Anything Goes - Barbican / U.K.Tour

I saw it in Liverpool on the last tour (7 or 8 years ago?)
There were no star names in it then yet I recall the theatre being pretty full then.

I can't say the advertising has appealed to me much. It wouldn't surprise me if I enjoyed it (I really like Top Hat), but the poster hasn't really nudged me into thinking I should look at tickets.

But can we compare drama to musicals? Plays can be staged in numerous different fashions and many are updated and made to look contemporary and I am sure that there are many school classes being dragged into Shakespeare whether they want to or not.

The problem with musicals is that they contain music that has limited generational appeal. To how many younger people does the kind of classic "American songbook" music of Cole Porter and the likes still appeal? Would they ever have heard the big tunes from Anything Goes that were major draws 1-2 generations ago?

They flock to the likes of Six and Jamie now that brings "their" music to the stage and if they branch out, it would probably be more to the likes of Bonnie & Clyde with its 80s blockbuster power ballads, since those still feel contemporary.

The elder ones who do appreciate this kind of music have probably seen Anything Goes before at some point, this particular production is available to stream for free and the casting is clearly no major draw either. So what's left to shift tickets?

And maybe I just never noticed before, but personally I feel like there's also a glut of touring productions at the moment - shows that have come from the West End (like Joseph), shows that have not yet made it to the West End (Cher Show), shows that seem to have toured forever (WWRY, Les Mis), so clearly something's gotta give somewhere when funds are limited.

Six is really a take off of late 90s and 00s songs though. More modern than Anything Goes, I grant you but I'm not convinced it's necessarily what teens today are listening to.

There’s no way Spring Awakening could fill somewhere like the Op House or Palace Manchester though. They’re both 1900 seats and SA doesn’t have recognition or look particularly interesting on paper that it would attract a curious audience. I’m not sure that DEH is going to do that either, but given that Six and Jamie have done so well I could be wrong. Heathers bombed in Manchester if I recall. Waitress - same. I don’t really know what regional audiences do want, but whatever the problem is it’s going to get a hell of a lot worse when those leccy bills start kicking in. My direct debit has just doubled and we’re going into light usage period!

I know they won't, but the thing this regional theatre goer would like is cheaper prices.

I used to be able to get student standby tickets for £10 and I'd go to pretty much anything. But I'm not going to take a punt on something where the cheapest seats are £40+. £25/30 for a reasonable seat, and I'd go.

I was in two minds about going, but bagged one of ATG's £13-seats. I will definitely check for that more often.

It feels as if all new musicals at the moment are doing this. Which is why I'm hardly seeing any musicals. I'm only 36 & already I feel too old for most new musicals. In the last year I've been to one musical: Singin' In The Rain (I wanted to see Anything Goes but it didn't work out with covid etc.).

Running costs have increased for all shows so cheaper tickets would mean that shows would be making bigger losses if they're not selling at high capacity. It's a tricky balance.

Do you mean for tonight? Because tomorrow is Friday.

And opening night at the Barbican aint looking too good either! 

All the joy the Barbican will have experienced at their success with this will now be turning into stress and worry. Simply because they pushed their luck.