"Noel [Coward] and I were in Paris once. Adjoining rooms, of course. One night, I felt mischievous, so I knocked on Noel's door, and he asked, 'Who is it?' I lowered my voice and said 'Hotel detective. Have you got a gentleman in your room?' He answered, 'Just a minute, I'll ask him.'" (Beatrice Lillie)
These losses are normal. That Forbes article is borderline idiotic, and it's clickbait-y to lump all those numbers together. Look at all the other shows that lost most or all of their capitalizations in the past 2 seasons...
2017-18
1984
Prince of Broadway (commercial enhancement)
M. Butterfly
Once On This Island
SpongeBob
Margaritaville
Angels in America
Children of a Lesser God
Carousel
Summer
2016-17
The Encounter
Les Liaisons
Great Comet
In Transit
Significant Other
Glass Menagerie
Sweat
Amelie
War Paint
Groundhog Day
Indecent
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Bandstand
Doll's House 2
Now to get to Miss Colgate White Strips' video: Just because a tour goes out non-Eq does not mean ticket prices will be cheaper. Occasionally they are. But it's just a cash grab option for greedy producers. And why is she acting surprised that Waitress is closing and that Hello Dolly impacted Broadway's financial landscape so much? Is she seriously devoting a 10-minute video to the finances of Broadway without studying the industry's grosses in-depth?? Kind of disgraceful....
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
She isn’t wrong about Broadway having a broken business plan, is she? Doesn’t the SEC require most investors in Broadway shows to be “accredited investors” having a net worth of a million dollars NOT including the value of their principal residence?
Investors in Broadway are a lot like investors in racehorses. They expect to lose their investment, but they like the perks that come with ownership and there’s always that chance to strike it big.
It's hard for me to take her videos seriously after I saw her extremely uninformed review of the Six studio recording (and her appended review, which still managed to be incredibly uninformed). Also, she says "sound track." I mean, I get that we're losing that battle, but it will forever grate on me.
Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!
Most shows on Broadway don't make back their entire initial investments and that's been true for decades. It has become extremely expensive to mount and maintain Broadway productions. It doesn't mean they don't make ANY money. If a show makes back 60% of its investment, then goes on several tours, it's possible to make back additional money. That Forbes article spins things a particular way because the author wants to make a point, but it's not an accurate depiction of the actual state of Broadway.
"Miss Colgate White Strips" is officially what I'm referring to her as from here on out.
She seems like she means well, but her knowledge of the industry is that of a 13-year-old. If you're going to make a video essay, use more than literally one (clickbait-y) source. Same goes for her Six review, where she critiqued a show she'd never seen.
Maybe I'm just old-fashioned, but this social media obsession plaguing the musical theatre community has been bothering me for a while. Between this and the other "Broadway stars on twitter" thread, I just wish everyone would stop this self-obsessed social media stuff and just focus on the art. I see it mostly with musical theatre people rather than the straight play people, weirdly enough (I also feel like the division between those two groups is larger than ever, something I don't like). Anyway, old person rant over.
She could've saved us 7 minutes by just reading the Forbes article to us- since she didn't add any research, facts, or knowledge of her own to this video,
This came up in my YouTube recommendations, and I remembered seeing it mentioned here so I watched (or tried to).
This whole video (and I guess the Forbes article, which I haven't read) makes no sense to me. How is there "oversaturation" of Broadway shows? Doesn't that just mean that theatres are occupied? Would it be better for the market if theatres were empty? Such a stupid argument.
Also, for the love of God, I was screaming in my head every time she said "capitalEYEzation."
This girl is intense. As a high school drama teacher, she actually kinda terrifies me. The insecurity mixed with self-absorption, the makeup, the “l’m up here” shirts, the nasal, brassy, fast-talking yelling at the camera, and just downright egotism are really off-putting. If she wants to be taken seriously as an actor, she needs to shut this channel down.
That video was interminable. She didn't say anything of worth until about 6 minutes in, and then basically repeating the same point for the rest of the time. I really though the video was more about her manicure than anything else, the way she was putting the nails in focus so much.
"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008
I guess it’s nice it is to see a discussion about Broadway financials on a popular forum like YouTube. I do take issue with the notion that non-union shows provided better access. Most Broadway Across America markets package these right next to union shows and charge the same amount for tickets.
everythingtaboo said: "That video was interminable. She didn't say anything of worth until about 6 minutes in, and then basically repeating the same point for the rest of the time. I really though the video was more about her manicure than anything else, the way she was putting the nails in focus so much."
Oof. Just...oof. I am so glad I'm not the only one who finds these videos insufferable. Yes, I said videos, because I gave her a chance. Her advice on auditioning has served her well in the insular world of local community drama (which is all well and good) but just smacks of an inbred-theatre-community vibe. I can't stand it. Unsubscribe.