Wicked: mexican production

[blaxx]

Are things not going well with this production? I see that no shows are sold out, nor have they released tickets past November, that is strange.

[sergio_27]

Wicked is the best-selling show on Ticketmaster in the Theater category, and seventh overall.

I would think they were expecting the opening night tickets to be sold out by now. However, I wouldn't think this is a problem for this production in specific, but for theatre in Mexico. "The Normal Heart" opens tomorrow and half of the seats are available, and it doesn't have the ridiculous ticket prices that Wicked does.

[blaxx]

I bet that they are reconsidering ticket prices and that is why they haven't released tickets for November/December. It is crazy that most of the mezzanine is empty throughout October.

I'm not a Wicked fan whatsoever, but it's sad to think this could be shortest run of an international production of Wicked and a massive flop, considering the investment.

[JeffDaEgg2]

Ticket-buying culture in Mexico is very different from the US. The majority of people buy tickets the same day as if it were the movie theater. Even popular productions will have a pretty empty theatre if you look at the seating map in advance (of course there can be exceptions). I'm sure the shows will end up selling out, especially at the beginning of the run.

I also think it's strange that they have so few shows on sale, but I assume they are doing that to encourage people to buy in a very limited date range and therefore make it a hot ticket...

My friend saw a preview of it last night and said Danna Paola sang her ass off and that I have to see it, so at least it's not as much of a hot mess as I expected it to be.

[RW3]

Well I'm glad to hear that Danna's first preview went well. Now we wait for Ana. How was Cecilia?

[JeffDaEgg2]

Both of my friends LOVED Cecilia. Apparently she steals the show.

[sergio_27]

Pinche Jeff, había decidido no verla y ya me la antojaste otra vez...

I doubt they would adjust the prices, has OCESA done it before? They may offer promotions and discounts, though.

[JeffDaEgg2]

Jajajajaja, sorry, Sergio! No voy a verla...if I didn't like it for $30 front row on Broadway then I won't like it for $200 with nasal-voiced singers. Jaja.

I'm sure there will be discounts eventually, but I don't think they will happen any time soon. My guess is they'd rather have a few empty seats and keep it "first class/exclusive" than start offering discounts early in the run.

[Starship]

If anybody goes to see the show in the coming few weeks, let us know the full list of understudies/swings.

[Fran_mex]

Discounts? Reducing prices?
This show has the biggest pre-sale ever for Mexico. Usually, 90% of the tickets are sold 2 hours before showtime... Wicked has a big portion of the Orchestra sold since weeks before, for the first 3 weeks.
They didn't reléase november and december tickets before because they wanted to be sure of having a full house the first 2 weeks.

[Fran_mex]

This is the official invitation for openning night:







It's awesome. Glad I bought tickets for openning night.

The idea is that the box is similar to the Teatro Telcel, and once you open the invitation, you see the stage of Wicked.

[Starship]

That's literally the coolest invite in the world!

[mrgiovanni]

That invite looks INCREDIBLE!!! Can't wait to hear this cast (will have to be bootlegs but oh well). Really hoping they come out with an official cast album at some point!

[JeffDaEgg2]

Yes, but the point is that if they are so confident in their show then they shouldn't have to only have 2 weeks of shows on sale in order to guarantee they sell out. Es una mamadota no matter how you frame it, amigo.

[blaxx]

Discounts? Reducing prices?
This show has the biggest pre-sale ever for Mexico.

They didn't reléase november and december tickets before because they wanted to be sure of having a full house the first 2 weeks.

Regardless of your involvement with the production or how big of a fan you are, I hope you realize that statement is idiotic.

If they only have tickets for sale until early November, then...I mean, I'm embarrassed to even try to elaborate more.

Just think of it:

They only have tickets on sale until November 11. (Hint: Biggest pre-sale ever would be if they were sold out completely for 14+ months. They have a half empty mezzanine only for the 5 weeks they are on sale "in hopes" people will show up the day of the performances and buy the remaining tickets. That's FAR from being the biggest pre-sale ever, anywhere. That's is just the biggest case of wishful thinking ever.)

[JeffDaEgg2]

Thank you for seeing the logic, Blaxx!

[RW3]

Beside this ticket drama, does anyone else have reviews about the preview performances?

[JeffDaEgg2]

Just listened to Danna Paola's Defying Gravity (cough) and damn, she can sing that ****.

[DeNada]

There is NO advance ticket buying culture in Latin America for musical theatre - there is, in fact, little in Spain in Europe either. Tickets even for huge hit shows are mostly sold the week beforehand. Having a booking period that only opens for two months is not a sign of ANYTHING in Mexico - it's just typical for the market.

That doesn't mean to say the show's going to be a huge hit - but speaking from experience several shows which HAVE been very successful have adopted the same policy, since they just don't sell tickets any further in advance.

[RW3]

Is there a set schedule for Danna or Ana for who will be going on as Elphaba or is it a surprise?

[Fran_mex]

@Blaxx:

You wrote:

(Hint: Biggest pre-sale ever would be if they were sold out completely for 14+ months. They have a half empty mezzanine only for the 5 weeks they are on sale "in hopes" people will show up the day of the performances and buy the remaining tickets. That's FAR from being the biggest pre-sale ever, anywhere. That's is just the biggest case of wishful thinking ever.)

I didn't say biggest presale ever. I said biggest presale ever for Mexico. That's all.

From the producer twitter account:

Morris Gilbert ?@morrisgil 6 oct
Gracias a Dios,TODO el dia hay gente en la taquilla de WICKED. La preventa mas alta nunca antes registrada! Vamos bien...


Thank God, ALL DAY LONG there's people in Wicked's Box Office. The highest presale ever recorded. Doing well.

Obvioulsy, he's talking about Mexican theater.

[Fran_mex]

"There is NO advance ticket buying culture in Latin America for musical theatre - there is, in fact, little in Spain in Europe either. Tickets even for huge hit shows are mostly sold the week beforehand. Having a booking period that only opens for two months is not a sign of ANYTHING in Mexico - it's just typical for the market.

That doesn't mean to say the show's going to be a huge hit - but speaking from experience several shows which HAVE been very successful have adopted the same policy, since they just don't sell tickets any further in advance."

Exactly. We never have tickets available months in advance. Usually you can only tickets for the next 3 weekends.

[Fran_mex]

I have no involvement with the production. I wish I had, by the way.


And "success" is not the same here and on Broadway. The investment for Wicked Mexico is said to be 4 million dollars. With broadway prices (150 USD top ticket), they can sure recoup faster here.

Also, salaries here are extremely low. You wouldn't guess. Weekly running cost here, have nothing to do with broadway costs.

What I am saying is that my guess is that Wicked will run around 6-9 months, and if they manage to do that without discounts, and to recoup, I would consider that a great success for Mexican theatre.

The producers know that shows don't run as long here as they do on Broadway. If you do research, they are in talks to bring The Lion King to the Teatro Telcel immediatly after Wicked closes.

Will this be the shortest-run of Wicked ever? It well may be. Will this be the biggest success in Mexican theater? I think so. It can be both things, because the market here is so different.

[Annabella2]

Will there be a Latin American/Spain tour of this production, since it's the first one in Spanish?

[RW3]

Annabella2, Welcome to BWW!
As for a Latin American tour, probably not . As for a production in Spain, quite possibly.

[kadu335]

"There is NO advance ticket buying culture in Latin America for musical theatre - there is, in fact, little in Spain in Europe either. Tickets even for huge hit shows are mostly sold the week beforehand."

Yeah, that's also the case over here in Brazil... even popular shows like The Lion King and Shreak (both doing great business over here) have only tickets available through the last week of October.