Billy Elliot the Forum

I'm always concerned when a shtick (gimmick) is what makes a show great, because if you take away the shtick and have nothing spectacular, then you've always just been putting on a flashy show with no substance. Hair was this kind of show for me (but I concede that for many of other generations, it was much more than that). Anyway, I've heard so many great things about this production, so now I don't know which to believe. If I can snag a ticket for a decent price, I'll go soon and see for myself. Right now, all the shows I want to see have prohibitive pricing.

Agreed, Sean. In the case of the current production, there is no real stage, and therefore no real set to speak of. The entire theater becomes the set. I'm not saying it's good or bad. It's this new trend of ' immersive theatre', like when "Cabaret" was staged in a nightclub, or the current revival of "Sweeney Todd" that is staged in a pie shop.

LiamM wrote:In the photo, I can see that the parking garage next door is coming down. Anyone know what they are doing with the site?

The empty lot next to the Imperial, where the former parking garage stood, had been slated to become a new theatre for the Shubert Organization. Plans for the new theatre have been cancelled.

http://variety.com/2017/legit/news/new- ... 202554123/

Interesting. It may just be that the footprint for a theatre within an apartment building wouldn't work. If it was a theatre only, maybe, but with lobby and elevator requirements, it may have just been too much to deal with. The 8th Avenue subway runs under 8th Avenue, too, so digging down not feasible.

This is a Tiktok video of what it looks like in the house at the Imperial during tech week, 3 days before first preview of "Water For Elephants." Look at all that equipment in the house! I'm told this is actually fairly standard for most Broadway shows these days.

https://www.tiktok.com/@w4emusical/vide ... 5168255278