What is going on with the new shows - Some Like It Hot on TDF

[BETTY22]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 10:43am

Did something change during the pandemic. Most of the new shows seem to be struggling....

[EthelMae]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 10:47am

Yeah, I couldn’t believe all the TDF dates for Some Like It Hot. I know it’s previews but this show has had a lot of buzz. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 10:58am

BETTY22 said: "Did something change during the pandemic. Most of the new shows seem to be struggling...."

To answer your question, yes. A lot of things changed during the pandemic, especially on Broadway. However, even pre-pandemic there were hit shows in early previews that went to TDF, so I wouldn't say it's too far out of the ordinary. Of course having a ton of dates listed is a little more concerning than just having one or two, but it's a new show with no stars in a large house.

[bdn223]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 11:03am

I think this is really stemming from the dynamic pricing. I saw a Tiktok on it, and I can't help but agree. Theater goers simply cant afford to buy tickets in advance when prices drop for most shows when you buy them last minute. Add to that there is too much competition for for new audiences with 8 musicals opening this fall alone.  I know all Broadway shows claim to try and target different audiences, but for their initial few months at least they are mostly all competing for the same audience of avid theatergoers that help build word of mouth. This issue is with the new pricing model and large number of new productions this audience simply cant afford to see 8 shows that are charging $169+ a ticket. This is why Spring on Broadway is often much busier then the fall  for musicals because productions can rely on awards season in addition to word of mouth. There is simply too much supply of tickets for new musicals with too little demand at the price point producers are willing to sell them for. I don't wish any of those involved with these productions ill will, but hopefully this might be a wake up call to producers that prices have simply gotten out of control.  

 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 11:10am

I do wonder why adaptations of Hollywood movies keep getting produced on Broadway. I have very little interest in most of them and with so many of them flopping I may not be alone in that. I can think of Hairspray and Moulin Rouge as hits but not many besides them. Tootsie, Doubtfire, etc. just don’t excite me in any way. The movies themselves are almost always far superior to the musical.

[JasonC3]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 11:36am

Dynamic pricing certainly + less valuable discount codes has changed my advance purchasing behavior. 

[MayAudraBlessYou2]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 11:40am

Some Like It Hot has close to zero cultural currency in the year 2022. It will need a wave of unanimous rave reviews to generate any interest in this show at Broadway prices. It will struggle until it gets that reception, if it even does. Plus the trans community is not exactly pleased with this one, given the content. So there is also inevitable backlash brewing.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 11:54am

Nailed. About the last thing Broadway audiences demand: another show with straight men in drag. I'm sure it's filled with expertise and craft, fine work all around, but there's no box office star, and nothing about the iteration -- of a movie that came out in boomer childhoods -- suggests must-see. Interestingly enough, Sugar*, which I saw in my youth, had Tony Roberts, Robert Morse, and Cyril Ritchard. That trio, all B'way stars of a sort, plus Jule Styne, made it an event. Yet it failed. I'm not suggesting failure here, just voicing zero surprise that it's not necessarily booking well. 

*By the way, the 1972 Time review of Sugar. Quite a comment on then and now, no?

"Sugar is almost a textbook case of a musical born after its time. It may well enjoy great wads of audience favor. But in the past three years, Company and Follies have altered the critical perspective by providing a musical form that is spare, intelligent, ironic, mature and capable of sustaining three-dimensional characters." He concluded, "This is not to say that the big, old-fashioned musical is irrevocably doomed, but it must have a singular mood, manner and meaning all its own. Otherwise, all that remains, as Sugar indicates, is a sterile display of high-gloss techniques..."

Updated On: 10/19/22 at 11:54 AM

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 12:20pm

bwayphreak234 said: "BETTY22 said: "Did something change during the pandemic. Most of the new shows seem to be struggling...."

To answer your question, yes. A lot of things changed during the pandemic, especially on Broadway. However, even pre-pandemic there were hit shows in early previews that went to TDF, so I wouldn't say it's too far out of the ordinary. Of course having a ton of dates listed is a little more concerning than just having one or two, but it's a new show with no stars in a large house."

I feel like we've even seen this happen just in the last two months. Leopoldstadt was on TDF for most of it's first few weeks and now it's one of only 4 straight plays to have grossed over $1 Million in a single week this year. 

Updated On: 10/19/22 at 12:20 PM

[bholtzinger544]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 12:46pm

I'd argue that a lot of the Fall shows this year are not what Broadway fans want. Tootside and Doubtfire flopped with the same plot line and we're tired of seeing cis-gender straight men dressing up in a dress for a few laughs. Almost Famous is another movie to musical adaptation nobody asked for. 1776 is a hot mess of a revival that didn't need to happen. KPOP I had high hopes for but everything I've seen makes it look so corny. Kimberly Akimbo excites me a bit but it feels like they don't know how to market the show. TBH, it feels like Broadway doesn't know how to market to those under 60.

[Melissa25]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 1:13pm

I agree there is a marketing issue. I would have purchased tickets for Some Like it Hot but when I tried using the GETHOT discount code, the $99 orchestra seats were only available in the rear orchestra. Not for me. Had they offered front side orchestra in that barn for this price I would have purchased.  I surmised that they just don't care about an advance any longer or they would get savvier about preview discounts. I saw POTUS in the same theater via an offer code and happily paid $115 for front orchestra even though I could have paid half of that via TDF.  I like to solidify my calendar and have plans to look forward to but not at double the going rate for a crap seat. 

And that first video that was released for Some Like it Hot got me excited and prompted me to look for a code. The music sounds upbeat and wonderful.  The cast looks great. I loved the creatives' other work. But the price point /ticketing shenanigans put a kibosh on it for me. For me they had 4 (product, promotion, people. place) of the 5 P's of marketing.  Missed out on price.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 1:26pm

It’s early. We’ve seen plenty of hot shows on TDF that disappear later in the run.

That being said, there is a major issue this fall of a lot of product out in the market and a finite interest in certain titles until they have a stamp of approval. I think Some Like It has the possibility to be a big hit, but sight unseen I would have said the same thing of Groundhog Day and Tootsie. So we’ll just have to wait and see.

This winter is going to be tough for some of these new musicals, and not all will survive till the spring. But I’m not ready to bet money for/against any musical yet this season.

And while there still IS a market for full priced advance tickets, we are seeing it get smaller, and entirely depends on the demand of the title. 

Updated On: 10/19/22 at 01:26 PM