Riedel on Grey Gardens' Closing- Page 4
Riedel on Grey Gardens' Closing
#75re: Riedel on Grey Gardens' Closing
Posted: 7/18/07 at 10:15pmI didn't see that show, was it that bad? It had Brian D'Arcy James in it, didn't it? Couldn't that redeem it for you?
"My dreams, watching me said, one to the other...this life has let us down."
CurtainPullDowner
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/4/04
#76re: Riedel on Grey Gardens' Closing
Posted: 7/18/07 at 11:57pm
Whatever BwayInsider's motives are, he/she has posred words as nasty as Reidel's.
All the "inside" info on Ms. Ebersole's attendance and such seem to indicate someone following awfully close to the production and the statement "a history of being difficult and it seems has a self-dextructive streak" need some back-up as much as anything in Reidel's column.
Dover
Leading Actor Joined: 4/29/06
#77re: Riedel on Grey Gardens' Closing
Posted: 7/19/07 at 2:03amI assumed when it said she was offered $5,000 that that was just the initial offer. I didn't even imagine it meant she actually WAS being paid $5,000. Does it? It's a higher salary than I'll ever make, but very insulting for a lead in a Broadway show who is a name and already has one (albeit undeserved) Tony Award.
#78Everything's good that you didn't do
Posted: 7/19/07 at 9:10am
justme2, in my opinion Sweet Smell of Success got everything wrong that Grey Gardens got right. The book was just silly, the songs didn't work for the characters or propel the story, and the chorus kept speech-singing nonsensical statements that were supposed to sound "hip".
It was fun watching Brian D'Arcy James and John Lithgow, but it was still a couple of hours of my life that I wish I could have back.
"I have got to have some professional music!" - Big Edie
Updated On: 7/19/07 at 09:10 AM
hilltop
Understudy Joined: 7/13/05
#79Everything's good that you didn't do
Posted: 7/19/07 at 9:16am
//I'm joining the others who believe that Ms. Ebersole has put her heart into this show.//
Me, too.
I hate reading posts that attack actors for taking some time off, given that those playing leads in Broadway musicals are among the hardest working stars in show business.
Updated On: 7/19/07 at 09:16 AM
mightydog
Understudy Joined: 10/12/06
#80Everything's good that you didn't do
Posted: 7/19/07 at 10:47am
Bway Insider I don't dispute your math assumptions. My point was I felt the producers were mismanaging the finances. Covering almost every bus in the city costs more than $65K per week etc. It is about getting the best return on the money spent and frankly it looks like they just threw money at the problem without solving the problem.
In comparison, wasn't one of Spring Awakening's producers quoted a few weeks ago saying they had recouped 25% or more? It has grossed a little more than Grey Gardens (yes in a shorter amount of time). But I cannot imagine it was much more expensive to produce or to run on a weekly basis.
Unfortunately, I guess Grey Gardens is closing because there is no more money to fund it.
americanboy99
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/27/06
#81Everything's good that you didn't do
Posted: 7/19/07 at 1:28pmWell, if I were Ebersole and I was only being paid $5,000 a week, I'd be pissed.
katie22
Chorus Member Joined: 12/4/06
#82Everything's good that you didn't do
Posted: 7/19/07 at 5:11pm
Just an FYI, I don't believe Rosie has anything to do with Staunch entertainment. I believe she is an investor through another source.
I'm surprised the new poster, broadway insider didn't clear that up. But then again, I guess I'm not surprised that something didn't get "cleared up" by him.
speedjeans
Chorus Member Joined: 7/18/07
#83Everything's good that you didn't do
Posted: 7/19/07 at 5:50pm
A lot of generalities, here. Exactly how did the producers screw up. They managed to get a quirky musical concept to make the leap from Off-Broadway to Broadway. The show couldn't find an audience large enough to sustain it at that level. $1,000,000,000 in the hands of Cameron McIntosh couldn't save shows that had an appeal to only a limited audience.
Better musicals than this one have met the same fate. "Ragtime" for one.
Updated On: 7/19/07 at 05:50 PM
Miss.Vanessi
Stand-by Joined: 1/1/07
#84Everything's good that you didn't do
Posted: 7/19/07 at 6:00pm
I definitely am not of a camp who thinks Christine Ebersole craps sunshine, but I don't understand the "self destructive" and history of being difficult part.
A quote necessary for all net claims of difficult behavior- screen shots or it didn't happen. :)
It's like writing "Norma Shearer for the win!" in a Joan Crawford biography.
#85Everything's good that you didn't do
Posted: 7/19/07 at 9:55pm"I definitely am not of a camp who thinks Christine Ebersole craps sunshine" ROFL!
katie22
Chorus Member Joined: 12/4/06
#86Everything's good that you didn't do
Posted: 7/20/07 at 4:10amIt didn't happen. And the only thing that I would think of as self distructive behavior, is agreeing to the producers plea to not take her scheduled vacation.
Miss.Vanessi
Stand-by Joined: 1/1/07
#87Everything's good that you didn't do
Posted: 7/20/07 at 1:48pmAnd it's just silly, to me. Yeah, there's a mention of taking time off when Important People were there, but for all we know, it really was coincidence. I mean, there's just not enough back story in all this to prove to me that that is the real "other side of the story." I've seen crap like this play out for years. Someone gets a hair up their ass and decides to "prove" an actress isn't what people think with vague stories and general half-truths. I'm getting the same vibe from our new Insider.
It's like writing "Norma Shearer for the win!" in a Joan Crawford biography.
katie22
Chorus Member Joined: 12/4/06
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