Will HADESTOWN end up like THE GREAT COMET?? — Page 2

I hope it is like a Comet, a brilliant experience the likes of which I never saw before (nor will again), that makes you fall in love with the musical and its potential all over again.

Will it sell tickets? Who knows?

CedricOates said: "Your “Please think a little.” comment was 100% off topic as well but whatever right "

How can if be off-topic to question whether the original post makes any sense?!

Ultimately, the point is no one knows. You can compare it to Comet and question its failure, but you could just as easily compare it to a Band's Visit, Come From Away, or Gentleman's Guide, where a show found enough of an audience to stay in business, recoup, and carve out a space for itself.

And both comparisons would be just onanistic pursuits.

The fate of Hadestown will be its own path. It will find an audience, or not. Book a name, or not. Operate smartly and cheaply, or not. Win over audiences, or not. Stay open, or not.

Some people who love Comet will see it, but obviously that isn't enough people to keep a show open.

The Distinctive Baritone said: "Great Comet is a fantastic musical, but the average person would have no interest in seeing it without a celebrity in it. It’s really for theater and opera buffs only.

Hadestown however, might seem “cooler” to mainstream audiences because of the title. Everyone knows that Hades is the Greek equivalent of the devil. Also, most people know the gist of the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice. No one has read War and Peace.

It is probably also much cheaper to produce than Great Comet. They should wait til Circle in the Square becomes available, and it will run about a year and make at least most of its money back.

If it does well in London, add in the “London hit” prestige factor, and even better."

I'm not an expert on the business side of things, but I agree with most of this. The only thing I disagree with is the idea that "most people," or even a good-sized minority, know squat about Orpheus and Eurydice.

One question, though: I realize that it has the same director as Great Comet, and one of its stars, but why are there so many comparisons? I'm curious about it, but mainly because I've read positive things.

I think Hadestown will do very well in London. First off, it's a limited run, only three months. Second, prices are way cheaper there than Broadway. Third, many Brits will be familiar with the Greek legend. I think the education there tends to be more geared toward the classics than ours here. That's just my impression.

For these reasons, I think opening first on London is a very smart move.

I love the show and love the score, and I really hope it does well on Broadway. But I think the business environment will be a challenge.

Updated On: 9/13/18 at 06:28 AM

Wick3 said: "Oh I didn’t know. I obviously didn’t watch it when it was on off-bway. Did it do well back then? Is the current production in the west end very different from the off bway production?"



It did well at NYTW! I'm not sure if the West End production has changed or not (besides most of the cast being different).

I genuinely think Hadestown is much more commercially viable than Comet

Hadestown is significantly cheaper to run, week to week. Literally less than half the cast of Comet, they don't give out food/shakers/etc, and I'm pretty sure they don't intend to renovate a theatre to accommodate the show (and then change it back).

It's also a lot more accessible. I love Comet, but Comet is weird. It's weird and wild and sometimes deliberately offputing. it's a sensory explosion that often makes you go "What the f***". The opening number has to literally tell you to look in your playbills if you're confused, we added a full summary of what's going on and a genogram so you know who's related to who.

Hadestown is a much simpler story with much simpler staging. If you don't pick up on the whole 'capitalism is death' thing, it doesn't interfere with the plot. The fun, jazzy score is much closer to the conventional than songs like "The Opera" or "The private and most intimate life of the house".



Comet is probably one of the most outside of the box, risky things that's been done on broadway. It was very polarizing - people either loved it or hated it. But it was also risky in the sense that the mounting costs and running costs especially were both very high. It was also really poorly marketed.

Hadestown does take some risks and does have plenty of daring things to say, but it's not nearly as offputting as Comet. The appeal is much broader, and the costs are lower. I personally think it's going to be a huge hit, but even if it's not it should do fine.

(Also FWIW, more than half the run in london is either sold out or 'limited availability' already and we're still months out)

Updated On: 9/13/18 at 01:13 PM

Rainah said: "This is also true. "It's based off a greek myth, and Hades and Persephone" would get me interested. "It's based off War and Peace" would make me want to excuse myself before I started yawning. Topic wise, Hadestown is a much easier sell."

I'm not sure that to the average theatergoer a re-telling of a Greek myth is an easier sell than a Tolstoy musical.

I've found about 50% of the people I've spoken to at least recognize the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Which honestly surprised me, I'd never heard of it before this. And everyone's heard of Hades.

Beyond that, the world is full of adaptions of Greek myths and many of them are fun. Those who grew up on things like Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Class of the Titans, etc. They're interesting, offbeat, and not stuffy. There are a million different adaptions, from comedy to high drama I feel like most people have seen at least one greek myth retelling they like.

How many people have seen a war and peace adaption they like?



And yeah the marketing for Comet sucked. Can't say if the marketing for Hadestown will be any good, but small mercies. They can't bill it as "The Josh Groban show".

I don't think Hadestown needs a "name" to sell, but if it did, I'm not sure where they'd put one. Patrick Page and Amber Gray have been with the show for years, and to generally high acclaim, so I can't see either of them being replaced. Eva Noblezada and Reeve Carney each have a following and are more bankable than their predecessors, so while neither is a superstar with a ton of box office power, I think the producers have already tried to upgrade there as much as they can without sacrificing the property with singers who can't handle the show's vocal demands (particularly for Orpheus). That really only leaves Hermes, and unless Chris Sullivan becomes available again and can cash in on his minor TV fame, I don't see them replacing a genuine Broadway legend like Andre De Shields. I, for one, hope the producers trust that the property they're working with is really solid and continue to put their energy into letting the show be what it is. From what I've seen so far, I think they're on the right track.