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[bk]

Whew, you've read the notes, you know the megilla, so go to it, dear readers.

[Ann]

It's 1:20 am...I have four and a bit pages...must keep writing...and must not succumb to the urge to get a midnight snack...

BTW, count me in on the HHW gathering in Portland.  I'm another Portland lover...would love a visit there

[Tomovoz]

Reward yourself with chocolate Ann. Hope the paper works out well for you. Good night.

[Jed]

Why am I still up?  I'm not even working on a paper!

[Jrand73]

Another NEW picture from Tom From Oz!

No DR George, the band from Indiana is NOT playing Smack that Bitch UP!  They are playing a classic tune.  I heard the title on the news last night, but I forget what it is.  If I find out, I will post it.

MDS the BLURBS posters were very funny!  Thanks!

So many things to write about, and I am not even doing a paper.  I still after all these years do not understand teachers and professors who put the value on the number of pages of a paper rather than the content.  But it has always been so, and probably always will.

Hmmmmmmmm.....I will have to consider my question of the day.

[Jrand73]

Ah yes, the Bloomington North Band is marching in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and will play - instead of Thriller - the John Mellencamp song R.O.C.K. in the USA!

[Tomovoz]

I am cutting up paper. Does that count? CD covers for a DR in New York. It is a strange world indeed where my CD originates from a demo recording in the USA and I am sending one back there as it is not available. At least it is note even 10pm here. My Colin is in a hospital bed recovering from surgery. The delightful surgeon (who now knows both of intimately - well he has seen inside both of us) rang me earlier to let me know that my Chef has survived the trauma. Now I have to remember to do all those things on the list - water vegetable garden, buy the paper, go to the bank, post the parcels. Oh the stress. I hope I have time to "tune in" to HHW.

[Tomovoz]

The lights are on in Phoenix as well.

[Jed]

TFO - Best wishes to Colin for a speedy recovery.

[Tomovoz]

Thank you Jed. The two dogs are very much aware that he is not here today. I think they will be sleeping with me tonight!

[Danise]

Morning all!  Gotta run! I'm late, late, late!

Have a good day, posters and lurkers!

Danise

[Jrand73]

Good wishes to Colin for a speedy recovery.

That is quite a find from EBAY you posted yesterday, Mr BK.

Yes, EBAY is a treasure chest.  I just won a copy of the soundtrack LP from INSIDE DAISY CLOVER for $5.00!

[Michael]

First of all DR Tom. Good vibes and thoughts to Collin!

Thank you Bruce for column today. Last week I posted about the various shows that were closing and said how surprise I was that the producers were closing shows instead of letting them drag on and on. Bu I thought it was a good thing. Ego was very much involved. Never understood how the producers were allowing Urban Cowboy to run when they were setting record lows for attendance. If I was an investor I would have sued to have it close instead of the dim hope of a Tony Award let alone a nomination.

The next show that will need to close is Taboo. Miss O'Donnel needs to cut her loses now. Also (without discrimination aspect of it) why did they cast an actress who was pregnant? Unlike TV or films they can shoot around it. She was one of the few people to get positive reviews and will leave the show within a month or so of its opening.  Taboo has been hovering in the low 50% range. Time to say bye bye. She should have brought in the new director when she had the chance!

People are also saying that this might give Urinetown a chance to move to a new theater as they are closing the Henry Miller to build around and over it. But If the show was in the 90% attendance range instead of the 60% range the producers might have gone for it, but the Henry Miller only held 631 seats and they have not even been close to selling out! The producers were right to close the show.

Roundabout is also right to close Cabaret. They are a non-profit organization and they have a lot of people to account to.

From last week's attendance and grosses Broadway is in a big slump!! No show sold out and they all drop in attendance except for two shows The Caretaker with O.1% and Taboo with 0.08% which probably might have been papering the house.

To see the latest figues and comparisons to the previous chart go here.

http://www.playbill.com/features/article/82972.html

[Michael]

Forgot to mention that I won the LP of Dorothy Loudon at the Bon Soir from the early 60'S/

What a find BK since only 4 songs of the 15 or so songs sung in the opening night (and closing night) were actually Lionel Bart's. The balance of the songs were the uncreditd songs by Elliot Lawrence and Martin Charnin. 13 songs by Bart were dropped before opening. I am wondering if the reason for this was this during the time that Mr. Bart was in the Funny Musical Home on Long Island?

[Jrand73]

Interesting figures, MDS.  As long as a show makes its "nut" - I think it can run....keeping some people working.  But as Mr BK and you point out - why run when you are losing money?  Most theater is NOT non-profit!  Or at least not on purpose!

[Ben]

No questions for BK or DRs yet. It will be a short day at work. I'm outta here (as they say - who is this they anyway) at 11:30am. Hoo and Ray!!!

[Ben]

I forgot. I saw Sex on Toast last night! The Boy from Oz. Yes, the book is a big, jumbled mess and yes, they have cleaned up Mr. Allen's life and some of the songs seem shoehorned in to the plot, but Mr. Jackman on stage is a wonderful sight to behold. The man is sexy and funny and warm and honest and he tears up the stage. This is the time of year when Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS makes a pitch for funds and last night they auctioned off a shirt that Jackman wore in the show. He signed it and agreed that the winner would also get a picture with him. They ended up auctioning off two shirts for $2,000 each so besides the bucket brigades (cast members stand out in the lobby and audience members drop in dollar bills or fives, etc.) BCEFA took in $4,000 last night from BFO. Made me feel good. Full price tickets are certainly outrageously expensive, but the show is on half-price every night. It's not a great show by any means but Jackman is so good it's worth a half-price ticket just to see him. And, unless some major event intervenes, he has the Tony for Best Actor in a Musical sewn up.

Part of my Christmas vacation is always spent working with BCEFA putting together gift bags for PWAs (children and adults). I'll start doing that next week (December 4th). We fill up about 2,500 bags which are distributed to the Actor's Fund AIDS Program, The Actor's Home in New Jersey and various AIDS Service Organizations in NYC and New Jersey. If you're in the NY area and would like to help out (it's only during the day), send me an e-mail and I'll let you know where and when. You will meet a great group of people, do a good thing and have a great time in the process.

[Ben]

Oh, yes, TFO, best wishes to Colin for a speedy recovery.

[Ben]

The figures Michael mentions are usually available every week on Playbill On-Line. It's interesting to see the ups and downs of Broadway shows. Not even Lion King sold out last week and that's usually one of the only shows to do so. It did play to well over 90%, as did Wicked and Mama Mia, but none of them sold out.

Another quiet morning at HHW as I alone peruse the board waiting for interesting posts and tidbits, thinking of the sleeping West Coasters, except maybe Kerry, who has been know to be up at this time. Maybe he's making those delicious "doggie donuts"

[td]

My best wishes for Colin's speedy recovery. . .can you send the cute doctor my way once Colin is well?

[Jrand73]

hey TD - here's a doctor for ya!  

[William E. Lurie]

Perhaps if Broadway ticket prices were a little lower and discounts more available so many shows would not be closing.  And why is selling tickets at TKTS considered a sign that a show is in trouble?  The producers of THE PRODUCERS refuse to use TKTS in this pre Matthew and/or Nathan return period because they said it would make people think the show is a flop.  Isn't $50 a seat instead of $100 better than nothing?

[Matt H.]

DR Ben, thanks for the review of THE BOY FROM OZ. If I were in NYC right now, it's definitely a show I would go see despite the less than rapturous reviews for its content. Sometimes star turns like Jackman's are worth the money, and I'm sure for me it would be. Looking forward to listening to the cast CD soon.

Just got around to reading the review in VARIETY of WONDERFUL TOWN - a rave especially for Murphy. Funny, but that awful theater reviewer for USA TODAY, who usually likes everything, was lukewarm on WONDERFUL TOWN.

For Ask BK - you have a huge DVD collection and continue to get new ones every week (as many of us do). How often do you go to your shelf and pull off a DVD you've already watched rather than going for something you haven't watched yet?

I have to confess, I have a stack of DVDs bought but not watched, and I almost feel guilty when I go to the shelf and pull off something I've already watched repeatedly when I have new stuff waiting to be seen. I know that's silly, but I do feel like I should be lowering that stack of unseen DVDs instead of watching things already seen.

[Jrand73]

Yes, DR Ben, thanks for the BOZ review.  I always appreciate hearing from DR JASON and DR CRAIG and others who see shows and let us know their opinions.  Not as good a being there, but close!

My questions for ASK BK day:

Do you know producer/director Maury Dexter?

AND

What are your nominations for DVD of the year, so far?

[Ben]

JRand, that picture looks like a Doctor Kildare kind of cover or something similar.

[Jrand73]

DR BEN - that is Miss Sandra Dee in "Tammy and the Doctor" - and the doctor is Mr Peter Fonda!

[Ben]

Oh, my, yes. Now that I go back and look, I see it immediately. Did they do a paperback series of Tammy novels to go with the films?

[td]

DR BEN - that is Miss Sandra Dee in "Tammy and the Doctor" - and the doctor is Mr Peter Fonda!

I knew that.

Maybe that should be my DR/BK question of the day:  Who are your favorite fictional doctors?  Who are your favorite television doctors?  Who are your favorite film doctors?

Mine:
film:


fiction:

[Matt H.]

Just gotta love that Dr. No!

[JoseSPiano]

I can't breathe!

-How's that for an opening line?

Well, the sinuses are back in full force this morning... damn, theatre dust/cold bug in the air/etc...  Guess I should take an antihistamine before heading into understudy rehearsal.  I'm feeling OK, but there's just soo much crap up in my sinus cavities right now...  At least I'm not coughing, and my nose really isn't running at all either.  A hot shower should help in a few minutes.

As for the shows closing...  I'm planning a nice mini-splurge-vacation in NYC in January after Camelot closes.  Thankfully, I have some sources for house seats, but I started checking general availability for a couple of shows, and there are a bunch that aren't selling tickets past January 4 at this time.  Something tells me January 4 will be another Black Sunday on Broadway.  We'll see if the various producers out there will make evaluations before or during the holiday season.

And as far as the current slump right now...  November, pre-Thanksgiving, has always been slow - at least in my experience.  In fact, if I'm able to go up to NYC in the fall, I go in November since I'm usually able to snag up some pretty decent seats for shows, half-price or otherwise.

DR Ben - How do you get those free tickets?  Huh?  

As for Ask BK Day...

Do you have an E-bay nemesis?  Someone who you find yourself bidding against on a regular basis?  If so, who wins most of time?

And for Ask DR Day...  Well, this question is more like Ask DRs in NYC Day - or at least those DRs really familiar with NYC...

For my trip up in January - and I, strangely enough, like NYC in January - I'm currently planning on splurging on a nice, near Times Square Hotel - or maybe even something on the East Side.  *I've always been fond of the Omni Berkshire Place - and they just remodeled/rerurbished again!  However, do any DRs have any other suggestions for a nice, cozy or spacious place I should look into staying?  -And, yes, I will have a guest with me... let the mystery begin!  

And now for all DRs...

What Thanksgiving side-dish do you absolutely refuse to eat, cannot eat, will not eat, makes you sick at just the sight and smell of it?

-This may have been a topic of discussion sometime in the past -  In any case, I really don't have any real aversions to most side-dishes.  However, I've been to some other family's Thanksgiving dinners, and found some of their "traditional" side-dishes quite interesting.  I seem to remember some canned tuna, canned anchovy concoction at one celebration...  Very interesting contrast to the turkey and massed potatoes.

Interestingly enough, my Filipino parents have, for the most part, always prepared a very traditional Thanksgiving dinner.  Although my dad has gotten into preparing leg of lamb as well on Turkey Day as well as Christmas.

Well, I must dawdle no longer - not that my time spent here on HHW would ever even come close to dawdling - but duty calls and I must ready myself to head to rehearsal.  Hopefully, we'll be able to stumble through the whole show.

Ciao for niao!