Sunset Boulevard – Broadway St James

Has there been any story that's talked about how much the production would cost here in NY?   It would be wonderful for Sunset to be a financial hit on Broadway, finally.  There was some rumor on some site recently that Heather Headley has been approached about taking over in July.

Yes.

OK, small update - for some days one or two rows on that central E to L area are now sporadically appearing! They are unbelievably expensive (/normal for NYC?) though at 333 dollars!

Have to say I find Seat Geek terrible. The colours of the seats on the plan are random and don't reflect prices - although not completely random as some prices are the same colour! And it's really hard to navigate it - as soon as you select something the plan rotates to this really awkward angle.

I often find this with Broadway booking sites. They make our ones look very clear and simple.

What have they got against a straightforward 2D colour coded by price seat map that keeps still and easy to see when you interact with it?
One of the many things I don't "get" about Broadway!
(My hunch given they surely have the same IT capabilities we do is that it's some kind of marketing trickery to make you spend more!)

I don't want to be the harbinger of doom or unduly pessimistic, but I think it will be touch and go whether this show makes a profit for a couple of reasons.  The costs are eye watering; it will need to run longer to recoup and NS unlikely to commit longer to an open ended run therefore it would probably require Cabaret style shleb casting; the show is dependent on getting the traction and momentum it eventually got in London but I'm not sure that it will;  Broadway audiences might decide they're a bit too cool for the meta which felt fresh last year but might feel a bit stale this year.  Just my view - I LOOOVE this show - but I gulped when I saw the numbers and it reaffirmed that Broadway is a totally different beast to London to the point that it is almost economically unviable to produce shows there unless you have VERY deep pockets and a healthy appetite for risk.

I completely agree - also don't wish to be unduly pessimistic, but it truly looks touch and go. Broadway costs really are something else - and I guess (or hope) UK producers go in eyes open (and in fact I think the financial risk is mainly born by the US co-producers for our transfers?) that the main objective may not be to re-coup and you can be successful without making a profit. Though of course profit is still the aim! ALW said last year many produces now see Broadway as a loss leading "shop window" - you know you're gonna lose money but the USA will then forever see whatever production as a Broadway show and it will make money around the country and abroad further down the line.....

But yes the traction grew and grew in London until the sell outs and bonkers pricing of the last few weeks. But the advance was much better - by this stage most of the first month was at least 2/3 sold.

Broadway is indeed a different beast and things being a phenomenon here are zero guarantee of them doing the same there. The British shows that take off are few and far between.

I know I've said it before but I really wish they'd found a way to do another 4-6 months in the UK. Yes I know the SJP play was already going in to The Savoy. Yes I know Scherzy (understandably) needed a holiday. But there must have been a way of doing another run - even if it was a year later I think there was enough momentum to continue selling out. Producers are obsessed with Broadway. And I don't quite get it. (And exactly the same goes for Tammy Faye which also currently seems to have zero advance). 

Having said all that I adore this show - easily the must stunning thing I have seen in years. I really hope it is a huge success in NYC! And I will keep checking the seating plans and pricing and see if I can make a trip work :-) 

For all those who've mentioned it, you're right to feel pessimistic about Broadway. Think back to when Phantom closed and ALW made it a point to say how insane the costs have gotten here. And as you who've booked tickets can see, who's paying for it. I've never plopped down $750 for two tickets like I did for this - simply because I wanted my Mom and I to have center orchestra seating early in its run. Which we're going to a preview on October 12th (my thinking its early on that people are still fresh and yet a couple weeks in to work out the kinks)
But I wouldn't worry about the advance. Like I said to someone else, I compared seating charts between Sunset and The Lion King (the current top grosser in NY) for the day I'm going to Sunset, and this far out, Lion King its crazy that easily 80% of the seats are available. People are very leery to purchase tickets in advance, especially post-COVID. There's no return policy if you had to cancel or reschedule and if your dropping top dollar right now you want to make sure you can make it. Also this weekend is "Labor Day weekend" which is the unofficial end to summer. I suspect now that people are back to more regular schedules and thoughts shift to all new things coming this Fall, ticket sales are picking up. There's been a steady buzz already and even friends of mine who aren't ALW or SB fans are talking excitedly about this...

Looks like they'll actually take to the streets again on Broadway...

Weird of how they’re tagging some days as Mandy performances but on SeatGeek those appear as Nicoles. February 6 for example

Plenty more seats released on SeatGeek for all dates it seems.

Hope America doesn't keep Tom Francis after this. We need him back.

He's already filmed You and he'll now be starring on Broadway and potentially LA after that. How's that moving away from musical theatre? 😂