Earlier this week, it was announced that Joseph at the Adelphi London Theatre will close six weeks early after an admirable eighteen months. Even mixed reviews did not dispel the clamour for tickets as Lee Mead, winner of the BBC’s I’d Do Anything, took to the stage.
However, interest in the show dwindled in the run up to Lee’s January departure as not only had a replacement not been announced by November, but it was also unclear whether or not the show would extend. So close to Christmas when other shows were doing great business selling their 2009 tickets, Joseph had nothing for sale beyond early January so it was widely assumed that the show would just close quietly.
An extension was eventually announced in early November, but with no replacement to play Joseph confirmed, the theatre going public reacted with mass indifference. Gareth Gates’ arrival was revealed only a month before Christmas, but ticket sales had already suffered. Also, due to other commitments, Gareth was only able to take the Dreamcoat a full four weeks after Lee Mead’s departure. However, these four weeks, during which the role of Joseph was played by understudy Ricky Rojas, saw some widespread ticket discounts that generated a great deal of new interest in the show. These reductions were stopped with Gareth’s arrival and audience numbers dropped immediately, so they were released once again.
Discounted tickets for a well known show with a famous face were bound to be a huge hit in the current financial climate and, ironically, the buzzing full houses Joseph has been welcoming have got people talking about the show once again, with Gareth and Ricky Rojas being ecstatically received by audiences. However, it is the very economic tough times that mean a show can’t survive on bargain tickets, so sadly, it’s now time for Joseph to go, go, go.
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