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In this undated photo released by the producers of
'Wicked,' Idina Menzel is joined by Jennifer Laura Thompson,
right, in the $14 million 'Wizard of Oz' prequel. Just before
Christmas the Broadway musical will have paid back its
investment and profits can start rolling
(AP) | |
It's beginning to feel like January, and we don't mean the weather.
Everyone expects Broadway's box office to plummet in September. But going into
October and November, receipts are supposed to pick up.
However, for the past five weeks, gross and paid-attendance numbers
look frighteningly close to what Broadway produced post-9/11.
Here's how the Oct. 1-Nov. 7 period of this year compares with those
dreaded days in 2001: It's $60 million now against $55 million then, with
just under 1 million in paid attendance for each year.
Blame it on the presidential election?
Total gross in 2000, during the Bush/Gore standoff, came to $60
million, despite a top price ticket then of $85 (with "The Lion King"
getting $90). The five-week period then saw approximately 100,000 more
ticket buyers.
In 2002, paid attendance came to 1.3 million; in 2003, it was 1.2
million for the five-week period.
Box office should improve when the current glut of low-grossing one-person
shows is replaced with lots of big tuners this spring. But it's doubtful
Broadway can recover fast enough to guarantee another record-setting
season by the time June rolls around.
Meanwhile, the Nov. 11 preem for "Gem of the Ocean" came and went with
no new August Wilson play on Broadway. While some proclaimed it the end of
the straight play on Broadway,
it actually looks more like the end of producing as a charitable activity.
It follows last season's sudden disappearance of Stephen Sondheim's
"Bounce."
Despite their illustrious careers, the sad fact is that the two scribes
each own only one bona fide money-maker, respectively, "Fences" and "A
Little Night Music."
As for new plays, theatergoers should look no further than Off
Broadway, which this month and next offers the bounty of Sam Shepard's
"The God of Hell," Neil LaBute's "Fat Pig" and "Modern Orthodox" by
newcomer Daniel Goldfarb, who wrote the underrated "Adam Baum and the Jew
Movie." The casts, too, are the envy of Broadway, featuring such stars as
Tim Roth, Jeremy Piven and Jason Biggs.
"They respond to a play because of the writer or director," says
casting director Bernard
Telsey, "and the eight weeks (commitment) is something they can do between
films."
(Agencies) |
開始覺得像一月份了——我們不是指天氣。
大家都預料到9月百老匯的票房會大幅下跌。但到了10月和11月，預期票房收入會有所回升。
然而，在過去五周里，百老匯的票房總收入及購票觀眾數量看上去和9/11恐怖襲擊事件發生之后驚人地相近。
下面是今年10月1日到11月7日這段時間和2001年那段可怕的日子的情況比較：現在的票房是6千萬美元，當時的票房是5500萬美元，而這兩年的購票觀眾人數都只有不到100萬。
美國大選是造成這種情況的“罪魁禍首”嗎？
在布什和戈爾（在總統大選中）僵持不下之際，2000年的票房總收入達到6千萬美元，盡管當時最高的票價也只有85美元（除了《獅子王》賣到了90美元）。在當年10月1日到11月7日的“五周”時間里，增加了大約10萬名購票者。
2002年的購票觀眾人數達到了130萬。而在2003年的“五周”里，這個數字是120萬。
如果當前充斥百老匯舞臺的利潤微薄的單人表演如果能被今年春天的許多大牌歌唱家所取代，票房應該會有起色。但令人懷疑的是，百老匯能否迅速復蘇，以確保六月份過后的又一個創記錄旺季。
其間，《大海上的明珠》的首場演出（11月11日）匆匆而過，今年百老匯將不會再上演奧古斯特·威爾遜的新劇。有些人宣稱這是通俗話劇在百老匯的終點站，而事實上這似乎更像是慈善式制作方式的終結。這是斯蒂芬·桑代姆的舞臺劇《緣來是你》在上個季度突然銷聲匿跡的一種延續。
盡管他們（奧古斯特·威爾遜斯和蒂芬·桑代姆）的職業生涯輝煌燦爛，但事實卻令人悲哀——這兩位創作大師都只有一部作品是真正賺錢的：奧古斯特的是《Fences》；斯蒂芬的是《小夜曲》。
至于新劇，喜歡去劇院的戲迷們應該只有“外百老匯音樂劇”可以看了，不過這個月和下個月都有豐厚大餐，包括山姆·夏普德的《地獄之神》，尼爾·拉布特的《胖豬》，還有新人丹尼爾·古德法勃的《現代東正教》。丹尼爾曾寫過《亞當·鮑姆和猶太電影》，這個劇本的價值被低估了。此外，這些舞臺劇的主力陣容都是百老匯的驕傲，包括提姆·羅素，杰里米·皮文和賈森·比格斯等明星。
“他們之所以響應某部舞臺劇，是因為它的劇作者或導演。八周（的合約）是他們能在電影之間所做的事。”負責挑選演員的伯納德·特爾西說。
（中國日報網站譯） |
Updated: 2004-11-16 10:49