another bad week for Chitty- Page 2

[sidneybruhl]

Posted: 10/19/05 at 1:31am

I'm hoping "Chitty" can hang on until the end of January. I'm planning my first trip to NYC and "Chitty" is one of the shows I really want to see!

[Fosse76]

Posted: 10/19/05 at 12:01pm

"I dont think it could ever tour, The car would be friggen expensive to ship, none the less, if its having trouble flying at the theatre now, how is it gonna survive on the road "

This is what doomed the Sunset Boulevard tour. It cost $1 million just to load-in the Mansion Set. I don't believe that included the Load-out. Even if it did, I think only LA and Chicago would have been able to sustain a long enough run to justify the costs. The tour closed in Chicago, but it couldn't extend, because it booked into the Lyric Opera (which only booked musicals for I think two years before deciding not to do that anymore), which needed to start its new season.

Chitty is the least offensive of the children-oriented shows, because the dialogue isn't quite as stupid as the Disney musicals tend to be, but it is very much a kid's show. I've actually seen it twice. And I hate family musicals. But for some reason I like this one.

[LouW95]

Posted: 10/19/05 at 4:52pm

If you wish to see Chitty on Bway, I urge you to do so between now and the end of Dec.

[thedeepend]

Posted: 10/20/05 at 3:14pm

OK, I'm going to say it one more time, then I have to go sit and calm down... THE CAR WAS DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY WITH THE INTENT TO TOUR. PERIOD. END OF STORY.

I would also like to dispell more CHITTY "bad" rumors...the billboard in Times Sq. came down 'cause the 1 year contract was up (Oct '04 to 05); the dance auditions were cancelled because Jillian's flights got totally messed up due to bad weather in NY (remember like 14 inches of rain in the City and nothing was coming or going that easily or on time; like 10 hour delays?); and there is no tour booked as of yet. If you can prove that it is, then do it. But you can't, because it isn't booked with any touring company at this point.

The show is no larger to tour than Phantom. It will begin touring the UK in December with no problems, so why would there be problems here? Could it play in a tiny venue. No, of course not. But it won't. Some set modifications may be required, but it can tour.

The show has broken even or made money week in and week out except in September when it had a tough month (but certainly not unexpected)...the percentages look bad because the house proved to be too large...if it was in a 1,400 seat theatre, it would be selling out 5 out of 8 shows a week; no question. The house was a miscalculation here, but for two years it was the toughest ticket in London at the Palladium (an even larger venue)...

The numbers are better now than last month and there is still cash on hand to weather the storm. Yes, it can't be in the red and go on forever, but don't count CHITTY out quite yet; there's still some gas in the tank!