Why did Avenue Q close so quikly in Vegas?

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 11:19pm

I wasn't even aware it had closed because it happened so fast! Why did it close that quikley?

[Vespertine1228]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 11:25pm

My guess would be that Vegas shows require either spectacle or a very familiar source. Mamma Mia has played for so long at Mandalay Bay because so many people know Abba's music.

Phantom, in a souped up version from the already extravagant Broadway staging, and stuff like the Blue Men and Cirque du Soleil thrive on visuals. Even the Celine Dion shows needs incredible scenery to be worth the ultra-expensive ticket.

Avenue Q has neither spectacle nor a familiar brand name. It doesn't have any Vegas appeal, and it's also not something you can take kids to. Updated On: 12/18/06 at 11:25 PM

Posted: 12/18/06 at 11:28pm

Vegas isn't something you can take kids to either...

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 11:28pm

Lot's of reasons.
It didn't belong there in the first place.
And the leading lady was abysmal.

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 11:32pm

I majorly disagree. I loved the Vegas Version and thought the cast was great.

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 11:32pm

When I heard about it I thought it was going to be a success. I mean crude humor in Las Vegas?

[MrBundles]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 11:50pm

it closed early because of venue size...all vegas theatres are much larger than broadway houses, so if it was based upon the size of the Golden, the Wynn sold more seats than the Golden every performance, but that still did not fill the theatre, since the wynn Bway theatre is larger.

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 11:54pm

What about Hairspray? I know that one closed fast too.

[brozzles]

Posted: 12/18/06 at 11:57pm

I think Avenue Q is a "word of mouth" type show. I really had no intentions to see it but a friend dragged me along. I'm glad he did.

Vegas is of course full of tourists and they are more likely to see a more familiar show.

[ricklyon]

Posted: 12/19/06 at 12:01am

Hey, folks. For the record, AVENUE Q did not close quickly in Las Vegas. It ran for 9 months, and never lost any money. HIGH FIDELITY, now THAT closed quickly. LESTAT, GOOD VIBRATIONS, LENNON, THE TIMES... CHANGIN', etc, etc - those are quick closers. Please note that in Vegas, HAIRSPRAY closed in about four months, less than half of Q's run, and PHANTOM is not a huge sellout boffo smash, either, for all its new stagecraft and extreme shortening. Broadway-style musicals are a hard sell in Sin City. Why? Language, mostly. Many of the tourists that populate Vegas don't speak English very well, so a joke-driven script or songs that are unfamiliar are tricky, no matter how clever they are. As someone has already pointed out, that's why MAMMA MIA and the Cirque shows do so well - ABBA songs are internationally well-known (and the show's mindless script doesn't really matter), and the Cirque shows contain no language at all. It would be nice to think positively and hope that Broadway-style musicals have a future in Vegas - but it seems the future is not now. Congratulate Steve Wynn for trying. I predict a short life for THE PRODUCERS. We'll see how SPAMALOT does...

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 12/19/06 at 12:04am

Well, I meant compared to the broadway run. :)


Hi Rick! Big fan!

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 12/19/06 at 12:12am

SPAMALOT seems like the one to break the curse.
They can easily add tits and a bigger chorus and make it there.

[CyCoSpAz2]

Posted: 12/19/06 at 12:15am

Any news on a tour?

[COOOOLkid]

Posted: 12/19/06 at 12:35am

I don't think the attendance was the problem.

But they could have done more advertisement...

[emo_geek]

Posted: 12/19/06 at 12:44am

Yes hardly any advertising...just lot and lots of orange. I saw the show twice in vegas and loved it.

[MrBundles]

Posted: 12/19/06 at 12:58am

according to many Vegas articles I read and a friend at the box office, attendance was definitely part of the problem

[leefowler]

Posted: 12/19/06 at 8:44am

I heard it was poor spelling.

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 12/19/06 at 10:16am

When I saw the subject line and had quickly read 2 words in it, "Avenue Q" and "close"- I nearly had a stroke.

Then I saw Vegas. *sigh of relief*

Posted: 12/19/06 at 10:21am

I went in Feburary and only the first half of the orchestra section was filled.

I forgot if the theatre had a balcony, but the theatre and it's small lobby were amazing.

Also, Wynn has a Cirque-esque show that shares a HUGE gift shop with whatever show playes at the Broadway Theatre.
Updated On: 12/19/06 at 10:21 AM

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 12/19/06 at 10:32am

I think that Rick hit the language barrier on the head. The themes in the show are universal, but if the audience doesn't understand English enough to follow along with the book aspects of the show, they probably saw it as just a bunch of cute puppets bouncing around, having sex, and bouncing around again.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 12/19/06 at 10:55am

It has nothing to do with language issues. There are several reasons it closed, Wynn being the major reason. Avenue Q made money, but Vegas likes its houses packed, which Avenue Q failed to do. So Wynn closed it. It's not a spectacle, and not a family show, so to succeed in Vegas it would really need strong word of mouth. The problem is, it takes much longer for word of mouth to gain traction in Vegas. A friend of mine told me that would probably need over a year to get strong word of mouth going. Don't forget, Vegas is a heavy tourist town, so the word of mouth is going to people in other states, who can't just run out to the theater. So that's the reason. Simply put, the house wasn't full. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Avenue Q made a huge mistake committing to Vegas (they sold out, taking money over artistic integrity). It is so far-removed from winning the Tony it's going to have a hard sell on tour (though, from what I heard, Vegas was at least not asking them to cut more un-friendly themes from the show). Personally, I don't think Vegas should get any long running shows. People aren't going to want to see something they saw or can see on tour or in New York.

[Hank]

Posted: 12/19/06 at 10:57am

I think Las Vegas should forget about open ended runs of Broadway shows and concentrate more on national tours, maybe for an extended stay of say a month or two. Las vegas locals are just like theatre fans anywhere else, perhaps a bit more so, wanting to see the latest. As for the tousists, they want to see the spectacular, "only in Vegas" type shows.
Many hotels also rely on regulars, and I think they would like to see something new on each visit.

[Danielm]

Posted: 12/19/06 at 12:49pm

Actually, I think it does have something to do with language--but not because of bad language. Avenue Q is a show that you have to understand English to enjoy--most of the shows in Vegas rely on spectacle (including Phantom) or familiarity with the material (Phantom and Mama Mia). Vegas is primarily a tourist town and most of those tourists are from other countries. When you see the Cirque shows one of the brilliant things about them is that there is very little dialogue--and no important dialogue.

Also, though Vegas is trying to cultivate a hipster reputation, those hipsters don't go there to see theatre--they go to gamble, drink and go to the ultralounges. Avenue Q, while it is a smart show is not a hipster show in the way that they would want. Avenue Q deals with issues that these people don't want to think about--at least not while they are in Vegas.

Then there is the venue itself--it was hard to find and there was very little street advertising to encourage people from walking in.

Vegas is really not a theatre town. The few shows that do well there are very much escapist in nature. Even light message shows like Hairspray are too heavy for Vegas.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 12/19/06 at 1:37pm

While I agree with most of what you said, I strongly disagree with the English language aspect. The truth is, most tourists, Ameican or not, have absolutely no idea what Avenue Q is. It is a word of mouth show. People aren't in Vegas longe enough, and the people who would rave about do it when they get home, and the people to whom they rave may or may not ever go to Vegas. And that is the real problem. Vegas likes to fill its theaters to capacity, and Avenue Q doesn't always fill its theatre on Broadway, so it's not surprising that it didn't fill it in Vegas. It was profitable, as Rick said above, it didn't lose money (of course, Wynn paid for everything, including building the theatre, so if you account for those costs it did in g=fact lose money, so lets do the money guaging by the fact that the show itself was financially healthy). It just wasn't reaching capacity. Perhaps if they had switched to a regular schedule it would have filled the houses more, but in reality, people who go to Vegas aren't looking for Broadway shows...they'll go to New York for that.

[ken8631]

Posted: 12/19/06 at 2:18pm

Tough for any Braodway show to do well in Vegas. It ain't Broadway!!!

Too many toursits more interested in gambling....