Why was Grey Gardens a Flop

[mormonophobic]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 9:37am

No, I seem to remember someone posting something on here two times (the most recent about a month ago) called HIT/FLOP or something of the like. This kind member listed pretty much every show from the dawn of time and said whether or not they made their money back, the only real way to designate a flop or hit (or at least the only OFFICIAL way). And I definetely remember it being a flop.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 9:38am

GREY GARDENS lost its entire investment.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 9:40am

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardid=1&boardname=bway&thread=940399

Posted: 7/29/08 at 9:40am

i still think of it as a success.

[madbrian]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 9:45am

It was a critical and artistic success, but a financial flop.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 9:48am

Quite a few regional theaters have taken it on, which surprises me. Not bad for a flop.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 10:07am

At least part of the blame has to go the fact that the show just isn't very good. Not that being not very good has ever stopped a show from being a hit, but still...

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 10:21am

to continue Roscoe's train of thought

but still, those shows had a wider appeal than Grey Gardens.

[sally1112]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 10:24am

My thoughts from an earlier thread:

We fight about this all the time.
Many people only think of flops as shows like Carrie or Glory Days, where as people more informed about theater use the technical term which says a flop is a show that doesn't make back it's investment.

By that technical definition a show like Grey Gardens, that ran for a year, received moderate to good reviews, played to 70% percent capacity, and won a couple of Tonys for its stars-- is still a flop because it did not make back all its initial investment. Scenarios such as this make the term "flop" a difficult word.

New Thoughts: I just received the new season's line-up from Ensemble Theater of Cincinnati and they are opening with Grey gardens and I will so be there!

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 10:25am

The disastrous decision to change the advertising to a "tabloid style" to bring in tourists couldn't have helped matters.

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 10:25am

The first act was campy, and the second act was taken directly from a documentary. The songs were memorable and great, but I think Christine Ebersole was the appeal, not the show itself.
People were going to see her because she was uncanny as Little Edie. Not because Grey Gardens was such a great musical.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 10:44am

God, as the Joker would say "Where.... do I begin?"

Let's begin with the Tony Awards. That's where America, and, yes, even most of New York actually saw "Grey Gardens" for the first time. And what did they see? An itchy performance by someone that nobody outside of Broadway-lovers really knows (don't bother to mention her TV work, she has a Q-rating of three)doing what seemed like a Ratzo Rizzo-in-drag portrayal of some weird woman they were told was related to a president who died in 1963.

Yeah, that's gonna pack the seats.

The show failed because it's basically a two-hander about the type of relatives you spent your entire life avoiding, or the neighbors you see rummaging through your trash, looking for "treasures" before the garbage collectors arrive.

You can't expect to fill a theater for years with that.

You can only get so far on Christine Ebersole's "eerie performance."

Updated On: 7/29/08 at 10:44 AM

[SNAFU]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 11:14am

It was a very difficult show to promote. How does one sell a musical crazy reclusive cat ladies and make it seem like something people would want to spend an evening in the theatre with?
It appealed to the people who saw the documentary but wouldn't seem like draw for people unfamiliar with the source material.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 11:20am

The performances in GREY GARDENS were very good, however, the show itself left much to be desired. I think the REAL story was lost during intermission. I mean, how did these two intelligent and educated women develop such hideous speech patterns and choose to live in squalor? Yes, they had great disappoints in life, but does that change the way a person talks?

PS--I'm a Long Islander and well aware of regional dialects.

[DrewBill]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 11:50am

Basically I agree with many of the comments above -- the show was noted for its outstanding performances, but the show itself wasn't all that great. (Were the projections of cat photos and cat sounds really necessary?)

And I don't think many people were all that familiar with the Beales and the "Grey Gardens" documentary. I saw the show twice with people who didn't know the background going in -- and they didn't really get it.
Updated On: 7/29/08 at 11:50 AM

[jv92]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 11:55am

Finacial flop, sure. Artistic and critical flop, absolutely not. It'll live on forever as all good musicals do. Here's a point I want to make. It's sad, but when people come to Broadway they want big sets and loud noises and fluff. Storytelling doesn't matter to them. However, when a show is done at a community theatre or on tour, people want to see a story told well. That's why Oklahoma! is always done across the country. That's why Light in the Piazza is becoming a regional favorite and had a highly successful national tour (Which I doubted. Shows how much I know!). And that's why Grey Gardens is being booked by all these regional and community theatres. It's a wonderful story with great characters and brilliant writing. In the comfort of their own home, people want to see that. I don't know why they don't when they come to Broadway.
Anyway, Grey Gardens was a breathtaking show. It was a year ago to day that it closed. May it live on forever.

[SpellingBeeFan4Ever]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 11:58am

"Quite a few regional theaters have taken it on, which surprises me. Not bad for a flop.
"

Alot of flops get done by regional theatres, community and get tours. The Wedding Singer got one, even if it was NET. Seussical was a flop, got a National Tour (NOT NET), and is being done by every community theatre known to man.

[Jon]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 12:09pm

Long established regional theatre have strong subscription bases. They can do obscure and/or "flop" shows because they don't have to rely on individual ticket sales. The Northlight Theatre in Skokie Illinois has 10,000 subscribers. They are doing Grey Gardens for a five week run. Just their subscriber base guarantees them half-filled houses throughout the run, even if they don't sell a single individual ticket betyond that.

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 12:12pm

Both The Wedding Singer and Suessical have obvious broad appeal. It makes sense they would be done regionally, nationally. A show like Light in Piazza and Grey Gardens... however you feel about their artistic merit... are difficult a sell for audiences across America and are more difficult to cast/produce/perform (at least... to do them well). Grey Gardens is more of a risk for a regional/community theater.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 1:51pm

All of the major reviewers loved Grey Gardens. So it's not fair to say it got mixed reviews.

Ticket sales picked up after the Tonys. Ticket sales are not the major, if any reason, the show closed.

Some people hated the show, some people loved it. But let's at least be honest with the actual facts.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 1:57pm

And when the show flops for many of the regional theaters, the word will get out and the bookings will dry up. Hoping to make your $$$ back of amateur is more foolish than hoping to sell this show on the main stem for years.

And I can just imagine how Adam Gutrel's "music" will go down in the hinterland. I can see church groups doing "Light in the Piazza."

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 2:01pm

I think even the biggest fans know that the material appeals to a limited audience. That has no bearing on whether or not the piece is good. It could affect its longevity, but I think you'll be surprised to see that the show--especially it's score--will live on.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 2:06pm

I liked, not loved nor hated the show, but that score is something. I can't wait to see what those guys do next.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 3:09pm

It was a Broadway show that wasn't a sh!t sandwitch, so it didn't last very long.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 4:35pm

Hey, the actual story took place virtually in my backyard. I read about the whole situation in the local newspapers. I saw the documentary and still didn't like the show. It just left to many questions unanswered.