Will reviews still have power when theatre returns?

Just something I was thinking about.

It felt like critics and reviews were sort of losing their large impact on ticket buyers. Not all the times, but some shows based on movies or stunt casting still get audiences.

When theatre comes back, people will be so happy it'll have returned... Will a bad review even steer people away from wanting to go see something?

Shows that get mostly pans will most likely steer me away from a show, unless my family and I are somehow offered tickets or we are interested in seeing that show regardless.

There were no rules before and there will be no rules after. It depends on each show, which tells us nothing in broad strokes like those you are looking for. The only thing we do know, because there is a good deal of data on it, is that most "tourists" don't read reviews so they cannot be influenced by them in either direction.

poor choice of words on my part. What I am really trying to say is just that we can get a little closer to an answer if we are talking about a particular show. A lot of people saw King Kong and were oblivious to the reviews and wouldn't have cared if you held them down and force-read the review to them while they waited in line at the box office. Other shows people waiting in line will try to read you the review and you will have to put on headphones.

I don't think a year - year and a half - absence will make much of a difference AT ALL, although I think that Jordan makes an interesting point.

Kad said: "There are certainly many shows that received positive reviews that were nevertheless flops. Reviews haven't had the power to make or break productions the way they used to in a long time.

I think reviews can have the power to push shows over the edge- if a production is already poised to be a big hit because of its title or its star, raves can help push it to become an impossible ticket. Likewise, if a production is struggling to find an audience or is a riskier bet due to subject matter or lack of names, pans will not help persuade people to see it."

I think in the last sentence you meant rave and not pan, no?

I continue to believe that the influence of reviews is show-specific and situational. A show not geared to tourists that gets a rave review may benefit greatly, and the reverse is also true sometimes. The bottom line is always resonance. Just because a show resonated for a critic does not necessarily mean it will for all theatre-goers. I think the quintessential example (and there are many others) was Isherwood on Thom Paine. And of course there are legions of shows that a critic hated, that went on to successes. (The Frank Rich book, from a different era, details the divergences and intersections pretty well. )

Wick3 said: "I think word of mouth amongst friends will have more power.

As long as people read reviews then of course reviews will have some influence... especially over people who are undecided."

Yeah, social media has way more of an influence these days. Although reviews will always matter to some people.

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "It all comes down to genuine interest. What creates that interest?

Something like THE BAND'S VISIT or FUN HOME would not have made it to Broadway –– and would not have recouped–– without glowing reviews + awards attention. Other shows can stand up on name value or word of mouth.

Will the social media landscape have changed enough that a passionate, young online following can bring a show to recoupment? I don't know. It couldn't before the pandemic."

It's broken record time.

There are no rules. As one storied producer, now dead, told me, you sell one ticket at a time, and you don't discount what it takes to sell each one. In the case of the two shows mentioned, they started off-B and developed WOM. To me that was a bigger factor than the reviews. Yes, the awards are a significant factor but that came later. Social media is a huge component of marketing today. I would not cabin it around the "passionate young."

Updated On: 3/19/21 at 01:18 PM

I don't think the reviews have a big effect on the top musicals (unless it's overwhelming critical praise that creates buzz) but I wonder how it will affect the smaller plays whether it's MTC subscriber stuff or something actually on Broadway like Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf or Slave Play. I can see being even less enthusiastic about spending the money or just sitting in a packed theater for the run time of a so so play. Even for the lesser musicals, would people who might have seen Diana out of curiosity go if it were to open in a few months?