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'Spamalot' Discovers the Straight White Way (author's emphasis is on straight men)
NYTimes ^ | Published: April 10, 2005 | By JESSE McKINLEY

Posted on 04/16/2005 9:35:40 AM PDT by sully777

The other night at the Shubert Theater, home of the freshly minted hit "Spamalot," there were lines everywhere. There were lines at the box office and lines at the cancellation window. There were lines at the souvenir stand and lines at the bar. There were lines upstairs, lines downstairs and lines on the stairs in between.

But there was one spot with no line whatsoever: the ladies' room.

That's because "Spamalot," Broadway's hottest show, drawn from the 1975 cult film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," has managed to tap into a rare, highly prized Broadway demographic: men; specifically, the kinds of teenagers and 20-somethings who find jokes about fish, flatulence and the French absolutely sidesplitting and who normally wouldn't be headed to the theater unless dragged by a girlfriend, school trip or court order.

"They are what the movie preview experts call young males under 35," said Mike Nichols, who directed "Spamalot." "And we have them."

Indeed, "Spamalot" may have created an entirely new breed of raving musical theater fan, one who has probably never heard of Rodgers and Hammerstein or Kander and Ebb or even - gasp - Stephen Sondheim, but who can quote full stretches of dialogue from 30-year-old films by British sketch-comedy troupes.

"I see guys in standing room yakking it up, hounding their girlfriends, elbowing them," Mr. Nichols said. "The guys actually lead it."

Guys like Jerry Gioia, 23, an air-conditioning duct worker (or "tin-knocker" as he prefers to be called) who lives with his parents in Bellmore, N.Y., and who, before last week, had seen exactly one Broadway show. (It was "Beauty and the Beast," and it was "very creative," he said.)

But last Saturday night, Mr. Gioia - a self-described huge Python fan - headed to Broadway with his uncle and two cousins.

"I like the dry humor," he said, standing outside the theater at intermission, a cigarette in one hand and a bag of "Spamalot" merchandise in the other. "I hear other plays have comedy on Broadway, but I don't know. This, though, is hysterical. It's even better than the movie."

Nobody's saying that "Spamalot" is only drawing men, of course; since opening on March 17, the show has regularly sold out the Shubert and built an advance of more than $20 million, a figure that indicates that it is selling in every demographic imaginable. (And women are certainly attending; on Saturday night - date night - the queue for the ladies' room was almost, but not quite, as long as for the men's.) Industry officials, though, say they are impressed by the show's ability to draw men in their 20's, 30's, and 40's, and their kids.

"It seems so far that 'Spamalot' has the potential to become a show for young guys like 'Wicked' is for young girls," said Jed Bernstein, the president of the League of American Theaters and Producers.

As such, "Spamalot" may already be grasping the holy grail of Broadway: new audience members. Faced with an aging consumer base - the average Broadway theatergoer is older than 40 - producers have become increasingly desperate to build new groups of potential ticket buyers, whether they are Beach Boys fans (targeted by the new musical "Good Vibrations") or devotees of East German transvestite antique collectors ("I Am My Own Wife").

Last year's revival of Lorraine Hansberry's "Raisin in the Sun," starring Sean Combs and Phylicia Rashad, illustrated how another niche audience, blacks, could contribute to a play's success on Broadway. Musicals like "Wicked" and "Hairspray" - both big hits - have done well in part by drawing hordes of women in their teens and 20's, many of whom identify with the young, flawed-but-strong female protagonists. (In "Hairspray," the heroine, Tracy, is overweight; in "Wicked," Elphaba, the nice witch, is just plain green.)

In fact, Broadway's audience is now nearly two-thirds female, according to statistics from the League of American Theaters and Producers. Women, who also make up the majority of ticket buyers, are more likely to be regular and repeat theatergoers. (Men, it seems, have some commitment problems.) And when it comes to young men, the numbers are even more discouraging; men under 35 - coveted by advertisers, television programmers and others trying to get their hands in the pockets of America - make up only about 12 percent of the average Broadway audience...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Political Humor/Cartoons; US: New York
KEYWORDS: broadwaystraights; montypython; spamalot; thearts
The theater critic seems uneasy with the presence of straight men in the Shubert Theater. Make money or mock blue collar heteros: What's an elitist to do?
1 posted on 04/16/2005 9:35:41 AM PDT by sully777
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To: sully777

"But there was one spot with no line whatsoever: the ladies' room."


YEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAWWWWWW! Best news I've had in two weeks. I am going to see this show a week from Tuesday, I already can't wait for intermission!


2 posted on 04/16/2005 10:00:01 AM PDT by jocon307 (Irish grandmother rolls in grave, yet again!)
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To: sully777
Felicity Fahrquar and I are lining up for a trip to New York for the express purpose of seeing this show. Both of us, and even her 12-year-old daughter, are capable of quoting long sections of dialog from many Python routines, and some songs (with "The Lumberjack Song" high on the list).

We already know that we are going to vastly enjoy "Spamalot."

Congressman Billybob

Latest column, "Billybob's Speech for FR's March for Justice II"

3 posted on 04/16/2005 10:01:02 AM PDT by Congressman Billybob (Proud to be a FORMER member of the Bar of the US Supreme Court since July, 2004.)
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To: sully777
Felicity Fahrquar and I are lining up for a trip to New York for the express purpose of seeing this show. Both of us, and even her 12-year-old daughter, are capable of quoting long sections of dialog from many Python routines, and some songs (with "The Lumberjack Song" high on the list).

We already know that we are going to vastly enjoy "Spamalot."

Congressman Billybob

Latest column, "Billybob's Speech for FR's March for Justice II"

4 posted on 04/16/2005 10:01:31 AM PDT by Congressman Billybob (Proud to be a FORMER member of the Bar of the US Supreme Court since July, 2004.)
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To: sully777

I've known women who could sing the lumberjack song...


5 posted on 04/16/2005 10:03:09 AM PDT by Unam Sanctam
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To: sully777

I've lived in the New York / NJ / CT area for 14 years.

It's the first Broadway show I've ever seen.

It is FRICKIN HILARIOUS.

Of course, I didn't quite get the gags that made FUN of Broadway, but my girlfriend and the metrosexuals LOVED them.

-R


6 posted on 04/16/2005 10:04:12 AM PDT by talosiv
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To: Congressman Billybob

My phone ringtone at the moment is an MP3 of "Bring out your Dead". Gets laughs at those boring meetings.

-R


7 posted on 04/16/2005 10:05:43 AM PDT by talosiv
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