Do reviews make or break a production?

[Wickedlover56]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 9:42pm

http://broadwaytour.net/do-critic-reviews-make-or-break-a-production-on-broadway
Think this is a very interesting article. I find it interesting that they quote some of the message board members.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 10:10pm

Folks from Wall Street and Utah and Japan do not follow the message boards. They buy based on word of mouth ("My co-worker loved it!"), name recognition ("I love Cyndi Lauper!") and critics' quotes they see in the papers and on the marquis ("The best musical of this century!"). The last will never be replaced by says "I love anything with Kelli O'Hara!"

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 10:29pm

Look at the successes of The Addams Family and Motown. So, no.

[James885]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 10:35pm

I think there are a lot of variables that go into the success or failure of a production, so it's hard to give a definite answer. However I would lean towards no, since I'd be willing to bet that most people who attend Broadway shows don't read reviews and rely more on word of mouth.

[StephanCasey]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 7:26am

Often people just adopt the opinion of reviewers. It can harshly effect people's opinion. I know that I personally don't care much for reviews because most critics see things I honestly couldn't care less about

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 9:04am

Like this article stated, I think the critics still play a role into getting a show established until it can get some positive word of mouth help.

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 10:56am

The article does not distinguish between the impact of reviews of plays v. musicals, but I believe that the Broadway League has published data on the question. If my memory is correct, positive reviews are far more important to the success of plays, and bad reviews of plays will basically kill them. On the other hand, word of mouth is what is critical to the success of a musical. If a musical gets very good word of mouth, it can overcome poor reviews. I guess the best example I can think of now would be Wicked.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 11:31am

I thought "Wicked" got mixed reviews. It was nominated for Best Musical and lost in what most people considered a major upset so IMO it was not entirely word of mouth that made "Wicked" the huge hit.

[musicaljen]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 3:57pm

The only review I care about is my own. There were lot of shows that were praised by
critics and I found myself getting bored only 10 minutes after the curtain goes up.
Sorry but I am also a person who couldn't get into both Rent and Wicked.

[Musical Master]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 4:05pm

RaisedOnMusicals, do you think Cinderella counts? That one tore critics in half and yet the word of mouth for it was incredible.

Updated On: 7/5/14 at 04:05 PM

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 7/5/14 at 6:18pm

In terms of musicals, reviews have not mattered much since Broadway producers discovered TV commercials.

It's much harder to get a good ad out of a non-musical play.