What is your probability of seeing a show based on a celebrity being in it?

To be honest, I have seen shows just because a certain famous actor is in it. But to expand...the actor is usually someone whose work I admire, so it has not been just because they are famous or a celebrity

A Dancers Life...featuring Chita Rivera
Leader of the Pack...including Ellie Greenwich (RIP)
The Lady and Her Music (?)...Lena Horne

a lot of one person shows I would guess
It would depend upon the celebrity.

Updated On: 12/26/09 at 08:27 PM

Depends on the celebrity. I'm not gonna lie, I'd probably be twice as likely to see a straight play if an actor I loved from movies/tv was cast in it. I wouldn't go just for celebrity, but I would for the preconceived affections that accompany it. Then again, the same stands for theater actors I'm already familiar with, so I guess my answer has more to do with familiarity than celebrity.

I think part of the appeal of seeing a Broadway show is the opportunity to see a celebrity live and in person. Even if the show doens't have a current celebrity, chances are it will have a future celebrity in the cast.

I must say I am definately planning on going to see Night Music based solely on the all-star line-up.

The probability would be good. I frequently go to a show to see a particular actor do their thing, and sometimes that actor is well known to the general american public.

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I know she's not mainstream, but the MAIN reason why I saw West Side Story today was becuase of Karen Olivo. After I found out I was going, I got more interested becuase of the music and dancing.

I want to see "Lips Together, Teeth Apart" because of the Mullally/Oswalt casting.

Updated On: 12/26/09 at 10:22 PM

It depends on the show, really. I was all over Daniel Radcliffe in Equus, but that's because I enjoy Peter Shaffer. I saw the David Tennant Hamlet four times (well, twice with Tennant anyway XD), but that's because I turned into a Shakespeare fangirl and card-carrying member of the RSC before it ever came to light. I went to see The Misanthrope with Keira Knightley, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't more excited about Chuk Iwuji and Dominic Rowan (and LORD what a shame they didn't have more to do ).

I guess it helps that celebrities tend to pick interesting things to do. If [insert famous person here] decided they wanted to be in Mamma Mia! or Phantom, I'd wish them luck and carry on with my day. But most of them go for plays, and with play turn-over being what it is, I do find myself going to see a LOT of plays, so quite often I will see a show with a celebrity in it. But it's rare I'm seeing that show FOR the celebrity. (And even though I love plays, it'd take someone freakin' STELLAR to get me back to an Ayckbourn play! XP)

I'm a theatre fan! I'll follow the actors I'm a fan of in whatever they go for, as long as travel costs aren't prohibitive and they haven't gone any further afield than Leicester. But because I'm a theatre fan, there is no way you can call ANY of 'em celebrities.

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I won't lie, if it was someone I admired, I wouldn't even read the name of the play before buying tickets. I've said it before but I would pay big bucks to see Neil Patrick Harris perform the phone book. Also if someone like Natalie Portman ever made her way to the stage, I'd buy tickets in a flash.

I think my interest in certain shows has been piqued by actors I like being in them...Daniel Radcliffe in Equus, Lauren Graham in Guys and Dolls, Jude Law in Hamlet, etc., but I think I would've wanted to see those shows anyway even if the celeb hadn't been in them.

If Nathan Lane is in it, I'd definitely get tickets. (altho' I was disappointed in "The Odd Couple") But----I'd still see him in anything!

Well, I see pretty much everything at is it but if there was somebody that I really liked, it would make me see it immediately instead of waiting, thinking I'll get there eventually. I saw Julia Roberts in THREE DAYS OF RAIN about a dozen times. Love her. :) :)

MusicSnob - that's a lie.

Whatever happened to that play Jake Gyllenhaal was suppose to do a year or two ago...?

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