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| re: Escape to Margaritaville - Why schedule previews (Mon-Thurs) at 8pm if virtually the entire theater is unsold those days? | |
| Posted by: NewtonUK 09:13 am EST 02/11/18 | |
| In reply to: Escape to Margaritaville - Why schedule previews (Mon-Thurs) at 8pm if virtually the entire theater is unsold those days? - summertheater 10:15 pm EST 02/10/18 | |
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| No. They're refusing to buy tickets to crap shows. Finally. | |
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| re: Escape to Margaritaville - Why schedule previews (Mon-Thurs) at 8pm if virtually the entire theater is unsold those days? | |
| Posted by: ryhog 10:46 am EST 02/11/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Escape to Margaritaville - Why schedule previews (Mon-Thurs) at 8pm if virtually the entire theater is unsold those days? - NewtonUK 09:13 am EST 02/11/18 | |
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| well folks have always refused to buy tickets to what they view as crap shows but the point here is that the people being described by the OP (i.e., weekday outer borough Broadway-bound subway-riders who go to work circa 8AM) are a statistically insignificant group of people for Broadway musicals (even Hamilton on weeknights) and an early curtain loses other more significant demographics (e.g., those who work more typical NYC hours, like until 6 or so; tourists who want to eat first; etc.) | |
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| re: Escape to Margaritaville - Why schedule previews (Mon-Thurs) at 8pm if virtually the entire theater is unsold those days? | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 03:06 pm EST 02/11/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Escape to Margaritaville - Why schedule previews (Mon-Thurs) at 8pm if virtually the entire theater is unsold those days? - ryhog 10:46 am EST 02/11/18 | |
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| I don't understand the distinction between people who have to go to work at 8am, and people who work "more typical NYC hours". If someone has to be in the office at 9am, and they live 45 - 60 minutes away from their office, then they have to go to work at 8am. Are you suggesting that people who work 9 - 5 are a weekend audience, while people who work 10 - 6 are a weekday audience? Is it a difference of industries (finance versus the more creative sectors)? Or are you saying things about the people themselves? I sometimes get the impression from this board that many people who moved to New York in the latter decades of the 20th Century don't always understand the ways that rising population and skyrocketing rents have pushed significant portions of the population into neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens (and now the Bronx) that once seemed unthinkably far away. I don't want to misread your comments, so I'm curious: Where does the typical weeknight Broadway musical audience live? What are their zip codes, and how far into the boroughs do they tend to make their homes? |
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| re: Escape to Margaritaville - Why schedule previews (Mon-Thurs) at 8pm if virtually the entire theater is unsold those days? | |
| Posted by: ryhog 04:23 pm EST 02/11/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Escape to Margaritaville - Why schedule previews (Mon-Thurs) at 8pm if virtually the entire theater is unsold those days? - Singapore/Fling 03:06 pm EST 02/11/18 | |
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| I am definitely not saying things about the people themselves. I am saying people who have inflexible jobs and live some distance from the theatre district are not likely to go to weeknight shows, whether 7 or 8. There has of course been a shift in where people live, as you suggest, but there have always (in our lifetimes) been people living in certain neighborhoods in Queens (and the other boroughs) who work in the city and tend to head home after work. I also think this is somewhat age related: young people living way out are willing to stay in the city later, and older people sometimes decide they want more space, families, etc. and move to places that is possible. (People I know were moving to Queens in the 80s and 90s, and over time have become less willing to play on weeknights. People who stayed on the UWS in small apartments are more likely to go to the theatre, a concert or dinner etc on a weeknight.) Marketing people have data on zip codes that's pretty tight, but my sense is that people who live in what we used to call the 212 are much more likely to go to a show during the week. However, this misses an important point which is that a huge chunk of the weeknight audience is from out of town, which is why January and February are so tough for shows that are not selling out. And it depends what show. January and February are actually good months for people living in 10023 etc to see shows, but they are not likely to give up a night at the opera for Margaritaville. I don't know if i have clarified or clouded my points... |
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| re: Escape to Margaritaville - Why schedule previews (Mon-Thurs) at 8pm if virtually the entire theater is unsold those days? | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 01:33 pm EST 02/11/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Escape to Margaritaville - Why schedule previews (Mon-Thurs) at 8pm if virtually the entire theater is unsold those days? - ryhog 10:46 am EST 02/11/18 | |
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| "Well folks have always refused to buy tickets to what they view as crap shows but the point here is that the people being described by the OP (i.e., weekday outer borough Broadway-bound subway-riders who go to work circa 8AM) are a statistically insignificant group of people for Broadway musicals (even Hamilton on weeknights) and an early curtain loses other more significant demographics (e.g., those who work more typical NYC hours, like until 6 or so; tourists who want to eat first; etc.)" Yes. But I would say that if the 8pm weeknight performances of ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE are not selling well yet, it may be partly due to the fact that whatever percentage of New York-area residents does remain among Broadway theatergoers -- including people who have to get up early to go to work the next morning -- would tend to be larger during the early run of the show than the latter, whereas the percentage of tourists in the audience (who presumably have a short after-show trip to their hotels and who don't necessarily have to get up early the next morning) would only increase as the run continues. |
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| re: Escape to Margaritaville - Why schedule previews (Mon-Thurs) at 8pm if virtually the entire theater is unsold those days? | |
| Posted by: Ncassidine 01:52 pm EST 02/11/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Escape to Margaritaville - Why schedule previews (Mon-Thurs) at 8pm if virtually the entire theater is unsold those days? - Michael_Portantiere 01:33 pm EST 02/11/18 | |
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| I really don't think the vast majority of local theatregoers look at the curtain time as a make or break for whether they are going to see a show. | |
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| re: Escape to Margaritaville - Why schedule previews (Mon-Thurs) at 8pm if virtually the entire theater is unsold those days? | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 02:05 pm EST 02/11/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Escape to Margaritaville - Why schedule previews (Mon-Thurs) at 8pm if virtually the entire theater is unsold those days? - Ncassidine 01:52 pm EST 02/11/18 | |
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| "I really don't think the vast majority of local theatregoers look at the curtain time as a make or break for whether they are going to see a show." I have no idea what percentage of local theatergoers may consider that a factor, I was just responding to summerhteater, who obviously does consider it as a possible factor. |
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| re: Escape to Margaritaville - Why schedule previews (Mon-Thurs) at 8pm if virtually the entire theater is unsold those days? | |
| Posted by: ryhog 03:00 pm EST 02/11/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Escape to Margaritaville - Why schedule previews (Mon-Thurs) at 8pm if virtually the entire theater is unsold those days? - Michael_Portantiere 02:05 pm EST 02/11/18 | |
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| While you may not, and summertheater may think s/he does, people who make a living selling tickets to Broadway shows do know, and what they know is that precious few people in Queens buy tickets on school nights regardless of the time. And if there is an exception to that rule, it is when shows are papered or possibly on TDF, and guess what, producers don't make a living catering to self-entitled "I am the center of the universe" folks they comp, and especially not at the expense of paying customers. There is a calculus and summertheater's back seat driving doesn't overcome it. | |
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| re: Escape to Margaritaville - Why schedule previews (Mon-Thurs) at 8pm if virtually the entire theater is unsold those days? | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 04:27 pm EST 02/11/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Escape to Margaritaville - Why schedule previews (Mon-Thurs) at 8pm if virtually the entire theater is unsold those days? - ryhog 03:00 pm EST 02/11/18 | |
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| I don't doubt your figures, but let me ask you this: If the weekday curtain time is considered pretty much a non-issue for local theatergoers who have to get up for work, what is the main reason behind the fact that so many (if not most) shows now have 7pm curtain on weeknights -- often except for Wednesdays, when they stick with the 8pm start to give the company more time between shows for dinner or whatever? Is it to get the cast and company members home earlier? To allow theatergoers, wherever they are from, more time to go out to a restaurant, bar, or wherever after the show? A combination of those things? | |
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| re: Escape to Margaritaville - Why schedule previews (Mon-Thurs) at 8pm if virtually the entire theater is unsold those days? | |
| Posted by: EvFoDr 10:44 am EST 02/12/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Escape to Margaritaville - Why schedule previews (Mon-Thurs) at 8pm if virtually the entire theater is unsold those days? - Michael_Portantiere 04:27 pm EST 02/11/18 | |
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| This is just a guess but I think after the Tuesdays at Seven campaign was initiated many years ago, enough shows saw a positive tick, and possibly received favorable feedback from audiences who liked the option of an earlier start time, that they started extending the 7pm start to other weeknights. Personally I like a 7pm curtain on weeknights. I live in the city and even then the evening subway situation can be a drag. I also choose to get up very early in the morning because I like to go to the gym then, so I welcome the chance to go to bed a little earlier. It does make dinner really tight since I work until 6pm, but I think it's worth it. A tourist isn't coming from work so I imagine it is not that hard for them to start their pre-show meal at a time that lines up with the curtain, whether that is 7pm or 8pm. And for those who want to live it up, a 7pm curtain makes it possible to have a late dinner, but not impossibly late (I would consider having dinner after an 8pm show impossibly late). However, I don't think any of this has anything to do with the OP's post, which suggests people are not buying tix to the first week of Margaritaville because of the curtain time. It's the first week and this show is not arriving with any must-see buzz. And on the other hand, there are plenty of popular shows selling tickets to 8pm shows during the week. |
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| re: Escape to Margaritaville - Why schedule previews (Mon-Thurs) at 8pm if virtually the entire theater is unsold those days? | |
| Posted by: NewtonUK 01:06 pm EST 02/11/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Escape to Margaritaville - Why schedule previews (Mon-Thurs) at 8pm if virtually the entire theater is unsold those days? - ryhog 10:46 am EST 02/11/18 | |
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| True. And if HAMILTON or BOOK OF MORMON, or ALADDIN, or COME FROM AWAY etc had all their evenings at 8, their grosses would not go down ... | |
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