Ken Davenport - Opinions from a Broadway Producer

Is there a Producer Doctor in the house?

We've all heard the expression, "Show Doctor", right?  You know, that Director or Writer who joins a troubled production out-of-town, or in previews, with the goal of providing the creative changes necessary to save a sinking show.   

You ever wonder why some shows don't have Producer doctors?  Imagine . . . six months after a show opens, a show is struggling.  Why not bring in a hired producing gun; an outsider with objectivity to shake up the team . . . fire some people, change marketing strategy, etc.  There's no guarantee that a new CEO will take a company in a new direction, but it's worth a shot, no?

Honestly, this probably won't ever happen on independently produced shows.  But I can name quite a few shows produced by some big corps that could have used the medicine of some of our industry's veteran producers. 

But ego gets in the way . . . and honestly, a Broadway show can be as hard to turn as the Titanic.  They are so big and bulky, that when you are heading for an iceberg, it's hard to avoid it.  

Which is why we need to look into a different way to build them.

 

(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 

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

- The next Get Your Show Off The Ground seminar is on 9/17.  Only 2 spots left.  Register today!

 

Broadway Vocab 101. Why is a flop called a turkey anyway?

Happy Thanksgiving, readers!

It's ironic, don't you think?  We spend this one day pounding back slices of turkey, and we spend the rest of the year trying to avoid producing one.

And why do we call a flop a turkey anyway?  Why not an owl?  Or a swallow?

Well, these are the types of questions that keep me up at night, so I decided to do some Gearching (I've decided that the word search is now so inextricably connected to Google that we should just combine the two words), and share the results with you, on this fowl-filled day.

So why is a Broadway show that flops called a turkey? 

It all comes down to IQ.

Apparently, a turkey is a pretty damn dumb bird.

Don't believe me?  Well, I found one web post from a dude who used to work at a turkey farm and breeding facility that gave two examples of IQ-challenged turkey behavior:

1 - The pens of the farm had to be equipped with specially designed water bowls which would keep a minimal amount of water in the bowl and shut off while the turkeys were drinking. Why?  Because on occasion, a turkey would "forget" to lift its head while drinking . . . and drown.  And this guy saw it happen.

2 - Large scale turkey farms regularly use artificial insemination to get the turkeys to reproduce.  Why?  Because if they didn't, the turkeys just might not around to it on their own.  

So the birds are stupid.  

And in 1927 (coincidentally, the year that Show Boat opened), someone decided that flops were stupid too. (Probably because everything looked stupid compared to Show Boat.)

And thus, a dud became a turkey.

Now that I know the answer . . . I still like owl better.  

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Broadway Vocab 101. Words used to describe numbers.

I threw out a word a few weeks ago that prompted a reader to pop me an email and ask, "What the fiorello does XXXXX mean?"

So, in an attempt to prevent future emails like that from readers (and future bad musical-cussing puns from me), I thought I'd introduce a new feature on The Producer's Perspective, called Broadway Vocabulary.  

I remember hearing Broadway-specific terms for the first time when I started working in the biz, and not having a clue what they meant, and being too shy to ask (my staff all just did a spit-take at the thought of me being too shy).  

In case any of you have the just-starting-out-shy-gene, this feature is for you. (Oh, and get over the shy stuff, by the way.  Channel your inner two-year-old and ask, ask, ask and you'll learn, learn, and earn!)

The first set of terms we will tackle are all related to the figures that Broadway producers examine on a daily, and sometimes hourly basis, depending upon when the show is opening and upon how OCD the producer is.

Hear are five Broadway Box Office terms: 

WRAP (noun and verb):  The dollar amount of ticket sales in a fixed period of a time, usually daily.  It includes tickets sold for performances that day (if any) as well as all performances in the future.  ex. Did you see yesterday's wrap?  How much did we wrap yesterday?  If our wraps don't go up, I'm going to wrap myself in a box and mail myself to Portugal.

ADVANCE (noun):  The dollar amount of ticket sales for all future performances of a show.  ex.  Who has a higher advance - Addams Family or American Idiot?  I don't know, but Wicked's advance is higher than the GDP of a small independent nation!

GROSS (noun and verb):  The total dollar amount of tickets sold before any deductions (see NET below) for a specific number of performances, usually weekly or daily.  ex.  How much did Miracle Worker gross during its first full week of previews?  When did the Broadway League start reporting the Gross figures?  If our grosses don't go up, I'm going to wrap myself in a box and mail myself to Portugal.

NET (noun and verb):  The total dollar amount of tickets sold after standard box office deductions (e.g. credit card commissions, group sales commissions, ticket printing fees, etc.), for a specific number of performances, usually weekly or daily.  ex.  How much did Miracle Worker net during its first full week of previews?  When did The Broadway League start reporting the net figures as opposed to the gross?  If we weren't overcharged for Credit Card Commissions, our net would be much closer to our gross.)

NAGBOR (noun):  pronounced "Nag-Bore".  An acronym for Net Adjusted Gross Box Office Receipts, or just a fancy way to say NET.  

If there's a word you want broken down in the next Broadway Vocab, just pop me an email.  

I promise I won't tell you to Fosse-off.