Ken Davenport - Opinions from a Broadway Producer

These people are officially not allowed to complain.

On BestOfOffBroadway.com, we have a weekly news feature called  "Look Who's Off-Broadway" that puts the online spotlight on important folks treading the Off-Broadway boards.  By showing our visitors that since television, film and Broadway stars are willing to take a chance Off-Broadway, the ticket-buyers should as well, at the same time hoping to increase the perceived value of Off-Broadway. 

It's a simple 10 question interview that can be done over email and has no deadline.

As Off-Broadway shows scream for attention from the media or even the guy on the street, you would think that any Off-Broadway show would kill for a shot to be featured for free on the most heavily trafficked site that caters specifically to Off-Broadway ticket buyers.

And you would be wrong.

Over the past few weeks, we've reached out to the following shows and given them all a chance for their shows and actors to be featured:

Three Changes
Fifty Words
Boys' Life
Fela!
Forbidden Broadway
The Tempest
What's That Smell?
Kindness

What have we been told?

"Sorry, he is not available."

"Unfortunately, due to the rehearsal/performance schedule and other demands at this time, we are going to have to pass on this request."

"He is not doing interviews."

And my favorite response?

No response. 

Yep, that's right.  Three shows didn't even return our calls and emails.

Oooohhhhh, I have so many questions:

• Are all of these shows really doing so well that they can afford to say no to offers like this or any others? 
• How can actors not do press?
• How can people not return phone calls?

And most importantly . . .

• If the star really was too busy (!), why wouldn't the Press Agent offer us another actor or creative team member or janitor or anyone involved with the show to try and still get the media attention?

Look, every show and every star has a choice.  And if you want to be picky about your press, that's your prerogative. 

But when you refuse opportunities like this, you also lose your whining-privileges, so I don't want to hear from any of the above or their people that it's hard to market your show Off-Broadway. 

The sad part is that I bet the Producers were never even made aware of this offer.

In which case, they should remind their people that in the Off-Broadway environment, where recoupment is as rare as a unicorn holding a four-leaf-clover, it's important to take advantage of every free opportunity you can to speak to your buyers.

Oh, and get your stars on board. 

WWYD with TOS?

Remember when we talked about the concept of a Broadway to Off-Broadway transfer?

Title of Show is as close to a perfect candidate as you can get for this experimental idea.  Shoot, give me 24 hours, a u-haul, and a collaborative team (and unions) and I could have a version of that show up somewhere else in the city.

The one flaw from our original concept is that TOS hasn't benefited from any Tony publicity yet.  And then there's the question . . . would they even be eligible if they downsized before the Tonys?  Would they be eligible for Off-Broadway and Broadway awards (Broadway shows that have moved from Off-Broadway are eligible for both).

Lots of questions . . . but the most important question is:

What would you do if you were the Producers of TOS? 

Comment away with your thoughts.  Luckily, this is Fantasy Broadway, where you make the call, but no real dollars are won or lost.

Which means you have no excuse not to play.  So think about it.  Because when your real dollars are at stake, and they will be soon . . . you'll have wished you practiced more.

Special Saturday post: Because he deserves it.

The trick of living is to slip on and off the planet with the least fuss you can muster. I’m not running for sainthood. I just happen to think that in life we need to be a little like the farmer, who puts back into the soil what he takes out.
                                            - Paul Newman (1925 - 2008)

We lost a true gentleman today.

And a funny one.

If you'd like to honor him by giving to one of his many charities, click here.

Paul, enjoy the Heavyside Layer. 

Why can't I get a pony too?

Ever get jealous of something someone else got and you didn't?

Even though you thought you deserved it more?

That's how I and so many other Broadway and Off-Broadway producers felt after reading this article about tax credits for the television industry (to accompany those already received by the film industry).

It makes sense.

City wants money. 

City uses tax breaks as bait. 

Hollywood bites (you can read that both ways). 

City gets the added benefit of free advertising by getting its streets and monuments in front of millions of people. 

And it's working.  The article reports that the economic impact from "city based shoots" has doubled in the last six months to almost 1 billion bucks!

I'm happy for the city.  And the tv/film producers.  I really am. 

At the same time, I can't help feeling a bit slighted.  After all, Broadway alone contributed 5.1 billion in '06-07.

Take that film and TV!  Hiyah!

And do our investors get tax breaks?  What about relief for plays or musicals that take place in New York City? 

Or what about a break for shows by career Producers, who qualify by producing a certain number of shows over a certain number of years.  If they left the market, they might take some of that economic impact with them.  Should we give them a break to inspire them to keep on keeping on, and to give other producers a reason to do more shows?

Noooooooo. 

We don't get the same special treatment as our 2-dimensional sister industries.

Why not?  Because the city doesn't have to give us jack. They know Broadway isn't going anywhere, whereas film and tv production is centered in LA, but can go to Vancouver, Toronto, and other cities offering similar incentives.  And they know that the advertising and marketing benefits don't come with helping out $5 billion dollar Broadway.

So TV shows get the pony, and we pony up.

And don't even get me started on how much the city and state pitch in for new sports stadiums. 

Well two can play at that game. 

Calling all states . . . give us some big tax breaks and maybe we can come tryout our shows in your big cities, rather than spend the money elsewhere. 

You'd get $$$, press, and some culture cred.

Or NYC can stop nibbling on one of the biggest hands that feeds it and give us a "break". 

We sure deserve it.

A market correction.

It happened.

An unexpected closing.  Our version of a market correction.

Ok, so most folks knew that Blonde's roots were showing, but most were betting on it getting through to January, until the Jets and the Sharks rumbled their way into the Palace.

And I would argue that in another market, it would have.

Is this an omen? A harbinger of doom?  A sign of a market collapse?

Not likely.  In fact, this sort of correction eases some of the pressure on the other shows that are struggling right now.

Think about it.  Blonde has been grossing in the $400s lately.  If it goes away, that $400k per week doesn't go away with it.  Over 50% of Broadway theatergoers are from out of town.  You think they all of a sudden just don't want to go see a show? 

Most of that money will still go in the market.  It will just be dispersed to other shows (which shows will benefit depends on the demo - I doubt you'll see The Seagull get a bump).

In other words, same amount of food, one less kid to feed.

That's a harsh analogy, but I picked it for a reason.  No one in this community likes to see a show close.  It's a sad day.  Jobs are lost.  Investor money is lost. 

So let's just hope that this correction keeps another show from having to do the same.

Let someone else play with your play.

When I saw the Mexican production of My First Time earlier this month, I remembered something:  there are ideas other than my own . . . and some of them are good!

When you create something and work on it closely, it's easy to get tunnel vision, even if that tunnel is taking you to great places.

So here's a kooky developmental idea:

Got a new show that you have been working on with your team?  Let another team take a shot at it.  That's right.  Leave your baby with a babysitter . . . for the whole weekend!

Seriously, give it to a new director or a new group of actors or both, and see what they come up with.  Don't give them stage directions, don't give them the benefit of seeing earlier readings, just give up control (you control freak, you) and see what they do. 

Do it in a living room, or at a small community theater out of state that would kill for a shot at a new show, or do it in Mexico (but wherever you do it, make sure it's somewhere risk-free, away from the mainstream).

You may hate half of it.  Or you may hate all of it. 

But I guarantee that a different take will make you get out of the tunnel and just may help you see the light.

A pisser of a show.

I snapped this shot in the bathroom of the Lyceum Theater tonight.

Yep, some guy left more than his dinner drinks in this john.

Some guy left a postcard advertising his show.

Gotta give the guy (a reasonable assumption) a lot of credit:

- He advertised to a targeted audience (anyone in the WC at the Lyceum is going to be a theatergoer).

- He advertised to a captive audience (no explanation needed).

and

- He had postcards with him everywhere he went.

So, for all of the above, I'm giving the show a shout out:

Michael Horn & The Michael Chekhov Theatre Co. Present
Sam Shepard's
EYES FOR CONSUELA
9/15 - 10/13
Tix at smarttix.com or 212-868-4444
www.chekhovtheatre.com

If you go see the show, tell the Producer that someone in his show has a lot of (clears throat).

Has the economy affected Broadway sales?

Broadway?  I don't think Broadway has seen any major downturn that can be directly attributed to the current economic situation . . . yet.

But frankly, it's too early to tell.

When there's a drought or a famine, the first ones to go aren't the rich folks on the hill in their big houses.  Oh no, the first to go are the smaller, the weaker . . . the poor.

In the past three months, three of the longer running Off-Broadway shows have announced their closing:  I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish and I'm in Therapy and (I still can't believe it) Forbidden Broadway.

I Love You ran for over 12 years, My Mother's Italian for 2 and Forbidden Broadway has been running for 26 years (at almost as many theaters).

In those many years, these shows have seen a lot:  a dot-com bubble-busting, a black Monday, and the obvious day in September.

And they got through it all.

And they're not getting through this.

So, either this drought is different from the rest, or expenses have inflated more than prices, so shows can't tighten their belts as tight as they used to.

My feeling?  It's a bit of both.

Will the drought ever reach those rich fat-cat Broadway shows on the hill? 

Well, let's hope that something settles soon, because I think it's creeping closer . . . and closer (think it's a coincidence that both of these "closers" are basically big Off-Broadway shows?)

Does that mean you should run for this hills if you're looking to put up a show in the next 12 months?  Nope, but like the modern consumer, you have to be more discerning with where you spend you money and what you spend your money on.

What kind of pitcher are you?

I can hear the groans from my staff already . . . "Another baseball analogy?"

Yep, another baseball analogy.

Obviously I have some unresolved issues with my all-too-short baseball career, and I'm taking it out on all of you.  Like Roger Clemens, all that I can say is that I'm sorry.

And, like Roger Clemens, I'm really not sorry.

Ok then . . . This Tuesday I've been asked to do some batting practice for some up and coming pitchers at the TRU "Art of the Pitch" seminar. 

Both myself and Cheryl Wiesenfeld will be stepping up to the plate and letting some of the mentees in the TRU Producer Mentorship program show us their stuff.  They'll be throwin' whatever projects they are working on at us and Cheryl and I will give them some tips.

Want to come and watch?  I asked TRU for some passes for my peeps and they agreed.  So, email me and I'll set you up.  The passes are very limited.  Here's the skinny:

Tuesday, 9/23 at 7:30 PM
Roy Arias Theater
300 West 43rd St.  5th Floor

Perfecting your pitch is not as important in theater as it is for the movie industry, as not many people buy product in our biz without seeing at least a script first.  And in our business, we don't need a studio to get our project off the ground.

But learning to summarize your show in a succint way also helps you sell your show to everyday people (your audience) as well as to potential partners.  It makes you focus on the three most important questions that you have to answer before getting a commercial theater project off the ground:

• What is your show about?
• Why are people going to want to see it?
• Why are they going to want to recommend it to their friends before they recommend other shows?

Answer these, and you've got yourself a 100 mile-an-hour fastball.

Where the baseball analogy goes bust?  When throwing this kind of pitch, you want the guy to get a hit.

- - - -

I deliberately posted this photo and not a photo of Roger Clemens in order to wean myself off the baseball analogies. I'm trying.  E-Hold my hand and I'll get through it.

My response to the current Wall St. woes.

I got an email from a 13 investor yesterday who thanked me for giving him the opportunity to get in, because if he hadn't sunk money into the show, he would have sunk it in a stock . . . and that stock would have sunk and sunk and stunk.

All of a sudden, investing in a Broadway show doesn't seem as risky, does it? 

It's a hard time to raise money, but as a Producer it's your job to demonstrate why a dip in one market means it could be time to go shopping in another.