Which Theatre Will ALW’s Cinderella Get? — Page 2

Mike Barrett said: "I know Daniels will be gone, but I don't understand why they would move TKAM when its making record breaking money. Idk, I just can't see it."

The only way I can see Rudin being game to move Mockingbird is if he's producing Lloyd Webber's Cinderella. Riedel mentioned that SR was at the reading in London, but there hasn't been any official word on who is producing. Otherwise, if Mockingbird moves, the Shuberts would be paying for that.

With Music Man, Rudin could make more money per week at the Winter Garden (which has 350 more orchestra seats and no balcony, so you can price the mezz higher) or The Broadway (which has 200 more seats in total than the Shubert, and again no balcony). Music Man at The Broadway could be the show that finally kicks Hamilton out of #1 on the grosses chart.

Let's see what happens with Mockingbird's numbers this coming winter after JD leaves.

Considering there are no announced musicals with original scores this season, it makes sense that Webber would want to rush this to Broadway, and pull off another Sunset Blvd Tony win. The only musicals with original scores that are currently circling Broadway are Six and Mrs Doubtfire, neither of which have the clout involved to guarantee a theater for themselves come spring, compared to Mr. Webber.

Jarethan said: "ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Mike Barrett said: "I know Daniels will be gone, but I don't understand why they would move TKAM when its making record breaking money. Idk, I just can't see it."

The only way I can see Rudin being game to move Mockingbird is if he's producing Lloyd Webber's Cinderella.Riedel mentioned that SR was at the reading in London, but there hasn't been any official word on who is producing.Otherwise, if Mockingbird moves, the Shuberts would be paying for that.

With Music Man, Rudin could make more money per week at the Winter Garden (which has 350 more orchestra seats and no balcony, so you can price the mezz higher) or The Broadway (which has 200 more seats in total than the Shubert, and again no balcony). Music Manat The Broadway could be the show that finally kicks Hamilton out of #1 on the grosses chart.

Let's see what happens with Mockingbird's numbers this coming winter after JD leaves."

People are going to see TKAM and Jeff Daniels is a bonus. Ed Harris has 5 Oscar nominations to Daniels’ 0, so I can’t imagine that turnover will hurt the show...but who knows. BTW I like Jeff Daniels in everything he is in, and thought he did a great job as Atticus,but I would have bought the ticket just as quickly if I had never heard of the actor.

To me, the real question is how long will this feverish demand last? It is clear that, while still selling out, Harry Potter demand is not what it used to be, based on the average ticket price and a look at future availabity. Will TKAM reach that point earlier than wewould expect?"

Good point, although I do think Daniels is a little bit more of a draw or selling point, but TKAM itself is the main seller. They're able to sell at these prices because of Daniels. This was my main point though by next spring I don't see TKAM slowing down a lot. Might be a slight drop off but the hype still surrounds this show pretty strong and word of mouth is fantastic. Im not sure why'd they change theaters when you have a record breaking show performing well in one. Just seems odd to me.

VintageSnarker said: "Mike Barrett said: "I understand that but I think its more about having the representation of Prince Charming being a gay character. It'll be great for little boys out there to be able to relate to Prince Charming for once."

I would be more interested if it didn't include a notable princess at all but was just about an original Prince Charming character. Maybe it's just because I've been binge-watching Pose but I'm no longer here for an minority or marginalized group being represented in a secondary or tertiary role as representation. Also, this just sounds boring and trope-y."

My concern in my original post is that the "empowered heroine" and the "empowered gay character" are the tropes dujour these days. Those are less like creative decisions and more like marketing ones and it's predictable and tiresome at this point. Now, an entirely original piece where the stock Prince Charming character turns out to be gay could go in a lot of different directions that wouldn't seem trope-y. That would be more interesting.

Mike Barrett said: "Jarethan said: "ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Mike Barrett said: "I know Daniels will be gone, but I don't understand why they would move TKAM when its making record breaking money. Idk, I just can't see it...

Good point, although I do think Daniels is a little bit more of a draw or selling point, but TKAM itself is the main seller. They're able to sell at these prices because of Daniels. This was my main point though by next spring I don't see TKAM slowing down a lot. Might be a slight drop off but the hype still surrounds this show pretty strong and word of mouth is fantastic. Im not sure why'd theychange theaters when you have a record breaking show performing well in one. Just seems odd to me."

I agree with you last point absolutely, but this is the guy who closed HD with BP generating $1.0MM per week. In the old days, David Merrick would have tried a lot harder.

i really don’t agree re JD being the reason for the premium prices selling so well...I guess we’ll find out when he leaves, although it will still be a drama in its second year in a large theatre for dramas. I hope it continues to do really well because IMO it is a great production.

Jarethan, we can all grumble about Hello, Dolly! but I think Rudin DID try, in the form of aggressive advertising throughout Bernadette's run. They worked hard to average $986k per week, but the average ticket price was $93 which is quite low.

Obviously they went after other women (bigger stars), but they said no or weren't worth the $$$. With a show that expensive, the advance would have plummeted after Bette's return engagement if they replaced her with a Christine Ebersole or Carolee Carmello type. It's hard to recover from a star of Bette's magnitude. Now, maybe they could have got another decent month of sales out of Bernadette before Bette's return, but Bette had availability and Scott wanted the Shubert for his own next show.

Musical revivals are hard to sustain, and at 16 months DOLLY was already one of the longest-running musical revivals of the past decade.

Updated On: 7/17/19 at 12:57 PM

Ado Annie D'Ysquith said: "Forgive me folks, I meant no disrespect or offense. Cinderella is my favorite fairytale so I am a little protective of its adaptations! Hahaha...I happen to love both the R&H and Disney versions, as well as Into the Woods, but my concern is Webber's hit-or-miss record with his shows. For every Phantom or School of Rock, there's a Starlight Express or Woman in White."

The Woman in White is one of my favorite ALW scores.

Kad said: "sethepstein12 said: "bdn223 said: "Considering there are no announced musicals with original scores this season, it makes sense that Webber would want to rush this to Broadway, and pull off another Sunset Blvd Tony win. The only musicals with original scores that are currently circling Broadway areSixand Mrs Doubtfire,neither of which have the clout involved to guarantee a theater for themselves come spring, compared to Mr. Webber."

The Secret Life of Bees is also circling Broadway, and would have a good shot at winning if it came in this season."

It would need very weak competition to have a good shot at winning anything."

This year may be saturated by Jukebox musicals, but I would prefer something like Girl From the North Country or Tina to a mediocre/bad original musical, and think many Tony voters would agree...

Jarethan said: "Ado Annie D'Ysquith said: "Really, Andrew? Couldn't you just let Rodgers and Hammerstein have this one and, you know, make something brand new?"

R&H’s Cinderella is a second tier musical with, pretty mediocre score for them. Why wouldn’t the king of romantic musicals take a shot at it?

Putting aside my biased affection for R&H's Cinderella, I could call ALW a lot of things, but never the king of romantic musicals. Romantic musicals like Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats, Sunset Boulevard, and School of Rock? Phantom does count either. It's creepy af. Even putting aside my opinion of the majority of his work, I don't see how you can argue that he primarily writes romantic shows.

Lot666 said: "bdn223 said: "Considering there are no announced musicals with original scores this season, it makes sense that Webber would want to rush this to Broadway, and pull off another Sunset Blvd Tony win."

That's awfully cynical."

...how is that cynical? It's true. Simply by having an original score, the show is at a massive advantage for awards this season.

Kad said: "Lot666 said: "bdn223 said: "Considering there are no announced musicals with original scores this season, it makes sense that Webber would want to rush this to Broadway, and pull off another Sunset Blvd Tony win."

That's awfully cynical."

...how is that cynical? It's true. Simply by having an original score, the show is at a massive advantage for awards this season."

The suggestion that ALW is strategically planning this to get an award is cynical.

Ado Annie D'Ysquith said: "Forgive me folks, I meant no disrespect or offense. Cinderella is my favorite fairytale so I am a little protective of its adaptations! Hahaha...I happen to love both the R&H and Disney versions, as well as Into the Woods, but my concern is Webber's hit-or-miss record with his shows. For every Phantom or School of Rock, there's a Starlight Express or Woman in White."

Loving the story is one thing, but it seems a bit odd to be protective of adaptations when it has literally been adapted thousands of times in books, music, movies, stage, and countless other ways.

Also, don't forget that Webber's Starlight Express was a huge hit for him. It made him several million dollars and earned him a few nominations for major awards. It ran for eight solid years in London from 1984 to 1992 in its original incarnation, and the in a revised incarnation from 1992 to 2002. That is an 18 year run in total, making it the 9th longest running West End show. I don't think that makes a very great example for your argument.

Furthermore, when you look at Webber's body of work, he has many more successes than he has flops. His "hit-or-miss record" that you speak of is certainly more hits with very few misses. When your list of hits include Joseph, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats, Starlight Express, Tell Me On a Sunday, Phantom of the Opera, and even School of Rock, I think a couple misses here and there are acceptable. Even Rodgers and Hammerstein had their flops.