Crazy For You - Chichester / Gillian Lynne Theatre

[ShoreditchTom]

Whilst some may find ideas they don't like themselves challenging to contemplate or perhaps find it all a bit distasteful that shows need to make money my take is that I'd like to see Crazy for You and shows like it continue to exist, providing entertainment for big audiences, introducing more people to the joy of theatre and and keeping people in work.

I saw it (again) Saturday night from a dead central front stalls seat for which I paid £30. Several people around me had got their seats discounted and last minute. There were lots of empty seats throughout the auditorium.

Whilst Saturday was great for me personally (a perfect seat for a 5 star show in Central London on a Saturday night for £30 plus less people to annoy me in all the communal spaces) I've managed to expand my mind over the years to contemplate other points of view and I did find myself wondering, if say I was the producer of this show, whether I'd be happy with the same situation that was oh so perfect for me.

It is an amazing production, but it needs to find a bigger audience.

The "classic musical attendee" brigade who would once be the mainstay audience for this appear to be dying out (in some cases literally?) or perhaps they moved out of London during Covid - either way there is lots of evidence to suggest that post covid theatre attendance by previously regular / semi regular audiences has been soft. 

Marketing challenges with Crazy for You include:
- it's not an especially well known "classic" musical (compared to say 42nd Street)
- it's classically staged (compared to say Guys and Dolls or Oklahoma)
- it doesn't come with a built in super fan base (compared to say Newsies or Wicked)
- not based on a film (compared to say BTTF, Mrs Doubtfire, Lion King, Frozen, Moulin Rouge etc)
- not a jukebox musical (Mamma Mia, WWRY, Tina, Moulin Rouge, Jersey Boys)
- doesn't have TV famous people in it (Streetcar)
- not got an interesting/unusual subject matter (Standing at the Skys Edge) - note: I do wonder how that will do also but different convo!
- doesn't have crossover appeal to infrequent theatre attenders like Dear England or Lehman Bros
- doesn't appeal / not known to tourists because of several of the reasons above


Someone upthread mentions in jest how awful it would be for Charlie to take selfies with people. Personally, I hate selfies and everything about them so I understand that view. I also, personally, hate stage door, I think it's super cringe.

However, expanding my mind a little and looking at the changing world around me (and not making it all about me) one of the things I have noticed is the huge growth of selfie culture and stage door - there appears to be a big market for it.

And at Guys and Dolls I think they've embraced that in a genius way. You can, if you want to, stay at the end and have a selfie - even a dance - with the cast. The pre, interval and post show activities encourage and create opportunities for photos and therefore produces a massive stream of ongoing marketing for the show.  It's a perfect example of word of mouth / buzz marketing via social media. 

At Crazy for You we get a curtain. It's a lovely curtain, but I'm not sure many people are taking photos of it and excitingly posting it to their socials or sending to their friends.

I just think maybe someone somewhere could apply a little bit more vision to the marketing and "packaging" of the show (for want of a better word) to create more buzz and get more people in because I fear if they don't it may not have as happy an ending as it could.
And I do think quite a lot could be done without changing the actual show. 

Of course there are the macro economic cost of living issues out there, although that doesn't seem to be affecting all musicals in the same way. 

The more I think about it the more I think that in the future these productions of Guys and Dolls and Crazy for You (both of which achieved impressive and favourable mainstream press reviews) and their approaches in staging, ticketing and marketing versus their respective box office success could make an interesting compare and contrast case study. 

But hey it's just a discussion on the internet. 

[alece10]

Some very good and valid points raised.

[mrbarnaby]

I’m hearing reports that people involved in the show are reading this and have now introduced a Bucking Bronco in the foyer from tonight.

[theatreian]

There are some really valid points about the show and others in general. Entertainment in general has altered so much over recent years both live and tv/ streaming. People's tastes and attention spans seems to have changed. This combined with post covid changes to behaviour/ cost of living / train strikes etc has put pressure on even what would have appeared before the most reliable of shows.

[viserys]

Jul 31, 2023 11:21:10 GMT ShoreditchTom said:

However, expanding my mind a little and looking at the changing world around me (and not making it all about me) one of the things I have noticed is the huge growth of selfie culture and stage door - there appears to be a big market for it.

And at Guys and Dolls I think they've embraced that in a genius way. You can, if you want to, stay at the end and have a selfie - even a dance - with the cast. The pre, interval and post show activities encourage and create opportunities for photos and therefore produces a massive stream of ongoing marketing for the show.  It's a perfect example of word of mouth / buzz marketing via social media. 

I appreciate that you are right in this and that - possibly - all those photo/selfie opportunities create social media buzz which translates to ticket sales for Guys & Dolls. So maybe this is the way forward.

But personally I find the thought endlessly depressing that even top class entertainment like a West End show will be relegated to being a background for endless narcisstic parades of selfies and stagings of one's own life on social media and that the cast is forced to play into this every evening, no matter how tired they are and how much they'd rather be home.

[adamkinsey]

I wonder if there is a way to realistically evaluate the impact of train strikes on the West End? I know many friends who want to see Crazy for You all 50-125 miles from London, but weren't booking ahead because of the uncertainty surrounding travel.

[oxfordsimon]

Given that strike dates have to be announced well in advance, it is perfectly possible to plan around them. Or explore things like National Express/other options.

Yes, it means you can't book 3 to 6 months in advance. But there are ways.

I wonder whether the increase in working from home is another factor in all this.

With a reduction in the number of people working 5 days a week in London, is this having an impact on theatre attendance?

We know it has affected cafes and other eateries .

Perhaps this extending into evening activities as well

[adamkinsey]

Jul 31, 2023 14:10:57 GMT oxfordsimon said:

Given that strike dates have to be announced well in advance, it is perfectly possible to plan around them. Or explore things like National Express/other options.

Yes, it means you can't book 3 to 6 months in advance. But there are ways.

I wonder whether the increase in working from home is another factor in all this.

With a reduction in the number of people working 5 days a week in London, is this having an impact on theatre attendance?

We know it has affected cafes and other eateries .

Perhaps this extending into evening activities as well

They only have to give a minimum of 14 days notice. I don't call that well in advance.

[oxfordsimon]

I think that very much depends on individual circumstances.

My housemate is off to see CfY next week using theatre vouchers we got her for Christmas. Oxford to London is currently harder than it was due to to closure of the train station. And we are down to 1 direct coach service running 24/7. But it is still going to be doable.

Tran strikes are disruptive, no doubt about it. But you can plan round them

[alece10]

And they could sell some of those bargain pick axe's. $1 at the start and down to 25c by end of Act 1.

[Dawnstar]

Further to the comments upthread, does it count as immersive if your seat kept shaking during I Got Rhythem? I was sat front row so I assume that doesn't happen when sat further from the stage.

I enjoyed the production but I didn't love it as I did the Regent's Park production. Charlie Stemp is certainly the stand out. It's a pity he wasn't born a few decades earlier, when there were far more shows around suited to his talents.

I remember the Fodors being somewhat annoying but not nearly as annoying as in this production, where I found them almost unbearable. They also seem to have changed from being siblings to a married couple.

[alece10]

Aug 2, 2023 18:03:51 GMT Dawnstar said:

Further to the comments upthread, does it count as immersive if your seat kept shaking during I Got Rhythem? I was sat front row so I assume that doesn't happen when sat further from the stage.

I enjoyed the production but I didn't love it as I did the Regent's Park production. Charlie Stemp is certainly the stand out. It's a pity he wasn't born a few decades earlier, when there were far more shows around suited to his talents.

I remember the Fodors being somewhat annoying but not nearly as annoying as in this production, where I found them almost unbearable. They also seem to have changed from being siblings to a married couple.

I've sat in row E and row F and the floor bounces there too during the tap routines.
I loved it.

[knutinkerbell]

Saw yesterday’s evening show. Lovely production and Charlie Stemp is superb.
Never witnessed something like this before. During the dance routine, at the end of act one, he left stage in a blink run into the audience to stop a girl filming. It went on so fast I had to ask my friend if I’d recognized it right.

[A.Ham]

Aug 3, 2023 12:16:32 GMT knutinkerbell said:

Saw yesterday’s evening show. Lovely production and Charlie Stemp is superb.
Never witnessed something like this before. During the dance routine, at the end of act one, he left stage in a blink run into the audience to stop a girl filming. It went on so fast I had to ask my friend if I’d recognized it right.

So Charlie actually climbed down off the stage and into the audience himself? Crikey. Surely they’d usually tell one of the production team who’d get FOH on the case?

[mrbarnaby]

OMG!!! Good for him though!

[ceebee]

Aug 3, 2023 12:16:32 GMT knutinkerbell said:

Saw yesterday’s evening show. Lovely production and Charlie Stemp is superb.
Never witnessed something like this before. During the dance routine, at the end of act one, he left stage in a blink run into the audience to stop a girl filming. It went on so fast I had to ask my friend if I’d recognized it right.

More of this from actors please.  Humiliate the selfish few who film mid-show.  I'll never forget at Bat Out Of Hell at the Peacock Theatre the brazen woman in the front row with her phone in her cleavage overtly filming the show.  Given the nature of the show, every time there was a bright flash on stage or one of the flame effects, her buxom lit up like a Christmas tree (less pleasant than it sounds).  It must have been so obvious to the cast, yet when FOH intervened they actually picked off the wrong person in the equivalent seat on the other side of the auditorium.

Well done Charlie (if this is what happened) - direct action, even if it involves a showstop (or better diligence and stronger intervention from FOH).  The rules should be crystal clear: if you film any part of the show (other than the bows if approved), you will be kicked out. No questions, no refund.

[ladidah]

Charlie is now so brilliant in the role he can tap dance down to rule-breakers, kick their phones away and get back on stage in time for the next beat!

[knutinkerbell]

[/quote]So Charlie actually climbed down off the stage and into the audience himself? Crikey. Surely they’d usually tell one of the production team who’d get FOH on the case? [/quote]


It was quickly and superb, it was in a moment when he had a short stop in the background during the dance scene.
The girl was pretty surprised. Nothing had to stop.

[knutinkerbell]

Aug 3, 2023 13:28:59 GMT ladidah said:

Charlie is now so brilliant in the role he can tap dance down to rule-breakers, kick their phones away and get back on stage in time for the next beat!

And that’s what describes it best.

[ShoreditchTom]

Well he did warn people 


www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/jun/20/f-you-get-your-phone-out-im-going-to-lose-it-charlie-stemp-britains-musicals-megastar

[Dawnstar]

I noticed yesterday afternoon that the no phones signs the ushers were holding up beforehand & in the interval had a line in smaller print that said something like "If you snap our cast they will snap at you" so evidently Charlie Stemp is living up to the threat!

[LaLuPone]

Glad to see we have someone to continue Patti’s legacy for another generation…

[Jon]

Aug 3, 2023 20:19:45 GMT LaLuPone said:

Glad to see we have someone to continue Patti’s legacy for another generation…

Richard Griffiths used to stop shows all the time when phones went off!!

[max]

Sorry to hear he ran into the audience to stop someone filming. A grande jette or split leap over the orchestra pit, please. What are they teaching them at drama schools these days?

[Someone in a tree]

Aug 2, 2023 18:03:51 GMT Dawnstar said:

Further to the comments upthread, does it count as immersive if your seat kept shaking during I Got Rhythem? I was sat front row so I assume that doesn't happen when sat further from the stage.

I enjoyed the production but I didn't love it as I did the Regent's Park production. Charlie Stemp is certainly the stand out. It's a pity he wasn't born a few decades earlier, when there were far more shows around suited to his talents.

I remember the Fodors being somewhat annoying but not nearly as annoying as in this production, where I found them almost unbearable. They also seem to have changed from being siblings to a married couple.

I agree. Stemp is incredible but Stroman is only an okay director. 

I loved the original, 1st national tour and Open Air and this one is very good but I found it to drag in places ... its probably one of the best musical productions in the West End though ...