A reminder that there’s (green) gold in them there hills.

I’ve been saving this article for a rainy day.

And since it has been rainy, sleety and just plain sh@tty here in the city, I thought we could all use a little pick me up.

And this one is $140 million dollars worth of a pick-me-up.

The article I’m talking about is from Crain’s, the NY business mag that has surprisingly good coverage of our business. Last spring (I told you I was holding on to this one for awhile) they did a pretty in-depth look at the financial success of Wicked, reporting that in the 10 years since it opened, the Broadway Production has recouped 1000% for the investors alone.  That’s right, a 1000-frickin’ percent return!  One of Wicked’s Broadway investors is quoted in the article as saying he doubles his money every year.  And my favorite takeaway is that Wicked has been more profitable for its investors than investing in Warren Buffet’s five star Berkshire Hathaway stock!  Take that, traditional business world!

And that’s just the Broadway production (not sure if you heard, but there are few other green girls defying gravity around the world right now – and it is Broadway industry standard that investors in an original company are afforded the right to invest in all additional companies – so start doing the math).

Why sure, Wicked is an anomaly, and you can’t expect every show to come even close to those kind of returns.  In fact, I’d be fine with my investors getting half that return!  🙂

But it’s important to know that it can happen.  And it’s important that we spread this message to the world so that people realize that why sure, investing in Broadway is risky, and ain’t for the faint of heart.  But it also isn’t putting a “match to your money,” as one potential investor once said to me.  (He since came around and invested in two shows with me – and I made him money!)

It’s also important to know that you can’t plan for the super smash like Wicked.  In fact, I’d bet that $140 million in profit that not a soul on the team knew it would be THIS big.

It reminds me of what my high school baseball coach told me when I said I wanted to hit a home run.  “Ken,” he drawled (he chewed tobacco), “The more you try for a home run, the more you strike out.  Just try and get a base hit.  Make solid contact.  Get on base.  And some day, the home run will just happen.”

That’s why I try to get up to bat as much as I can.  And you should too.

Read the full article here.

 

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Ken created one of the first Broadway podcasts, recording over 250 episodes over 7 years. It features interviews with A-listers in the theater about how they “made it”, including 2 Pulitzer Prize Winners, 7 Academy Award Winners and 76 Tony Award winners. Notable guests include Pasek & Paul, Kenny Leon, Lynn Ahrens and more.

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