Mixed Reviews for Phantom 2

Love Never Dies opened in London last night mixed reviews. The Telegraph gives it four stars and the Independent gives it four stars. Other reviews are not so nice. The New York Times didn’t like it at all.

Phantom of the Opera is the highest grossing musical of all time bringing in over 5 Billion dollars. That is more than Titanic (the movie) and Star Wars. Phantom has been seen by over 100 million people in 14 languages. The Phantom also didn’t see 100 percent rave reviews. So who knows what the fans will think. I personally like the one song I have heard. The album is out and I hope to give the whole show a listen soon.

I personally am excited for Love Never Dies to get to the States so I can see it. I have made fun of it since they started talking about it but the press today and the publicity they have done have over the last couple of months have really swayed my perception of the show. Share your thoughts about Love Never Dies in the comments section. I want to know what you think.

People to Know - George Abbott

I first heard of Mr. Abbott when I watched Elaine Stritch at Liberty. She was talking about working for him on a revival of his show On Your Toes.

George Abbott was born in 1887 and was a great producer, director, playwright and actor. He made his Broadway debut in 1913 in The Misleading Lady. He went on to act in several Broadway shows, and in 1925 the first play he wrote made it to Broadway. From there his career really took off. He was the original director of Chicago, Room Service, The Boys from Syracuse, Pal Joey, Sweet Charity, On the Town, A Funny Thing … Forum and many more. He also wrote On Your Toes, Damn Yankees and The Pajama Game, to name a few.

Abbott was known for being a show doctor. If a show was not working on its out of town try out or before opening on Broadway, many producers brought in Abbott to look at and help fix the work.

George Abbott died just days before his 108th birthday. In 1995 during the opening of the Damn Yankees revival on Broadway he was greeted by a standing ovation. As everyone was applauding he leaned over to someone he was with and said, “Someone really important must be here.”

FELA

Remember The Color Purple on Broadway? It wasn’t the great reviews that kept that show alive but the lead producer behind it. Oprah. Need I say more? She has so much power and capital behind her that the reviews, which were good, didn’t really matter. The show was actually selling because her name was above the title. There were other producers, and I am sure she didn’t have a huge hands-on producing role, but her name was the only producer's name that was printed every time the title was printed. Stars can bring a lot to a show just by attaching their names.

Yesterday it happened again. The New York Times and Playbill both reported that Jay-Z, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have all joined the producing team of Fela! Now the show opens next week, so I would take a guess that their roles will be more in marketing and capital. When tourists who don’t normally go to theatre see Jay-Z and the Smiths' names on that poster, they may be inclined to attend.

I personally think this is a great way to get a new audience into the theatre. Maybe if they like the show they will become repeat costumers and start to build a new audience in a time when our core audience is maybe trying to save more money and see less theatre. My hat is off to the person that made that deal happen. Watch for all the publicity Broadway will get in other markets as we lead up to and after opening night of Fela!

People to Know - Mary Martin

Mary Martin was born in 1913 and was a singer and actress who struggled for many years, as do many actresses. She sang in many clubs and on the radio and landed her first show in 1938 in Leave It to Me! She was lucky in originating the roles of many famous musicals. She was Ensign Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Maria in The Sound of Music. Martin is probably most known for her title role in Peter Pan, which she played on Broadway and later on TV. Mary toured the country in Annie Get Your Gun and won the special Tony Award for “spreading Broadway to the rest of the Country.” She also won Tony Awards for Peter Pan, The Sound of Music and South Pacific. Martin often turned down the roles for the movie adaptations of musicals because she didn’t like the disconnect of the audience that movies had.

Musicians have been “Locked Out”

It has been reported by the New York Times blog and Playbill.com that the Off-Broadway production of Tony ‘N Tina’s Wedding has stopped using live musicians and moved to recorded music while breaking the musicians' union’s contract with the company. This will be something to watch. So far only local 802, the musicians' union, is making statements. The production has recently changed producers. The agreement with the musicians' union, however, says that they will employee union musicians until 2011, even if the production changes producers. When the musicians returned to work, they were locked out and replaced by recorded music.

The unions have constantly increased their costs and have won some major battles in work rules. This led to the Broadway stage hands strike in 2007 and the 2003 Broadway musicians' union strike.

I am all for paying equal wages and having fair work rules, but it is really out of hand and makes it hard to put up good productions by the shear cost of having union stage hands and union musicians. I won’t go into great detail just yet about the strikes, but I think it is something I will discuss later. On this incident I think the producers should have not locked out the musicians because of the standing contract, but right now we are only hearing the side of the union.

Spider-Man Saga Continues

Yes. It looks like Spider-Man the musical will make it after all. Or at least that is what we know right now. Again, I think this musical is going to be watched so closely be the industry, and I for one hope it does well.

On Friday it was announced that Jeremiah Harris, the lead producer of the new musical, would step down to be the second producer while investor Michael Cohl would step into the lead producing role. Cohl is a known rock concert promoter and I think could save this struggling show.

I have to say I tip my hats to everyone involved in the process. When you start a huge show like this as lead producer you are up against huge odds before you even step out of the gate. In this show you have a high profile writing team and director, huge budgets, people in the press commenting on your every move. You have to keep fighting to just do the job. And I applaud that fight, but more so I applaud the fact that you can step into the number two spot as producer. That’s not easy, but if it is ultimately good for the production, and I think in this case it was, it must be done.

Giving up is never good, but asking for help and charting a new course is better than good. It takes true leadership and a lot of courage. I wish this show the best and can't wait to share more thoughts about this production as it moves closer to opening, which is now to be in 2010.

People to Know - Joseph Papp

Here is a producer after my own heart. Joseph Papp was born in 1921 in Brooklyn to Jewish immigrants. He went on to be one of the most well known and respected producers in history. Papp had a true passion for Shakespeare and tried promoting his idea that there should be free Shakespeare in New York for years when he finally produced and directed Taming of the Shew on the Lower East Side in 1956. He was praised by Brooks Atkinson with a great review in the New York Times, and then his idea took off. And so the New York Shakespeare Festival began. He later moved the festival to Central Park at the Delacorte Theatre, where they still perform today.

After his success with the Shakespeare Festival he wanted to find a home where he could produce year round. In 1967 he created the Public Theatre to produce new and lesser know plays. His first big Broadway transfer was Hair, and because he did stay on as producer of Hair he received no financial benefits. This lesson learned, he went on to produce A Chorus Line and used the money to help fund his other theatres and even help start and run some Off-Broadway Theatres. He also helped produce The Pirates of Penzance, which I discovered has been produced on Broadway 26 times.

He also lead the way in non-traditional casting by using people of all colors in his plays and got involved in gay rights when Congress imposed conservative provisions on the National Endowment for the Arts and produced The Normal Heart, which discussed homophobia and the neglect of the AIDS crisis.

As a producer he brought so much talent, both directorial and in casting, that the lists could go on and on. I wish more producers would take interest in non-profits they way he did. He was able to accomplish so much with the funds from his few Broadway hits, it makes me wonder who will be the next producer to not only produce hits on Broadway, but get really involved in producing lots of theatre and lots of affordable theatre. Someone said Merrick was probably my hero, but I think so far I would have to say Joseph Papp is my hero.

The More You Know

I am always looking to learn more about theatre and there are many ways to do so. The American Theatre Wing presents the Tony Awards every year but they do more than present the Tony Awards. They actually have one of, if not the best educational materials about theatre and Broadway. They have videos, podcast and more. If you are bored at work or at home take a look at what they have to offer. And if you are as busy as I am then just book mark it and come back. There are some really great video here. Happy Friday!

People to Know - Gwen Verdon

Gwen Verdon was know as the best dancer on Broadway during the 1950’s and 1960’s, which was far from what her parents would have ever dreamed since she was affected with rickets. (Rickets is a softening of bones in children that potentially leads to fractures and deformity.) She was called “Gimpy” by the other kids and spent her early years in orthopedic boots. Her parents, both in show business themselves, put Gwenyth Evelyn “Gwen” Verdon in ballet class to help strengthen her legs. By age 11 she was already in her first film as a solo ballerina in The King Steps Out.

Verdon’s first major job was assisting choreographer Jack Cole and teaching dance. Some of her students during that time were Jane Russell, Gene Kelly, Betty Grable and Marilyn Monroe. She was in many choruses on Broadway, but her first big break was in Can-Can by Cole Porter in 1953. She then went on to lead many musicals; Lola in Damn Yankees, Charity in Sweet Charity, and Roxie in Chicago. By this time she was in married to Bob Fosse. Verdon went on to continue her movie career later in life, working with Woody Allen and Meryl Streep.

I have to say I learn a lot each time a write these posts, and they are really paying off. The most interesting thing that I didn’t know was that Gwen was on the Ed Sullivan Show performing Fosse’s choreography to a song titled "Mexican Breakfast," and that dance was updated and responsible for Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" dance that you see everywhere on YouTube. I even found a clip of the two dances side by side.

Musicals of Movies

I get asked all the time about what I think about movies that get made into musicals...often with comments about how bad they are. So here is my two cents about movies being turned into Broadway musicals.

We all love the original musical, and recently there have been some great ones, like In the Heights and Next to Normal. But I also have some favorites that came from movies. In fact, I think one of the most imaginative productions I have ever seen came from the movie The Lion King, and look how long it has run. And now it has over 15 companies worldwide, grossing over 4 billion dollars. I mean, really, can all movies be that bad? Even the best musical of this year, Billy Elliot, was a movie first. In fact, 7 out of the last 11 Best Musical winners were movies turned into musicals.

So while we have a lot of flops from musicals, we have a lot of successes too. I think people probably used to say the same about turning books into musicals, but now our storytelling comes more from movies to the masses. Plus, there is that secure feeling of having a known title to comfort you as you pour several million dollars into your project.

What are your thoughts about movie musicals? Think about your recent favorites and see how many came from movies.

Be Aggressive

I was talking to a good friend in New York, and she was in a rut about her career. She decided she wanted to break into Broadway. My response was, "Okay, go and do it."

How can you go from not knowing many people working on Broadway to working on Broadway yourself? I told her to connect with anyone she knows who has ties. Turned out I even had someone for her to meet. I told her to follow up. Have people introduce her or introduce herself and have her connection make the follow up call and talk about how great she was. And fortunately for her, she is one of the best.

This business is about connections. It won’t just land in your lap. As I was talking to her, I thought about my connection. I send out about 15 cards or letters every month. I get about 3 responses a month to those notes. That’s a 20% return rate. Not too good. But that’s three more contacts per month that I get than someone who sends no notes.

And some of those notes that don’t get responses pay off later. The job I have now, for instance. I was at a Technical Cattle Call for DC and noticed a new person in the room. It was the Director of Production from Shakespeare Theatre, and she had to take off before I got the chance to meet her. So I thought this was the perfect opportunity to make a connection. I collected all the resumes she missed. Then, the next day, I wrote a note welcoming her to town and included all the resumes she missed. I never heard anything from her, but when I interviewed it was one of the first things we talked about. She thought it was sweet and forgot to send a note.

I don’t think it got me the job, but it made her remember my name and sure didn’t hurt. So when you are looking to change things up or even just looking to improve your network (which you should always be doing), be aggressive and send notes. You never know when it will pay off.

Closing? Not with a reputation like that.

Avenue Q closed last evening on Broadway, but at that performance the producers announced that they would move the show to off-Broadway at New World Stage.

Genius!

The show is losing attendance and cannot make the nut it needs to run on Broadway. But it is a more off-Broadway show anyway, and after 6 years and recouping, it has such a reputation that it can move to off-Broadway. Variety reported it is the first Broadway show to transfer to off-Broadway.

I personally think this is a great move. They have the sets, costumes, and puppets and have recouped the cost, so why not keep it running! My hats are off to the producers, and may they have a long run off-Broadway.

Spider-Man Musical meets the Mouse?

So if you haven’t been watching the news lately, Disney has just bought Marvel Comics.

This adds yet another twist in the web Spider-Man is building on Broadway. So far Disney has not commented about getting involved in the musical, and sources, which are still pretty sketchy themselves, say that it's over anyway. Could this buyout save the musical? After all, Peter Schneider is one of few people who work well with Julie Taymor.

I hope, just so I can see this musical, that Disney Theatricals does come in and pull rank. I doubt they will unless they are invited, but I hope they do. They have the expertise and money to make this musical come alive and possibly make money. What I would give to be in on those talks.

As I have said before, this is going to be a show to watch.

“Keep the Drama on the Stage”

That is a quote from Angie, an old co-worker at Arena Stage. She used to always say that about the backstage drama, and it always made me laugh. I chose it as the title because today I am going to write about something in the news.

In case you have not been following the news about the upcoming shows, Broadway is about to get its largest (in capitalization) Broadway show. The price tag, estimated at 40 million; the show, Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark, a new musical about none other than Spider-Man.

The industry has been talking about this musical for years. With giants like U-2 and Julie Taymor attached, how could you not?

Well, maybe non-profits are not alone in the economic crisis. A publicist for one of the producers said in a statement that the work had stopped due to an unexpected cash flow problem. The statement also said they have a plan to get things rolling again soon and don’t think this will have an impact on the plans of the production. Previews are scheduled for February.

This will be a show to keep your eye on.

“They say there is a recession.”

Last night I was speaking with a big Broadway General Manager. We were talking about the economy and the arts and how it was affecting area theatres. I asked how the economy was affecting him. “They say there is a recession, but we don’t see it.”

He told the story of how he has a new show he wants to bring into Broadway in the fall and he was looking into theaters and the owners said that the fall will be a busy time and theatres are pretty full then. He went on to say the economy has not hurt them much if at all.

I remembered reading the Broadway grosses earlier in the day and I was a little shocked by the numbers. Keeping in mind we had the Tonys and the Obama visit that boosted the numbers a little, but last week 8 shows were over 100% capacity. Amazing. 29% of the shows open are over 100%. Look at the rest of the numbers, the same percent (8 shows or 29%) are under 80% capacity. Not one show this week is under 50% and even then only one is under 60% capacity.

The other thing to keep in mind is after the Tonys we lost a couple of shows. But all in all I would love to be open on Broadway now. The summer is supposed to be a bad time for Broadway. I just don’t see it. Not this year.

Tony Time!

It is time for the Tony’s. Last night I was having dinner with a good friend and he reminded me of one of my goals when I was in college. It was to have a Tony by now or be working for a producer that would be up for a Tony. Sadly, I haven’t done either. But that is okay. I set high goals for myself. My goals sometime seem unreachable but I say why not try.

By setting high goals I was managing the backstage of the Fabulous Fox Theatre before I graduated college. I got into the 14 week Commercial Theatre Institute and learned from some of the best Producers on Broadway and I even have a very small part in a future Broadway show. Not too bad for only being 27. Yes, I would like to have accomplished more but I feel good about where I have been and where I am going. I am very happy at the Shakespeare Theatre and hope to further my career more there in the next couple of years.

My new goal is to have a Tony by 2017. Seems so far away. Wish me luck!

P.S. Watch the Tony Awards Sunday Night!