What was the occupancy of “Avenue Q”?
It was bringing in 6,000 to 7,000 people a week as opposed to the 10,000 or 11,000 we’d hoped. We were at about 50 or 60 percent. That’s the trouble. You once told me, “You can’t go broke with a show like ‘Avenue Q,’ but you can make a lot of money.” You said you only needed 30 percent occupancy to break even. That’s right. We made money with “Avenue Q” every night. But not enough. Why do you think “Spamalot” will do better? It’s completely different. “Spamalot” is a big, rock-’em, sock-’em Broadway show. “Avenue Q” is almost off-Broadway. It’s a very inside piece of business. Was “Avenue Q” too challenging for Las Vegas? Not too challenging. But in a city that’s very bombastic, it takes a while for something understated to sink in. We have an audience that turns over 2 times a week and they’re only here two or three times a year. So word of mouth here is a much slower proposition than in New York. A lot of people did predict that problem. Listen, anybody who tells you they have a crys
