

Who cares what the numbers are for the first three previews? Who cares what they are for the rest of the year? Let's see January and out, the true test of what the reviews do to the ticket buying public. There is a natural attraction for people to want to see an ALW show, so the grosees will be good for awhile. Especially since they are discounting already. Could you imagine Phantom or even Sunset or Aspects discounting before previews? These shows were sellouts weeks in advance. But the bottom line is the advance is nowhere near his previous shows so without good reviews you are looking at a 2 year or so run. Hardly a success unless weekly running costs are ar $250-$300K which is obviously not anywhere near the case.

[442namffug]

Posted: 10/31/05 at 7:29pm

Who cares what the numbers are for the FULL run? Who cares? How is that a reflection of the show? Even though it's true that this show actually is doing well financially, we still can't use it to back "why it's a great show". Just as you can't use it to try and say "why it's a bad show" or try to dissuade people from seeing it.

If everyone who had a "hit" in this past tried to out do themselves just for the sake of people like you who think that money and pointless numbers mean EVERYTHING, we'd have some pretty pathetic productions.

From what I hear, it's a fabulous show, and I'm looking forward to seeing it very soon.

[VinnieTheIceman]

Posted: 10/31/05 at 7:39pm

I actually like the show. This is not a commentary on its artistic value, but on its commercial viability. It's a B-U-S-I-N-E-S-S. Get it? They try to make M-O-N-E-Y. In the end they could give a rats ass what the reviews are if people come to see it. Who do you think is happier, the producers of Wicked (mediocre reviews, $1 million plus gross every week) or La Boheme (good reviews, closed in less than 1 year)?

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 10/31/05 at 7:47pm

From the general reaction of Americans seeing the Broadway production (general, not meaning all), I think it may have a very decent run. As one reviewer in London said, "it will run and run, but it won't run and run and run." I think it could have a healthy run of 5 years or more, which makes this fan very happy (I haven't seen it yet, as previously mentioned, just listened to the CD)!
---------
If anyone's interested: http://wiwforum.proboards58.com/

Updated On: 10/31/05 at 07:47 PM

[jo]

Posted: 11/1/05 at 2:51am

Reading this thread here and another one on BWW, and even one on ATC - there seems to be a consensus that the show's main asset is the very strong performances from the principal players. Very good singing voices and strong acting chops.

If the show extends beyond its initial booking period that ends on April 2, what are the chances that the main cast will be retained? As someone said on the other thread, the principal cast is what is driving the show.

[sharon1]

Posted: 11/1/05 at 4:09am

Maria Friedman and Michael Ball. That is worth any price in my book. They are fabulous.

[erinrebecca]

Posted: 11/1/05 at 8:31am

I said this after I saw it in London, I'll be very surprised if it lasts a year in NYC.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 11/1/05 at 9:40am

95% for the first few previews is pretty great. Usually they have to paper the first performances of shows. Not here. However it was the same in London, they were VERY busy in previews and then the reviews caused a sharp decline. So when the reviews come out, we'll see what happens.