Author Topic: Kitty Carlisle Hart on Broadway cancelled (Read 3798 times)

JohnXXVII · « **on:** November 22, 2003, 05:41:53 PM »

Kitty Carlisle's scheduled one week, one woman appearance in the off-Broadway show Singular Sensations has been cancelled as the show itself closes tomorrow. It's a bummer. I had planned to see her. Poor ticket sales was the problem. The show had a loose format, with each different performer singing and answering questions about their life.

JohnXXVII · « **Reply #1 on:** November 22, 2003, 06:00:21 PM »

Also, Polly Bergen's show "Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks" closes tomorrow. The show didn't get favorable reviews, and Polly missed a number of performances due to a leg injury. Apparently Polly's injury has gotten so bad that she can't return to the show and that's one of the reasons it's closing.

Not a very good season for Broadway.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #2 on:** November 22, 2003, 07:01:10 PM »

My understanding is that Broadway is having a very good season. It's just not a good season for elderly former TTTT panelists.

inturnaround · « **Reply #3 on:** November 22, 2003, 07:26:53 PM »

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Nov 22 2003, 07:01 PM\'] My understanding is that Broadway is having a very good season. It's just not a good season for elderly former TTTT panelists. [/quote]
Yes, bad reviews for Luke Skywalker and Polly Bergen notwithstanding, Broadway has had an interesting season with Hugh Jackman in "The Boy from Oz", the new hit "Wicked" and the surprising sleeper off-Broadway transfer "Avenue Q".

Then again, there's that Boy George show no one wants to see...

Jim · « **Reply #4 on:** November 22, 2003, 09:07:45 PM »

I called about two weeks ago and got disturbing news at that point. I asked about ticket availability for Kitty. I learned she was doing a number of shows. One each night Mon - Fri (except one of the weeknights), two on Sat and one on Sun. I asked the ticket agent if he could assess the speed with which the show was selling out (e.g., if I really needed to decide which day to attend immediately - I was sure this would be a sellout) and if there were any shows which still had decent seats. To my surprise, he said that, with the exception of the Monday show, ticket availability was the same - row CCC (third row of the theatre) was available. He commented this show was not selling. Monday I could get row DDD.
It is kind of a reminder that, sadly, not everyone is thinking about TTTT, Number Please, the Marble Machine, or older game shows in general. As I joked in an earlier post, most people walking around the mall don't know who Bud Collyer is and think those banners with "DK" allude to Donna Karan.
BTW, If the show had gone on, it would be fun to get her riled up by asking about flour in the gravy (per Sunday's BWO)

DjohnsonCB · « **Reply #5 on:** November 23, 2003, 01:39:19 PM »

Quote

...and think those banners with "DK" allude to Donna Karan.

Sorry about my being out of it, but what DO the "DK" banners allude to?

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #6 on:** November 23, 2003, 01:52:40 PM »

Um...actually the banners in the mall DO refer to Donna Karan. I think Jim's point is that they OUGHT to make people think of Dorothy Kilgallen, an odd point to make in that context. In fact:

Quote

It is kind of a reminder that, sadly, not everyone is thinking about TTTT, Number Please, the Marble Machine, or older game shows in general.

I'm also not sure exactly how Number Please and Marble Machine got pulled into that rant, but just so we're clear, the failure of the Singular Sensations show has almost nothing to do with game shows. In fact, I'd bet that Polly Bergen, Kitty Carlisle and other stage celebs would have been very disappointed to see their Q&A time taken up by people like us asking about their game show past.

Jim · « **Reply #7 on:** November 23, 2003, 02:35:59 PM »

Matt,
You are right that game shows cannot be directly faulted for the demise of the program. It still surprises me, however, that there aren't enough game show fans alone who would get out to see Kitty. Added to her fans from opera, the Marx Brothers, and arts administration programs for a few decades, how could ticket sales suck? Worse, there should be enough Brady Bunch fans around to go see Florence Henderson, who was scheduled later in the season.
BTW, the DK blurb was originally presented under the premise, "You know you're a game show addict when you visit the mall and think the DK banners in the clothing department allude to Miss Killgallen".

chris319 · « **Reply #8 on:** November 23, 2003, 03:24:05 PM »

Kitty's opera fans? That are still living?

inturnaround · « **Reply #9 on:** November 23, 2003, 09:04:30 PM »

[quote name=\'Jim\' date=\'Nov 23 2003, 02:35 PM\'] Matt,
You are right that game shows cannot be directly faulted for the demise of the program. It still surprises me, however, that there aren't enough game show fans alone who would get out to see Kitty. Added to her fans from opera, the Marx Brothers, and arts administration programs for a few decades, how could ticket sales suck? Worse, there should be enough Brady Bunch fans around to go see Florence Henderson, who was scheduled later in the season.
[/quote]
I chalk it up to poor promotion. A lot of worthwhile shows close because they weren't marketed properly or nearly enough. I don't think it was lack of interest as much as it was lack of awareness.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #10 on:** November 23, 2003, 10:10:25 PM »

[quote name=\'chris319\' date=\'Nov 23 2003, 04:24 PM\'] Kitty's opera fans? That are still living? [/quote]
They were going to bring their 78's to the theater for her to sign.

JohnXXVII · « **Reply #11 on:** November 24, 2003, 03:25:19 PM »

Florence Henderson was actually in Singular Sensations last week, the week it closed! There was no Brady Bunch contingent to inflate ticket sales. Carol Channing was the star of Singular Sensations two weeks ago, leading off the series, and box office was pretty poor.

Shirley Jones, Jane Powell, and Sally Ann Howes were all scheduled to do weeks in January and February; it's a shame it closed as I would have liked to have met them.

With Farrah Fawcett's play Bobbi Boland closing in previews; Ellen Burstyn's play Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All closing after one day; Jackie Mason's Laughing Room Only closing after two weeks; and poor reviews for new musicals like Taboo and Wicked, I think this is a very shaky Broadway season, for new ventures anyway.