YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN — Page 5

They are in no way saying PQ will close anytime soon. In fact, the article states they may move the dates for YF if PQ is still running past Labor Day - that's in SEPTEMBER. So really I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. They are being business people and negotiating, and if they think the Hilton is an option than it's their perogative to wait and see what happens... but why make it seem like it's pushing PQ out?

Updated On: 4/23/07 at 08:08 PM

"If Brooks wants the Hilton, he'll get the Hilton- simple as that. "

No, it's not that simple. Since when did Mel Brooks become the most powerful force on Broadway? We don't know what the exact agreement is that the Pirate Queen producers have with Live Nation, but I doubt that McColgan and Doherty said "Oh, we'll just run our little show here until you find something you like better, and then we'll get out of your way." I would venture to guess that a contract was signed, and that this contract specified a level of grosses below which the Hilton theater would have the right to evict PQ. If PQ's grosses are higher than that level, it doesn't matter the slightest bit what Mel wants.

This is probably why the big 4-23-07 "announcement" was a new bit of animation on the YF website. Wow!

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Yes, but every article that mentions Brooks' interest in the Hilton says that while the St.James was his first choice, the big sets seem more appropriate for the Hilton which is why he has expressed interest in that theatre in the first place (well, that and the fact he can get more money at the Hilton).

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Billy is wrong that Grease will take the St James. Every article on broadwayworld, playbill.com and broadway.com talking about the show says it will open at the Brook Atkinson. And, every newspaper article says it will open there as well as ticketmaster.com. So, I believe those more then I would believe some poster saying he knows for sure without anything to back him up.

I don't think that Pirate Queen will leave at all anytime soon. The ticket sales are doing well and it is the kind of lavish musical tourists want to see when they come to broadway.

I thought the whole idea was to close the producers and put Young Frankenstine there.

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Does anyone know what sort of percentages are generally specified as the point where a theater owner can evict a show?

It's interesting to note that McColgan and Doherty originally wanted to buy the Hilton theater.

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"According to today's news, it looks like some people owe Billy the Kid an apology."

Are you referring to the Variety article that BWW posted which just rehashes Michael Riedel's column from last week?

Yes, we all know that Mel Brooks wants to put his new show in the Hilton. Billy the Kid posted over the weekend that contracts had already been signed for YF to take the Hilton, but there has been no confirmation of this, unless I've missed something.

What exactly was it we were supposed to apologize for?

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Updated On: 4/24/07 at 11:54 AM

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It wasn't a suggestion, it was a "statement of fact" with no evidence to back it up. The bashing is warranted in this case and no apologies are due (as of yet).

Postergirl,

I can understand if you were being toung and cheek about your comments. The point is still that if Billy wants to be taken searously at all he would know that he has to not present rumors as facts espically when he has nothing to back them up whatsoever. And even the article on the front page of the site today just re stated the same rumor and speculation that we all were having about what theatre YF would go in.

Personally, I do think that the ticket sales for PQ aren't going to be the best but on the same tolken I don't see them dropping so bad two weeks in a row that would warrent the show from closing.

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Also, realize that Billy is the same person who in a different thread said that for sure grease was going into the st james despite the fact that every single article about the show said it was headded for the brooks atkinson theatre.

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Postergirl, if it turns out that Billy did have legitimate inside info and these contracts were in fact signed I'll be sure to let you know when I'm doing this. We'll make it a matinee Wednesday. The parrot sounds like a great idea.

l might give you a camcorder as well. I have a feeling I wouldn't be able to get CastCom to cover this event.

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Grease is going to be in The Brooks Atkinson theatre right after Kevin Spacey is done in A Moon For the Misbegotten. And I have been keeping up with all the articles on Young Frankenstein and there is nothing that says they are definitely in The Hilton Theatre. And even if it is, why is everyone making such a huge fuss about it? Because of The Pirate Queen?? Seriously, the show was a bad idea from the start. I wish I could bitch-slap the creative team and the people who gave them money to put it on. I see previews for that show and all I can think is, What the hell is happening to Broadway? Or theatre for that matter.

Man, I hope this gets me a comment like, " Let's hunt him down and beat him." I hope you grow up sometime soon. If Billy the Kid wants to say that he knows all, then let him, just don't pay attention to what he writes, if you know you aren't going to believe it. It's as simple as that.

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Just came back from Times Square.

The "Size Matters" billboard is gone and has been replaced with the "It's Alive" logo from the show's official website.

And underneath it says "October 2007."

That's it.

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Does anyone have any idea how long it would take The Pirate Queen to recoup their investment? I don't know anything about the operating costs, but even though they're playing to 77% capacity, aren't they still losing money?

Since the show is reported to have cost $16 million, I'm just guessing that it would take about 2 years or more to recoup unless they can turn The Pirate Queen into a mega-hit and gross $1 million a week. I remember that Ragtime ran for 2 years and still closed in the red. I don't know the cost of the investment for Ragtime but it also had high operating costs because it was a lavish show just like The Pirate Queen.

I'm just making an un-educated guess. But if it seems that The Pirate Queen will not be able to recoup, I can see why the theatre owners would want to push it out. And like others have already said, Young Frankenstein will most likely be a cash cow. Who wouldn't want it playing in their theatre?

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Updated On: 4/24/07 at 06:56 PM