2,702 posts
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Post by viserys on Aug 16, 2017 5:06:12 GMT
Shame but why didn't this work? Great Reviews? But Lack of Tonys? But I think the Broadway economics don't work and there are too many hangers on taking little slices of the pie. There's only a finite amount of money/tickets to go around and this was an unusually busy season with many shows opening. While I am sad for GHD and do think it deserved better, it's a sign that people are more interested in fresh original work these days - even Hamilton aside, the big successes of this season are Dear Evan Hansen und Come from away, both of which are original works and not based on anything. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2017 5:11:27 GMT
Yeah, I don't think people are particularly interested in movie adaptations, other than those aimed towards kids and families. Whilst there are exceptions, there's usually a reason for that ie. Waitress brings in a lot of Sara Bareilles fans and she was great at promoting it by making her own album covering the songs and then obviously eventually starring in the show herself. I don't think anyone (or not many anyway) actually goes to that show because they want to see the movie on stage.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2017 7:55:56 GMT
The theatre gods are being cruel this week. I'm sad for the 'Hog which for me is one of the best pieces of musical theatre I've seen in many years, and with Andy Karl at the helm one of the best performances too. Hoping we get it back this side of the pond soon at least. It was up against too strong a field on Broadway this year to really fly.
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4,156 posts
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Post by kathryn on Aug 16, 2017 8:39:41 GMT
Yeah, I don't think people are particularly interested in movie adaptations, other than those aimed towards kids and families. Whilst there are exceptions, there's usually a reason for that ie. Waitress brings in a lot of Sara Bareilles fans and she was great at promoting it by making her own album covering the songs and then obviously eventually starring in the show herself. I don't think anyone (or not many anyway) actually goes to that show because they want to see the movie on stage. Yes, it got tarred with the 'movie adaptation' brush - which it is, but it's so much *more* than that. It's not just the film put on stage with a few songs thrown in. I also think that Broadway, on the whole, just doesn't *get* Tim Minchin - his approach and his sensibility. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2017 9:48:02 GMT
Yeah, I don't think people are particularly interested in movie adaptations, other than those aimed towards kids and families. Whilst there are exceptions, there's usually a reason for that ie. Waitress brings in a lot of Sara Bareilles fans and she was great at promoting it by making her own album covering the songs and then obviously eventually starring in the show herself. I don't think anyone (or not many anyway) actually goes to that show because they want to see the movie on stage. Yes, it got tarred with the 'movie adaptation' brush - which it is, but it's so much *more* than that. It's not just the film put on stage with a few songs thrown in. I also think that Broadway, on the whole, just doesn't *get* Tim Minchin - his approach and his sensibility. I have to admit, I never quite understood the big fuss over it on this board (other than Andy Karl's exceptional performance). I think I gave it 3.5* when I saw it. Nevertheless, it's sad when a show - especially a Best Musical nominee - can't even make it longer than a few months. This last week of closing announcements just goes to show that the people trying to blame Hamilton for shows closing last year were being ridiculous, this is an inevitable part of every Broadway season. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2017 9:53:21 GMT
Shame but why didn't this work? Great Reviews? But Lack of Tonys? But I think the Broadway economics don't work and there are too many hangers on taking little slices of the pie. Even on a good week this show was only grossing ~50% of it potential take and with a $20million investment to pay off, it became clear the number weren't going to add up. As has been said, theres only a finite number of people attending shows during a very competitive season on Broadway currently. I'd hope in London GhD would get a longer go at it given the lack of new competition emerging. Its just a shame a show full of technical wizardry, strong score and stella cast couldnt make it against the likes of the offensively poor Charlie & the Chocolate Factory etc. |
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4,156 posts
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Post by kathryn on Aug 16, 2017 9:58:33 GMT
I wonder if visitor numbers to the US being down has had an effect? You'd normally expect a recognisable show name to pull the tourists, even if the Broadway afficiandos were going for Dear Evan Hansen.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2017 10:08:52 GMT
I don't think so honestly. All three other Best Musical nominees have been doing a lot better than Groundhog (obviously Great Comet was heading for a sharp drop but we'll probably never actually see what those grosses would have looked like).
As was said before, unless you're kid-friendly (Anastasia, Charlie), a Best Musical winner (Kinky Boots) or have some kind of other draw (Waitress and Sara Bareilles), being a recognisable show name doesn't seem to help. I think people have wised up to the idea by now that these types of shows aren't going to be the next big thing like Hamilton or Hansen.
Last season's two big failures - Tuck Everlasting and American Psycho - also recognisable names. Likewise Amélie.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2017 10:25:21 GMT
I wonder if visitor numbers to the US being down has had an effect? You'd normally expect a recognisable show name to pull the tourists, even if the Broadway afficiandos were going for Dear Evan Hansen. Is it really a recognisable name though? The film was released 24 years ago and there's a huge audience who would have no idea about it (I have a feeling it's one of those films that critics think of as a classic but the average person wouldn't). Even Andy Karl admitted that there were lots of people he met who'd seen the show (and loved it) but had never heard of or seen the film. He also didn't think the audiences in New York or London were that different. |
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1,319 posts
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Post by londonmzfitz on Aug 16, 2017 10:30:45 GMT
It's a measure of how much I loved this show in London that I've googled tickets (gosh, lots of available seats for that last performance) and flights ....
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4,156 posts
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Post by kathryn on Aug 16, 2017 10:36:30 GMT
I wonder if visitor numbers to the US being down has had an effect? You'd normally expect a recognisable show name to pull the tourists, even if the Broadway afficiandos were going for Dear Evan Hansen. Is it really a recognisable name though? The film was released 24 years ago and there's a huge audience who would have no idea about it (I have a feeling it's one of those films that critics think of as a classic but the average person wouldn't). Even Andy Karl admitted that there were lots of people he met who'd seen the show (and loved it) but had never heard of or seen the film. He also didn't think the audiences in New York or London were that different. I guess it's a real cult film - really well-knwon in certain circjes, and not in others. Though snutte is right about other film-to-stage adaptations not doing well - Andy Karl was in Rocky, which also closed early despite his nomination and very good reviews, and is certainly a very familiar name. |
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170 posts
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Post by jess173 on Aug 16, 2017 11:04:56 GMT
It's a measure of how much I loved this show in London that I've googled tickets (gosh, lots of available seats for that last performance) and flights .... I did so too...  But there's just no way. The cheapest flights have travel times of 24 hours in total for one way and I can't justify that (or the cost of direct flights and hotel)... |
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4,156 posts
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Post by kathryn on Aug 16, 2017 11:17:18 GMT
Norwegian will fly direct for £360 return, if it helps anyone.
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1,351 posts
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Post by CG on the loose on Aug 16, 2017 12:05:22 GMT
It's a measure of how much I loved this show in London that I've googled tickets (gosh, lots of available seats for that last performance) and flights .... It's probably a good thing I'm already away... |
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4,029 posts
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Post by Dawnstar on Aug 16, 2017 13:08:02 GMT
Is it really a recognisable name though? The film was released 24 years ago and there's a huge audience who would have no idea about it (I have a feeling it's one of those films that critics think of as a classic but the average person wouldn't). Even Andy Karl admitted that there were lots of people he met who'd seen the show (and loved it) but had never heard of or seen the film. He also didn't think the audiences in New York or London were that different. I'd heard of the film but have never seen it. I originally didn't intend to see the show at the Old Vic but ended up going because so many people on here were raving about it that I thought I'd better go. I was very impressed by the production but less so by the score on the first hearing. It took a few repeat-listens once the cast recording was released to "get" all the lyrics & properly appreciate the songs. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2017 13:08:35 GMT
Norwegian will fly direct for £360 return, if it helps anyone. How are they as an airline? I'm considering them for my next trip but don't know anyone who has used them... |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2017 13:11:05 GMT
Norwegian will fly direct for £360 return, if it helps anyone. How are they as an airline? I'm considering them for my next trip but don't know anyone who has used them... Never flown long haul with them (although someone I know has done and said they're fine) but have flown with them several times short haul and never had a problem. I like 'em. You get wifi on board and the flight attendants are scandi-hot-hot-hot. |
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16 posts
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Post by lovingtheatre2k17 on Aug 16, 2017 13:12:50 GMT
Norwegian will fly direct for £360 return, if it helps anyone. How are they as an airline? I'm considering them for my next trip but don't know anyone who has used them... In my experience, pretty decent but they are a budget airline so you do need to pay for food and extras. |
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4,156 posts
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Post by kathryn on Aug 16, 2017 13:24:17 GMT
Norwegian will fly direct for £360 return, if it helps anyone. How are they as an airline? I'm considering them for my next trip but don't know anyone who has used them... I've never flown them myself - I mainly know about them from this site, which is where I go for all my avios/airmiles and hotel points collecting news: www.headforpoints.com/?s=NorwegianIt seems that you have to watch out for extra charges for baggage etc, like all the low cost airlines. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2017 13:32:22 GMT
Thanks both- I think it's a case of weighing the initial savings against the higher price of the others. I'm considering using KLM or Aer Lingus anyway to fly from Cardiff and save myself the Heathrow trek anyway.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2017 14:08:12 GMT
Norwegian will fly direct for £360 return, if it helps anyone. How are they as an airline? I'm considering them for my next trip but don't know anyone who has used them... Used them into Gatwick coming back from last NYC trip and they were great - I picked the option which included baggage and meals and it still worked out cheapest. New Dreamliner plane, perfectly adequate entertainment for an overnight flight and flight was on time, no problems. Definitely worth considering. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2017 14:13:39 GMT
How are they as an airline? I'm considering them for my next trip but don't know anyone who has used them... Used them into Gatwick coming back from last NYC trip and they were great - I picked the option which included baggage and meals and it still worked out cheapest. New Dreamliner plane, perfectly adequate entertainment for an overnight flight and flight was on time, no problems. Definitely worth considering. Cheers! I'll keep them in mind  |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2017 14:39:33 GMT
Is it really a recognisable name though? I think it is. The film may have been released 24 years ago but the concept seems to have entered popular culture to the extent that anything deja-vu-ish will provoke a reference to Groundhog Day. It's one of those things that is widely known by reputation even among people who have never seen it. |
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1,933 posts
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Post by LaLuPone on Aug 16, 2017 15:28:03 GMT
I flew Norweigan on my way to New York just 2 weeks ago and I'm flying with them again back from LA. Like others have said you have to pay extra for meals and stuff or bring your own snacks but the seats were comfy enough, they had good in-flight entertainment and friendly staff. Couldn't think of any problems with them.
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33 posts
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Post by tom08 on Aug 16, 2017 16:16:26 GMT
Norwegian will fly direct for £360 return, if it helps anyone. How are they as an airline? I'm considering them for my next trip but don't know anyone who has used them... They have nice, new planes but you get the service you pay for. In Scandinavia, they do not have the best reputation to keep their time schedule with frequent delays. Since they are not part of any alliance, some delays can be quite long. There have been instances of people being stuck at their destination 48-72 hours because they did not have any spare planes. They are also quite difficult to claim money from in case of a delay. |
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But there's just no way. The cheapest flights have travel times of 24 hours in total for one way and I can't justify that (or the cost of direct flights and hotel)... 
