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[0:00] Jeff Malone: Welcome to Half Hour with Jeff and Richie, the podcast where we explore the latest shows we see, sharing our insights and opinions on the performances, storylines, and everything in between. In today's episode, we bring you a new Theatre Chat episode, an episode where we recap current topics happening in the theatre industry. So join us as we dive into these hot topics, and don't forget to share your thoughts with us. I'm Jeff.

[0:19] Richie Grasso: And I'm Richie, and we're thrilled to be your hosts for this episode. But before we get started, let's take a quick moment to hear from our sponsors. Welcome, everyone, to a new episode of Theatre Chat. Let's start things off with the hot topic of the week. We're starting mainly talking with this episode about the second Wicked film, Wicked For Good, which we just saw in theatres, which, as many of you may already know, is basically Act Two of the Wicked musical. So first Wicked movie that came out last year was Act One, and Wicked For Good is Act Two. The musical is split into two movies, just for those of you who may not know that already. And I'll read a little bit about Wicked For Good. Now demonized as the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba lives in exile in the Ozian forest, while Glinda resides at the palace in Emerald City, reveling in the perks of fame and popularity. As an angry mob rises against the Wicked Witch, she'll need to reunite with Glinda to transform herself and all of Oz for good.

[1:13] Jeff Malone: So let's do a hot take for Wicked For Good, because I think you're gonna be very surprised by this. I'm not a big fan of Act Two of Wicked, and this movie made me a fan. Okay, great. I thought this was just as good as the first movie. I don't understand, really, we can talk about this later, why there was so much more, not negative press around the second movie, but it wasn't as reviewed well as the first one. And I don't know, by a lot of people and reviewers, it just didn't seem to have the same energy as the first one, a lot of people said. And while I do think the first one is better in terms of musical numbers, production numbers, songs, and elements of that, I will say that I do think that this movie does hold true to the first one, and they're both equal in terms of plot, in terms of design, in terms of concept. I mean, they all glued together nice. If I watched the first movie and the second movie all together as one, I think it would work well. So I enjoyed it.

[2:08] Richie Grasso: Yeah. All right. We'll dive in. So listen, I think most people know with Wicked that Act Two is a more plot-driven act. It's less production numbers, it's more dark, and it gives you this energy of problem-solving, fixing relationships. Dorothy comes, figuring that out, how to wrap it up. So that kind of does get talked about as like, well, we have all these big, splashy, fun, positive energy production numbers in Act One, and then it kind of takes this complete turn in Act Two. I think the movie did a nice job of moving along though. Yes, there's just not as, they added some songs, and ironically, they added ballads. They didn't add a big production number in. Thank goodness is probably the biggest production number in this.

I would also say March of the Witch Hunters is another ensemble number, kind of like the Kill the Beast song in Beauty and the Beast a little bit. But then there's the end when they're kind of singing in again in Munchkinland. But I thought this worked. I think overall it works. I do think I like the first movie slightly better, but I still think this was great. I don't know why so many people were like, this was not as great, this was boring, or this was, I don't think that at all. I think my take on this is that probably a lot of people are still judging for the fact that they split the two movies into two films. And probably many think that they probably didn't really need to, although it would have been a really long film if they kept it just as one.

[3:36] Jeff Malone: I feel though the goal here was really to expand on the plot and the plot around the animals in Oz. And with the musical, I don't really think that is your takeaway with the musical. At least it wasn't mine when I originally saw it, and that was back in 2007. So I probably have grown a lot in understanding plot more. But I really do feel that we had more plot around the animals this time around. So I understand why they split the two films. Do I think it was fully necessary? Not really. I think we could have condensed it a little bit. But Act Two is one of those acts in the stage musical that it's very quick. A lot of information is thrown into you in a short period of time, and you really have to kind of sit with that.

And I don't feel like that fully comes across in the stage musical, which is why it's my issue with Act Two in general. So why I liked this film was I was able to breathe through what was actually happening in this storyline here. And for those of you listening, we are giving spoiler alerts here. So just be aware if you haven't seen the movie yet and you're listening to this, you've been warned. We like to say that at the beginning. Here's what stood out for me. I think that the inclusion of more animals and more animals talking and the importance of what was going on with the animals seemed much more heavy in the films than in the stage production. Yes, they referenced the lion and things like that in Dr. Dillamond, and those characters are still in the stage. But the bear and all these other animals and seeing the struggles they're going through in this land was really, really prevalent in this film. And I like that they escalated that right here.

[5:21] Richie Grasso: I thought that this is Cynthia and Ariana's story. And so when Dorothy came, it's not Dorothy's story right now. Dorothy's story is the Wizard of Oz film or book, right? This is not her story. So I loved the choice of not allowing us to really see Dorothy's face or give Dorothy moments where we see who that is. And we see the side of her, the back of her, as she's making her way through. That's kind of what they do in the stage production too. And I think it just, although it's a little more in the film, I think it totally works. It allows us to see that this girl is going on this journey. You now know who the lion is, you now know who the scarecrow is, and that you now know who the Tin Man is.

And she's going on this journey with them. And I think there was some lightheartedness with like, oh, this girl's here and all that. But you know, she dropped the house on the witch, Madame Horrible's involvement in that, and Elphaba, it just all glued together and connected. So if you've never seen the stage production, or don't know how this is all piecing together, you're watching it, and I think the film does a good job. It's like, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. And I think you're able to glue it all together. So I liked Dorothy's inclusion. I thought it was just enough. I don't think it was too much or too little. I thought it was just enough.

[6:36] Jeff Malone: Yeah, but I feel right. The whole Dorothy thing is a whole another point of this. And I think she was like, added in here, very similar to how she's added in into the stage musical. I mean, it's way quicker, I think, in the stage musical. But with this, I actually think we get more character development with Glinda than we do in the stage musical. I thought there was way more picking up on how she's handling her part in this whole situation. You really, and I think Ariana Grande does an amazing job with the character, in really kind of teaching us how she was kind of becoming the puppet in this whole political scheme that was going on in Oz. And that she finally had to start piecing all of these things that the Wizard and Madame Orville were doing with her and to her, and how they were turning everyone against Elphaba.

[7:38] Richie Grasso: Yeah, and I will say that, like, this was Ariana's growth. She was really strong for me. I thought that Cynthia Erivo really grows a lot in Act One. She does in Act Two as well. But this was Ariana's acting, like, blossoming here. And the two of them were just pulling on the heartstrings. They felt for each other in this. They knew that they had big roles and big shoes to fill and big songs to sing. And this was big for them. I thought they did it incredibly well. And I thought the ending to me was very emotional. I was very moved by it. I was moved by For Good. I was moved by the whole last 10 minutes of it. And I think that you're left to think, I don't, you know, you really never, Glinda really doesn't know that Elphaba's still alive.

And I think that you kind of, the movie leads you to believe, I think she deep down knows that she's out there still alive somewhere. And maybe this is the end of their story. If the Wicked franchise continues in whatever way, I don't know if they would continue this story. Maybe Elphaba's story is separate. Maybe Glinda's story is separate. I don't know if they ever meet again, you know? And that's what I think makes the ending of this so impactful.

[8:37] Jeff Malone: Well, I think there's signs there that definitely show. I think that in the ending, and maybe this will be like the big spoiler moment here, you know, we're ending here with Glinda at Emerald City. She has the grimmery, it is moving, it is responding at a very similar time that Elphaba and Fiyero are leaving Oz. And there's this moment that's happening there. And I feel like this is such a big topic to kind of discuss. But what do you actually think is happening in that moment? Is it Elphaba giving her the sign? Is it powers transferring to Glinda, maybe? It could be both. I think it was more of a sign that she's still out there. And that her and Fiyero, if you know from the Wicked books, there's another book, right?

Son of a Witch is the next book that Elphaba has a child and then they have an old, like, there's so many different subplots that come from this, right? But I think Glinda deep down knows that she's out there, right? And now Glinda has got to be responsible for a lot of the change and being, as she says, now I want to be here for good, right? Or for the good.

[9:42] Richie Grasso: I find that, you know, Wicked, for me, goes back to my youth. It wasn't the first Broadway show I ever saw, it was one of them. And I remember being completely moved and transformed by it. The Wizard of Oz was one of the first movies I ever saw. Judy Garland's performance of that, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, is one of the first songs I ever learned to sing as a little boy. Like, this is just like a very emotional story for me. And so I think to pay homage to the original film with certain moments, to pay homage to the original musical in certain moments was so smart. And I will say that one of most, just about everyone's first exposure to Wicked, mostly, is that iconic poster of Elphaba and Glinda whispering into Elphaba.

[10:24] Richie Grasso: That's just what we remembered, right? Like when the marketing first came out and the CD, because that was what it was. It was a CD, right? And it was, and posters, and you just knew it as that. And so I think it was brilliant for our final, final, final moment for Jon M. Chu to leave us with is a flashback to them in their youth and Glinda just whispering to Elphaba. What she's whispering? I don't know. And I think that's beautiful and brilliant. And it brought it back to the original core of that. And I was moved. I was moved to tears. I was very emotional by the end of this film. It's a brilliant, brilliant storytelling. I think it was really, really well done. And let's talk about Jon M. Chu for a little bit here about his direction in this overall.

One thing I did want to touch on the directing part of this is the Glinda backstory. We have now learned that there is maybe a process for writing Glinda's prequel story. Well, Gregory Maguire, I know, is writing a book about that, which he talks to or something like that. Which I wonder if Jon knew about this, because there was also the whole Ariana hinting that this is not the end of things with the whole Wicked Witches. She had a moment early on in the film where she's a child and she has this whole moment with the rainbow. It's when she's trying to learn how to do spells and she's at a birthday party with her friends and nothing's happening, but the rainbow does appear. The rainbow does appear again at the end of the film.

I think that is a huge foreshadowing moment of like, maybe she does have some power that she's not aware about, which is why I was talking about that earlier. Are transfer of powers happening to her? Who knows? It could be something. And the rainbow is really impactful. Elphaba, I believe, in the first movie sees the rainbow at the end of The Wizard and I. Obviously, we know Dorothy is singing about going over the rainbow. So there's like all these, it's all and the whole like going home. And is that the process of leaving Oz about the rainbow? There's a lot happening there. There's a lot happening there. I will say that. And I will also say, some people have said, go watch The Wizard of Oz movie shortly after seeing this.

So you can kind of glue some things together more. I do remember doing that after seeing the stage production. But now that the movie has given even more hints and clues, you watch the original movie and you say, of course, those people making that film, although didn't know that Wicked was coming 70 years later or whatever it was. But I think to see that those Wicked creators must have done their research watching the movie and seeing Elphaba's reaction to Glinda. Why did you give her those shoes? You know, those are my sister's shoes. And she says, watch out before someone drops a house on you. And all those iconic lines. And she's like, oh, it's just when she says, oh, only bad witches are ugly.

And she's all these lines about good and bad and evil. And it's all there in the source material, right? Well, I think that's two people have done their homework now. The book writer obviously has done the homework to really study on how it makes sense. And now the director, Jon M. Chu, doing this film, looking at places that he has to pick up in this film where Dorothy is either coming or leaving so that it makes sense. The tornado coming and dropping the house. When does that happen? When do we bring Elphaba in to the moment that Dorothy is there? You know, there had to be a lot of studying that was happening with that. Oh, yeah. And even the water throwing on her at the end, everyone thinks that's going to melt her.

So the rumor started. And then Elphaba and Fiyero went with that rumor because Dorothy didn't know she was, if you remember from the film, putting the fire out on the scarecrow. She was trying to douse the fire on him and it got on the witch. And that was seemed now you look back, was that a whole staging, right? That the Fiyero and Elphaba had this plan that she was going to melt, quote unquote, and then be under and escape. And the whole thing is it's brilliantly, brilliantly done. I will say so many times I see movie musicals or just movies in general with large groups of people, you see just masses of people. But when you see the large ensemble numbers in these movies, there is incredible cinematography work being done here about zooming in on the ensemble, getting to look at everybody there.

Every single person is in a completely different outfit and look. And it's an homage to these incredible costumes that Paul Tazewell designed and won an Academy Award for last year for the first film. You just get these nice one-liners and zoom-in shots of the ensemble. And I think that was something I wanted to say too. It's not just like there's a mass of people and then they just focus on Glinda and Elphaba talking all the time. You get these close-up shots of these incredible costumes and acting moments of the ensemble. I think that was very cool.

[15:04] Jeff Malone: Which is something that I think we have to comment on ourselves is I think that is the type of direction that we like in the cinematography that is happening throughout a musical. I like highlighted and heightened moments where you are actually seeing the work that was put into the film and the choreography and the costumes and the direction overall. Sometimes when you pull back and you look at old Hollywood classic movie musicals, a lot of it was wide, full shots where you're looking at it from the same lens as if you were seeing it on a Broadway stage. This is the opportunity that you get to go up and give the close-ups, which is what I think I appreciate more with this Wicked film in general for both parts is that we get to really see facial reaction.

We get to see development between the two characters. You don't get a lot of that when you're looking at the stage musical and there is a lot that's happening now. I can kind of understand why so many people go back and see Wicked over and over again. I probably need to do the same and go kind of pick up on more things. We're as a society pretty fascinated with this story that for over 100 years we've been telling and if L. Frank Baum, Elphaba, I hope everyone knows that, the writer of The Wizard of Oz, that's where that came from. For those of you who may not know, I hope that he would be proud of what has happened with this story, that he wrote this story so long ago. The Wizard of Oz alone means so much, but for someone to have such faith in it, to want to give prequels and sequels and different stories and develop this land and make it this huge thing, let people escape into this fun and fancy-free world.

Well, not always fun and fancy-free. It's dark, it's sad, it's scary. The movie also gets a little political at times, a little high energy and high stakes. It has such a big message. I think that so many people forget about this. It's not just about two friends. Friends is like the center of it, but around the friendship here is a whole political movement and issue that's happening in the storyline here that I think a lot of people forget about. And when you really look at it, you look in today's political world and you can kind of see a lot of the same things that happen with people and how quickly people are able to believe political figures. And when it goes against or goes with their narrative, how do they react? Which is an interesting thing to look at.

[17:32] Richie Grasso: I was actually going to ask you one question. What are your thoughts on why this second film might be getting the mixed reviews that it is? Is it that maybe there's not a lot of people that know the original story as well or were expecting to be equal to the first one in terms of the high production numbers and all the songs and all that? Maybe people don't know and were disappointed in that way. What would be your reasoning for such mixed reviews on the second film?

[18:02] Jeff Malone: I don't really know that answer on why people are having such mixed reviews other than, yeah, they probably don't know the storyline. I also think when things get political, people have issues around it too. And that's probably the thing that people are not actually talking about. I mean, this show does not have as many big ensemble numbers and boppity moments in Act 2 that I think people also are probably drawn to. So that's probably why I would say that it's having its moments. And I also think the diehards are overanalyzing it.

[18:30] Richie Grasso: Maybe. And maybe, you know, I will also say for the two added songs, There's No Place Like Home, I really liked that song that Cynthia sang with the animals. I thought that was really, really beautiful. The Girl in the Bubble was fine. I think it was good more plot development or character development rather for Glinda. I liked No Place Like Home better than The Girl in the Bubble. I just thought The Girl in the Bubble to kind of be so late in the piece and we're like kind of trying to wrap this up and we're still having another like three-minute ballad. I just felt like it kind of got a little sluggish there. That would be a little critique that I had in that moment. My two opinions on or maybe just one general opinion on the two added songs are they really helped with the character development that I think is missing from the stage musical.

One, Elphaba's drive to support these animals and go to the root of the animals that were always part of this land and Oz and why they were getting removed, which is something that I think is a big thing that's missing from the stage musical. And then Ariana's moment with the bubble, like maybe it's not the greatest song, but it is in terms of development because this is her moment where she's realizing that she needs to let go of this narrative that she's been creating on Glinda the Good and actually turn on Madame Orble and the Wizard so that she can actually help Elphaba in this long run here. It's great. I'm going to be watching these two films many times in my life. I think it was very special.

I think we've been waiting a long time for this. I think it was mostly done great. And some of these movie musical adaptations, as we know, don't really translate very well. Cats, you know, some of these movie musicals didn't work very well, right, as most people knew. But sometimes when they work, they really work. And I always say to you, you know, you've always said multiple times, oh, Chicago is my favorite movie musical adaptation. Does Wicked now go up there with Chicago for you as one of the best? I think it's in there. I'm pretty content and happy with how they did justice to Wicked and Wicked for Good here. And I think on a final thought on Wicked, what was your favorite moment overall?

[20:42] Jeff Malone: In the whole thing?

[20:43] Richie Grasso: In the whole? No, I think for Good.

[20:45] Jeff Malone: For Good? Okay.

[20:49] Jeff Malone: For Good. The moment where she's there at the door, and they're both at the door, that was really emotional to me. But there was something about the very last shot for me that I think I really lost it emotionally, was that whisper. I don't know why, I just think that's just smart. It could have ended with Elphaba just walking off to the distance, or Glynda just looking out into the sky, like anything, right? But the fact that it was like about them again, and that whisper, that was just chilling to me. And then to go to blackout like that, and roll the credits, I was blown away. It was definitely one of them for me.

[21:21] Richie Grasso: Yeah. What about for you?

[21:22] Jeff Malone: I think that my favorite moment in Wicked For Good had to have been more of the love connection that Fiyero and Elphaba really developed for each other. And I think that is also something that you don't fully get in the stage musical, because he was so supportive of her, and you see that she finally has a connection with someone that she can trust.

[21:44] Richie Grasso: Yeah. And that song was great.

[21:45] Jeff Malone: It was.

[21:45] Richie Grasso: I liked As Long As You're Mine. I don't know why some people were like, I don't really know, I thought it was, they sang it great. Jonathan was great.

[21:50] Jeff Malone: Yeah.

[21:51] Richie Grasso: It was really great. And I'll also say the cat fight was pretty funny.

[21:54] Jeff Malone: Oh my god.

[21:54] Richie Grasso: Between Elphaba and Glynda, because that was just funny.

[21:57] Jeff Malone: Yeah, that was great.

[22:00] Jeff Malone: Well, we're going to take a quick break. And when we come back, we have to talk about the Queen Riverside closing pretty early. And also some grosses we want to run by you too. So we'll be right back after a word from our sponsors.

[22:08] Richie Grasso: And we're back. So the Queen Riverside, speaking of Wicked, you know, Christian Chenoweth.

[22:14] Jeff Malone: Continuing on with the theme here.

[22:16] Richie Grasso: Christian Chenoweth is starring in the Queen of Versailles. We did see it. We have a separate podcast episode about that if you'd like to hear our full thoughts on that. But this is really to talk right now about its premature closing. We have a January 4 closing date set for the Queen of Versailles. Many mixed reviews, many mixed thoughts on the piece. It's selling-ish now, but they don't see a projected sale beyond the holidays. What are your overall just thoughts on this closing as early as it's announced?

[22:44] Jeff Malone: I guess I'm not that surprised that it's closing now. I thought a lot of the buzz around the musical died pretty quickly, especially with a lot of bad reviews. I think many critics ripped this musical to shreds. I don't know if it really deserved to have been ripped to shreds in this, you know, this season. This is a very light season for new musicals. And I think in a time where we needed to support new musicals and kind of, like, get some big money hitters in here, this one was kind of done dirty. The only other new musical we have this fall right now is Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York. And there's only two announced as of now coming in the spring with Schmigadoon and with The Lost Boys.

[23:30] Richie Grasso: Yeah. So there's only four potentials. And usually there are four at a minimum nominated for Best New Musical, usually. So I mean, this is a very light season for Best New Musical. And Queen of Versailles, I feel like, kind of got pushed back a little. Like, they were trying to do it last year, I think. They waited. It does all come down to timing a lot. I think the mixed reviews didn't help this. I think a lot of people are not really... I know Cherie Rene Scott just went in and got rave reviews for it. And we love her.

[23:52] Jeff Malone: And I love her. Let's talk about that because I've seen some clips now. I've seen many people talk about this. They did go see Cherie Rene Scott last week. She is also performing again, the matinee and the evening performance this Wednesday on December 3rd. So I wish I could get there but I can't. We're seeing A Christmas Carol that night. I am starting the campaign to let's hopefully get a few more Cherie Rene Scott dates added to the lineup here before it closes on January 4th because I think a lot of people would go see her.

[24:20] Richie Grasso: Yeah. And there's a third woman. There's an understudy, I believe, too, because I saw the three of them doing some press promo shots that they were all like in the same dress doing some photos. And I'm so sorry, I can't remember her name. But I don't know if she's slated to go on before January 4th, but it would be great for her to get a chance to go on, too, if there was a chance.

[24:40] Jeff Malone: I think this is interesting. I'll just say this. I think it's interesting that we're going to be in January and the St. James Theatre and the Majestic Theatre will both be dark across the tree from each other and with no announced plan for any show to go into either of those theatres as of now. I'm sure there's something planned, but the fact that we're this midway through the Tony season and these two huge theatres are going to sit dark now for the winter with no announced plan is very interesting. So hopefully a new musical goes in one of those spots or a revival or a play. I don't know. Most times Majestic and St. James don't have plays in them.

[25:11] Richie Grasso: I don't know about the Majestic, but the rumor definitely is that something is going into the St. James. We don't have the announcement yet, but that is the rumor. So we'll have to wait and see.

[25:20] Jeff Malone: But yeah, I mean, overall, I still think, you know, this closing that early and quickly, especially after they just opened was probably a little shocking to most people. And, you know, I also think in the theatre community, a lot of people were kind of happy about it closing, which it's also sparked a lot of chatter about like, we shouldn't be happy about musicals closing. So that's just like a big thing to talk about. Like we talk from a critique standpoint on this podcast on how we always want something to be better, or we always try to see the good in many things. I think that we talked a lot about the Queen of Versailles in a good way, and we also critiqued it in a way that we thought it could have been better. But we don't ever want to come on here. And even when people comment on our things, we don't want people to talk negatively about an art piece that is on the Broadway stage or off Broadway stage or anything in general.

[26:12] Richie Grasso: Yeah, we critique things. I wasn't a huge fan of Queen of Versailles, but that's still really disappointing that all these people are losing their jobs now. A new musical like this with all this money and time invested in it is going to close early. So, you know, if you want to support new works, yeah, get there in the next month or so because that's about how long you have to see it.

[26:28] Jeff Malone: But listen, this is not the first time that a musical closes early. We had a full season last year of things like Boop and Swept Away and Dead Outlaw and Redwood and so many things that also close. So this is nothing new when a show closes. It just needs to build the fandom. And I guess Queen of Versailles could not get there, you know, so.

[26:44] Richie Grasso: And I'm looking at some grosses for the week. These are the grosses for the week ending November 23rd. The top selling show, Hamilton, at approximately 3.85 million this week. That show is just going.

[26:56] Jeff Malone: And I think that was Leslie's last week.

[26:56] Richie Grasso: I believe so.

[27:01] Jeff Malone: Yeah. The top five shows by gross of highest grossing productions, Hamilton, 3.85 million, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, 2.59 million. I know the star from the movie is Draco is in there.

[27:09] Richie Grasso: So that's a big deal for them because I think that's working.

[27:13] Jeff Malone: Casting with now Harry Potter, Harry Potter actors from the film clearly is working.

[27:19] Richie Grasso: Wicked 2.39 million. No surprise there at the movie being out. Chess at 1.78 million, the stars in that that's doing really well. And The Lion King, 1.76 million, because The Lion King will just always be in the top. And the weighted average ticket price across all these productions, just roughly one hundred and thirty five dollars. So interesting there.

[27:36] Jeff Malone: And we talk about some of the lowest performances based on weekly gross is Rob Lake's Magic Show with Special Guest, The Muppets that had closed. It sits at roughly two hundred eighty six thousand for the week. Other low grossing shows this week, Liberation, three hundred seventy nine thousand, Little Bear Ridge Road, four hundred ninety thousand, Chicago, five hundred two thousand and six, the musical five hundred eighty thousand.

[27:58] Richie Grasso: Out of all these, you know, Liberation and Little Bear Ridge Road are plays. So I think they're going to be OK, especially since Liberation had extended slightly. So I think they're just fine with how they're grossing.

[28:10] Jeff Malone: And Chicago has been around for so long that I think making like a casual five hundred thousand dollars after all these years, I think is OK for them. Now, that's casual. Takes a lot of hard work to get there, of course.

[28:17] Richie Grasso: Six, the musical is interesting to me. That's really dipping a lot. They have not announced any stars going into that show, at least for the holidays. And it's just been from a million to nine hundred thousand, eight hundred to seven to six. And we're down, down to five. That's very interesting that it just keeps going down. Unless it's such a low cost show to run that that's OK.

[28:35] Jeff Malone: Well, it's definitely a low cost show. And I think the musical overall, with all of its tourings and other sit downs, has made so much that I think that this is fine for right now. After the Thanksgiving week, I would love to see if this shoots back up and that it's really confirmed as a tourist show now. I mean, I think everyone kind of the bridge and tunnel and in New York has already seen six.

[29:01] Richie Grasso: Yeah, right, right, right.

[29:05] Jeff Malone: And then some standouts. Art and Waiting For Godot sat really high on the charts this week, each around one point five million, nearly full capacities. So good for those strong demand for star driven plays.

[29:10] Richie Grasso: Yeah, definitely. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child had a huge week with the holidays as well. Chess still landing at the top. Ninety nine percent capacity, a major breakout of a revival that didn't do well in its original run is now coming back in full force.

[29:21] Jeff Malone: Yeah. And then the highest average ticket prices. Hamilton had average ticket price, three hundred and fifty eight dollars per ticket. That's wild. And then Just In Time follows with an average of two hundred and fifty dollars. And Oh, Mary and Art also sit comfortably with above one hundred and seventy dollars per ticket as the average. So, you know, that's a big deal for two plays to be really performing that well. And we always talk about Oh, Mary and how wonderful that show is performing.

[29:47] Richie Grasso: So it'll be very interesting to see also what happens over. And that's why Oh, Mary, I feel like as always, I'll say this quick before we wrap up. They're always thinking a step ahead. They know the holiday is wrapped down and January is a really late month, but they put Jinx in front. So like Jinx is going to get that now through some of the dead of winter. And I don't see any shows announcing any star studded casting for the winter to get through shows. It's almost like the show's either going to close in early January or there's going to hope for the best until March. And with now more empty theaters coming, I will be very interested to see what plows through past January.

[30:24] Jeff Malone: Yeah, well, and also very smart on the producers and the creative team for Oh, Mary to put Jinx back in. Jinx had a really successful run in Chicago during the January, February month.

[30:34] Richie Grasso: Yeah, she went in there.

[30:40] Jeff Malone: And then she was in Pirates and she was in Pirates. But I think looking at that, along with the same time as they just announced her for the Judy Garland role in play in London. So I think that's a big deal.

[30:46] Richie Grasso: Yeah, definitely.

[30:51] Jeff Malone: Oh my gosh. Well, that does wrap up our theater chat discussion for this episode today. Remember, we want to hear from you continue the conversation with us on Instagram at half hour podcast and drop us a comment on Spotify and let us know your thoughts on the topics of the week. If you enjoyed our show, please leave us a review. Your feedback helps us bring more theater to you. And remember, you can listen to our past episodes and stay tuned for upcoming ones as well. Until next time, I'm Jeff and I'm Richie saying tata for now.

[31:00] Richie Grasso: Bye.