Posted: 8/11/15 at 11:49am
Why does HAMILTON, FUN HOME, AMERICAN IN PARIS, WICKED, KINKY BOOTS, etc., succeed when shows like THE VISIT, DR ZHIVAGO, AIRLINE HIGHWAY, fail? (And some shows seem to have moderate success IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU).... What separates the winners from the middle and the bottom?
Posted: 8/11/15 at 11:52am
"Engagement and entertainment."
Lots of unsuccessful shows have that, though. The Visit certainly did.
Posted: 8/11/15 at 11:52am
Yes, ultimately, if nobody is buying tickets, then of course a show will fail. But what are the defining characteristics of musicals that succeed versus those that fail or sort of limp along?
Posted: 8/11/15 at 11:56am
I just started reading a biography of Richard Rogers and am learning that most of his shows before and after Hammerstein are rarely revived or remembered. So is it because of Hammerstein that we even remember Richard Rogers today? Ironically, Rodgers has a theater on Broadway named after him and Hammerstein does not. Wonder why?
Posted: 8/11/15 at 11:58am
This comes up constantly https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1085800&dt=20.
But it comes to this: THERE IS NO ANSWER. If there was, every show would be a hit....because every producer would know which shows to cast.
Some shows with a serious message succeed, some don't. Some shows with big names succeed, some don't. Some revivals succeed, some don't.
Posted: 8/11/15 at 11:59am
It isn't something you can answer. If there was a formula, everyone would do it, and they aren't and can't.
Posted: 8/11/15 at 12:01pm
The same question could be asked about films or books
Posted: 8/11/15 at 12:04pm
"The same question could be asked about films or books
"
And the answer would be the same. Success is a mystery.
Posted: 8/11/15 at 12:11pm
To answer my own question (lol) it is all about emotional engagement. The audience has to feel emotionally moved or connected somehow to the characters and show.
Posted: 8/11/15 at 12:12pm
"To answer my own question (lol) it is all about emotional engagement. The audience has to feel emotionally moved or connected somehow to the characters and show."
Can't be that. Wicked is successful. 
Updated On: 8/11/15 at 12:12 PM
Posted: 8/11/15 at 12:17pm
An undefined mix of: good writing, score, direction, performance, timing, and luck.
Posted: 8/11/15 at 12:19pm
To answer my own question (lol) it is all about emotional engagement. The audience has to feel emotionally moved or connected somehow to the characters and show.
Can't be that. Wicked is successful.
But Wicked does move an audience (even though there are some people on these boards who don't like Wicked).
Updated On: 8/11/15 at 12:19 PM
Posted: 8/11/15 at 12:19pm
It's all alchemy.
Btw, Jeffrey did you notice that playbill.com used one your tweets for their "best cast album of last season" piece?
Updated On: 8/11/15 at 12:19 PM
Posted: 8/11/15 at 12:21pm
"But Wicked does move an audience (even though there are some people on these boards who don't like Wicked)."
Yes, I am one of "some people."
Posted: 8/11/15 at 12:25pm
Btw, Jeffrey did you notice that playbill.com used one your tweets for their "best cast album of last season" piece?
First of all, yes. Second of all, what does that have to do with the subject here?
Updated On: 8/11/15 at 12:25 PM
Posted: 8/11/15 at 1:07pm
Nothing.
I just thought it was pretty cool that your opinion was selected for their article.
Updated On: 8/11/15 at 01:07 PM
Posted: 8/11/15 at 1:39pm
Which is why taz wrote: BTW.
Posted: 8/11/15 at 1:52pm
The only possible correct answer is that there is no answer, but we can dig a bit deeper to get a sense of why there is no answer.
For the most part, the key is confluence and that can take on many variations-a show that arrives at a uniquely good time (either in the cosmos or just on Broadway), a show that brings together multiple talents at the top of their game or just a show with producers that are tapped into audience zeitgeist and adroit marketing, etc etc. (All of these can of course work in the reverse.)
It is always a roll of the dice, and statistically the results are consistent with the odds of winning at craps.
Posted: 8/12/15 at 8:03am
Thanks for pointing that out dramamama, but what does it have to do with the subject here?
Posted: 8/12/15 at 9:39am
"I just started reading a biography of Richard Rogers and am learning that most of his shows before and after Hammerstein are rarely revived or remembered. So is it because of Hammerstein that we even remember Richard Rogers today? Ironically, Rodgers has a theater on Broadway named after him and Hammerstein does not. Wonder why?"
With his earlier partner Lorenz Hart, Rogers and Hart composed some of the most memorable songs of the Great American Song Book.
Updated On: 8/12/15 at 09:39 AM
Posted: 8/12/15 at 9:51am
Baffled there's anyone who can't fathom why Wicked is such a mega-hit.
Posted: 8/12/15 at 10:22am
So Hogan...what makes a musical like Hamilton successful versus say IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU?
Updated On: 8/12/15 at 10:22 AM
Posted: 8/12/15 at 10:41am
Greens greens nothing but greens(money)
