The Playgoer: The Show That Will Not Die

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Monday, November 07, 2005

The Show That Will Not Die

The In My Life saga/trainwreck continues. Much to the glee, I may add, of Broadway-watchers like myself and The New York Times, who continues to offer this show the weirdest kind of non-publicity publicity. (Is Playgoer guilty of the same, you ask?)

Actually the motivation behind today's article seems to be to get back at the show for actually using Ben Brantley's slam in their ad! (Does "jaw-dropping whimsy run amok" sound like a rave to you?) Also, this bit of education on how advertising may not save a turkey like this, but still does make quite a difference:

The advertising blitz may be working, at least to an extent. According to figures provided by Mr. Brooks and Ed Nelson, the show's company manager, "In My
Life" showed markedly increased sales last week, compared with the previous
week, with daily box office totals ranging from about $35,000 (Nov. 1) to a peak
of nearly $85,000 (Nov. 3). By contrast, ticket sales on Oct. 24, just as the
advertising campaign began, were less than $5,000.

In other words, once you're on Broadway, can muster a $1.5 million(!) advertising budget, and attract all the free-media that thus ensues (see NYTimes)...you really can con people into seeing just about anything. (A retort to those who still equate ticket-sales in the theatre with genuine interest and inherent worth.)

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