Why was the Gigi musical so short lived?

I'm taking about the one that was recently on Broadway with Vannessa Hudgens. Was it not selling well or was it just not a very good show?

I thought it dull and the subject matter extremely questionable at a time when women being sold as "courtesans" is extremely distasteful.

In this case? Both. I love the film, but found the show pretty mundane.



But shows close for one reason and one reason only: the lack of ticket sales. Good shows close without sufficient sales, and sometimes mediocre shows flourish. Whatcha gonna do?

My god, I found it painfully boring.

Updated On: 5/1/16 at 07:37 PM

I remember seeing it in early previews and was definitely pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it, since I went in expecting to not like it. The scenery and staging was very well done, in addition to choreography and casting.

The artistry of it was charming and beautiful just like the film was, but what was severely lacking was a well cast leading lady, strong direction, and a more stronger book. I consider Gigi a disappointment that was both sad and annoying, the only remedy was the brilliant, striking and forever ingrained in my head revival of The King and I a few months later.

Hubby and I found it a chore to sit through. Hudgens simply had no charisma, and her pairing with the older leading man seemed distasteful, no matter how many times we've seen such scenarios. Dee Hoty was the best thing about the show, and when you can't wait for the main character to disappear so that the elders can cavort, that show is in trouble.

mamaleh said: Hudgens simply had no charisma, and her pairing with the older leading man seemed distasteful, no matter how many times we've seen such scenarios.



Older leading man? Do you mean Corey Cott, who is actually several years younger than Hudgens? I personally felt like this production went too far in its effort to sanitize, like reassigning "Thank Heavens for Little Girls" from Honore to Mamita and Aunt Alicia, and going out of its way to suggest nothing sexual between Gigi and Honore, and casting a younger actor as Gaston.

Mamaleh says, "her pairing with an older leading man seemed distasteful"



Huh? When I saw the show they made a point of the leading man being just slightly older than her. In fact they mentioned them playing together as children. That's why they cast a young Corey Cott to play opposite Hudgens (Cott is actually a year younger than Hudgens in real life). How did you find that distasteful? That was one of the many changes they made in this production to be less offensive to today's audiences and to appear more politically correct. Along with giving the classic song "Thank Heaven For Little Girls" to two women instead of Gaston and Honoré which made it even more creepy (why are two older women gleefully thanking heaven for "little girls"?). Though I do agree, as you noted, Hudgens lacked charisma (as well as having this high pitched giggle throughout the show which I found extremely annoying). BUT as usual Victoria Clark's voice was wonderful to hear as well as Howard McGillin's which made the evening almost worthwhile.

Updated On: 5/2/16 at 10:23 AM

Gigi was a bore - I left during Intermission

An American In Paris is gorgeous

It did feel sanitized but I was very impressed with Hudgens. She just looked like she was having a ball onstage. I really hope she comes back to Broadway.

Found AAIP boring but stayed till the end. I remembered the movie than and how superior it was to the stage version in every way.

Updated On: 5/2/16 at 04:01 PM

one of my best friends was the associate director. I think part of the reason it came to Broadway at all was because of a first time producer. She miscalculated the interest in the piece. Its def a classic movie but an outdated concept for 2016. I mean the premise has to do with an older man waiting for a little girl to become a woman so he can have her, lol....they did a lot of great changes, first of all by giving the little girls song to someone else. But also by casting Corey as much younger than the role calls for.

I'm not sure it should have ever come in the first place, but the fact that the set, costumes and choreography where ignored is sheer politics. The producer was from DC and didn't know any of the Tony Voters who basically just voted for themselves...it's a very political thing. Removing the critics from the ballot box was a really bad idea.

The show was really classy, does it dazzle in a Hamilton world, I'm not sure.