The Lightning Thief goes after critics on twitter- Page 4

[itsahopi]

Posted: 10/28/19 at 7:37pm

I’ve been following the LT account since tour and what they’ve been doing as far as harnessing the energy of the show while attracting an alienated fanbase has been really innovative compared to the regular social media accounts of shows. It’s not always for me because I am not the target audience, and that is something I feel is being overlooked here. Take a moment to analyze the engagement on each tweet and the passion from followers in the comments. You won’t see this kind of thing happening with other shows. The sass, the snark, the overall tone of the account has always been there and that’s why it gets traction from people like Lizzo. I admire the art that’s happening on a macro scale and it’s a shame that the essence of this brand’s work is being boiled down and judged by essentially two tweets that are being misinterpreted when taken out of context of the entire account. I’m sure I’ll get flack for defending it, but I feel like a lot of people here need to look inward and ask themselves why they’re getting so riled up over two tweets.

Updated On: 10/28/19 at 07:37 PM

[bwayjulia]

Posted: 10/28/19 at 8:53pm

Same here. Was planning on seeing it but the social media account snark is a real turn off that it makes me wonder if the show is going to be as bad so I'm skipping it. I guess they don't want any adults attending. I did find it funny that they pat themselves on the back for their awful social media but at the end of the day, success is measured by how many tickets they are selling and their ATP and weekly grosses tell the real story. They are just turning people off. 

[Bill Snibson]

Posted: 10/28/19 at 9:17pm

Ultimately, you need to have the goods to back it all up and clearly this show just doesn’t. It’s grossing under $200k and that in and of itself speaks volumes. Broadway audiences expect more for their money.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 10/28/19 at 9:27pm

The Distinctive Baritone said: "Is it me, or does “cis het” sound like a derogatory term? To me it seems like calling someone a “homo.” I’m not a fan, especially since we “cis het” males are usually not in positions of power when it comes to musical theater - quite the opposite, actually. And I don’t think The New York Times has had a straight male theater critic since Frank Rich left in the 1990’s. It’s like...not even accurate whining."

I agree it's a terrible term and I am one gay man who will not be using it. I am fine with being lumped in with other "queers" and the whole alphabet and I will refer to trans-people by whatever term they prefer. But the academics who decided half of the word "sissy" should be applied to all males--gay and straight--whose identities match their biology should lose their tenure. I mean, "Come ON, girls!"

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/28/19 at 9:41pm

I'm really surprised they haven't announced a closing date and ending their limited run sooner. Their grosses are embarrassing.

[Newsiesgirl67]

Posted: 10/28/19 at 10:15pm

ACL2006 said: "I'm really surprised they haven't announced a closing date and ending their limited run sooner. Their grosses are embarrassing."

Same.. went to see it last week with my boyfriend last minute got second row Orchestra at rush price and our row wasn’t full, the two in front of us left during intermission and the back of orchestra had like 4 empty rows..

 

and while I did for the most part enjoy it, seeing how the twitter is acting has like I said before turn me off especially  from Seeing it again with friends who been wanting to

 

[Bill Snibson]

Posted: 10/28/19 at 10:17pm

There is no way this can play out it’s run unless the producers want to save face. They will never be able to turn these numbers around. Time to bow out and close up shop.

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 10/28/19 at 10:55pm

itsahopi said: "I’ve been following the LT account since tour and what they’ve been doing as far as harnessing the energy of the show while attracting an alienated fanbase has been really innovative compared to the regular social media accounts of shows. It’s not always for me because I am not the target audience, and that is something I feel is being overlooked here. Take a moment to analyze the engagement on each tweet and the passion from followers in the comments. You won’t see this kind of thing happening with other shows. The sass, the snark, the overall tone of the account has always been there and that’s why it gets traction from people like Lizzo.I admire the art that’s happening on a macro scale and it’s a shame that the essence of this brand’s work is being boiled down and judged by essentially two tweets that are being misinterpreted when taken out of context of the entire account. I’m sure I’ll get flack for defending it, but I feel like a lot of people here need to look inward and ask themselves why they’re getting so riled up over two tweets."

The problem is that the fanbase doesn't have disposable income, and they are turning off those who do have the cash to buy tickets. Their tweets might garner the support of teens and tweens on social media, but that isn't the support that pays the bills. In any case, I wish the best to those in the show, especially if the run is cut short.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 10/29/19 at 12:08am

jimmycurry01 said: "itsahopi said: "I’ve been following the LT account since tour and what they’ve been doing as far as harnessing the energy of the show while attracting an alienated fanbase has been really innovative compared to the regular social media accounts of shows. It’s not always for me because I am not the target audience, and that is something I feel is being overlooked here. Take a moment to analyze the engagement on each tweet and the passion from followers in the comments. You won’t see this kind of thing happening with other shows. The sass, the snark, the overall tone of the account has always been there and that’s why it gets traction from people like Lizzo.I admire the art that’s happening on a macro scale and it’s a shame that the essence of this brand’s work is being boiled down and judged by essentially two tweets that are being misinterpreted when taken out of context of the entire account. I’m sure I’ll get flack for defending it, but I feel like a lot of people here need to look inward and ask themselves why they’re getting so riled up over two tweets."

The problem is that thefanbase doesn't have disposable income, and they are turning off those who do have the cash to buy tickets. Their tweets might garner the support of teens and tweens on social media, but that isn't the support that pays the bills. In any case, I wish the best to those in the show, especially if the run is cut short."

It's the problem with how social media has impacted Broadway; they're forgetting about the people who are actually financially and geographically capable of seeing the show. Like someone said on the thread about BMC closing, "millions of Spotify streams doesn't mean millions of full price tickets".

Updated On: 10/29/19 at 12:08 AM

[DRSisLove]

Posted: 10/29/19 at 8:43am

Honestly been holding off saying this but - I sat behind the woman running the account at the opening night of Little Shop of Horrors. She kept firing off tweets even as the show started and at the end of intermission. I had seen this thread earlier in the day and was almost horrified to see that she was still doing it.

[kdogg36]

Posted: 10/29/19 at 9:33am

GavestonPS said: "But the academics who decided half of the word "sissy" should be appliedto all males--gay and straight--whose identities match their biology should lose their tenure. I mean, "Come ON, girls!""

I'm guessing you might know this already, but trans- and cis- are Latinate prefixes with opposite meanings (originally regarding motion away from or towards something, respectively). It seems like a natural thing to me to choose the term cisgender as the counterpart of transgender. Both terms can apply to men and women.

Updated On: 10/29/19 at 09:33 AM

[perfectliar]

Posted: 10/29/19 at 9:38am

GavestonPS said: "The Distinctive Baritone said: "Is it me, or does “cis het” sound like a derogatory term? To me it seems like calling someone a “homo.” I’m not a fan, especially since we “cis het” males are usually not in positions of power when it comes to musical theater - quite the opposite, actually. And I don’t think The New York Times has had a straight male theater critic since Frank Rich left in the 1990’s. It’s like...not even accurate whining."

I agree it's a terrible term and I am one gay man who will not be using it. I am fine with being lumped in with other "queers" and the whole alphabet and I will refer to trans-people by whatever term they prefer. But the academics who decided half of the word "sissy" should be appliedto all males--gay and straight--whose identities match their biology should lose their tenure. I mean, "Come ON, girls!""

How can you not realize that cis and sissy aren't even kind of related? Cis is short for cisgender and is from a Latin root, meaning same. They're completely different words. Good Lord.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/29/19 at 10:03am

I think I mentioned this in another thread, but most performances anyone with a ticket in the balcony or mezz are asked to move to the orchestra.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 10/29/19 at 10:36am

ACL2006 said: "I think I mentioned this in another thread, but most performances anyone with a ticket in the balcony or mezz are asked to move to the orchestra."

Good lord, you have no idea how funny that is.

[Mike Barrett]

Posted: 10/29/19 at 1:35pm

Their completely unprofessional twitter account has not only turned me off of the show, but it almost, again, almost, makes me wished it closed. I know the twitter account is not the entire production but this is beyond embarrassing for anyone working with the show themselves and for Broadway in general. If I were involved in this production, Id hate for all the hard work I put in behind the scenes/on stage to be represented like this on twitter. Complete and utter shame from the marketing department. Puts the entire company in a weird and compromising position. Just awful and another reason I am happily off twitter. 

[\_(•_•)_/]

Posted: 10/29/19 at 1:52pm

The twitter account has now come for a member on these boards who said that the person who runs it must be a “14 year old girl”.

Really embarrassing to see them lie in the comments and say it was about a member on twitter and not someone on BWW, when you can search on twitter and get zero results.

Whoever runs this account needed to be fired a very long time ago.

https://twitter.com/ltmusical/status/1188816771878391814?s=21

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 10/29/19 at 2:00pm

The funniest part of them going after me for my comment is that I actually kind of like the show. It has no business being on Broadway, but I like the songs well enough.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 10/29/19 at 2:02pm

Oh my God, one of the replies to the tweet is "annabeth chase saved the word twice as a teenage girl sooooo (sic)"

Annabeth Chase is a fictional character...

[jpbran]

Posted: 10/29/19 at 3:20pm

Due to upheaval for cast/crew, I never wish for a show to close... BUT I'm checking email regularly for an email from Telecharge saying this is closing early and I'm getting refunded. Ill-advisedly bought tix for this months ago, and now would REALLY like to just see something else in its place next weekend (the evening of the 9th). It's one of 6 shows we're seeing that weekend, and I'm now looking forward to it like a root canal. 

I mean, hitting 20% gross potential and only filling 39% of seats with heavy discounting? I can't imagine how disheartening it is to take that stage every show. 

Updated On: 10/29/19 at 03:20 PM

[Fosse76]

Posted: 10/29/19 at 3:29pm

Alex Kulak2 said: "The funniest part of them going after me for my comment is that I actually kind of like the show. It has nobusiness being on Broadway, but I like the songs well enough."

It amuses me that you (and others) complain that the twitter account is going after you, after you went after them first. 

[ErinDillyFan]

Posted: 10/29/19 at 3:42pm

The producers did the right thing to touring with the show first.  They got a captive season ticket audience paying (virtually) full price.  That is how I got roped in and we left at intermission.  If the producers were paying attention during the tour they would have noticed people streaming out at intermission.  Apparently there are some kids that came to see the show, but that demographic isn't one that drives Broadway sales.  SpongeBob, even being a much higher quality show, was not able to sustain sales to that market.  

They should go after the writers of the show, not the critics...

[Fosse76]

Posted: 10/29/19 at 5:29pm

ErinDillyFan said: "The producers did the right thing to touring with the show first. They got a captive season ticket audience paying (virtually) full price. That is how I got roped in and we left at intermission. If the producers were paying attention during the tour they would have noticed people streaming out at intermission. Apparently there are some kids that came to see the show, but that demographic isn't one that drives Broadway sales. SpongeBob, even being a much higher quality show, was not able to sustain sales to that market.

They should go after the writers of the show, not the critics..."

Yes. The person updating the Twitter Account, who is employed by the production, should criticize her employers in her official capacity. That's be a great career move. You must be a miillionaire.

[ErinDillyFan]

Posted: 10/29/19 at 6:01pm

Fosse76: I was obviously referring to the producers.  They shouldn't be paying people to attack the critics.  But, should have known they had a bad show and tried to make a better one.  AND NO, I was/am not suggesting they criticize the creative team publicly.  They had plenty of time to judge for themselves the public reaction to their show and it was not good at any time in this process.

[msmp]

Posted: 10/29/19 at 6:28pm

DRSisLove said: "Honestly been holding off saying this but - I sat behind the woman running the account at the opening night of Little Shop of Horrors. She kept firing off tweets even as the show started and at the end of intermission. I had seen this thread earlier in the day and was almost horrified to see that she was still doing it."

Wait, what? What happened with Little Shop that relates here?

[Det95]

Posted: 1/6/20 at 2:58pm

Now that the show closed they lifted the curtain. Personally, I think it does more harm than good to reveal the person behind the account. 
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/06/theater/lightning-thief-social-media.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share