Ken Davenport - Opinions from a Broadway Producer

How can we get people to see a show a second time?

One of the economic challenges of a long-running musical or play is that because it's pretty much the same experience, it's hard to get an audience to come back a second time (which is one of the more subtle reasons why it has to be higher priced).

It's not like a sporting event, where each and every event is totally unique.  Nope, for traditional plays and musicals, we actually endeavor to make every event exactly the same night after night.

And then we try to run those events eight times a week for years.

So if you take our high prices and duplicated experiences, it's easy to understand why getting an audience member to come back a second or a third time ain't easy.

Obviously some shows tap into a repeater market, but I don't care how wicked your show is or what in the rent it's called, repeaters will never make up a majority of your audience.

Therefore, as I've written about before, you shouldn't dedicate too much of your media resources behind trying to get an audience to come back.  You'd be better off getting that audience to encourage others to come for a first time. 

That said, I got a direct mail piece from The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas yesterday . . . and they were trying to get me to come back (Hmmmm . . . I wonder why . . . could it be that my blackjack skills are not quite the stuff that make up MIT card-counting club movies?)

In the piece, The Venetian offered me a typical free Sunday - Thursday room (or a lower rate on a weekend), a discount on a meal . . . and, get this . . . a free John Madden video game. 

I haven't had time to play a video game since I signed on to produce Godspell, but for some reason, it got me interested in going back.

Now yes, a return trip to The Venetian will be a totally different experience (one can only hope - now I do know you always split 8s), but it still made me think . . . is there something we could offer to a customer apart for the usual lower priced ticket to get them to come back?

What about a free dinner at the restaurant next door?  Free CD?  What about the movie and/or novel upon which the show is based?  Or what about a free ticket to another show (You'd buy it from the other show - which would reduce your ticket price, but might be worth it).

Note to you that these ideas are all based on the concept that you have access to the names/contact info of your own customers - which we actually don't have on Broadway (but should).

Again, I wouldn't put major amounts of time and resources into the 2nd and 3rd time showgoer, because it is a difficult conversaion.

But maybe that's because we haven't found the right value-add for that audience?

What would get you back to a show for a second time? 

 

(Got a comment?  I love 'em, so comment below!  Email subscribers, click here, then scroll down, to say what's on your mind!) 

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FUN STUFF 

- 13 Days to Godspell!  Read the day-by-day account of producing Godspell on Broadway here.

- Enter The Sunday Giveaway!  Win 2 Tickets to Traces Off-Broadway. Click here!

The most popular posts of the month: September

I don't know where September went but it's g-g-g-g-gone.  Let's see what interested you in what seems like the shortest month of the year.

• The most read post of the month:  5 Shows that Stand Out at the NYMF
  
  
• The most commented on post of the month:  5 Shows that Stand Out at the NYMF

Hmmmm, looks like NYMF (which started this week) was on a lot of people's minds.  (I am hearing a lot of buzz that there a bunch of possible hits in this year's lot.)

Finally . . .

• The comment of the month is from "Norm Hull" and was in response to NY's Segregated Arts Societies and What We Can Do About It?
  
  Norm said . . .
  
  "What unites most people and groups? A common cause that touches something within. The groups you are looking at bring together have something in common- in a lot of cases they were probably ostracized for their PASSION."

See you next month!

 

(Got a comment?  I love 'em, so comment below!  Email subscribers, click here, then scroll down, to say what's on your mind!) 

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FUN STUFF 

- 13 Days to Godspell!  Read the day-by-day account of producing Godspell on Broadway here.

- Enter The Sunday Giveaway!  Win 2 Tickets to Traces Off-Broadway. Click here!

Our 4th and Final Reading of 2011 is . . .

We're going international, y'all!

On December 12th at 8 PM, we'll have our final reading of the year and this time, we've gone overseas to get our subject.

Martha, Marina comes to us all the way from Romania, and was written by Bucharest native, Ana-Maria Bamberger.  Before her career as a playwright, Ana-Maria was a physician, but eight years ago she put down the stethoscope and picked up a pen keyboard.   

Full disclosure - Martha, Martha has had a life before our reading in Romania, and a fairly successful one at that.  And after Ana-Maria picked up that keyboard, she picked up a few awards as well, and has gone on to quite a career as a playwright.

So why did we choose it for our developmental reading?

1 - I'm a big believer in building theatrical bridges/tunnels/skywalks from NYC to the rest of the world, and

2 - I thought it would be an interesting test to see how a play that has had success in another country and in another language would translate to NYCese.

And, I happen to know that while Ana-Maria loves having her work done in European theaters . . . there's one place she'd really like to make it . . . and it ain't London.

Save the date!  Davenport Reading Series goes global.  

Monday, December 12th at 8 PM.  Invite will be blogged a week before.

 

(Got a comment?  I love 'em, so comment below!  Email subscribers, click here, then scroll down, to say what's on your mind!) 

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FUN STUFF 

- 14 Days to Godspell!  Read the day-by-day account of producing Godspell on Broadway here.

- Enter The Sunday Giveaway!  Win 2 Tickets to Traces Off-Broadway. Click here!

 

Is Cirque sucking up Broadway sales?

Patti LuPone should play Annie Oakley some day, because the woman is the 'straightest shooter' I've ever seen.

When something's buggin' her, whether it's a photographer in a theater, or a circus in Broadway's backyard, she's going to tell you, and everyone around you, exactly what she thinks.  

This week, Patti had this to say about Cirque du Soleil and their new tenancy at Radio City Music Hall:

Cirque du Soleil – it's the big, bad brother now. Cirque du Soleil taking a five-year lease on Radio City Music Hall is going to suck Broadway dry. ... If you don't know a particular playwright or a particular play and you're facing a huge ticket price, what are you going to do? You're going to go with what you know, and more people know Cirque de – the tourists come and people know Cirque du Soleil. They really are, I think, ridiculous now. Go back to Montreal.

Yipes.  I bet there are a lot of sad clowns out there right now, packing their trunks with . . . like 100 other clowns.

Patti isn't the only one that's pi$$ed about Cirque and their new show, Zarkana.  Broadway Producers up and down the street have been buzzing all summer about the dollars that the show is sucking off the street.  It's major competition, and Radio City has nothing but seats to sell.  Unlike something like The Book of Mormon, whose tight ticket can actually increase demand for other shows, a show like Zarkana in that monster of a theater just diffuses the weekly grosses a bit more.  

And the big complaint I've heard this summer is about TDF allowing Zarkana to sell its seats at the TKTS booth.  If it wasn't there?  No doubt, those dollars would go to Broadway shows.  

Do I agree with Patti?

Nah.  New York is about the best of everything . . . baseball teams (sorry Sox), bagels, and yeah, entertainment.  And if people want to produce a show, any show, then let them, and the people will decide what runs and what doesn't.  It's Broadway Darwinism.  

While I may not like that Cirque has set up shop a few blocks from Broadway, I have two options:  1, be a sad clown about it (and no one likes a sad clown) or 2, use that competition to inspire me to be better at what I do.  

Besides, is anyone else starting to fee like the sheen is wearing off of Cirque?  Interestingly enough, I recommend their shows in Vegas like they are my mom's chocolate chip cookies . . . but I never suggest someone see a Cirque show outside of Sin City.  And I've never seen one myself.  

So fear not Patti . . . let them franchise . . . and we'll work harder at being original.

(By the way, you know that word I used up there .  . with the $$ instead of Ss . . . I've decide to replace that word in my vocab with . . . Pattied.  Because she has become such an advocate for Broadway, I think it's only fitting.  For example, "Ugh. I'm so pattied there was no Broadway on Broadway this year."  Ok?  Let's try it.  Now you!)

 

(Got a comment?  I love 'em, so comment below!  Email subscribers, click here, then scroll down, to say what's on your mind!) 

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FUN STUFF 

- 15 Days to Godspell!  Read the day-by-day account of producing Godspell on Broadway here.

- Enter The Sunday Giveaway!  Win 2 Tickets to Traces Off-Broadway. Click here!

 

Actors produce in Hollywood. Why not on Broadway?

Out there in the hills of Hollywood, it's not uncommon for a movie star to take on the title of Producer, either on his or her own films or on other properties as well.

Look at the current hit Moneyball . . . starring and produced by the one and never lonely, Brad Pitt.

Look at Tom Hanks, who has come a long way since "Bosom Buddies," and is listed on the producing team of Mamma Mia!, among others.

So why don't we see more Broadway stars sitting on stools at Sardi's?

The answer is pretty simple . . . in Hollywood, those Producers aren't responsible for raising the money.

And, of course, in many cases, their Producer title is more about control over their brand, and in other cases, just something else their agents can grab for them in their negotiations.

So, I do get it.

But still . . . wouldn't it be interesting to see Nathan Lane produce a show?  What about Bernadette?  Or Norbert Leo Butz?  These are people with great artistic taste . . . surely they could pick a hit, right?  Or add a perspective to the table that maybe hadn't been heard before?

And surely, their name above the title would sell a few tickets.

I'm not sure how it would work out if a show used the Hollywood model . . . because honestly, I think so many Hollywoodisms are about ego instead of art.  It would obviously depend a lot on the actor and on the piece that they were presenting.

But it's certainly something I'd like to see more of . . . 

 

(Got a comment?  I love 'em, so comment below!  Email subscribers, click here, then scroll down, to say what's on your mind!) 

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FUN STUFF 

- 16 Days to Godspell!  Read the day-by-day account of producing Godspell on Broadway here.

- Enter The Sunday Giveaway!  Win 2 Tickets to Traces Off-Broadway. Click here!

 

Sharing media space in the square.

Snapped this pic on Sunday eve as one of the first examples of media sharing in Times Square between two unrelated shows.  

This billboard (one of the baby bills in TS) first split pre-summer when Stomp gave up half of it (after holding the whole thing for years) to John Leguizamo's show, Ghetto Klown.  But, it appears that the sharing-notion has stuck, as the upcoming Stick Fly has taken the bottom half.

Why do I point this out?  Because changes start small.  And this is not the last example of major media sharing you've seen, especially in Times Square.  See, the problem is that shows aren't the only companies that want those big boards.  Pepsi wants 'em.  Levi's.  Target.  And that kind of competition will continue to drive up their price . . . which may force shows to look into alternative options of advertising in the Square, like what Stick Fly and Stomp are doing.

Or maybe we'll figure out something completely different.  

Like maybe we take the $10-$15k in billboard money and put it into a 30+ person monster street team.  Or maybe we put it into mobile media that drives through the square constantly.  

Or maybe we'll just continue to learn how we can work together.

(P.S.  What about that Stomp artwork, huh?  I mean, it jumps out at you like a zombie, even though it only takes up half the space.) 

 

(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 

- 17 Days to Godspell!  Read the day-by-day account of producing Godspell on Broadway here.

- Enter The Sunday Giveaway!  Win 2 Tickets to Traces Off-Broadway. Click here!

Broadway Grosses* w/e 9/25/2011

The following are the Broadway Grosses from the week ending September 25, 2011:

Show Name	GrossGross	TotalAttn	%Cap	AvgPdAdm
ANYTHING GOES	$816,609	7,822	95.30%	$104.40
BILLY ELLIOT: THE MUSICAL	$723,478	9,265	81.50%	$78.09
CHICAGO	$509,898	6,771	78.37%	$75.31
FOLLIES	$1,122,778	12,264	95.10%	$91.55
HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING	$867,424	9,518	83.55%	$91.14
JERSEY BOYS	$1,030,749	9,633	98.06%	$107.00
MAMMA MIA!	$825,127	10,488	87.52%	$78.67
MAN AND BOY	$229,157	4,092	70.26%	$56.00
MARY POPPINS	$669,473	9,805	68.20%	$68.28
MEMPHIS	$775,877	10,351	88.02%	$74.96
PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT	$798,122	10,914	80.77%	$73.13
RELATIVELY SPEAKING	$716,252	8,302	98.09%	$86.27
ROCK OF AGES	$364,622	4,416	94.68%	$82.57
SISTER ACT	$721,976	10,561	88.42%	$68.36
SPIDER-MAN TURN OFF THE DARK	$1,269,403	12,979	84.06%	$97.80
THE ADDAMS FAMILY	$590,557	8,678	71.41%	$68.05
THE BOOK OF MORMON	$1,293,272	8,752	102.63%	$147.77
THE LION KING	$1,352,896	13,422	100.04%	$100.80
THE MOUNTAINTOP	$411,044	4,627	86.89%	$88.84
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA	$833,171	11,303	87.48%	$73.71
WAR HORSE	$985,970	8,513	99.54%	$115.82
WICKED	$1,561,913	14,119	97.56%	$110.62
TOTAL	$18,469,767	206,595	88.07%	$88.14

*Broadway Grosses provided courtesy of The Broadway League.

The Sunday Giveaway: 2 Tickets to Traces Off-Broadway.

This week on The Sunday Giveaway, we're giving away tickets to Traces, the Off-Broadway show that is what you'd get if Cirque du Soleil and Blue Man Group had a baby . . . but Cirque was also having an affair with Stomp, so you're a little unsure of who the daddy is.

Ok, so obviously, I've had one too many Red Bulls tonight so let's just give the frickin' tickets away already . . .

Here's how to win tickets to Traces:

The actor-bats in Traces have an unbelievable amount of special skills.  Don't believe me?  Check out their "America's Got Talent" appearance here.  They can tumble, they can flip, and they can do things with poles that would make a lot of strippers a lot of money.

What's your special skill?  Comment below (email subscribers, click here) and tell me something you can do that might be featured in a fabulous performance piece like Traces, and I'll pick my favorite and that will win.  You know, like, I can wiggle my ears, I can cook pancakes blindfolded, stuff like that.

Now, yes, this is an online competition, but be careful, I may make you pick up the tickets in person so you can show my staff your skill.

Ready?  Show off your skill!  

 

(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 

- 18 Days to Godspell!  Read the day-by-day account of producing Godspell on Broadway here.

 

 

 

Who won the tix to Sister Act?

Holy Nuns, batman!

We had a new comment record for last week's contest with 240+ entries!!!  Wowza!

In case you missed it, the challenge was to rename a musical replacing one of the words with Nun (ex.  West Side Nun).

And, half of NYC thinks I'm a nut job, because I would read these things while walking around town, and just start laughing my nun off at some of the suggestions.

Some of my favorites:

No, No, Nun-ette

Sunday in the Park with Nuns

Little Shop of Nuns

Hysterical, right?

But what was the nunniest . . . I mean the funniest nun . . . I mean the funniest one?  (It's addictive)

My pick and the winner of the two tickets to Sister Act on Broadway is . . .

. . . Annie Get Your Nun submitted by Anthony!  (It was submitted by Nancy C., but Anthony beat you to it.)

Congratulations Anthony!  (Email me for your tix)  And thanks to the 240+ of you that entered.  This was a nun one.  I mean, a fun nun.  Dang it!  A FUN ONE.  

If you've got a second . . . yes even if you're at work . . . read some of these suckers.  Hysterical.

Click here.

(Got a comment?  I love 'em, so comment below!  Email subscribers, click here, then scroll down, to say what's on your mind!) 

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FUN STUFF 

- 19 Days to Godspell!  Read the day-by-day account of producing Godspell on Broadway here.

 

 

 

In a business about tourists, are we forgetting the locals?

When 65% of our audience is from "out-of-town", there's no question as to how we should overweight our marketing and product development strategies in order to achieve commercial success (if that is what you are after).

But does that mean you ignore the other 35%?  Certainly not.

We do a pretty good job at trying to get our local butts in seats with traditional marketing efforts like direct mail, email, etc.  And that's all fine and dandy, but for some reason, I feel like we haven't shown our locals enough love.

I'm from Sturbridge, MA, home of the infamous Old Sturbridge Village, which is one of those living historical museums set in the 1800s where people walk around saying, "I am the candlemaker," or "I make cheese." Anyone from Sturbridge can visit The Village anytime . . . for free.

I worked in Vegas for awhile, and many a casino (especially the ones off the strip . . . which is the Vegas equivalent of Off-Broadway), trumpeted better deals for Locals on food, drinks and more.

Why?  Because while tourists and out-of-towners may be the fuel that fills most of your gross tank, the locals are always around when the tourists run out.  Like, oh, I don't know . . . September in New York City . . . or January . . . etc.  The toughest times of the year are when our tourists are gone, so shouldn't we be doing more to get our locals to the theater?  

We've got some promotions which are aimed at the local market, like 20at20 and Broadway Week, and they do quite well.  But part of me thinks we should be a little more obvious with our gratitude for our local citizens in the branding of these promotions.  There's a pride that comes from being from "here" (wherever that is) and I think that audience would appreciate a better deal or opportunity than someone from out-of-town.  

Because the moment an audience feels like you are paying them respect, they'll in turn pay you respect . . . by actually paying you.  

 

 

(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 

- 20 Days to Godspell!  Read the day-by-day account of producing Godspell on Broadway here.

- Enter The Sunday Giveaway!  Win 2 Tickets to Sister Act on Broadway. Click here!