ASU Is Finished
All Shook Up's weekly attendance average and gross have PLUMMETED over the past month or so. When the show first opened and for several months following, they were filling about 70-low 80% of the seats at every performance, which isn't bad considering that the Palace theatre is the biggest one on Broadway. Know what percentage of seats were sold last week?
36%
Thirty-six! I don't think I've seen a show dip that low that was either not already destined to close or did not turn in a closing notice within the following week.
Someone on the Bway board went to see the show last week and took a picture of what the balcony looked like. There were about 20 people sitting up there, the rest of the place was EMPTY. They said that the orchestra section was also mostly empty, and that's just depressing.
Why is ASU failing? Almost everyone who has seen it agrees that it's a fun show and a much better time at the theatre than some of the other, more popular shows currently running. I think there are two big reasons why they haven't been able to sell tickets. First of all, after the show had been running for a few weeks, they *completely* stopped advertising. I read through the New York Times' arts section almost every time I work, and definitely every Sunday. They went from running bright, interesting full page ads to absolutely nothing. Hell, they don't even advertise in the pop-ups and margin ads on any Bway websites. They tried drawing more people in by changing the show's sign and replacing the cartoon guy/girl on a motorcycle to a body shot of Cheyenne Jackson, the guy who plays the main role (and happens to be easy on the eyes, hehe). But apparently sex appeal has not amounted to much. It gives you no sense of what the show is *about.*
Secondly, there are no cheap tickets anymore. One of the best marketing ploys they had from the beginning was making all balcony seats $19.55, the year the show takes place. It was clever and it *worked.* People from the Bway boards who live in the City would snatch up those tickets all the time because hey, why not? But for some weird reason, they abruptly stopped the offer and raised the balcony price to $39.99; clearly, a lot less affordable for most people to just spend on a whim. Although discounts do exist online, they don't offer any student tickets or have any other way for people to see the show *without* paying full price. Seriously. As soon as they raised the balcony prices, attendance went from the 70's to the 40's (where it hovered for awhile) in no time. BAD MOVE.
So. . .I had been hoping to see ASU again, but since I have no current plans to return to NYC in the near future, I guess that won't be happening. Closing notices usually are announced on Tuesdays, and if there isn't one for this show next week, I will be very surprised. :/
36%
Thirty-six! I don't think I've seen a show dip that low that was either not already destined to close or did not turn in a closing notice within the following week.
Someone on the Bway board went to see the show last week and took a picture of what the balcony looked like. There were about 20 people sitting up there, the rest of the place was EMPTY. They said that the orchestra section was also mostly empty, and that's just depressing.
Why is ASU failing? Almost everyone who has seen it agrees that it's a fun show and a much better time at the theatre than some of the other, more popular shows currently running. I think there are two big reasons why they haven't been able to sell tickets. First of all, after the show had been running for a few weeks, they *completely* stopped advertising. I read through the New York Times' arts section almost every time I work, and definitely every Sunday. They went from running bright, interesting full page ads to absolutely nothing. Hell, they don't even advertise in the pop-ups and margin ads on any Bway websites. They tried drawing more people in by changing the show's sign and replacing the cartoon guy/girl on a motorcycle to a body shot of Cheyenne Jackson, the guy who plays the main role (and happens to be easy on the eyes, hehe). But apparently sex appeal has not amounted to much. It gives you no sense of what the show is *about.*
Secondly, there are no cheap tickets anymore. One of the best marketing ploys they had from the beginning was making all balcony seats $19.55, the year the show takes place. It was clever and it *worked.* People from the Bway boards who live in the City would snatch up those tickets all the time because hey, why not? But for some weird reason, they abruptly stopped the offer and raised the balcony price to $39.99; clearly, a lot less affordable for most people to just spend on a whim. Although discounts do exist online, they don't offer any student tickets or have any other way for people to see the show *without* paying full price. Seriously. As soon as they raised the balcony prices, attendance went from the 70's to the 40's (where it hovered for awhile) in no time. BAD MOVE.
So. . .I had been hoping to see ASU again, but since I have no current plans to return to NYC in the near future, I guess that won't be happening. Closing notices usually are announced on Tuesdays, and if there isn't one for this show next week, I will be very surprised. :/
posted by Erica at 11:19 PM
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