Barry Manilow ‘fighting horribly’ with hubby manager amid Broadway flop- Page 2

[NYCblurb]

Posted: 8/13/19 at 9:51am

I had a ball too. Sang along the whole time, and suited us just right. I either love or hate PAGE SIX.

[Tom5]

Posted: 8/13/19 at 10:52am

Replayed Can't Smile Without You. This guy was GOOD.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 8/13/19 at 11:19am

The article didn't say that Manilow was complaining about the grosses -- he must have a zillion dollars -- but about attendance, i.e., looking out at a lot of empty seats.  As someone else pointed out, in a limited engagement, with a limited number of performances per week, it is only filling the theatre at 82% of capacity.  If some performances are selling out, that means that some  performances were possibly 60% - 70% attended.  

That means that the star of a one person show, who probably expected a huge success, is performing in front of an audience with 1/3 of the seats empty.  Now, every time I attend a theatre that is has a lot of empty seats, I have always been surprised to see that the empty seats are mainly the least expensive ones (I imagine a lot of the seats were sold at TKTS, which mostly sells orchestra seats).  If this is the case  with Manilow's show, he is probably looking out at large balcony which is mega-empty. vs. empty seats dispersed around the theatre and, therefore, not as noticeable.  

If it is true that he wanted a shorter engagement, is used to performing to large crowds, and was probably expecting a triumph (performer's egos), then I can imagine him being very unhappy and lashing out at the person who pushed for the longer run and prices.  Hopefully, the relationship is strong enough that this will be a blip in the relationship.

[binau]

Posted: 8/13/19 at 11:28am

I don’t think it is just ego about capacity. The article definitely had a financial angle - it suggested at one point that the manager would get more money than Barry and that annoyed him. It also suggested if I recall that Barry is spending more money than he wanted to on the project. Can’t recall for certain though.

[Papi2013]

Posted: 8/13/19 at 5:50pm

Jarethan said: "If it is true that he wanted a shorter engagement, is used to performing to large crowds, and was probably expecting a triumph (performer's egos), then I can imagine him being very unhappy and lashing out at the person who pushed for the longer run and prices. Hopefully, the relationship is strong enough that this will be a blip in the relationship."

His last Broadway engagement didn't fare much better in terms of attendance.   

[SweetLips22]

Posted: 8/14/19 at 1:36am

One is a performer, one is his manager, and they are married, to each other.

A very strange arrangement where they are not equal partners. The distribution of wealth at divorce or death is a different matter but the reported situation is just weird, probably like the journal which I don't know anything about.

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 8/14/19 at 3:08am

qolbinau said: "The numbers might look good if this was a long running show but if they budgeted for quick and sharp revenue with expectations of Bruce Springsteen I can see how they would be disappointed and the costs might not have been controlled well enough."

If they had expectations of Springsteen numbers, they were clearly deluded. There's only one Boss.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 8/14/19 at 6:13am

SweetLips22 said: "One is a performer, one is his manager, and they are married, to each other.

A very strange arrangement where they are not equal partners. The distribution of wealth at divorce or death is a different matter but the reported situation is just weird, probably like the journal which I don't know anything about."

Manilow lives literally at the end of my street and up the mountainside. We are famous for strict community property laws here in California, so one would expect the spouses would each own half of whatever the other makes.

But maybe they maintain an official residence somewhere else, or maybe the money of each is in trusts. I hear there are different rules for the rich than for my husband and me.

Updated On: 8/14/19 at 06:13 AM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 8/14/19 at 8:56am

Oh look, another thinly-veiled homophobic/racist/misogynist/ (interchangeable) piece of crap from Page Six and its toadies.

What makes it homophobic/racist/misogynist (interchangeable)?  It looks like any other gossip article about backstage bickering with a high-profile celebrity and spouse.  If anything, it's an equal-opportunity hack piece.

[castlestreet]

Posted: 8/14/19 at 10:06am

I’ve seen him twice in concert and both times he truly delivered the goods. I also think he’s at that very difficult stage in his very long and successful career where the new albums land without much fanfare, and special engagements such as this and his last stint a few years back just don’t draw the crowds like they used to. Add to it the ticket price, it’s not a recipe for success.

[DAME]

Posted: 8/14/19 at 7:31pm

https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/08/barry-manilow-broadway-residency-delirious-joy/amp/

[Bette's Turban]

Posted: 8/14/19 at 7:42pm

The husband / manager responds.

https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/entertainment-columns/kats/barry-manilow-having-a-great-time-in-nyc-despite-reports-1825033/

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/14/19 at 8:43pm

why is this still being discussed. Everything has been known since at least monday. The Post got wind of something (probably true) and spun it into an imaginary story. (This is their modus operandi.) Then the data arrived. Now the spin is just the stuff of embarrassment unless (like its patron saint) you are impervious to such embarrassment. 

[alovingfan]

Posted: 8/14/19 at 8:48pm

HogansHero said: "why is this still being discussed. Everything has been known since at least monday. The Post got wind of something (probably true) and spun it into an imaginary story. (This is their modus operandi.) Then the data arrived. Now the spin is just the stuff of embarrassment unless (like its patron saint) you are impervious to such embarrassment."

Why is anything being discussed?  Thats what we do here.  HELLO?   If you don't like it then go to a different thread.  Both the Journal and that other link are recent.  

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 8/15/19 at 1:32am

Well said, alovingfan. With all due respect (and that's a lot of respect in my case) to Hogan, I sometime wonder if I'm the only poster here with a scroll capability.

Re Jarethan's post above, if the primary issue were empty seats visible from the stage, then maybe the argument was about how discounted tix and paper were being distributed more than about the actual grosses.

At the theater where I worked here in Palm Springs, there was a strict policy that the ushers were to move people from the balcony down to the front orchestra if a house were only partially sold. It was forbidden to let the performers come out and face rows of empty seats.

(Yes, I know one of the articles mentions friction over which of the spouses receives more of the gross. California community property law does not require commingling of funds while the spouses are alive and legally married. But this is something that might have been mentioned in the heat of an argument and then magnified by putting it in print. Or maybe it is complete fiction.)

[BWAY Baby2]

Posted: 8/15/19 at 4:22am

Oh, please- who doesn't fight horribly with their hubby from time to time?- they might be a very happy couple- and really love and respect each other- but are having a few meltdowns over a few issues with the show- not necessarily any type of deal breaker or major marital fiasco.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/15/19 at 9:12am

@fan and Gavy The point of my post was that people are still posting about what the Post wrote as if "the data [had not] arrived." That is the "this" I was referring to. I never mind folks posting in a thread (indeed, it can be noted that I did just that) but I do mind when people are illogical, like posting very operatically about some fact that is no longer in dispute. 

[DAME]

Posted: 8/15/19 at 1:19pm

I wonder if Barry or someone in his team leaked to the Post? I bet Barry is thrilled to have his name in the papers.

[morosco]

Posted: 8/15/19 at 1:57pm

Years ago I worked at a venue he played at and sales were poor. That's not necessarily a result of his name not selling tickets as it could have been a result of poor marketing, etc.

But what I do remember most is his production people demanding that all of the unsold seats witihin Manilow's field of vision be covered in black in an attempt that the empty seats not be so noticeable.

The venue had to go out at the last minute and spend a fortune on black visqueen to cover all those empty seats.

[arsol]

Posted: 8/15/19 at 7:10pm

DAME said: "I wonder i https://rufus.vip/f Barry or someone i  https://filezilla.software/n his team leaked to the Post? I bet Barry is thrilled to have his name in the papers."

But The Post has reported it’s struggling to s https://www.ucbrowser.pro/ell tickets and the “Copacabana” star is facing an “ocean of empty seats.”
 

Updated On: 8/21/19 at 07:10 PM

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/15/19 at 7:24pm

arsol said: "DAME said: "I wonder if Barry or someone in his team leaked to the Post? I bet Barry is thrilled to have his name in the papers."

But The Post has reported it’s struggling to sell tickets and the “Copacabana” star is facing an “ocean of empty seats.”
"

ok this is what I was talking about. Forgetting about the fact that what DAME said makes no sense (no one wants press that says a show is not selling: that prompts people to NOT buy tickets) but why are we still talking about a struggle when the DATA is now available and shows that's BS. Look, I have no horse in this race, but why repeat fake news?

[devonian.t]

Posted: 8/16/19 at 4:36am

In my experience it is not helpful to feed the press stories that a show is not selling.  And celebrities really don't consider it good for their image.

Clinging to a conspiracy that it's all in Barry's plan is simply foolish.

[David10086]

Posted: 8/16/19 at 8:05am

As the old saying goes in marketing:

"There's no such thing as 'bad press' so long as they spell your name correctly."

Celebrities know this to be true - especially these days. If it weren't for 'bad press' on social sites, TV talk shows, gossip columns - we wouldn't hear about some of these 'celebrities' at all.

Especially politicians. 

 

Updated On: 8/16/19 at 08:05 AM

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 8/16/19 at 6:51pm

Then Fate Dunaeay. I’m sure she’s thrilled with the coverage of the circumstances of her departure from her play. Thrilled, I tell you! So thrilled that she left the country to better bask in its glow.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/16/19 at 7:08pm

This stuff is not as dense as some seem to want to make it. 

I hate to sound like a broken record (no, I don't) but there are no rules and especially not when they are of the sub-ilk of "old sayings." Let's try to break this down:

Backstage gossip about has-been performers (especially fighting spouses): good 

Backstage gossip about poor ticket sales and lots of empty seats for said has-been performer's show: bad. 

No marketing person will tell you the latter is good because (a) it has a negative effect on demand and price buoyancy, (b) it reinforces the has-been label, (c) it makes going to the show uncool, i.e., people flock to successes and flee failures, (d) live performances are about collective energy, and folks don't want to be in an ocean of empty seats when they go do a performance, and (e) nature abhors a vacuum.