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August 14, 2005
The Truth About Yoko
In promoting the musical "Lennon," which just opened on Broadway, Yoko Ono told the press that as a working class hero her late husband would have loved to see his story and music reaching such a wide audience in the “popular” format of a Broadway musical.
Well, now we know for certain. Ms. Ono lives on Mars.
Broadway ticket prices run from $46.25 for early week nosebleed seats to $101.25 for first-floor accomodations. If a working class mom and dad hire a sitter and include a dinner that is anything north of McDonalds, they’re spending well over a week’s take-home pay on Yoko's working class event. That, of course, assumes these working class folks live in the New York metropolitan area in the first place. If they walk in from the hinterlands, they’re still going to pay at least $200.00 a night (counting taxes) for a third or fourth tier hotel room.
There are a few discounted seats available at $75.00 a piece, but the theater won’t let you sign over your welfare check.
It's nice to have a spotlight on Lennon's solo work -- and it's even nicer to see something go up on Broadway that isn't a revival or a new Andrew Dice Webber production -- but I think I'll just listen to his stuff on CD. That way Ms. Working Class Hero doesn't see an additional penny.
Posted by Mike Gold at August 14, 2005 01:30 PM
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Comments
I might pay ten bucks to see a movie about John Lennon, but I'd more likely wait and rent the DVD for three bucks. And I can count the number of his solo tunes that I would listen to more than once on one hand. Nevertheless, I think he was a fascinating and admirable man, which is why I might want to see a movie about his life...maybe back to back with Rutland Weekend.
Posted by: Rick Oliver at August 14, 2005 02:32 PM
Oh, come on, Mike. Millionaires work too! 8^)
Posted by: eclark1849 at August 14, 2005 05:22 PM
Yoko will always have a place in my heart as part of one of my cherished college memories. We were at the Washington University Ratskeller imbibing on some liquid bread and, on a whim, shoved about $5 worth of quarters in the jukebox for multiple playing of one of Lennon's B-Sides. At the time, his singles always had a Yoko song on the B-Side and I'm guessing that if you find a 45 of "Starting over" you can rest assured thatthe B-Side will be in pristine mint condition. Kiss Kiss Kiss is an aquired taste, let us say. Eventually someone gave us $10 to turn the machine off.
I recently made a mix CD that included the song and my wife threatened to drive off the road into a tree if I ever did it again.
Posted by: Bill Mulligan at August 14, 2005 07:21 PM
The reviews were less than enthusiastic, and on Broadway reviews still mean something, although not as much as they used to. Reuters encapsulated it well: "Several critics disliked what The New York Times called the musical's "Ono-centric" view of Lennon's life."
Oh, and yes, some millionaires do indeed work. Few have the audacity to think of themselves as working class, let alone "working class heroes." Then again, some millionaires are just that. Go figure.
Posted by: Mike Gold at August 15, 2005 12:33 PM
Although there may not be many millionaires who consider themselves working class, there are probably many that consider themselves middle class, and not ever "upper" middle class -- and in today's economy I can't really blame them. A million bucks today may not be enough on which to retire with a comfortable sense that your money will outlast you (at least not at current interest rates and market performance). Of course, those of use with considerably less than a million bucks will have an even less secure retirement.
Posted by: Rick Oliver at August 15, 2005 02:51 PM
Mike:
Thought you might get a kick out of this article about the play:
http://contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/lennon%20musical%20savaged%20by%20critics
Posted by: eclark1849 at August 16, 2005 01:46 PM