HOLLER hollerin' away?- Page 3

[corkystclair2]

Posted: 6/29/14 at 11:17am

Is today the day that Riedel gets to eat crow again? My sources say that HOLLER may still have a pulse...

[haterobics]

Posted: 6/29/14 at 12:28pm

Riedel said he heard it was closing from a source. That makes his source wrong, not him. It wasn't his prediction.

[corkystclair2]

Posted: 6/29/14 at 1:04pm

Semantics. Riedel made a pronouncement and I'm sure that he would take full credit if it turned out to be correct.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 6/29/14 at 1:13pm

He cannot take full credit if he did not originate the rumor or statement, regardless of its validity.

[VotePeron]

Posted: 6/29/14 at 1:18pm

So are the producers basically just hoping people will start coming to this show in flocks? It is doing so poor that I don't understand how it can stand to make a little and a little more each week until it's making a steady income. And by the time that happens, it'll be the fall and the slow months for all of Broadway.

[haterobics]

Posted: 6/29/14 at 7:05pm

I don't think anyone can take too much credit for predicting this show is closing soon.

Now, if you predict now it will play through early January and be right? Then, you can take and deserve all the credit you want.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 7/2/14 at 2:20pm

"Holler" just booked an appearance on GMA for July 8, so the show will live to see 2 more weeks [at least].

[GilmoreGirlO2]

Posted: 7/2/14 at 2:43pm

I saw this last week and actually very much enjoyed it. It’s certainly nowhere near a perfect musical (definitely some book/structure issues), but I do think it succeeds in what it’s trying to do. For me, this show feels like it’s a cry for help for those in situations/neighborhoods like the characters in the show; essentially, a call to arms for gun control and to somehow offer help for those who need it. And, to me, it did just that. I was very moved at the end and definitely think it’s a worthy piece of musical theatre, even if it’s not the most well-made.

The day I attended (a Monday night), the audience was very thin. However, it was one of the most culturally diverse crowds I have ever seen at a Broadway show, which is always a plus in my book.

[Broadway Joe]

Posted: 7/2/14 at 3:02pm

I saw it last night. The mezzanine was only half full. I think its a shame they didn't pick a smaller theatre or picked an off Broadway theatre for it.

I went in expecting it be awful and I ended up liking it. All the rappers were surprisingly very good. The book was definitely the weakest part but I've seen a lot worse over the years.

[Littleshopofcarrie]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 5:05pm

Holler If Ya Hear Me producer raising $5m to keep show running "until ticket sales improve."

Ticket sales are never going to improve and it's all going to be a waste of money. Such a shame.


Article Updated On: 7/10/14 at 05:05 PM

[eperkins]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 5:11pm

That's the 'rookie mistake." Throwing good money after bad.

[evic]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 5:22pm

Don't forget to flush. Why not just donate the money to a charity. Unless he thinks that the show is a charity.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 5:26pm

Why don't you think ticket sales could improve? Through word of mouth, it may. No?

[ethan231h]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 5:35pm

this producer just won't give up, I mean it din't get good reviews nor word of mouth and ticket sales aren't good, so in my opinion it should be closing already.

[jdrye222]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 6:06pm

I have to say, I find it quite commendable.
The truth is, this board dismissed the show as soon as it was announced, before it had a chance. The producers made a mistake in trying to market to broadway audiences who would (and have) turned up their noses at something that hasn't really been done before.
The hip hop reviews have been positive but they weren't invited until recently. Henry Louis Gates Jr wrote a very profound essay on the show, and hiphop and tupac in the context of theater.
In my opinion, no it's not a perfect show but its message is deep, and Pac's poetry was important and sadly still relevant. It is certainly a better show than a lot of what runs for years, and vastly more important. If it isn't your thing, fine. But why criticize someone who believes in a project, admits the error in marketing, and had the guts to talk about it openly???
I think it's the least cynical producer I've heard of in a long time and I'm tired of hearing it get trashed. If you want people to try new things on broadway, you can't trash them.
I'm not going to get involved in arguing the point further but just had to put my two cents in.
The show is not taking up space as some people claim --- the theater isn't likely to be wanted until September or October anyway, so why not support something being there? It's not your money he's spending.
I saw the show with someone who teaches public school in a dangerous inner city and she was profoundly moved by the show. She felt she was watching her students' lives onstage and wished they could see it to take the lesson from it.
Theater touches all kinds of people in different ways. We should all support that as a concept and not demean people who aren't just money-hungry but actually champion the form.

[Hackasaurus_Rex]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 6:42pm

I don't think people are hating on this show because of the unconventional content. On the contrary I think everyone was hoping for a show worthy of Tupac's music. The problem seems to be the book from almost everyone who has seen it... the execution not the concept. I personally am shocked to see the producer trying to raise an additional $5 million to keep this thing going. He was quoted as saying, "I made a rookie mistake by underestimating how much capital was necessary." I think that was only one of several rookie mistakes. 1) This clearly needed time out of town to figure this show out... to work out the kinks and find ways for the story to do more dramatic "showing" rather than "telling." 2) The theater is way to big. 3) They opened after the Tonys and therefor didn't get the exposure and receive whatever possible nominations or wins that could attract those audience members who may not jump to see a Tupac show but DO want to see "that show that was well received at the Tonys." (* This is assuming that if they followed point #1 and presented a properly developed show would be good enough to be invited to the Tonys) 4) They did virtually no advertising or marketing before the show opened that might let an audience in on what the experience in the theater would be. I feel for everyone involved. I personally wanted to see this show succeed because I do love this music, I love Tupac's writing, and I think a hip hop musical could work on Broadway. Just doesn't feel like this is the one.

Updated On: 7/10/14 at 06:42 PM

[roadmixer]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 6:46pm

So well put jdrye222! You have to know, if you have been on here for a while, that people do enjoy a good round of trashing something. It's almost as if talking about hating something is a sport! I have seen HOLLER twice and the audiences both times erupted in applause, cheering and stood at the end immediately. A bigger ovation than some of the 'hits' that I have seen. Clearly the music and performances are great and it is entertaining to see. I wish that the piece had more development time in front of an audience because it clearly suffers from taking a middle of the road approach when a more gritty and real book would have helped a lot.

[James885]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 7:15pm

I haven't seen the show, so I can't comment on it's merits but regardless of what happens with HOLLER, I do hope it won't deter producers from trying to mount future hip-hop musicals on Broadway. It's a genre that's virtually untapped in the theater, and considering that the genre's almost 30 years old, it's surprising we haven't seen more hip hop musicals.

Updated On: 7/10/14 at 07:15 PM

[haterobics]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 7:24pm

"The truth is, this board dismissed the show as soon as it was announced, before it had a chance."

There is no correlation between this board and the success of any show. If we went by BWW, Bridges would still be open and Wicked would have closed 10 years ago... (both of which I'd be fine with, but still)

But even if the show has been trashed on here, most of the criticism was about the producers, the marketing in advance, and the process... all of which has since proven to be accurate. We didn't kill a great show, they didn't deliver one.

"The producers made a mistake in trying to market to broadway audiences who would (and have) turned up their noses at something that hasn't really been done before."

The error here is assuming they marketed the show.

When tickets went on sale for this show, there was no information what the show even was, what the story was, etc., information people ended up finding on other sites and pasting here.

I think their perception was when they said "Tupac," we'd whip out our credit cards, and then they were taken by surprise when that didn't happen.

Look at On The Town, it is months in advance and they are out spreading the word, making appearances, shooting videos with the cast and posting them online, and building up advance notice that the show is coming. None of which happened mere weeks before Holler...

When I first inquired about the show, and wondered how anyone was supposed to purchase a ticket to a show with no information what it even is, and that was after looking on their own website which contained no information... well, that isn't being critical about the show. At that point in time, if it was going to be a good show, I wanted a good seat (not knowing that no one else would be buying seats either at that point).

Once I heard about the show in previews, I became disinterested in seeing it, since I'm getting a bit tired of seeing musicals with weak-ass books, let alone shows where all the interesting stuff happens offstage, so even once I could have attended time and time again for free, I had zero interest at that point.

But I certainly never shied away from this show because of the content or it being rap or somesuch. I was interested in knowing what it was, until it revealed it was kind of a mess. It isn't surprising that people are enjoying talented actors, dancers, and singers passionately performing music they enjoy on stage, but that doesn't make it a good musical, only a glimpse at a missed opportunity to tell a story on that same level.

[Rainbowhigh23]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 8:25pm

There were flyer people in orange prison jumpsuits outside the Palace today. They were young and they didn't look very prison like, though.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 8:30pm

LOL. How does one look prison-like?

[oncemorewithfeeling2]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 8:49pm

My problem with the show wasn't the content or it being something totally foreign to broadway. My problem was that the book was horrible and the characters didn't compell me to care about them. I felt no connection to them. The performance's are well done and no one I know who saw the show said otherwise.

I think the show could be a turn off for some people because of the nature of Tupac's work. The content and language in his songs is a bit much for some people, but I can respect that. That being said, I think the audience being targeted is aware of the language in the show.

The show is floundering because advertising efforts weren't made early on and even then, people truly had no idea what the show was about. I heard 5 or 6 people say, "I though this was about Tupac's life!" as we left the theater.

For what it's worth, the reviews were much better then I expected. It didn't 't get hacked to pieces. I've seen shows far worse the Holler.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 7/11/14 at 9:16am

^ Totally. The problem is the book. It's not that it's rap or that critics are scared of it. I was so excited and wanted to love the show because it's new and different, but it just isn't as good as they think it is.

[little_sally]

Posted: 7/11/14 at 11:16am

How much could ticket sales improve at this point? The holidays are too far away (if they make it that long) and so are the Tonys, and this isn't a Gentleman's Guide type of situation.

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 7/11/14 at 11:37am

Isn't that the problem where you have to raise $5m to keep the show afloat, shows that have been successful don't raise money to keep running, the box office does that.