Wicked returns to Chicago - Page 2
Wicked returns to Chicago
Wicked returns to Chicago #25
Posted: 1/26/10 at 11:43amlol Dee Ravioli. That is made of win. I did not care for her at all.
Wicked returns to Chicago #26
Posted: 1/26/10 at 11:53am^ No one did. She's pretty blah.
Joined: 12/31/69
Wicked returns to Chicago #27
Posted: 1/26/10 at 12:51pm
It's pretty set that all those shows are going to tour. Chicago is one of the few cities that gets almost every tour. I have a strong feeling Next to Normal will kick off in Chicago. David Stone is a huge fan of Chicago.
Also, I wonder if the stop will only last eight weeks. It's going to sell out right away. It was on every news channel in Chicago, every newspaper this morning. They would be stupid to only play eights weeks. Especially during the Holidays..Think about it. We just had Young Frankenstein for 6 weeks.. Wicked needs to book another month.
Wicked returns to Chicago #28
Posted: 1/26/10 at 1:08pmI don't know...Wicked was playing to pretty empty houses during the end of its Chicago run and Young Frankenstein did not do well AT ALL. Six weeks was far too long for that show. I think eight weeks is more than long enough for a show that ran its course and closed in Chicago already. Especially just a year after it closed.
Joined: 12/31/69
Wicked returns to Chicago #29
Posted: 1/26/10 at 1:13pm
Well I have to think the dead of winter is the slowest time for any show. So put these two months on sale, people will rush to buy tickets and then add a month or two in time for holiday gift-purchases and stay here three or four months.
But they insist it's 8 weeks only.
Wicked returns to Chicago #30
Posted: 1/26/10 at 2:17pm
The whole time I'll be thinking to myself: "Shouldn't we be at the Oriental?"
The whole time? Really? Why bother spending the money if you're not going to concentrate on the show itself. Again.
Wicked returns to Chicago #31
Posted: 1/26/10 at 2:43pm
"Is it possible the San Francisco company will go there after it closes?"
No. The article was pretty clear that it would be the 1st National Tour that would be playing Chicago.
"I don't know...Wicked was playing to pretty empty houses during the end of its Chicago run and Young Frankenstein did not do well AT ALL."
While there certainly were SOME empty seats, Wicked was not playing to "pretty empty" houses.
Wicked returns to Chicago #32
Posted: 1/26/10 at 3:06pmYeah, it was. I was there. I took my father and grandmother to see the show during its final weeks. The house was maybe 40% full, at best. We got lottery seats, but once we entered the house, we decided the view would be better from the center of row P. Everything behind row M in the center orchestra was empty (very few were sitting in the sides). We had to whole row to ourselves. It was the emptiest I'd ever seen the Oriental.
Wicked returns to Chicago #33
Posted: 1/26/10 at 6:16pm
"Yeah, it was. I was there. I took my father and grandmother to see the show during its final weeks. The house was maybe 40% full, at best."
The last week of performances of Wicked broke the house record, bringing in over $1.5 million. The week before that it brought in $1.4 million.
That's not saying there couldn't a performance or two during the week where attendance was low, but the grosses don't lie. Wicked rarely ever dipped below $1 million per week.
Wicked returns to Chicago #34
Posted: 1/27/10 at 12:29am
Why in the world would BIC extend Wicked's 8 week run, when it just closed a year ago after playing 3+ years successfully in Chicago, and there are so many new shows that will be touring. Giving the people something they've seen before and not bringing in the new stuff would just be stupid.
And, Chicago Star, just because a show has announced they will tour does not automatically mean they will stop in Chicago. While, yes, we are a huge market, and the chances are they will stop here it is never a 100% sure thing.
"Leave Walt Disney Theatricals new sparkling production of The Little Mermaid on Broadway alone!!!"
lakezurich will be played by Paul Groves in the BWW musical
Wicked returns to Chicago #35
Posted: 1/27/10 at 1:37amThe First National Tour will be stopping in Chicago, but with a new Elphaba and Glinda. The San Francisco production, may or may not be closed by then, but will not be turning into the 3rd Tour. If it is not a sit down, I doubt it will tour.
Wicked returns to Chicago #36
Posted: 1/27/10 at 2:06amConsidering the SF sit-down has been on Goldstar for about a month now, I can't imagine it'll be here that much longer.
Broadway Star Joined: 7/9/08
Wicked returns to Chicago #37
Posted: 1/27/10 at 2:34amRandom question: When will BIC announce it's full 10-11 season?
Wicked returns to Chicago #38
Posted: 1/27/10 at 2:37amThat's not random.
Joined: 12/31/69
Wicked returns to Chicago #39
Posted: 1/27/10 at 7:28amBIC will be announcing there Fall / Winter season next month.
Wicked returns to Chicago #40
Posted: 1/27/10 at 10:12am
That's not saying there couldn't a performance or two during the week where attendance was low, but the grosses don't lie. Wicked rarely ever dipped below $1 million per week.
Ok, I guess it closed because it was doing so well? Weekends were still pretty popular, but mid-week was wide open for most performances (ask the cast about it sometime). Even the lottery was not very well attended with most (and sometimes all) the people getting in. I'm sure the final week did very well with people trying to cram in before it closed (as with most popular shows in their final week). The show ran its course and I just think an 8-week run so soon after it closed a long run is a bit too much too soon. Wait a couple of years and make it an event. With commercials and ads already announcing the return, it's like the show never left, which doesn't seem very worthy of the hoopla.
Joined: 12/31/69
Wicked returns to Chicago #41
Posted: 1/27/10 at 10:49amYou didn't think there was hoopla? I saw it on all the local news, Talk Radio was discussing it- and all the women I work with were asking how toget tickets- my own personal barometer.
Wicked returns to Chicago #42
Posted: 1/27/10 at 11:02am
Ok, I guess it closed because it was doing so well?
A simple look at their grosses would show they never had a losing week the entire length of the Chicago run.
Wicked returns to Chicago #43
Posted: 1/27/10 at 11:38am
"A simple look at their grosses would show they never had a losing week the entire length of the Chicago run."
Exactly. Rather than run the show into the ground, they closed it while it was still doing extremely well (the lowest gross I could find during the run was $990K). When a show leaves on top, they know they can return later and still fill the house. And that's exactly what they are doing. While I have no doubt that there may have been one or two performances during the week that weren't full, that is NOT the same as playing to empty houses, which Wicked never did.
Wicked returns to Chicago #44
Posted: 1/27/10 at 11:43am
Joe - I think the marketing are trying to create hoopla, but I've been having the opposite experience. The women around me were rolling their eyes saying, "Well, that didn't take long".
A simple look at their grosses would show they never had a losing week the entire length of the Chicago run.
I never said a word about their grosses (I don't even know where to find them), but I do know attendance dropped off quite a bit and the show was closed for reasons that I guess will remain a mystery. Why close a major long-running cash cow that never reported a single loss? Were they kicked out? Anyway, there were many performances towards the end with low attendance. Maybe they all paid full price (discounts were rare, if any), but I wasn't the only one who noticed it.
Wicked returns to Chicago #45
Posted: 1/27/10 at 12:45pmI'll see it I guess. =)
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/14/05
Wicked returns to Chicago #46
Posted: 1/27/10 at 4:02pmThe Palace is a nice theatre, I am sure I will be there a time or two!
Wicked returns to Chicago #47
Posted: 1/27/10 at 7:38pmOh, and D2, what I said before about thinking we should be in the oriental was clearly a joke. Lighten up.
"Leave Walt Disney Theatricals new sparkling production of The Little Mermaid on Broadway alone!!!"
lakezurich will be played by Paul Groves in the BWW musical
Joined: 12/31/69
Wicked returns to Chicago #48
Posted: 1/27/10 at 10:44pm
Maybe Wicked will become the next Mamma Mia and visit Chicago every year. 
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