Bullets, If/Then, Rocky in trouble

[teresa2]

I actually saw both shows as i have ssen pretty much everything on Broadway. The ONLY reason those shows were on Broadway, as you said, was because of who the stars are and they are guaranteed to make money. They will sell the tickets and bring the people in. The shows themselves are not Broadway material. If anyone else was in either show they would have been off Broadway.
I meant the shows being in the categories they were. i don't know if either qualified as a play or a musical.They were both more like a cabaret. I thought Audra did a phenomenal job in Lady Day even tho i don't have alot of knowledge of Billie Holliday. Regarding Hedwig, I never saw it off Broadway, didn't know there was a movie and didn't realize it had a cult following like Rocky Horror. It just wasn't my taste. Neil did do an amazing job for what it was.
It doesn't matter now. Its over and they both won. The prognosticators were correct on both counts.

[FishermanBob]

"The ONLY reason those shows were on Broadway, as you said, was because of who the stars are and they are guaranteed to make money."

Yes, we need more shows that star people no one has ever heard of that no one wants to see and that lose tons of money. Teresa, huge successes with shows like these allow producers the freedom to take a chance on less "sure" shows that you probably would deem more "Broadway worthy". Please try to get in the habit of frequently using the term "in my opinion" cause clearly yours is a view most don't share.

[getlucky2]

"Yes, we need more shows that star people no one has ever heard of that no one wants to see and that lose tons of money. Teresa, huge successes with shows like these allow producers the freedom to take a chance on less "sure" shows that you probably would deem more "Broadway worthy". Please try to get in the habit of frequently using the term "in my opinion" cause clearly yours is a view most don't share."

BOOM.

[Auggie27]

I'm not clear why "If/Then" is included in this crepe-hanging thread. It's pulling 800 grand, 83% of the seats. It's not a smash, but respectable in every regard, and may climb back close to a million in summer.

[TFMH18]

"I'm not clear why "If/Then" is included in this crepe-hanging thread. It's pulling 800 grand, 83% of the seats. It's not a smash, but respectable in every regard, and may climb back close to a million in summer."

This, this, this. Is it assumed that because it didn't get heaps of critical praise nor Tony noms that it is doing poorly? It is doing pretty damn well. Again, LOOK AT THE NUMBERS. Jeesh.

[teresa2]

Since i very rarely post on these boards because they are much too snarky for my taste I don't think i need to put "in my opinion". Since I am writing it, I would think most people can figure it out.
My problem isnt the stars, it is the material. You honestly think Hedwig is Broadway show material? What about actual theatre,like Next to Normal, Spring Awakening, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Wicked, Pippin, The Glass Menagerie, August Osage County, All The Way, Of Mice and Men, A Raisin in the Sun, etc.
Considering you just joined this board in March, and i have been a member since 2005, please don't presume to tell me what to do. I may post very infrequently, but i have gone to theater all my life and do know what is legitimate theater and what isn't. Hedwig isn't, it is a rock opera.

[haterobics]

"(I know) what is legitimate theater and what isn't. Hedwig isn't, it is a rock opera."

Why is a rock opera not legitimate theater?!

[LizzieCurry]

Hedwig isn't, it is a rock opera.

Are you for real?

[dramamama611]

Well, either could classify as a cabaret....if they weren't playing a character.

What do you think the rules are for whether something deserves to be a b'way show or not? There aren't any except: a show needs enough financial backing. Period. That's it. Do some shows seem to be a better fit off b'way, than on? Yes, but you really can only determine that by SALES. Both shows are selling tremendously well, both shows had critical kudos. Both shows belong on b'way.

[qolbinau]

"This, this, this. Is it assumed that because it didn't get heaps of critical praise nor Tony noms that it is doing poorly? It is doing pretty damn well. Again, LOOK AT THE NUMBERS. Jeesh."

The issue with If/then is that they don't have the advance anymore that they did. However, I'm now wondering whether this matters because maybe they can hold on in their current state for a long time and do just fine.

[Sutton Ross]

"You honestly think Hedwig is Broadway show material?"

Thousands of people that have seen it say unequivocally.....YES. It is "actual" theatre and the popularity of it clearly shows that. Just because you didn't like something doesn't make it non-Broadway show material. I mean....

[teresa2]

Yes definitely for real

[teresa2]

Hedwigs popularity is because of Neil Patrick Harris. It might not being doing as well or gotten the accolades it has if someone else was playing the part. It also wouldnt have gotten the financial backing to be on Broadway.
All i said was it isn't traditional Broadway show material.

[qolbinau]

Also, with Idina's amazing Tony performance that will surely become a YouTube hit, and a cast recording that is selling by the bucket loads, and summer, I get the feeling that IF/THEN momentum will pick up.

[haterobics]

"Hedwigs popularity is because of Neil Patrick Harris. It might not being doing as well or gotten the accolades it has if someone else was playing the part. It also wouldnt have gotten the financial backing to be on Broadway."

So, in an alternate reality of your invention, where Hedwig still came to Broadway, without NPH but with someone else, it may not have gotten as many accolades or be making as much money, or come to Broadway at all?

Hard to argue with you there.

[Sutton Ross]

"All i said was it isn't traditional Broadway show material."

No, you implied Hedwig wasn't actual theater and wasn't a rock opera. Both are emphatically wrong.

[teresa2]

Sutton please reread my post. I said Hedwig isn't actual theater and it is a rock opera.
And no I am not emphatically wrong. You just don't agree and you don't have to. We are entitled to our own opinions and I don't think we need to keep beating a dead horse so I won't engage in this topic again.

[FishermanBob]

"Hedwigs popularity is because of Neil Patrick Harris. It might not being doing as well or gotten the accolades it has if someone else was playing the part."

Yeah, so? All the Way's popularity is because of Bryan Cranston. Raisin's popularity is because of Denzel Washington and on and on. Alternatively put, a well known star, giving a widely acknowledged knockout performance will make a show popular. Is this actually news to you? Your years of theater attendance should have at least told you that.

"All i said was it isn't traditional Broadway show material."

And wouldn't Broadway being boring as heck if no one ever tried anything new or pushed boundaries or challenged us to see things in a new way. You can keep telling yourself Hedwig isn't Broadway material but it just won the Tony and is the hottest ticket in town so it would appear there is a fair amount of contrary evidence for you to evaluate.