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| The sales this week speak volumes. | |
| Last Edit: Delvino 11:52 am EDT 07/05/17 | |
| Posted by: Delvino 11:44 am EDT 07/05/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Hello, Dolly!: Will Donna Murphy be Bette's Replacement in January? - ryhog 11:29 am EDT 07/05/17 | |
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| TDF, TKTS, etc, all noted here. This is an event based on synergy of star and role. And the resulting must-see "experience" nature of the booking. It's an alignment of resources with a piece of material to serve the resources, not really the reverse. Those who think the public is clamoring for "Dolly..." in a Midler-free marketplace are entitled to their opinion. May prove to be right. Yet we haven't seen evidence that such is the case. This first vacation, and the soft Tuesday sales, are the updated story here. | |
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| re: The sales this week speak volumes. | |
| Posted by: portenopete 01:05 pm EDT 07/05/17 | |
| In reply to: The sales this week speak volumes. - Delvino 11:44 am EDT 07/05/17 | |
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| Surely they have budgeted for that and felt that the alternative- a lesser-known replacement like the brilliant Maureen Moore- or simply a six-show week- would be less financially sensible. In 1997 I would have thought that the success of CHICAGO was predicated on the presence of four very big names but the Weisslers were proven right and twenty years later the show is running. I know DOLLY! is a very different beast and is an infinitely more expensive show to run, but I think the principle is worth trying to replicate. I wouldn't want to see reality stars going in to play Dolly, but there are enough great and well-known actresses between 40 and 70 who, I think, would draw crowds, especially if they look beyond just the usual suspects. |
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| re: The sales this week speak volumes. | |
| Posted by: ryhog 11:55 am EDT 07/05/17 | |
| In reply to: The sales this week speak volumes. - Delvino 11:44 am EDT 07/05/17 | |
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| The collateral question is whether the public that is clamoring is going to come back to see someone-anyone-else. As I have said for a long time, I don't think the audience for this show qua show is not very deep. And the data you cites seems to support that. This show is not hitting the lowest common denominator tourist audience and the only way you tap into that is either to cast someone who is unrealistic to obtain, or someone who lowers the bar considerably (and I don't think Rudin will do that). Murphy doesn't get the job done, and I am not convinced the clamor-ers will come back again to see, e.g., Peters. Would the reviews say she is a must-see after Midler? I seriously doubt it. We shall see. | |
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| re: The sales this week speak volumes. | |
| Posted by: sirpupnyc 12:27 pm EDT 07/05/17 | |
| In reply to: re: The sales this week speak volumes. - ryhog 11:55 am EDT 07/05/17 | |
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| With the non-promotion of Donna, there have to be some among that audience who'd have gone this week and last, but who have mentally filed the show under Impossible Ticket and moved on. Maybe they'll find a way to change gears and promote it as a show rather than Event, and to the audience that sustains shows. Maybe it's already too late for that. Maybe the plan has really always been to wrap it up in January. |
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| Jackman in "Boy from Oz" springs to mind, if not a perfect parallel. | |
| Posted by: Delvino 12:40 pm EDT 07/05/17 | |
| In reply to: re: The sales this week speak volumes. - sirpupnyc 12:27 pm EDT 07/05/17 | |
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| When I bought my seats at the box office, Murphy's performances were isolated, her participation entirely explained. Her filling in was mentioned in the press quite early, her photo surfaced tethered to releases, and she was interviewed. But this event wasn't about having two leading ladies available to choose between It was "Hello, Dolly!" reminted for a superstar, Midler. The new Bette-as-Dolly is a brand, and it cannot be "Hello, Dolly!" starring {X}, at least not yet. Running pictures of Murphy in the role in print ads -- a month after the Tonys yet -- or on the internet would invite a lot of questions the production doesn't want to answer, when the show through January is a commercial tale of Midler's return to B'way in a classic vehicle. This seems to be hard for fans of Murphy and fans of the show itself to embrace. But this production was conceived with that brand calculation. Maybe look back at "Boy from Oz," which existed only as long as Jackman was willing to perform it. I'm not saying these shows share the same synergy, and "Dolly" is respected in ways "Boy..." never was. But it's useful. |
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