about BKLYN's saturday eve show.- Page 3

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 4:50pm

MUNKU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"AYGGH?? Gosh, that's coot!"

[Unknown User]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 4:55pm

Didn't "The Boy from Oz" go dark when Hugh Jackman was out? I don't think they had an u/s for him. (I guess he was irreplaceable--)

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 4:58pm

Hugh had a standby and an understudy just in case, but the producers didn't think that the fans would accept anybody else as Peter. So, they scheduled certain days, usually Tuesdays, as vacation days for him.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 4:58pm

Justafan, he had a stand-by (the hot Kevin Spirtas, aka "Dr. Craig Wesley" on Days of our Lives), but the producers knew the fans would demand refunds if Hugh wasn't in the show, and figured it would be more economical for it to go dark instead. (Okay, that first part of my statement is a fact; the second half is just speculation.)

ETA: And to be honest, aside from the diehard fans of the *show*, I think the producers would have been right. Hugh was 90% of the reason the show was a success. Ya gotta feel kinda sorry for Kevin, even though he'd still be making a stand-by salary.

Updated On: 2/20/05 at 04:58 PM

[LittleFish8386]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 5:04pm

I think its just sad that BKLYN had to cancel a performance, b/c they don't have enough people covering or knowing the role. There are hundreds of unemployed and talented actors in NYC, why don't they make sure there are enough covers?

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 5:05pm

Because they're cheap. Or poor. Either way, they didn't feel it was financially feasible or necessary enough. And now it's bit them on their collective asses.

[LittleFish8386]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 5:08pm

I'm glad. My younger cousin, who knows pretty much nothing about Broadway, went to see BKLYN on a field trip, and his words were

"I've seen better singing at the circus...and better costumes. That was the worst thing I have ever sat through...My ears were bleeding..."

And I thought that was funny.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 5:10pm

BKLYN can't afford to employ another understudy. They are barely breaking even as it is. The only reason the would come close is because the show is cheap to run. If they had higher running costs, they wouldn't have made it through December.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 5:25pm

i sure as hell hope that they hired the poor girl that saved their asses on a full time basis- it would be deplorable to only have kept her the 1 day (unless of course they gave her one hell of a paycheck)

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 5:29pm

Yeah, they should be worshipping her. A show like BKLYN can't afford to cancel a performance.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 5:30pm

W/e what's done is done...

[emo_geek]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 6:00pm

Wow you guys must be very important to be able to know all of there financial records to know that they can’t afford to hire more people, or that they are just too cheap. Oh wait, you guys don’t know.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 6:06pm

Running costs, weekly grosses, etc. is all public. Look it up.

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 6:07pm

Emo, you must be a debater or something. All of your arguments are just so rock solid.

[emo_geek]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 6:59pm

I actually believe in what I stand for. I believe that not everyone likes BKLYN, just like not everyone likes sushi ( I can’t stand sushi), but I like BKLYN and I find it horrible how some people will think that they are automatically right and that BKLYN isn’t good for anyone. I know many people who love BKLYN so I know that this is not true. I also get really mad when people disregard and disrespect the many hours that people have put into a show just so one snob can try to ruin it for everyone.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 7:08pm

Emogeek, I've read some of the things you have said about NIGHT MOTHER. I'm sure that Edie and Brenda and Michael put a lot of hard work into that production. If you really want to practice what you preach, write them all a letter of apology.

[emo_geek]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 7:13pm

I didn't like Night Mother, but during the bows I looked over to someone in the third row who was crying, standing, and clap as hard as he could. He was touched by the show and I was happy that all the work of the people putting on the show touched some people. It might not have been me, but it just wasn’t my thing. I don’t go around trying to change other people opinions, and I only post when I didn’t like Night Mother in such boards as “What shows have you fell asleep in”

[kim1061]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 7:14pm

littlefish where've you been? Haha, you say the funniest things.

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 7:16pm

Just because someone spends time and effort on something doesn't make it good. That's life.

People must have worked hard and spent hours on Battlefield Earth, and it was a crappy movie. Just because someone spends time and effort on something doesn't mean it is not open to criticism.

The creators open their work up for criticism the minute it opens on Broadway. It is part of the game. To say we can't critique it, and bash it if it is beyond bad, is absurd.

And I am glad you liked Brooklyn. I really am. But, you knwo what, I find the music horrendous and a bad kind of cliche and the lyrics inane. That is my opinion. I have not bashed you for liking the show. I have bashed the producers for what I see as an act of frivolity and amateurness that name back and bit them.
And that, I thought, is what we were arguing over this thread. Not the merit of the show itself.

But, since you seem so set on debating the content of the show, here is my blatant, open opinion, no holds barred opinion on it:
I think that the music and lyrics are an embarrassment to musical theatre. They belong in a Britany Spears musical. It is a crime that this is on Broadway when so many great and struggling THEATRICAL composers are struggling to have their work heard and performed. I think the performers are talented, but it is a shame they have to perform this material. I think the closing of the show will be a benefit for both the performers, who can go on to better things, and to Broadway, for there will be another open house for a more worthy show to move in to.

But, again, I thought this thread was about the actions of the producers.

"so one snob can try to ruin it for everyone"

And I don't see how my disliking the show can "ruin it" for someone who likes it. Unless it calls their attention to the blandness of it all.
And, yes, I am a Sondheim snob and I take pride in that.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 7:18pm

Wait, are you saying that just because I pulled in over-time on Chronicles of Riddick doesn't make it a good movie? You're an aSshole, Priest. Go away.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 7:20pm

You tell him, Tiff! (just kidding)

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 7:20pm

The funny thing, Tiff, is that I almost used Chronicles of Riddick as my example before I remembered Battlefield Earth.

Updated On: 2/20/05 at 07:20 PM

[emo_geek]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 7:23pm

My posts were not directed at you. You have your opinion yes. I know what you mean about spending time (Hulk the movie) and I also see your point about the performers. They are happy right where they are and signed to do the show. I like BKLYN you don’t. You like stuff, I don’t. It was just some of those posts were based upon things that the person posting didn’t know. Example: They are too cheap to hire a stand by. They don’t know how much money they have. The odds are slim that something like this would happen. They will learn from mistakes and get a stand by most likely.

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 7:27pm

"They don’t know how much money they have."

Actually, these figures are public.
Anyone can find out a show's running cost and weekly gross.
So, yes, actually it would be an accurate assumption that the producers did not hire a stand-by in order to make thier weekly gross (marginally) exceed their weekly running cost.

That is what I, and probably most of the people on this board, assume.

The producers are cutting costs everywhere in order to keep the show running. And some of the places they are cutting the costs are just senseless. You cannot have just one understudy for a key role. Especially in this season with viruses flying around like crazy. It just doesn't work like that.

Updated On: 2/20/05 at 07:27 PM

[emo_geek]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 7:28pm

There are other factors too. Donations, loans, they might have money saved in an account for these type of things.