The critics pretty much agreed with you about The Snow Geese, Patrick. This show is a prime example in today's era of high-priced tickets of why I'm very selective about getting tickets in advance of shows' openings.

In the case of A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Marriage, there were some positive advance signs, including word of month (thanks Sue!) and reviews of earlier productions of the show.

On another front, there's news that Spider Man will close in January, with plans for a revised version to open in Las Vegas in 2015. When it closes, the $75 million show will still be deeply in the red, according to reports.

Any scoop on If/Then? I'll probably buy tickets just to see Idina Menzel. Coming back in Feb. I'll want suggestions for a week's worth

Darn.
It doesn't open until March.
I received an email this week and thought it might be playing.

Absolutely loved Gentleman's Guide!

Glad to hear it Patrick and thanks for posting your comment so soon after seeing it. We can't wait until we see it in 10 days.

My 21 yr old daughter and her friend ended up seeing a matinee of Glass Menagerie today. Her briefly texted review: "AMAzing!! Great seats. We loved it." She thought Cherry Jones was awesome.

In concierge mode Thursday, since she was out running the streets there and had to be considerate of her friends' schedules, I was all ready to get her tickets to After Midnight. (And very much appreciate the help of valued fodorites,) After reading the reviews, and seeing Zachary Quinto's affecting monologue on the NYT website, they decided to go with the play, and went ahead and paid for good seats.

(We have some family connections with the Williams family, besides currently living a few miles from the real life apartment. I went to Mrs. Williams' house with my mother when I was a child, thought she was a typically scary old lady. Tennessee's pesky kid brother Dakin and his wife came to our wedding, and at the reception he stood in a corner at one point reciting Blanche DeBois monologues.)

I agree with NeoPatrick about how good Spacey was as RIII; I thought he found just the right amount of humor. Would love to see Rylance's Olivia.

Your daughter made a very, very wise choice. This production of The Glass Menagerie is indeed a classic.

I would LOVE to be in town to go to this!

http://www.broadwayworld.com/article...88381481237582

Upper West Siders, Victoria Clark, Mary-Mitchell Campbell, Ricky Ian Gordon, Kelli O'Hara, Greg Naughton, and David Hyde Pierce are joined by other Broadway favorites, Kimilee Bryant, Brian Cross, Hunter Ryan Herdlicka, Lindsay Mendez, Mary Louise Parker, and Cantor Ari Priven along with singer-songwriter Jane Kelly Williams to celebrate the holidays and raise funds for much needed repairs for the historic Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew. The evening will be filled with song and jubilee from this star-studded cast. The benefit is produced by Gina Boonshoft and directed by Barbara Grecki. The musical director is Mary-Mitchell Campbell.

St. Paul and St. Andrew is a vital part of the fabric of New York City's Upper West Side. Home to four churches and a large synagogue, Congregation B'nai Jeshuruni, this century-old building also houses New York's largest emergency food program, the West Side Campaign Against Hunger, a shelter for homeless women as well as a large tutoring program. One of their kitchens provides Meals-On-Wheels for Upper West Side seniors. The 115 year old landmark is in urgent need of repair. The roof, front steps, sidewalks and areas throughout the building must be fixed in the next several months.

Thank you Starrs… I just bought a ticket! The church is at the end of a cross town bus ride for me so I'm well aware of its situation. Have never seen Kelli O'Hara on stage so really looking forward to that….. plus plus plus!

If anyone is interested, tickets for the new Disney production of Aladdin are on sale at a discount right now for previews (some mid-week shows only). It begins in late February, and the deal runs through early April, which is likely right before or after opening.

Doug, I've been following the blogs on Aladdin which just opened in Toronto. The reviews have been mixed, but mostly on the more negative side with quotes like "Aladdin's carpet is missing some magic", "the show lacks charm and heart", and "This Aladdin not ready for Prime time". But it does have lots of super staging and effects. And it shouldn't be forgotten that Beauty and the Beast only got one favorable review when it opened, yet it ran for 13 successful years.

Good point, Patrick, about the reviews for Beauty and the Beast. While that show was very profitable, Disney has had mixed results with other stage adaptations. While The Lion King is and Mary Poppins was a big moneymaker, both Tarzan and The Little Mermaid were not profitable shows.
And, as far as "super staging and effects" go, Spider Man has certainly proven that that's not always enough to guarantee success (meaning profit, of course).
Meanwhile, I look forward to seeing the film, Saving Mr. Banks (starring Emma Thompson and Tom Hahks) about Disney's experience in convincing the author of Mary Poppins to allow him to make that movie. It opens around Christmas time, and previews make it look very inviting.

Anyone seen "Domesticated" by Bruce Norris at Lincoln Center? He's an interesting playwright, and directed by Anna Shapiro. Sounds promising, but I know the NYT review wasn't great.

I don't mean to put a damper on any Disney show. The current buzz on Frozen and the upcoming Saving Mr. Banks must be what's making my Disney stock go up -- over 25% since buying it just 8 months ago, and one of today's highest gains on the DOW. Go Disney!

Regarding Spiderman, that's a complex issue. It's amazing how full houses usually are especially for a show not making a profit, and not all discounted tickets either. They had the highest volume (dollar wise) sale ever in the history of Broadway, for example. But their costs were just enormous and unreasonable. Not much of any way to make that up.

Continuing the discussion of the Spider Man saga, the show has been far from the capacity level the past few months, and discounted tickets, if not the majority of those sold, at least have accounted for a sizable proportion of the tickets sold. From everything I've read, the show would have had to have played at capacity level (with all tickets at full price) for years to just to earn back its investment. It's almost as if the show was doomed from the start.

ChgoGal, see if you can link to this discussion:

http://www.broadwayworld.com/board/r...=1065323&dt=50

Howard, yes, I agree the show was doomed from the start as their "nut" as they say was much too high. But actually they've been ranging generally above 75% capacity which is higher than even some long running hits like Phantom, Chicago, Once, Mama Mia, and Jersey Boys. And their average ticket prices have been pretty much the same as those shows as well. But even Phantom doesn't come with the overhead costs of Spiderman -- and that says nothing of the cost of the various lawsuits either!

So next comes King Kong. Early reports suggest the same sort of problem.

But remember, Patrick, 75% of capacity is not good enough for an expensive show like Spider Man!
My gut feeling about King Kong is that it just doesn't have the right "image" (for want of a better word) to be a successful musical.
Thank goodness for a show like A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder to reassure me that quality can indeed still prevail on Broadway!

@NeoPatrick: Thank you for that link. Reviews appear to be just as divisive as the playwright. Guess I'll pass and wait for his summertime offering here in Chicago, called "Qualms." Maybe he's trying to put plays out there too fast...?

"But remember, Patrick, 75% of capacity is not good enough for an expensive show like Spider Man!"

???? yea. Exactly! That's why I also said "I agree the show was doomed from the start as their "nut" as they say was much too high" and "even Phantom doesn't come with the overhead costs of Spiderman -- and that says nothing of the cost of the various lawsuits either!"

My point was simply that it isn't a simple matter of numbers of patrons that make a show a hit -- or even a matter of how many discounted tickets are sold. It's really all about the difference between costs and income. Some shows can run for years with mediocre attendance and nearly all discount tickets. Others (like Spiderman) need higher attendance. And statistics can be misleading. For example -- more tickets were sold last week for Spiderman than there were for Book of Mormon! Or put another way -- more people see Spiderman every week than do Book of Mormon!

Of course, someone could argue that The Book of Mormon would undoubtedly attract more people if its theater was as large! But, then you might say that's besides the point! (PS: Patrick, I'm enjoying this exchange!)