"Honeymoon in Vegas" Preview Thread- Page 11

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/23/14 at 10:06am

Since it is frozen keeping it in previews is madness. Maybe this is just one big tax write off. Looks like a Bialystock and Bloom production by doing this.

[little_sally]

Posted: 12/23/14 at 10:10am

To me, it doesn't even sound like they've made significant cuts. I felt like there could have been songs and some scenes cut, and yet they all seem to still be in there.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/23/14 at 10:32am

This would be good touring. A show like this doesn't cut the mustard with the NY Intelligentia

Has there ever been a time when the Tony nominations are announced & all the nominees for Best New Musical & Revival will have already closed? If we play our cards right, we may have that here.

[Robbie2]

Posted: 12/23/14 at 12:11pm

Since it is frozen keeping it in previews is madness. Maybe this is just one big tax write off. Looks like a Bialystock and Bloom production by doing this.

---
I agree...Hmmm, interesting cuz the grosses are terrible for a new show even with a rave from the Times but tourists and most don't read reviews or care...pretty much word of mouth these days. I see this added to the list of many shows that will eventually close in January.
I take it that the Nederlander's are already looking or have secured another show for the Nederlander this spring.

[Kad]

Posted: 12/23/14 at 12:15pm

Beautiful could handle a lengthy winter preview period because it's Carole King's Great Hits: The Musical. Honeymoon in Vegas does not have that advantage.

[Robbie2]

Posted: 12/23/14 at 12:21pm

Where's the marketing for this show...haven't seen any TV commercials and hotels in NYC are not promoting it per a concierge friend.

Updated On: 12/23/14 at 12:21 PM

[little_sally]

Posted: 12/23/14 at 12:37pm

There are a ton of subway station ads around the city and I've heard radio ads but nothing on TV.

[Phillypinto]

Posted: 12/23/14 at 1:20pm

Lets just wait and see what happens with this show after it opens, and the reviews are out. Sales can pick up you know lol

[newintown]

Posted: 12/23/14 at 1:22pm

Well, that's deep. Insightful. Surprising.

[Up In One]

Posted: 12/23/14 at 2:29pm

Box office activity correlations to reviews are never immediate - as in next day's or next weeks' sales. Considering the winter also puts a cramp into many advance ticket buyers plans - why a take a chance of getting snowed out - less people go out in the winter months - Honeymoon may have to survive with these grosses thru March even if every review is a rave.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/23/14 at 2:33pm

This show screams for tv ads highlighting the Vegas musical numbers and Danza. So far zilch. Subway ads will do diddly squat. This may have the worse marketing since Bridges. JRB has to be pulling his hair out about now. Talented composer but naive re producing a show.

Updated On: 12/23/14 at 02:33 PM

[NiceWork2]

Posted: 12/23/14 at 3:23pm

here a few other changes made in the previews to the show:

- Bea Singer, the mother, flies at the end, on wires. Nancy did this the week beginning DEC 9. It is still in the show, right?

- Jack's acrobatic sequence/movements when he's initially on the wires is slightly different, but very minor

- When Bea Singer (themother) "curses" the nurse attendant, Erica Sweaney now walks over and touches bea's arm/checks her pulse, and then dies on the stage lift square. Previously she just walked in and immediately died on the stage lift square.

- Initially when Jack meets Johnny Sandwich for the card game he says about how he's staying in "Mini-Suite 1207" (the number may be wrong), indicating that he's unhappy with his accommodateions. Johnny sleekly says "what, you don't like your room. tell ya what, we'll get you a better room." That line was eliminated in early december i believe.

- I"m not sure, but i think there was a line change in "Never Get Married", not sure.

[ethan231h]

Posted: 12/23/14 at 3:38pm

Yes Nancy Opel flying at the end of the show is still in.

[brdway411]

Posted: 12/23/14 at 10:35pm

Just got home, I thought it was just okay, not a huge Danza fan. Did enjoy the flying Elvis scene.

[phan24]

Posted: 12/24/14 at 1:34am

Also saw the show tonight, the cast is top-notch, the material is alright but it's a fun night at the theater, surprised that the show is frozen now since there seem to be some plotholes in the story (**SPOILER***Mahi has a huge solo song but then never reveals to Jack that she's working for Tommy, her character just disappears). I agree that the show comes off as a little misogynistic, but I guess it's target audience is the Vegas-expecting audience who want to see showgirls and a fluffy plot. I really wish Nancy Opel had a bigger role in this, because she is hilarious! George Merrick was hilarious in the small roles he plays (especially the ticket attendant).

I was going in expecting the mezzanine to be somewhat empty on this rainy Tuesday night but was happy to see it mostly full, there were maybe 3-4 rows on the very top empty, but the rest seemed pretty full. The seats were incredibly tight, my first time at the Nederlander, definitely one of the most uncomfortable theaters.

Updated On: 12/24/14 at 01:34 AM

[ads08]

Posted: 12/24/14 at 8:12am

I was there last night as well. I had seen Newsies at the Nederlander and forgot how uncomfortable it is in the orchestra. Not only was I on a slant (far left Row L) but my knees were hitting up against the back of the row in front of me. Also, whenever the guy in front of me moved, his whole seat would move and wedge me even tighter.
Anyway, I really enjoyed the show. It was just a fun night of theater with some very funny moments - thought-provoking theater, this is not. The show was well paced and the audience seemed to really eat it all up. I enjoyed all the performances with the exception of Danza - I have never heard him sing before and I honestly was wondering if he was sick. Brynn O'Malley was great and I think she will only grow into the role more as time goes on. That being said, I find myself unable to remember many of the songs - definitely not JRB's best music.
The orchestra was mostly full with the exception of the extreme sides. I'm surprised that this show is having a hard time finding an audience - I think it would appeal to an older audience (I remarked to my partner that our parents would love it). I really hope that this show stays open and gets some good reviews to boost ticket sales!

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 12/24/14 at 9:30am

The leg room in the Nederlander is legitimately terrible. I was up in the rear mezzanine for this and while the sight lines were great, my knees were hitting the seat in front of me and I'm 5'6".

[ethan231h]

Posted: 12/24/14 at 10:12am

The best seats are row FF in the mezz. It is the start of the rear mezz but still have a great view and great legroom.

[temms]

Posted: 12/24/14 at 10:55am

"JRB has to be pulling his hair out about now. Talented composer but naive re producing a show." The producing/marketing of the show is absolutely in no way JRB's responsibility. That is the job of the producers and the marketing team, who are all (supposedly) experienced professionals at producing and marketing. JRB writes scores. 

Updated On: 4/12/15 at 10:55 AM

[phan24]

Posted: 12/25/14 at 3:18am

Excerpt from Michael Riedel's column on 12/11 about Tony Danza desperately selling tickets to people in Times Square, it's incredibly sad to see a fun show like this struggle and possibly close soon

--------------------

Danza’s working TKTS to promote his new show, “Honeymoon in Vegas.” He’s taken it upon himself to do what his producers have failed to do: sell tickets.
“He poses for pictures, he talks about the show — he even escorts people who buy tickets to the theater,” says a TKTS source. “The crowd loves it, but it’s an act of desperation.” (Danza did it once before, but as a lark, when he was in “A View From the Bridge.”)
The musical is hemorrhaging money. Last week it grossed a little more than $400,000, well below its weekly running cost. Sources say the show has lost at least $100,000 a week since previews began Nov. 18.

“This show means everything to Tony,” one of his friends says. “He’s a song-and-dance man at heart, and ‘Honeymoon’ could be the start of a whole new Broadway career.”

https://nypost.com/2014/12/11/poor-tony-danza-trying-to-sell-tickets-to-his-own-honeymoon-in-vegas/

[mc1227]

Posted: 12/26/14 at 11:01am

I also hope that this show sticks around for awhile. As has been said, it's not earth shattering but fun time at the theater. I also will agree that the Nederlander is the most uncomfortable theater I have ever been in.

[macnyc]

Posted: 12/26/14 at 8:16pm

*******************Some minor spoilers***********************

I saw today's matinee, and my friend and I thought the show was a hoot, definitely worth seeing. Yes, it's not deep (although Danza's character is a mobster and definitely acts like one, adding that layer of deceit and deception), but it seems to me that the show's combination of funny book, good dancing, and leggy showgirls would make for a big hit. Sometimes you just feel like a light evening out.

I thought JRB did a better job with the lyrics (which were clever and served the show) than the music, which was just pedestrian. (I enjoyed Bridges a lot more, as far as that goes.) Nancy Opel actually did have a lot to do (although her scenes were spaced out), and I thought she was hilarious. I wonder how she was as Miss Dilly in On the Town at Barrington. I would have liked to have seen her. Tony Danza I thought was fine, a better dancer than a singer perhaps, but professional. Rob McClure gave it his all, as usual, and I really enjoyed how committed he was. I hope this show is a bit hit, just for him. I liked Brynn O'Malley too.

I tensed up when the skin cancer song started up, but it didn't bother me at all. I think it served to establish Tommy's motivation and build sympathy for him. And the flying Elvises were great! I loved how Rob McClure's character reacted to his situation, which was way out of his comfort zone. I think all the characters showed development by the end, which is more than you can say about a lot of musicals! I hope the show does well with the critics.

And yes, Nancy's character still flies at the end. It's very funny because it's unexpected.

My TDF seats were in the first row of the mezzanine, on the side aisle. Great view from there!










Updated On: 12/26/14 at 08:16 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 12/28/14 at 2:16am

I haven't seen the show yet - going in a week - but I think what this show is lacking is a "wow" moment. Even a smaller show like Bridges, which granted wasn't a success, but it had the two main performances that really sparked our attention, or other shows. This show seems fun and light, but nothing...wow. Like Bullets. I saw Bullets and didn't love it, but I thought it would run for awhile and it didn't. It's so hard to tell what's going to be a hit or miss.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 12/29/14 at 10:44am

"Sales can pick up you know lol"

I don't even know how to respond to that. Tell that to the producers who already have a rave from the NYT. And it's not helping.

If I was working on the show, I would have many notes for the team, but it seems to me the most obvious potential cut, as noted on this board and elsewhere, is the skin cancer song "out of the sun" and it has not been cut. So really, they aren't trying to improve it, IMO. The message of that song is repeated in the book scenes, they don't need a whole song about it. Despite the fact that it's offensive.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/29/14 at 10:53am

Maybe the theater should take a page from the airlines book. Charge more for seats with extra legroom. They charge for everything else so why not that.