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debunking myths about house of mcqueen not "selling out"

previews rarely sell out early

previews are often marketed quietly whilst they fine-tune the show. many theatre-goers (esp in new york) intentionally wait for official opening night reviews before buying tickets. honestly, previews ticket demands should never be seen as a sign of success. esp with new york fashion week aligning with HOM opening night - i think they're waiting to make their big entrance.

2. summer timing is tricky

the previews are happening in august, where audiences skew tourist-heavy (tourists often book broadway productions over new off-broadway work.) locals are often away on vacation.

3. new theatre, new show

the venue is brand new, built for HOM, so there's no built-in subscriber base or regular patrons. it has to build its audience from scratch, and marketing momentum often ramps up closer to opening night (press coverage, reviews, influencer buzz, etc.)

4. off-broadways sales patterns are back-loaded

many off broadway productions sell a large share of tickets in the final weeks, even final days, before performance. same-day and rush ticket programmes usually account for a sizeable portion of attendance.

here's the truth!!

in the three weeks since it's been announced, house of mcqueen has sold (an estimated) 13,000+ tickets. for a brand-new show in a brand-new venue? this is INCREDIBLE. new off broadway works without a huge existing IP usually build audiences after previews start. moving over 10k tickets before the curtain goes up is impressive.

what does this mean for luke?

this is a big deal and a healthy launchpad. thousands of tickets have been sold, meaning his presence and the mcqueen brand was enough to motivate thousands of people to commit before reviews. this is important. he's a great selling point (thats useful data for agents and casting directors) but he's not the entire show. mcqueen was a fashion legend, and the show will hopefully continue in his absence.

also the overlap between bridgerton fans and off-broadway ticket buyers is not 100%. many of his fans are overseas and not willing to venture to the genocide-supporting fascist hellhole that is the USA. also we're not delusional. luke's not at “household name”. in career terms, this project is more about building his credibility, showing range.

but he originated the role. its resume diversification. a different kind of character so different from bridgerton, positioning him for more serious dramatic work and connecting him to the fashion/arts world (he will likely be a presence at ny fashion week).

we recently found out he's only on for a short run. here's why that's a good thing. leaving at the end of september means his name will be associated with the launch and first critical wave (hopefully great press). fingers crossed, he has another project lined up (hence the limited engagement). in which case, he's both booked and busy, and signalling to the industry he's willing to stretch himself beyond tv.

to conclude. this show is already a success. for luke's career, for lee mcqueen's legacy. as fans, we need to learn to support art in a healthy and positive way without dwelling so pessimistically on arbitrary signs like ticket sales and marketing. thats not for us to worry about.

the real sales test will be after press night in September, when reviews and word-of-mouth start driving demand. until then, enjoy the ride and stop yucking my yum. be happy! be excited! talk about the art!

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me, because in two weeks, hundreds of fans are going to see luke newton on an off-broadway, led-powered stage, in a biographical play about THE alexander mcqueen, kissing dudes and serving cunt, and i'm not one of them:

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Please do not listen to people trying to talk you out of supporting House of McQueen by concern trolling about it being cancelled. Buy the ticket for the August 19th- Sept 28th window (if you’re specifically trying to see it when Luke is the lead). We for sure don’t know how long the run will be or how long Luke would stay in the role, but be fuckin for real- this show is not going to be cancelled before it even premieres (Sept 8th), that’s ridiculous.

This idea that the show would’ve sold out by now is entirely artificial and overblown. Who told anyone to expect that? It’s a brand new show that hasn’t even had a preview, the theater itself is brand new, and the show itself was announced only a month ago. Interested fans are still in the process of scrambling to make plans to go and the press run has barely even started.

Some of yall can’t even wait for the first reviews to be out before trying to start drama, it’s kinda desperate.

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I'm so eager to learn more about Alexander McQueen but also proud to see Luke. I obviously knew of Mr. McQueen, but besides his name I didn't know much.

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i love how luke nation feels so small but when it's time for us to pull thru we show UPPP for our boi

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@dara-90 post reminded me about this interview

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Now that Luke has posted about being in the show through September 28th, a heads up for first-time theater fans looking to travel or buy tickets in advance:

Please think about whether you are interested in this show or JUST Luke. In live theater there is no guarantee that the headlining actor will be on the night you’ve booked. If you only care about seeing Luke live, you have to take that into consideration. Understudies are amazing, and you could still see a great show, just not Luke’s show.

Actors are not obligated to Stage Door. Some actors don’t do it at all. Shows are exhausting, they may have other commitments, etc. if you see Luke in the show but not at the stage door, you’ve still gotten your money’s worth and aren’t entitled to more. I really hope we don’t see any bashing of Luke if he doesn’t stage door every night, or doesn’t make time for every fan who wants an autograph when he does.

Fan behavior plays a part in stage door interactions. Harassing actors- getting too touchy, or personal just because you have close physical access to them- is the easiest way to get even an outgoing actor to stop or adjust how they stage door. So if Luke does come out, PLEASE don’t be weird or creepy!!! So far Luke has said he’s had such positive fan interactions, it would be nice to keep that going!

Now here’s to a successful run of sold out shows!

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i love how all Luke's female costars root for him so hard 🥹🥹🥹 idk u can tell a lot about a man from what the women in his life think about him

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House of McQueen treating Luke like the king he is ,everyone who will go and see him perform are so lukcy bc everything about this looks amazing

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and i repeat- rehearsal luke is THEEE hottest thing i have ever seen in my life

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why does this hit different in black & white 🖤🩶🤍

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i think some of you genuinely need to check yourself when you make posts about antonia. this level of sexism is concerning, it's loud, and it's genuinely harmful.

im not saying you need to love antonia. im not even saying you have to like her. but she's a young woman who (until you lot can find receipts to back up your misinformation) has done nothing wrong. when you slutshame, objectify, belittle and compare her, you are not just harming her. you are harming all the women historically and today who have had to experience the same for the simple crime of being a woman.

when you accuse her of being a gold digger, fame fucker, the classic pretty skinny "mean girl", jealous of another womens success, talentless bc she's in a predominantly female profession, etc. you don't even realise you're recycling the same casual misogyny men have been using to disempower women for centuries. as women. none of you would ever say half this shit if she were a man.

with women like all of you, we are genuinely never making it out of the patriarchy.

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Not that i care about social media but seeing Jonathan following the house of McQueen account and liking the reel they shared with Luke is so precious like these two are so brothers coded the way they always support each other

I bet Jonathan will be there in the opening night

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Reality Check- because this isn’t even about liking Luke’s girlfriend or not shipping it or whatever way people feel entitled to his personal life, this is about delusions vs reality at this point, and projecting misery onto Luke because you WANT him to be miserable, not because he actually is:

To the people saying Luke doesn’t smile with Antonia like he does with Nic- bullshit. I have seen pics where he is smiling with Antonia, but I’ve also seen the lengths this fandom will go to not just crop her out, but to physically erase her presence from pics to create an alternate reality of delusion where she does not exist:

And let’s be honest- if Nicola was looking up at Luke the way Antonia was in this pic you all would be talking about how in love she is and she can’t hide it and swooning over it, because it fits the story you want. Even when we see photos of them smiling together and happy, you all don’t accept it.

And as someone who has been in this fandom long before the World Tour- LUKE DOESN’T LIKE POSTING HIMSELF SMILING. It’s not that deep. He clearly thinks he looks better when he doesn’t smile and would rather have that image, so when it’s up to him he goes for stone faced over giggly. In the days where they were more comfortable posting selfies, Nicola would post the version where he was smiling, and Luke would post the version where he was NOT SMILING:

Luke just looks different when he smiles, and he has enough on-camera experience to understand that and have a preference for his own image.

Not that it matters to you all, because he’s been just as stone-faced with Nicola at times, but it gets romanticized because you want them to be romantic:

If he made that face with his hands around Antonia, people would pounce on it as proof that he’s miserable while with Nicola it’s proof that he’s serious about her. Meanwhile that is just a grown man serving face. Let him serve face!!!!

I have seen shippers manipulative photos and edit videos to build their own realities to support their insanity, and I’m tired of it. You are in a bubble where you get the same nonsense fed to you. I have watched a TON of world tour content- I have seen clips edited and mashed together on TikTok to create scenarios that never happened, or to make things look more romantic. Most of you don’t even realize how slowing a frame down to create a lingering glance or adding certain music affects your perception. Nicola and Luke never lied to you but for sure some of your favorite content creators have, yet you refuse to acknowledge the truth.

Nic and Luke always said they were just friends- ALWAYS. And maybe those clips never went viral but it was always there. And maybe their on-screen ships trope attracted an audience of people who think all friendships are the basis of love so they’re holding onto hope where there is none, but for fucks sake they assumed they were making a TV show for adults who could tell the difference between fiction and real life. Not baby brained idiots who keep trying to say Nicola and Luke are in their “marina era” or have a secret baby or whatever nonsense yall are peddling now.

He is a grown man with a woman he’s been dating for over a year and a half. Nicola also has a boyfriend she’s been with for at least a year. Why the FUCK would they be in PR relationships that make them miserable when the better PR for them would be to be single and available? They like their partners, they enjoy being with them and traveling with them and sharing their big events and career successes with them. The most miserable part of their dating lives is probably the fans themselves, but you all haven’t let them stop you from harassment and conspiracy, so why pretend you give a flying fuck about their happiness when you don’t?

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💕

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and if i say antonia has shown more maturity in this situation than all the women double her age who harass tf out of her?? she honestly killed y'all with kindness because empowered women empower women!! and sad, insecure women...well...

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I’d love not to dislike Nicola solo fans quite so much but then they do things like this:

And I genuinely don’t even know what to say. And this only one example of a few tweets I’ve seen tonight.

Like imagine that. Imagine thinking your complete disregard for the other half of Polin, someone Nic herself only says good things about and cares for, is something to be voice aloud like it’s normal.