Wicked sold out for four years straght. Any other show able to do this?- Page 2

[mc1227]

Posted: 10/27/07 at 2:41pm

they have not been sold out for 4 years at all. I have seen it twice and the last time was 2 months ago and there were plenty of seats available.

[jpbran]

Posted: 10/27/07 at 2:58pm

I know people are trying to pop the sold-out "myth" bubble, but when you consider how many large U.S. cities ALSO have sit-down Wicked productions, plus the tour, the fact that NYC is even close to regularly sold out is AMAZING.

Updated On: 10/28/07 at 02:58 PM

[winston89]

Posted: 10/27/07 at 7:17pm

I agree with JPBran and Becky,


Wicked is a show that is playing at the biggest theatre on broadway. The Gershwin theatre is one that was known to be hard to fill untiil Wicked came along and changed everything. I do consider it to be sold out non stop for four years. All shows at some point even the really popular ones have spots where they are not selling out for a week or two ect.


The broadway production of the show is selling far better then eiather of the other two sit down productions are. And, I consider the tour something different. Only because, with the tour, you have to take into account the city that they are in. A good deal of the cities that are currently part of the tour are ones that have been popular locations in the past thus the tour is returning to them. But, for the most part you have to look at how people are reacting to the tour at thier city of choice and how it is selling overall.

It does amaze me that this show is one that does not seem to die down. And it also amazes me that it is able to fill the tomb of a theatre that is the gershwin. I do think that at most points in the life of a given show at the four year mark things start to die down. Or at least things start to get more avialiabe in terms of ticket sales. I do wonder how long this will last for wicked. I wonder how long it will be until this becomes a ticket that you can easilly get your hands on.

It will be a while for that point to happen that is for sure but the qustion is how long it will take for that to happen.

Updated On: 10/27/07 at 07:17 PM

[folkyboy]

Posted: 10/27/07 at 7:52pm

there's no accounting for the audience's taste!

[greatwhiteway2]

Posted: 10/27/07 at 9:03pm

We are going to Jersey Boys in August, have no idea who is in it...just going to enjoy the show whoever it may be...since we grew up with The Four Season's on the radio.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 10/27/07 at 9:27pm

Well, of the 210 weeks Wicked has been open, it has not sold out 48 of those weeks, or roughly 22%.

[Becky]

Posted: 10/27/07 at 11:44pm

Well, of the 210 weeks Wicked has been open, it has not sold out 48 of those weeks, or roughly 22%

I think it's fair to note that on the weeks it hasn't sold out - it was near close to capacity. Just because it doesn't hit the 100% mark still doesn't mean much to me with all things considered....

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 10/28/07 at 12:12am

Well, if we're going to ask 'what shows were generally really busy for their first four years' that's a far different question than 'what shows were SOLD OUT their first four years.'

22% is a fairly wide margin of error.

[philly03]

Posted: 10/28/07 at 12:36am

Phantom of the Opera sold out pretty steadily until about 92 or 93...so 6 years-ish. Most Andrew Lloyd Webber shows sell out from the opening date for a while, even shows like Sunset Boulevard that only last for 5 years.

I'm sure that when/if "The Phantom of Manhattan" opens on Broadway it'll be an instant sell-out as well for a long time, just becuase of the "prequel" being Phantom and it being Lloyd Webber

[Becky]

Posted: 10/28/07 at 1:07am

22% is a fairly wide margin of error.

I see what you're saying Popa. Technically - it hasn't "sold out" every week since opening. Technically.

It's easy to point out that there were 48 weeks that didn't sell out. However, most of those 48 weeks were at 98/99% capacity. They had one week in the beginning that was 88.7%, and a couple of weeks in the 95/96% range.....but most of the weeks that weren't sold out were in the 98/99% range.

They have been a little below 100% the last few weeks, but as recent as Sept they ran 25 weeks straight at 100%. For a show that's been open this long in that size house? *Incredible*

This is only my opinion - but I would say Wicked has been more than just "really busy". They have run at/close to capacity for 4 years (something that no other show has been able to do in that theater) - and they are still doing it with little signs of slowing down.

So when the poster stated that Wicked sold out for four years straight? I tend to agree for the most part - seeing as how they have consistently run at/near capacity the entire time. But yes, it has technically *not* sold out *every* show. I'll give you that.

BTW, it will be interesting to see what happens with Jersey Boys over the next few years. They have only sold out about 67% of their weeks (although their recent numbers have been strong).......
Updated On: 10/28/07 at 01:07 AM

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 10/28/07 at 1:12am

Well, as the thread was asking about shows that were sold out for their first four years, Wicked is not.

[sondhead]

Posted: 10/28/07 at 1:23pm

Why is everyone getting so offended? The fact is Wicked HASN'T sold out completely for 4 years. That's just data and facts and I don't think anyone would deny that the show is doing well and making lots of money. No one has purported it playing to 25% capacity or anything. Chill!

[Becky]

Posted: 10/28/07 at 3:19pm

Why is everyone getting so offended?.... Chill!

Not offended here. It just seems that whenever anyone comments on the success of this particular show, snarky comments have to be made about people's taste or the focus is turned to point to the negative, etc....

It's been stated many times now in the thread that yes, the show hasn't sold out every week. We know that. Point taken. We get it. Would it help for the poster to change the title to "Wicked has run at close to capacity while selling out a majority of weeks in the biggest theater for 4 years?" The nit-picky-ness is tiring, and usually I'm not this bored to join in these discussions. It's what happens when I have a little time on my hands

And "chill!"? It's been a pretty calm discussion for the most part. No need to write "chill!"
Updated On: 10/28/07 at 03:19 PM

[BrianS]

Posted: 10/28/07 at 5:04pm

" "Though most of us weren't around for it, there was a time in the late 80's/early 90's"

Speak for yourself, please."

Hey DG and devonian.t,
I didn't mean to offend. Assuming someone was only 18yrs old in NY in '91 to see those shows running at capacity, that person is around 34yrs old today. Nothing wrong with that. I'm just guessing that most people on this board weren't in NYC at that time so Wicked's attendance seems unique. Of course there are all ages on this board.