$14.2 million in advance ticket sales

Mrs N · Senior Member

$14.2 million in advance ticket sales

Maxismylove · Senior Member

Great article. I certainly think that the sales have to do with the show or at least a good portion of it. Grease is so well known that they would not have had to worry about tickets sales. I don't think they would have had pre-sales like this.
Like Jane stated about all the groups going from Laura's home town, the same is happening in Phoenix and Los Angeles where Max lived.
I think the key is that so many people who would have never taken a trip to NY to see a Broadway show are doing it becasue of the show.
Every friend, family member and others that we have met along the way that are going have also bought tickets to another show and some two and three other shows.
We are certainly going to see Ashley in Hairspray and are so happy for her.

Kait · Senior Member

Thanks for posting the article. I agree that the show HAD to have helped sales. I'm a Kansan who had a trip planned to the east coast to visit my brother-in-law in Virginia and my best friend in New York state early next summer. Now my daughter and I have insisted that we also visit NYC and Broadway. This would not have happened if not for YTOTIW. We plan to see Grease, and we'll also take in at least one other show.

JenniferH · Newbie

Thanks for the article. What I really wish would be if they do do another season (or something similar -- and I hope they do) that they sit down and look at what the complaints were and namely they were: Not enough rehearsal footage, too American Idol-like and not enough Broadway tunes sung. And definitely not enough of the different pairs seen together throughout the show. (We really shouldn't have waited to the last couple of episodes to see if two of the front-runners worked together.)

If they can actually structure the show for Broadway lovers, I think they'll really get a lot more respect. I'm not knocking AI, I watch it and have found quite a few singers I enjoy on it, but for me Broadway is special and should never have been treated like an AI-wannabe. I had a lot of problems with how this show was done, but at least we got a fabulous end result. I mean, I truly am grateful that we got the show and thus Max/Laura -- both of whom I adore and was rooting for to win through almost the whole thing. I just think that if they can really make this work, that it could be a long-standing thing that does truly continue to draw more people to Broadway, and not just with known-shows like this. Make the SHOW a brand-name (like AI), so that it can work on unknown Bway shows and give them a bigger audience -- thus Bway itself --than it might have. This might be another way of opening the door for new Bway stars who wouldn't get that break otherwise. Keep it fresh and alive and going strong.

-- Edited by JenniferH at 14:45, 2007-07-15

Laura Mom · Senior Member

I would have quite a few suggestions on how they could improve also from a parent standpoint--as well as suggestions for the show itself. I would love to personally have the job of "parent management" next time! I would arrange for things like discounts on hotels, help with airfare and other transportation questions, be a communication liason between "the show" and the parents etc. I know these young people are all of age to be considered adults themselves, but there was viritually no regard for families and that was really too bad! They also periodically asked for things from families with almost no advance notice causing a lot of unnecessary scrambling and frustration. It has been my experience in all the years of raising Laura that creative types have their strengths but they are incredibly poor managers. Give me the job of "parent management" next time and I will be the perfect liason! There could also be a great improvement in the area of publicity although this is a balancing act that I maybe do not understand all the dynamics. There was considerable focus on trying to not give one candidate greater local publicity than another, but in the process a number of great publicity opportunities were not approved by the network and therefore did not happen. They missed TONS of free publicty for the show and then wondered why the ratings were low. Our local Minneapolis newspapers could hardly carry any news on the show. That made no sense to me! It wasn't until almost the last episode that Laura came into the local lime light in a bigger way. They really need to surround their creative team with some managerial types who love to get tasks done and organize! I'd love to be on that team! The process is very intimidating and sometimes down right scary to both the candidate and the parents. Good, straight-forward communication and planning would REALLY help!

Mrs N · Senior Member

It's interesting to hear from Jane how media coverage was manipulated with restrictions on coverage in the hometown presses. Even now I wonder why there isn't more in the papers though I think that Laura's gotten more press in MN that Max has received in AZ.

LauraFan1 · Senior Member

In regards to the media: I hope that one of our stations (I am also in Minnesota) carries some coverage of opening night!!! Or at least the newspapers. I just cannot wait, and wish Max and Laura just the best! They are 2 stars who will shine brightly for a LONG time :)

Edwardian · Veteran Member

I'm hoping that NBC covers the opening too. They should send Billy Bush.

greatwhiteway · Senior Member

I can understand that NBC would want to keep the publicity for each candidate as equal as possible. They may not have gotten the best candidate for the job if they had allowed the ballot box to be stuffed.

reniefran · Senior Member

What a wonderful idea! I think you would be great at helping to organize and manage things to make life easier for the families involved. As far as publicity. I know I was looking all the time for things that were written about Laura and Max and the show and I would love to have seen more articles. I think NBC shot themselves in the foot by not allowing more publicity. Well now that they have one under their belt maybe their next outing will be better. I would love to see them do another show like it with maybe a musical like West Side Story.

Mrs N · Senior Member

The latest in media cross pollination!
From http://baltimore.broadwayworld.com/viewcol...cfm?colid=20027

The West End production of Monty Python's Spamalot will lead an international search for its next Lady of the Lake with new TV entertainment show "West End Story" hosted by Swedish broadcaster TV3 in late Autumn 2007.

Devised by Anna Carrfors Bråkenhielm who produced and developed the ground breaking reality TV show "Survivor" almost a decade ago, "West End Story" is the search for a new leading lady for Monty Python's Spamalot. The nine-part live series begins with open auditions in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmo and culminates in a series finale in February 2008 when the winner will be announced.

Sweden is one of the biggest markets for musical theatre in all Europe. In addition, London sees over 700,000 visits per year from Swedes, with a very high percentage seeing a show. "West End Story" "not only seeks to uncover new talent but also to reflect the undeniable appeal of the West End as a global brand," state press notes.

"West End Story" will see a panel of experts from the world of musical theatre from the West End and Sweden draw up a shortlist of twelve hopefuls from open auditions. "Each week one contestant will be voted off until there are four left. The last four will be flown from Stockholm to London to begin rehearsals for the role of Lady of the Lake with the cast of Monty Python's Spamalot, returning once each week to Sweden to face the judges and viewing public in a live TV special."

Directed by Mike Nichols, the musical is "lovingly ripped-off" from the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. Telling the legendary tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, and their quest for the Holy Grail, Monty Python's Spamalot features a chorus line of dancing divas (and serfs), flatulent Frenchmen, killer rabbits and a legless knight.