The first sign of Spring for me isn’t shorts, or sun dresses, or even that half of the business has already started taking Friday afternoons off.
The first sign that Spring has sprung is . . . the Broadway League Spring Road Conference has begun.
Every year about this time, hundreds of Producers and Presenters and Marketing Folks (insert, “Oh My!”, here) from theaters all over the country descend upon New York City to meet, mingle and dissect everything that’s wrong with our biz and discuss how to fix it.
Oh, and they see a lot of shows (it’s during this period when many of our out-of-town Tony voters make their final decisions on what to vote for AND what they are interested in bringing to their hometown venues).
I’m at the conference every year . . . and as I’ve done in years past, I’m keeping eyes and ears open for you and will report on interesting things that I hear so you can get an idea of what goes on.
Yesterday, we kicked the conference off with a keynote from Jonathan Tisch – hotel and hospitality guru, part owner of the NY Giants, and yep, the guy whose name is on my alma mater.
Jonathan has also written quite a few books, including a nifty one called The Power of We, which I do recommend for any of you out there who count on collaboration for a successful business.
Pause.
Pause.
Oh wait, that’s all of us. Because we’re in the theater. We ALL count on collaboration for a successful business. (It is not a coincidence that this year’s conference is themed “The Power of We.”
Jonathan had a whole bunch of smart things to say including things like . . .
You can’t be all things to all people.
And . . .
You have all achieved a certain level of success. Now, inherent in your success is a responsibility to help others to get to the same place.
As well as my favorite . . .
You can do well and do good at the same time.
But there was something else he talked about in his intro to his talk that resonated with me, that I also think will resonate with you, wherever you are and whatever you are trying to do.
Jonathan’s theory of the P of We is about partnerships . . . with your community, your co-workers, and yes, even the other C-Word, your competition. (I’ve been screaming that it’s time to sit down with the Ticket Brokers for years.)
In his introduction Jonathan talked about the Spring Road Conference and how it was so great to see the membership in our trade association growing with such committed and devoted members. Because, as he said, “Associations run our country. And to achieve success, it’s imperative that we put aside our individual differences and come together for a common good.”
For example, he talked about how the largest hotel chains came together to help create BrandUSA to promote our country to our international friends.
And then I remembered how a group of California milk makers banded together to create the “Got Milk” campaign. (Visit that link and scroll down and click “about” to read the story.)
But you don’t need to be a milk maker or a group of big Broadway producers to form an organization.
Groups of community theaters can do it . . . on a national level, state level, or even local. Regional theaters. Actors. Bloggers. Entrepreneurs.
Wherever you are, and whatever you, there is power to be mined from more than one mind.
Stay tuned for my report from Day 2 of the Conference tomorrow!
(Got a comment? I love ‘em, so comment below! Email subscribers, click here then scroll down, to say what’s on your mind!)
——
FUN STUFF:
- Win an iPad in our Tony Award Pool! Click here to play!
- Win $500 in our 10 Minute Play Contest. Click here to enter!
- Win 2 Tickets to Amazing Grace at Goodspeed Opera House! Click here to enter!
Believe it or not, one of the greatest complaints I hear from Broadway investors is not that they lost money. It’s that they didn’t feel like they were a part of the process. They felt used.
It’s not possible to involve your investors in every part of your business, and they shouldn’t even want you to, because frankly your time is best spent working on selling your show. However, there are quite a few things you can do to make sure that they know they are more then just a walking/talking checkbook.
We pay a ton of attention to Investor Relations here in my office. Why? The few, proud people that are Broadway investors are the gasoline in the Broadway engine. And treating them with the respect and admiration they deserve is the best way you can ensure you never have a shortage.
Here are five ways you can better your investor relations:
1. Communication is the key.
Seems simple, but keeping your investors up to to date on the goings on with your show is essential, especially at the beginning of a run (and especially if your investors are out of town). You don’t want your investors finding out any news about your show on Playbill.com. And here’s the big tip: tell them good news and the bad news. If your show is struggling, be honest. Investors are smart people and they know the risks of Broadway Investing. They just want the truth. And, to give you a reverse-Aaron Sorkin, “They can handle the truth.” BONUS TIP: Keep your communication going even when you don’t have a show you’re selling.
2. Everyone likes free stuff.
T-Shirts, Cast Recordings, Opening Night Gifts, etc. Small tangible things that remind people that they are on the “team” go a long way. Broadway investors invest in shows because they love them. So a physical reminder of that show, whether it’s a window card, or a notepad, are a great and simple way to give them a sense of ownership and pride in your project.
3. Be available.
I’ve had a ton of investors tell me that they can’t get their Producer on the phone, or that he/she won’t respond to their emails. WTF? In my Broadway investing seminars I always recommend that you ask how available the Producer is before you invest, so you can manage your own expectations . . . but if you’re on the Producing side, and you’ve accepted money from an investor in a risky venture . . . then answer your f’in email and return an f’in phone call. ’Nuff said.
4. Be a concierge
We offer our investors a host of other services including setting up ‘house seats’ for other shows, dinner and hotel recommendations and reservations . . . and I’ve even recommended (or not recommended) that my investors invest in other shows when they ask! Treat your investors like your friends, and they’ll do the same. Help them, and they’ll help you. Relationships are built on reciprocity.
5. Make them money.
Easier said then done, of course . . . and what I really mean is “take care” of their money. Tell them your motives for each project. Do you believe it can make money? Is it an art project? Have you worked that budget over to make sure its the leanest it can be without compromising the art? Yes, people know that investing in Broadway is risky, but that doesn’t mean they want to just give their money away. And making an investor money is a sure-fire way to get them to invest in something else, and recommend to their friends that they invest with you as well. The odds of financial success on Broadway are about 1 in 5. Show your investors why the odds are better with you.
It’s one of your many jobs to keep your investors happy. However far you want to take that is up to you. But I do believe that all of us have a responsibility to the strong and stalwart folks who support what we do. Treat them well.
Our business depends on it.
(Got a comment? I love ‘em, so comment below! Email subscribers, click here then scroll down, to say what’s on your mind!)
——
FUN STUFF:
- Win an iPad in our Tony Award Pool! Click here to play!
- Win $500 in our 10 Minute Play Contest. Click here to enter!
- Win 2 Tickets to Amazing Grace at Goodspeed Opera House! Click here to enter!
There has been a lot of chatter about stars in shows these days, including this recent article from The Hollywood Reporter that features a few quotes from me.
While I was being interviewed, I remembered a blog I wrote back in 2007 (!) called “Starry, Starry Night,” that took a look at the 10 longest running Broadway shows of all time and the people that were in them.
Since five years have passed since that blog (!!), I decided I should take another look at that list of 10 shows to see if anything had changed in my conclusion.
The following is a list of the 10 Longest Runnings Shows on Broadway:
1. The Phantom of the Opera
2. Cats
3. Les Miserables
4. Chicago
5. A Chorus Line
6. The Lion King
7. Oh Calcutta
8. Beauty and the Beast
9. Rent
10. Mamma Mia!
What changed in the last five years? Chicago shot up from 8 to 4, and look out Les Mis because Chi-Town is hot-cha-cha on your tail to take over the the 3rd spot in less than a year. Miss Saigon got bumped off the list for Mamma Mia! and Lion King went from 10 to 6, and will soon to take A Chorus Line down a peg.
What didn’t change? Well, the point of my blog five years ago, that’s what. In fact, I’m just going to repeat it verbatim, because I still believe in it 101%.
Ready? Here goes! (I’m making that little Wayne’s World doodle-deedle sound and moving my hands up and down now as we go back in time.)
- – - – -
“What do 9 of these 10 shows have in common?
Not one of them opened with a Star.
Make the show the Star. That’s the key to a long runner. In a new show, stars are nothing but expensive insurance policies for those who lack the confidence in their own material. Stars make us lazy. And they ask for crazy things like special luxury wallpaper (true story).
And once you go Star, you can never go back. Save the Stars for the revivals (like the 1 out of the 10 above) because they need them.
Now, look back at that list . . . how many musical theater Stars were born from the shows above? I count at least as many as there are shows on that list.
Make Stars, don’t count on them.” (!!!)
(Got a comment? I love ‘em, so comment below! Email subscribers, click here then scroll down, to say what’s on your mind!)
——
FUN STUFF:
- Win an iPad in our Tony Award Pool! Click here to play!
- Win $500 in our 10 Minute Play Contest. Click here to enter!
- Win 2 Tickets to Amazing Grace at Goodspeed Opera House! Click here to enter!
The following are the Broadway Grosses from the week ending May 13, 2012:
| Show Name | GrossGross | TotalAttn | %Cap | AvgPdAdm |
| A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE | $446,069 | 6,885 | 73.68% | $64.79 |
| ANYTHING GOES | $477,034 | 5,924 | 72.17% | $80.53 |
| CHICAGO | $513,442 | 6,453 | 74.69% | $79.57 |
| CLYBOURNE PARK | $400,448 | 5,904 | 77.60% | $67.83 |
| DEATH OF A SALESMAN | $934,861 | 7,224 | 99.61% | $129.41 |
| DON’T DRESS FOR DINNER | $172,669 | 4,064 | 69.78% | $42.49 |
| END OF THE RAINBOW | $379,385 | 4,798 | 60.58% | $79.07 |
| EVITA | $1,529,144 | 12,125 | 94.02% | $126.11 |
| GHOST | $704,545 | 8,928 | 74.15% | $78.91 |
| GODSPELL | $216,762 | 4,097 | 69.68% | $52.91 |
| GORE VIDAL’S THE BEST MAN | $737,996 | 6,901 | 81.15% | $106.94 |
| HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING | $439,851 | 6,112 | 53.65% | $71.97 |
| JERSEY BOYS | $937,635 | 8,684 | 88.40% | $107.97 |
| JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR | $583,455 | 7,092 | 62.25% | $82.27 |
| LEAP OF FAITH | $199,899 | 8,100 | 74.07% | $24.68 |
| MAGIC/BIRD | $123,784 | 4,071 | 54.00% | $30.41 |
| MAMMA MIA! | $662,496 | 8,370 | 69.84% | $79.15 |
| MARY POPPINS | $529,251 | 7,319 | 67.88% | $72.31 |
| MEMPHIS | $580,378 | 8,058 | 68.52% | $72.03 |
| NEWSIES | $931,370 | 9,639 | 100.83% | $96.63 |
| NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT | $1,092,937 | 10,967 | 95.27% | $99.66 |
| ONCE | $788,510 | 8,060 | 95.23% | $97.83 |
| ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS | $585,960 | 6,337 | 81.24% | $92.47 |
| OTHER DESERT CITIES | $292,182 | 3,863 | 63.45% | $75.64 |
| PETER AND THE STARCATCHER | $370,039 | 6,013 | 70.64% | $61.54 |
| PORGY AND BESS | $571,166 | 6,515 | 61.00% | $87.67 |
| PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT | $535,357 | 7,105 | 52.58% | $75.35 |
| ROCK OF AGES | $412,113 | 4,362 | 93.52% | $94.48 |
| SISTER ACT | $702,785 | 9,931 | 70.73% | $70.77 |
| SPIDER-MAN TURN OFF THE DARK | $1,218,638 | 12,063 | 78.13% | $101.02 |
| THE BOOK OF MORMON | $1,598,593 | 8,752 | 102.63% | $182.65 |
| THE COLUMNIST | $304,889 | 4,551 | 87.52% | $66.99 |
| THE LION KING | $1,717,281 | 13,374 | 99.69% | $128.40 |
| THE LYONS | $215,547 | 3,963 | 45.91% | $54.39 |
| THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA | $800,916 | 10,451 | 81.39% | $76.64 |
| VENUS IN FUR | $293,894 | 3,830 | 52.84% | $76.73 |
| WAR HORSE | $664,379 | 6,448 | 75.40% | $103.04 |
| WICKED | $1,579,314 | 12,679 | 87.61% | $124.56 |
| TOTAL | $25,244,971 | 280,012 | 75.83% | $84.63 |
*Broadway Grosses provided courtesy of The Broadway League.
Have you ever been to The Goodspeed Opera House?
If you haven’t, this is your chance . . . because we’ve got two tickets to the new musical, Amazing Grace, which opens later this week at The Norma Terris Theatre at Goodspeed!
Never heard of Amazing Grace – The Musical?
Well, with Goodspeed as its launching pad, you just might be hearing a lot about it in the future. Goodspeed launched a couple of little shows you might know like, oh, Annie . . . and Shenandoah.
And the theater just so happens to be set in the sweetest little part of Connecticut. You might feel like you’ve time traveled back about 100 years when you drive through the city limits.
So how do you win your two tickets to Amazing Grace?
If you haven’t figured it out already, Amazing Grace features, well, a very famous song in the story (the show is actually about the author of “Amazing Grace”, John Newton).
Pick a song that you think could be the basis for a musical. Comment it below, and one winner will be off to Connecticut!
(My choice? American Pie – The Musical)
(Got a comment? I love ‘em, so comment below! Email subscribers, click here then scroll down, to say what’s on your mind!)
——
FUN STUFF:
- Win an iPad in our Tony Award Pool! Click here to play!
- Win $500 in our 10 Minute Play Contest. Click here to enter!
- Get Your Show Off The Ground Seminar on May 19th. SOLD OUT! Next one on 8/18. Register today to guarantee your spot!
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