Well, you can't "force" Mr. Dylan to either show up at opening night or do X-number of concerts in support or various tv shows to give air time to such a musical travesty. I imagine that their publicists tried mightily, in vain as it turns out, to book the show many places, but very few national tv shows have ANY interest in Broadway (Rosie on The View is one of the ONLY ones who cares at all who is also in a position of power to book Broadway on a national show).
While there are millions of fans of Bob Dylan out there, most of them have zero interest in seeing his music performed by Michael Arden, Lisa Brescia or ANY Broadway performer. They want to see Mr. Dylan himself, and if he's not in the show, then they could care less about seeing a musical set in a circus created by Twyla Tharp using his music as background --which is the reason why most jukebox musicals fail. While John Lennon, Earth Wind & Fire, Johnny Cash, Elvis et al have enormous fan bases, if the musicians themselves aren't actually on the stage, then their fans have no desire to see their music covered by Broadway people for $110 a ticket. I suppose MAMMA MIA and JERSEY BOYS are hits because their fans are more attracted to the music itself, than by the personalities of the people who originally created it. I'm not sure, but clearly the millions who've bought Bob Dylan records over the last 40+ years and continue to sell out his concerts around the world, had little interest in seeing anyone but him perform these songs.
And more than anything, world of mouth for THE TIMES was clearly bad-to-awful. Forget the reviews in the mainstream press, the people who attended previews clearly did NOT like this show and must have told their friends, colleagues and family members not to bother. Lots of shows get middling to mediocre reviews, but nevertheless strike a chord with the audience who then spread the word to those they know and as a result turn shows with so-so reviews into a hit (MAMMA MIA, for example).
There was nothing that even the greatest publicist on the planet could have done to save THE TIMES. A great press campaign can overcome bad reviews if the show itself nevertheless has some sort of mass appeal (that for one reason or another the critics didn't care for). With THE TIMES, not just critics, but audiences hated it too, and so there was no way for the advertising or commercials or appearances on national tv shows to save it. It was doomed from the first preview, and even though Twyla is unquestionably a genius, she couldn't fix this one and/or make it work for a mass Broadway audience (as she managed to do with MOVIN OUT), so its closing had nothing whatsoever to do with its marketing campaign -- the oddness of the show itself caused its downfall.
Marketing can lead a horse to water, but ..................
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
Updated On: 11/9/06 at 02:10 AM
