Unlike on Broadway, where the weekly grosses are not merely public but actually published every week, London’s theatreland has always been notoriously secretive about the ways of the box office; but as corporate traders (if not corporate raiders) increasingly take on the West End, perhaps some of that secrecy is going to evaporate.
According to a trading update issued to the stock exchange by IP Live plc, producers of Movin’ Out at the Apollo Victoria whose first London production this is, “The first three weeks of Movin’ Out … have shown occupancy levels below management’s expectations. The directors are keeping the position under review on a daily basis and taking action to try and improve the situation. The show, which combines live rock music and non-stop dance, has been well received by audiences and critics alike and the cast continues to receive standing ovations each night, but a greater number of tickets need to be sold if the show is to continue to the end of its London run in mid-July on a commercially viable basis.”
Of course market forces apply to the theatre, as to anything: if not enough people buy something, it’s taken off the shelves. But I’ve not seen this economic reality applied to the theatre quite as frankly as this before. Perhaps a greater transparency is a good thing, but I wonder how the cast now feel about the precariousness of their position?
The cast, the principles who, James Fox the pianoman aside, are mainly American, are completely disillusioned with the UK and how the powers that be could get things so wrong. The UK promoters have managed to take their fabulous show, with so much talent on the stage that it is almost frightening, and turn it in to a failure, this would never have been allowed to happen in America, it plays to sell out audiences every night there, I know because I have seen them!
The pianoman and the dancers give their all on stage everynight, I have been to numerous shows in the run so far and the audiences that are there, albeit small, usually manage to still give the place atmosphere through their sheer enjoyment of the show. The applause throughout is appreciative and I have never failed to see a standing ovation at the end.
There is nothing wrong with the show, but it should never have been at the Apollo, it's a barn of a place and far too big for a start! It should have been in a smaller theatre in the heart of the West End, any idiot can see that! The publicity has been targeted all wrong, I'm told by someone on the inside that more money than usual has been spent on advertising and publicity, but if it has, then it obviously hasn't been spent wisely because people I have spoken to in the audience are telling me that they hadn't known about it until now, and their friends still didn't!
This show needed advertising on TV and the pianoman singing songs from the show on primetime chat shows, he's just sung the title track Movin' Out on the televised Breathing Life Awards and went down a storm, unfortunately that was only seen on Life TV with a very small audience, such a waste.
Colin Ingram was brought in to oversee the promotion and publicity for his supposed 'expertise' in the theatre world, from where I'm sitting, he's failed miserably on all fronts! I wouldn't want to be in his shoes right now, although I can't imagine he will be wearing them for much longer, the IP Live shareholders are going to want answers, I'd be interested to know what they are myself.
What I find so heartbreaking is to see those talented performers giving so much every night to so few people, unless there is a big turnaround in ticket sales, they are going to have to carry the stigma of being associated with a failed show which is so unfair, it is not their fault!
James Fox has been a revelation in this pianoman role, he's received so much high praise for his talent and his performance in this show, from the audience and critics alike, just as he did all across America over the past year. He has the option to go back and rejoin the American tour when this run is over and after the way his home country has sold him short and let him down, that has to be a strong possibility now, and who could blame him? The guy has so much talent to offer, if only he could be given the chance to show it to a wider audience through exposure on prime time TV, he'd prove it. America appreciates what they have in James, sadly his native UK doesn't!
I saw the show on Friday Night. What should have been one of the busiest nights of the week was only about a quarter full. I was pretty shocked by this as I had heard so much about this show.
Unfortunately this was off the back of its Broadway run and not the shows current run in London. This was demonstrated when I told my work colleagues I had seen Moving out and all of mycolleagues had never heard of it.
This is a total shame because despite the fact the house was only a quarter full on Friday the cast gave one of the best performances I have ever seen on a west end stage. They had absolutely no atmosphere to work with as the venue had not used it's head and had spread the audience out over both levels, yet the cast still managed to earn a well deserved standing ovation from one of the toughest crowds I have ever seen to get going.
I recently saw Footloose at the Novello and I find it absolutely hilarious that a second rate production with a male lead that cannot even sing was packed to the rafters and A top rate show like Moving Out is playing to a couple of hundred people.
If the PR team behind this actually had a marketing strategy that showed the true genius of the show and not the confusing campaign that is currently in print. I say confusing mainly from the point of view that having read the poster and the flyer You are still absolutely none the wiser as to what the hell the shows about.
Unfortunately people are not willing to take a risk of going to see a West End show that hasn’t really managed to gain any Identity in a very heavily populated market on like Footloose which is everywhere you look.
A theatre as big as the Apollo and a show as expensive to run as Moving Out cannot rely on word of mouth to sell it. I'm sure word of mouth would ensure that in a few months the Show would be Sold Out unfortunately it wont get that far as it is simply to badly planned, housed in the wrong venue and is costing to much to keep open.
Roll on the 10th anniversary show for Footloose.
Seeing the show last Saturday I too was blown away by the sheer energy, style and power of the dancing combined with the excellent music. Thankfully we were in a fairly full audience.
This is not your normal musical - dance show would suit better. I agree that you have to find out what the show's really about as the marketing does not give any picture of what to expect. Why not market it as a pure dance show? So, having first read the reviews I understood that we were in for an evening of the best dancing in London along with Billy Joel’s music. No inane string-along dialogue between each performance was provided which would have given this show a pantomime approach and diluted the surrounding dance and musical scores. However, I did find the first half a little ‘strange’ with none of that comfort zone of the characters interacting through dialogue, which also helps build the story. But by the end of the first half I was a convert and let the music and the dance tell the story. It was a dance show!
It was really the second half where this approach showed its true strength and the music and dance blended to a real tour de force. James Fox was amazing, along with the whole band. We are not big Billy Joel fans but we both came away a lot bigger fans. The lead dancers had so much passion and energy for the dance that it was an experience to behold. The ongoing attendance problem strikes us as a very sad and ridiculous situation as it must no doubt be due to poor marketing, as mentioned in other posts. With the enjoyment that this show brought us and the rest of the audience leading to an enthusiastic standing ovation, it’s a crime to think that this show is not performing to a full house every night of its short run.
My wife and I travelled to London from S Wales looking forward to appreciating a good show fuelled by Billy Joel music which we have loved for 20 years plus.We were amazed by the lack of response on Fri 12/5 and could not understand the poor attendance as we had read excellent write ups of the show. This was fully justified as the cast and particularly James Fox was outstanding. I think that the show was not promoted correctly as a dance and music celebaration and a push on BJ music as he has probably not been as visible of late to a younger audience.
Again my congratulations to all the cast for a performance that was exemplary and professional in what must have been trying circumstances due to the small crowd and impending closure
I've now seen it twice and would go again if I could before closure on 22 May. It's fantastic - the cast are superb. I'm very sorry that London hasn't responded to this show. Anyone know the European tour dates??
Your article (Battle of The Billy’s)talks of Movin’Out as being a flop. I have to agree that commercially it was probably always going to be a non starter. For one thing it was at a venue outside of traditional ‘Theatre Land’, and secondly, a huge (2300+ seater) theatre to fill every night and several afternoons a aweek. And why put a show on, with such ‘American’ appeal, several weeks before the main influx of American tourists invade London? A month or two later and it could also have benefited from the arrival on these shores of the man himself (BJ) on tour and no doubt on telly - all useful publicity. Also the show needed to be marketed more as a dance show, because it certainly isn’t a ‘musical’ in the traditional sense. I have just got home having seen the penultimate performance at the Apollo. The show must have something going for it to pack this huge aircraft hanger of a theatre, on a wet Sunday afternoon, and to have a standing ovation like I have never seen before. I think even the cast were taken aback! How sad for them that this superb show was not better supported by the marketing people and not given more radio/tv exposure prior to its opening. I hope the proposed European tour goes ahead and that it is a financial success wherever else it plays. Well done to James Fox, the band and of course the marvellous dancers