You haven't been back to see Billy Elliot in a long time Charleston. Those kids are acting and singing up a storm. I can't believe the growth in their performances since the previews and early opening days.
If the Tony voters put away their prejudices and politics and go straight for the most deserving - the Billy's will have it.
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mamie4 5/14/03
Michael said something about how he believes the show could be a success, and that the producers have not seen how big their fanbase really is.
Does a fan base translate into ticket sales? Usually not because the most rabid fans are younger and with limited incomes. Many cannot afford full-price seats and do rush or other discounts, which results in the show's low grosses and low average ticket prices.
IF they were making money off-Broadway they should have just kept the show there and not gone to the expense and risk of a Broadway transfer. If that were a viable scenario, it would make more sense to re-open off-Broadway. But even that seems an unlikely prospect at this point.
Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks." Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
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I doubt it will make it by april 30th, and not to mention that people weren't a big fan of most of its changes in DC.
What people? Cause the reviews in DC were pretty positive (including one reviewer that had seen it at 2ST and raved about how much better it was) and except for a few naysayers here, almost everyone who saw both productions commented on how the changes were for the best and made the show much better (me included.)
>>IF they were making money off-Broadway they should have just kept the show there and not gone to the expense and risk of a Broadway transfer. If that were a viable scenario, it would make more sense to re-open off-Broadway. But even that seems an unlikely prospect at this point. <<
I couldn't agree with you more. I was having a discussion with a school colleague about this. They "could" have made it to Broadway (in the storyline that is), or heck, left it Off-B and still had the show playing. She argued that the story was real so it would have made no sense. I beg to differ. Just because a story takes place in Mars doesn't mean it has to be staged there. So they didn't make it to Broadway but opened at a theatre Off-Broadway and were successful! That's great and the show would have eventually re-couped. Of course, the producers knew what kind of risk they were taking and a few shows (In the Heights, Ave Q, etc.) had done the transfer and were successful. But considering the size of the cast and A set, people were not out to pay full-price! I heard people saying that the TKTS price were also expensive!
I once heard someone describe her (Ruthie Henshall) singing as sounding as though she's trying to swallow a whole meatball slightly larger than her windpipe. (The same person compared Michael Ball's singing to sounding as though he's sitting on a washing machine on spin cycle and Colm Wilkinson's to a man with a paralyzed lip trying to eat cottage cheese.) --- Schmerg_The_Impaler
All 3 Billy's are fabulous. I wouldn't even have wanted to win that award if the Billy's had not been placed in the category. It would have been a tainted win. There is nothing the matter with their singing or their acting. I couldn't find one decent song in Title Of Show. Please no! 9 To 5 sounds like typical generic Broadway fare to me. I have no doubt it will be enjoyable, but it doesn't bring anything new to Bdwy. But we'll see. I saw an earlier incarnation of The Story Of... in Toronto and liked it, but...I loved Next To Normal. If it ever came to town I would nominate it for sure. Amazing!
How does the possibility of Next to Normal change anyone's predictions? I haven't seen it, so I can't really say.
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WEll having not read most of the thread, i'd have to hand out tissues to anyone predicting TOS getting a nomination if N2N opens. TOS would seem to be a filler nomination (nothing against the show, i loved it) and with the Creative team, and cast involved in N2N it would likely get a nod (assuming the critical response was similar to what it was in DC, which i'd see no reason for it to change.)
Next to Normal would beat out Rock of Ages and [title of show] for that last slot.
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Could Shrek pull a Young Frankenstein this year? I liked both (ok, I loved YF), so I'm not saying that it should not be nominated, I'm just wondering...
While I liked Shrek, I hope that the Best Musical nominees are 9 to 5, Billy Elliot, Next to Normal, and [title of show]. That would be incredible. I doubt it will happen, but that would be amazing.
I'm confused by all the "Next to Normal" love and predictions of award wins. It may swipe a few nominations from [title of show] or Shrek, sure, but do we really think it's going to come in and get a significant number of awards from established shows that are just as good, if not better? And predicting their in-town reviews is impossible. Because they have changed the show so drastically, there is no telling if critics will receive these updates well or not, and as we've seen, out of town reviews are no indicator of reviews in town or success on Broadway. Furthermore, I think it's WAY too early to write Alice's name on the statue. Allison Janney is a strong competitor. Her performance is more than just entertainment and fluff, and might I remind everyone here about Marissa Jaret Winokur beating Bernadette Peters? David Hyde Pierce beating Raul Esparza? The point I'm trying to make here is really...who knows what will happen, and but I personally don't think Next to Normal is as dramatic a game-changer as people seem to think.
On another note entirely, I am a huge fan of Tom Kitt and am glad the show will be premiering in New York, though I wish they would have opened next season, I don't know that the current economic and emotional climate will be particularly kind to them.
I don't think Shrek stands a chance at getting nominated.
A Chorus Line revival played its final Broadway performance on August 17, 2008. The tour played its final performance on August 21, 2011. A new non-equity tour started in October 2012 played its final performance on March 23, 2013. Another non-equity tour launched on January 20, 2018. The tour ended its US run in Kansas City and then toured throughout Japan August & September 2018.
My choices would be: Billy Elliot Title of Show The Story of My Life Shrek
Since I haven't heard the music for 9 to 5 yet, that could make it on the list as well. Too bad The Adding Machine and that other Frankenstein musical that played off Broadway didn't make it to Broadway or we might have had two more choices to root for as audience members.