Yazbeck, Johnson and Alves for Broadway's On the Town

[CukorLover]

Posted: 5/21/14 at 11:12pm

Talented guys, though let's see if they get a "name" with the women.
Tony Yazbeck, Jay Armstrong Johnson and Clyde Alves Will Lead Broadway's On the Town

[RW3]

Posted: 5/21/14 at 11:14pm

Completely agree

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/21/14 at 11:19pm

Stop with the "names" already. The show is not written for "names."

These guys have talent galore. The women who played the parts at Barrington were brilliant enough. I hope all three of them do the show as well. Same goes for Nancy Opel and Michael Rupert, who played the older parts.

But stop with the "names" already.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 5/22/14 at 12:42am

PJ is right on this one. Remember the '71 revival had Bernadette Peters, Donna McKecknie, and Phyliss Newman and played 73 performances even under the helm of Ron Field. The show needs a good production all around and it needs to capture the public's attention. Only time will tell if this great show catches fire this time. There may be some changes in the women's roles (I say this only because the full cast wasn't announced together), but it could just be contract negotiations.

[haterobics]

Posted: 5/22/14 at 10:40am

"But stop with the "names" already."

I definitely don't think a show should need a name to exist/survive, but it does stand to reason how they can fill up the Foxwoods without a name. That place is huge.

I don't see them as separate arguments. You can get an amazing cast that is perfect for the show/material without names, but that only goes so far if you can't fill the house.

[dreaming]

Posted: 5/22/14 at 11:07am

I think times have changed. Look at the grosses and see what I mean-Neil Patrick Harris (a 'name' although he did start in theater), and Idina Menzel ("Adele Dazeem") are headlining shows that are doing very well.

Also, the show's title is only known to a vast minority of people (those over 60 and the people on this board). I'm not thinking this is going to fill the Lyric without at least one 'name', all reviews aside ("Gentleman's Guide" got great reviews...and it's not doing very well...)

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/22/14 at 1:10pm

STOP WITH THE "NAMES" ALREADY!!!

(And Gentlemen's Guide did 100.1% this week and 97.4% last week, thankyouverymuch.)

[jnb9872]

Posted: 5/22/14 at 1:19pm

"Names" can do very well in projects that are well-suited to them.

Shows that are well-crafted with actors who aren't "names" yet who are well-suited to the ensemble can also do well.

If there aren't "names" that are well-suited, a show is better off being the best it can be instead of being the best draw it can be. Audiences can usually smell a pandering namebait, but are drawn like flies to the best fits regardless of name.

There are always exceptions. The best motivation a show can have is to be as good a version of itself as it can. This casting gives me hope for the show, as it'll need the best reviews it can possibly get to fill the Lyric.

[Sauja]

Posted: 5/22/14 at 3:20pm

"(And Gentlemen's Guide did 100.1% this week and 97.4% last week, thankyouverymuch.)"

Yes. With 10 Tony nominations in a house with a capacity of 975 as opposed to the Lyric's 1,932.

You may not want "names" to be one of the main draws to shows on Broadway. I don't want that either. I just want the RIGHT cast. Doesn't mean that it makes economic sense for this show in this theater. The greatest production with the best reviews will almost certainly not draw in a sizeable enough audience to keep this show afloat in the biggest theater on Broadway. Sad? Sure. But probably true.

Unless they're totally insane (and they DID book On the Town into the Lyric...) we'll be hearing about some star casting in the female roles.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/22/14 at 3:23pm

Which of the female roles do you mean? What level of star are you imagining?

[madbrian]

Posted: 5/22/14 at 3:26pm

Kinky Boots is selling out the Hirschfeld without any 'names'. Though not as big as the Lyric, it's still a pretty big house.

[haterobics]

Posted: 5/22/14 at 3:26pm

Well, this discussion is well-timed, given this is one of the first week's in Gentleman's Guide's history where you can talk about its capacity crowds, well-warned as they are...

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 5/22/14 at 3:40pm

GG has been struggling until this week, and still is making less than 75% of potential. https://www.broadwayworld.com/grosses/A-GENTLEMAN-S-GUIDE-TO-LOVE-AND-MURDER

The Hirschfeld is ~ 1400 seats and the Foxwoods/Lyric is over 1900. Big difference actually.

[Sauja]

Posted: 5/22/14 at 3:51pm

Kinky Boots is also a new show with Cyndi Lauper's first score. And it's flashy. On the Town is an exceptional musical (one of my very favorites), but I think a brilliant production with incredibly talented people won't be enough to sell it. That's pessimistic, and I'm not an expert, but that's where my head is.

In terms of which female roles I expect to be star cast, first and foremost, I'd anticipate Hildy. And I imagine them going for someone on the NPH/Michelle Williams level of fame. Although, thinking about celebrities who might actually be able to pull off any of the roles, I don't dislike the idea of Kristen Bell as Claire...

[haterobics]

Posted: 5/22/14 at 3:56pm

Kinky Boots also took a while to build into an always-sold-out show.

Do theaters ever give reduced rent as an incentive? Like, if the Foxwoods (always forget the new name) is always going to be empty as only some huge King Kong/spectacle is willing to take it, would they ever reduce the rent just to have it not empty?

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 5/22/14 at 8:54pm

KINKY BOOTS has a "name" - Cyndi Lauper. It's also the currently reigning Best Musical.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 5/22/14 at 9:06pm

They could cast a star dancer in the non-singing Sono Osato (Ivy Smith) role, though I guess that still would only bring in some big dance fans...

(was OTT the first Broadway show with a truly integrated chorus-almost colour blind? While Ivy is described as exotic, her Asian background even with WWII mentality, is never brought up, and in photos of the original production, such as the ones I posted in the longer thread we just had two days back about this :P, there are at least two black dancers in the ensemble.)

Updated On: 5/22/14 at 09:06 PM

[quizking101]

Posted: 5/23/14 at 12:11pm

I feel like they should pull what HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME is doing at the Palace, alter the seating arrangement. Or at the very least close off the balcony, because that may alleviate some of the burden of filling that cavernous barn (which I haven't been to since YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN...72 shows ago).

[dreaming]

Posted: 5/23/14 at 12:14pm

I wonder if they'll close the balcony off-at least for previews. (Maybe once the reviews come out, if it becomes a hotter ticket, they can open it.)

[haterobics]

Posted: 5/23/14 at 12:28pm

"I feel like they should pull what HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME is doing at the Palace, alter the seating arrangement. Or at the very least close off the balcony, because that may alleviate some of the burden of filling that cavernous barn"

Unless they work out a deal with the owners, that doesn't solve much. I can stop going in my bedroom, but my landlord is still going to charge me the same rent, no?

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 5/23/14 at 3:03pm

The theater is just too large, period. On the Town should play in a medium-sized house (e.g., the Broadhurst, Jacobs, Eugene O'Neill, Longacre and several others I could name). Even those few shows at the Foxwood (or whatever it's called now)that passed muster with the critics and public ended up in the red. IMO, should be used for some purpose more well-suited to the touristy trade with zillions of dollars to spend who are more concerned about spectacle, lavish sets, etc., etc. And do not want to think.

Updated On: 5/24/14 at 03:03 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/26/14 at 8:45pm

This lovely photograph of Oliver Smith's set for the original ballet of Fancy Free was just posted by the Jerome Robbins Facebook page:

[showchoirguy]

Posted: 5/26/14 at 10:00pm

I mentioned on another page Laura Benanti for Hildy or Claire. Any thought?

[PalJoey]

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

She would be funny--very funny--as Claire DeLoone, but isn't it too small a role for her? She sings "Carried Away" with Ozzie and takes part in "Ya Got Me" and "Some Other Time."

And is she the kind of "name" that brings in audiences anyway?