Will great comet ever come back?- Page 2

[paper_cliche]

Posted: 8/31/17 at 3:33pm

^ I can see Comet doing a lot better in London actually. With all its quirks and anachronisms that gave it the Broadway cult following, I can see the West End flocking to this. Maybe not the best example but think Starlight Express -- loud, quirky, immersive, and costly... flop in the US but record breaking in London.

I can also see this having a much easier time touring than almost any other show.  The production has gone through so many different setups, seating charts, and capacities, that the show is adaptive to any environment its placed.  If not proscenium style, all you need is a big enclosed space, an expo center, restaurant, or a ball room better yet, some ramps and risers, and it's pop-up Comet.

If nothing else, I hope Comet's contribution to Broadway will inspire many more shows to be told in such an immersive way, where you're walking onto the set of the show instead of watching it like a movie screen.

[Margo319]

Posted: 8/31/17 at 3:43pm

If it was performed in some basement, it would still be wonderful.   I hope it does well in London, and possible regionally.   I will miss this show dearly.  

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 8/31/17 at 3:52pm

I know this isn't Broadway, but I think I could see the show doing well in Germany or other European countries where Weird™ and Artistic™ is appreciated in theatre. They've picked up Broadway flops there before and turned them into box office hits with their own audiences. 

[Nicole 10]

Posted: 8/31/17 at 3:58pm

Does anybody think that it going back to off-broadway would be a possibility? 

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 8/31/17 at 4:12pm

I think London/Europe would be great for the show, as well as a tour of large markets like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago where it only does six cities but for three-four months. Between the Curran in SF and all of the older theatres on Broadway in downtown LA, it could be really cool and do well with limited runs!

[Valyitz]

Posted: 8/31/17 at 7:51pm

secretschuylersister said: "I'm friends with Dave Malloy's mom on FB and she mentioned that there's hope of bringing the show to London in the future. It sounds like Dave might've been looking into it. If it were to go there, is there a large enough fan base/audience to support it?"

Hope it's true, I would so so love for it to come to London! I feel like there are quite a few smaller/flexible theatre spaces that might be a bit more manageable than the Imperial.

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 8/31/17 at 8:10pm

I would love a reunion concert somewhere, somehow. I don't care if it's in a dingy downtown dive bar. I'd be there in a heartbeat.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 8/31/17 at 8:30pm

If it were to come back in some form. Who would produce it? I doubt investors would ever trust kagan again. Would it be a joint venture between ART and Ars Nova?

[David10086]

Posted: 8/31/17 at 8:56pm

A show like this comes around as often as Hailey's Comet. 

[Bibliot]

Posted: 8/31/17 at 9:50pm

One issue is the money, though. Comet has lost double digit millions, and there's the matter of the audit that the NYT has reported. I would imagine it would need a whole new set of investors, and I'd think new investors would be skittish of a production that's been so hard to turn profitable.

I'd love to see any incarnation of Comet again though - touring, London cast, off-Broadway, anything. I wonder if, on the long-shot chance that it does have another life, it could possibly keep most of the cast and ensemble together.

Some of them seem like they're in a pretty good position to go on to another big Broadway role, though. Denee, Lucas. Grace and Amber. 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 8/31/17 at 10:40pm

dramamama611 said: "JBroadway said: "Anyone else think Comet would be a good choice for schools? People I've talked to seem to think it could never work, but I'm not so sure. It has all the makings of a great school show: Lots of roles (including 5 great female characters), opportunities for all sorts of diversity, very active ensemble, etc. The only challenge would be the complexity of the music, but I think it can be done. I've seen students take on some really difficult scores with surprising success.

True, there will never be a staging as thrilling as Chavkin's, but once you sort of let go of that hope, you can go all kinda of directions with it (as Itonlytakesajourney points out above). Hell, you could even do it in a large blackbox theoretically.



"

I can't wait until is released, and I have a group of students that could pull it off."

Students ha...

[gymman]

Posted: 9/1/17 at 3:10pm

It was a flop financially, so why would it come back? And how could it possibly tour with its set and lighting?

Updated On: 9/1/17 at 03:10 PM

[Itonlytakesajourney]

Posted: 9/1/17 at 8:26pm

gymman said: "It was a flop financially, so why would it come back? And how could it possibly tour with its set and lighting?"

Assasins, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, Chicago, Edwin Drood, Into the Woods, and countless others say hello.

[leighmiserables]

Posted: 9/1/17 at 8:45pm

JBroadway said: "Anyone else think Comet would be a good choice for schools? People I've talked to seem to think it could never work, but I'm not so sure. It has all the makings of a great school show: Lots of roles (including 5 great female characters), opportunities for all sorts of diversity, very active ensemble, etc. The only challenge would be the complexity of the music, but I think it can be done. I've seen students take on some really difficult scores with surprising success."

As others have pointed out on other threads – the music itself isn't overly complex; it's just the orchestrations. And true, the orchestrations (in my opinion) are a large part of what makes the music so lush/beautiful, but they could easily be scaled back for less experienced musicians. 

The only really issue I could foresee is with casting Anatole and Marya; they're both characters with gigantic range and seeing it again Thursday night made me again wonder how their voices – Grace McLean's especially – haven't been completely fried. Even with experienced/talented high school students that's a dangerous possibility; I remember my freshman year of high school we did Gypsy and the girl who played Rose had to go on vocal rest for a week or two after the final performance to rest her voice (and she was extremely well-trained). 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 9/1/17 at 9:10pm

JBroadway said: "Anyone else think Comet would be a good choice for schools?"

Interesting question. Offhand, I can't remember anything in the material that's all that objectionable. Things like the opera, club scenes, and Anatole romancing Natasha are more a matter of direction than anything baked into the text or the music. And even the scandalous parts of the abduction, etc. are tame by today's storytelling standards. I don't think many schools are forcing the kids to read War and Peace (I feel like most books top out at maybe 300 or 400 pages) but there's an argument that it's more educational than a lot of other musicals. So yeah... the limiting factor there would probably be whether the students could perform the score (both the singers/actors and pit musicians). I don't know if Dave would be interested in simplifying or editing things for a Junior version. 

[trpguyy]

Posted: 9/1/17 at 9:41pm

gymman said: "It was a flop financially, so why would it come back? And how could it possibly tour with its set and lighting?"

As I mentioned earlier, NETworks is buying the production and will (presumably) figure out how to tour it.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 9/1/17 at 9:57pm

^if thats true I'd be severely disappointed. I'd much rather they "tour" a tent only in major markets for sit down periods.

Updated On: 9/1/17 at 09:57 PM

[bear88]

Posted: 9/1/17 at 10:06pm

At my daughter's high school, 'Helene is a slut' would be a dealbreaker.

As for the show's overall future, I guess it depends on how the musical is perceived going forward. That may depend on some variables. Does it go to London and become a hit? Does it do respectably well on its supposed tour? Is it perceived, years from now, as a groundbreaking musical that didn't succeed because of producer errors and bad luck or is just seen as a weird show that's hard to perform, much less perform well? 

I have no idea. It could be long-forgotten in a few years, except for diehard fans like me, or it could attract some future producer who just knows he or she can make it a success. As noted above, there are plenty of flops that get a second life, and a third one, and more.

[trpguyy]

Posted: 9/1/17 at 10:11pm

Call_me_jorge said: "^if thats true I'd be severely disappointed. I'd much rather they "tour" a tent only in major markets for sit down periods."

It is true, but it doesn't necessarily mean it won't be a tent tour. Personally, I imagine no one would risk a tent tour given the recent Peter Pan 360 disaster.

[leighmiserables]

Posted: 9/2/17 at 10:24am

bear88 said: "At my daughter's high school, 'Helene is a slut' would be a dealbreaker."

Really? I feel like that's really tame (of course, over the years my high school did Gypsy, Heathers, One Man Two Guvnors, Othello, and a mess of other more 'inappropriate' shows). Plus it's so easily censored. I mean, the censored version wouldn't even need to rhyme with 'slut.' 

[gymman]

Posted: 9/2/17 at 10:40am

Sorry I was not clearer about touring; I should have said in its current form. The lighting and design are the show's most extraordinary features, and it would be difficult if not impossible to replicate these in an affordable manner.

[gymman]

Posted: 9/2/17 at 10:40am

Sorry I was not clearer about touring; I should have said in its current form. The lighting and design are the show's most extraordinary features, and it would be difficult if not impossible to replicate these in an affordable manner.

[gymman]

Posted: 9/2/17 at 10:40am

Sorry I was not clearer about touring; I should have said in its current form. The lighting and design are the show's most extraordinary features, and it would be difficult if not impossible to replicate these in an affordable manner.

[JustAnotherNewYorker]

Posted: 9/2/17 at 10:43am

gymman said: "Sorry I was not clearer about touring; I should have said in its current form. The lighting and design are the show's most extraordinary features, and it would be difficult if not impossible to replicate these in an affordable manner."

Posted 3 times

D'oh indeed.

[gymman]

Posted: 9/2/17 at 10:47am

yup...that's me!