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Re: Chicago Publicity
Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 6:20 pm
by KR200
From ABC Chicago midday news. JP/Dillon and the Ballet Girls.
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=7760502&pid=7760477
Looks like the same version of Express that we saw from Alex and Dayton for Broadway on Broadway.
(Poor camera work and they totally cut them off!)
Re: Chicago Publicity
Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 6:28 pm
by ERinVA
Thanks for the link.
I may be wrong, but I believe Dillon's name is spelled D I L L O N (as in Matt Dillon), isn't it?
Re: Chicago Publicity
Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 6:33 pm
by KR200
ERinVA wrote:Thanks for the link.
I may be wrong, but I believe Dillon's name is spelled D I L L O N (as in Matt Dillon), isn't it?
You're correct. I'm terrible with names...corrected above and in my sig. I used to always have "Keenan" instead of "Keean" in my head too!
Re: Chicago Publicity
Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 6:37 pm
by ERinVA
Thanks.
Wanted to make sure that the title of his thread wasn't misspelled, as that would not look too good...
Re: Chicago Publicity
Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 7:15 pm
by Billy Whiz
KR200 wrote:I used to always have "Keenan" instead of "Keean" in my head too!
That was a popular mistake when he first came on the scene.
Re: Chicago Publicity
Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 9:09 am
by porschesrule
Chicago Tribune critic Chris Jones bids a fond farewell to BETM. Among other things, he says:
The problems on the road for “Billy Elliot” aren't limited to Chicago. The Chicago production was to have become a traditional, Chicago-originating first national tour, heading to Toronto and then on to San Francisco and Los Angeles. But the cast and crew have been told that plan is off the table.
When “Billy Elliot” reopens in Toronto, it will be reorganized as a Canadian production, albeit with generous concessions, made following negotiations with the Actors Equity union, to allow most of the current U.S. cast to make the trip north. What happens thereafter will depend on how the show does in Toronto — I think it will do well in a country rather closer to English culture than here in the Midwest. But then, I also overestimated the show's appeal in Chicago.
At the end of the day, though, “Billy Elliot” currently has put two touring productions out on the North American road (the second show opened up in Raleigh, N.C., this fall), when recent box-office returns from smaller cities in the South would seem to suggest that it only ever needed one. Obviously, that second tour can also play the West Coast dates. Consolidation, and a reduction in the scale and cost of this show, are clearly inevitable.
Very interesting indeed. And that may in part explain why no further dates have been announced for the 2nd Tour's schedule beyond the end of August, 2011. San Francisco, which had been on 1st Tour's schedule to begin on September 13, 2011, could be covered by the 2nd tour if the Toronto production falls significantly short of its planned seven-month run and that production is disbanded. If Jones' is correct, it looks like the producers are keeping their options open for now, but obviously it would seem a lot depends on how well both tours do over the early months of 2011.
Re: Chicago Publicity
Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 11:41 am
by Billy Whiz
Here's the link to the article in case anybody wants to read the rest of it
http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/ ... -loop.html
Re: Chicago Publicity
Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 2:27 pm
by ERinVA
Thanks for finding the article, porschesrule, and thanks for providing the link, Billy Whiz.
Re: Chicago Publicity
Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 4:01 pm
by CJ-Rochester
porschesrule wrote:San Francisco, which had been on 1st Tour's schedule to begin on September 13, 2011, could be covered by the 2nd tour if the Toronto production falls significantly short of its planned seven-month run and that production is disbanded.
I hope that would be the worst case scenario. Another outcome might be the Toronto production is a huge success and ends up staying longer than its initial seven months. This has happened with at least a few previous productions in Toronto. Only time will tell. It's good that the tour schedule has some flexibility built in.
Re: Chicago Publicity
Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 4:16 pm
by porschesrule
CJ-Rochester wrote:I hope that would be the worst case scenario. Another outcome might be the Toronto production is a huge success and ends up staying longer than its initial seven months. This has happened with at least a few previous productions in Toronto. Only time will tell. It's good that the tour schedule has some flexibility built in.
I agree, Chris, that hopefully it's a worse case scenario. But one wonders how much flexibility there really is. They are committed to a September 13 start date in SF for an extended stay there. If the decision is that the 2nd Tour needs to cover that, then whatever was tentatively planned for the 2nd Tour's second year schedule would obviously have to be put on hold. If, however, things go well in Toronto and the 1st Tour will indeed cover SF, then the producers have to get bookings in place for the Fall for the 2nd Tour. In fairness to the cities/theatres involved, which work months in advance to plan their schedules, I can't imagine them going beyond a February/March timeframe to make a decision.
The other thing the Chris Jones article inferred is that early returns from the 2nd Tour performances so far may not be as good as was hoped for and that maybe America can't support two tours of this very expensive show to maintain.