A cast member from RTÉ’s Toy Show The Musical has blamed the stage production’s failure on Ryan Tubridy’s lack of support.
Back in July, it was reported that the broadcaster made a €2.2 million loss on the musical, which took place in Dublin’s Convention Centre last December.
According to documents provided to the Oireachtas Media Committee, the stage production cost less than expected in management, pre-production, rehearsal and running.
However, marketing and press for Toy Show The Musical actually cost more than double what was predicted.
The broadcaster predicted it would rake in €3.2 million (75,000 tickets); however, it actually only brought in €451,000 (11,044 tickets).
It has been reported that RTÉ spent as much €2 million on the musical, which Director of Strategy Rory Coveney said wasn’t “successful commercially”.
One of the show’s stars, Rose Henderson, has since claimed the musical would have sold more tickets if Ryan Tubridy had “backed it”.
When asked why the show wasn’t a success, the actress told The Irish Sun: “I don’t think Ryan backed it. It certainly would have helped if he had backed it.
“We weren’t on (The Late Late) Toy Show. He didn’t back it. He was a little bit afraid it wasn’t going to be as good — and his name would be on it.”
Despite being the long-running host of The Late Late Toy Show, which the musical is based on, Ryan was noticeably absent for the show’s run at the Convention Centre last year.
During a meeting with the Public Accounts Committee earlier this year, where he was called to address the RTÉ payments scandal alongside his agent Noel Kelly, Ryan explained why he distanced himself from the musical.
Ryan said: “I think the people in RTE were trying to dream big, I always wished them well with that, but it wasn’t for me…”
Speaking about the doomed stage production, Rose added: “The theatre was too big, it was a 2,000-seater and you had to fill that three times a day…”
“Then they didn’t really check that with The Gaiety or The Olympia Theatre, ‘Can you do a show that is an hour-and-a-half long, three times a day?’ It wasn’t physically possible. We all got sick, Covid was still around.”
Despite the trials and tribulations surrounding the show, the actress said: “We got paid, so we were happy.”
“We had a brilliant time. It was extraordinary because you are building something new that has never been made before. There were kids who loved it.”
