God of Carnage - Super Funny - Super Expensive

The recent Center Theater Group mounting of the critically acclaimed God of Carnage was, in my opinion, a fantastically funny, incredibly enjoyable evening in the theater. But I can only wonder - who can pay $200 bucks for the orchestra seats? Only the type of white collar wannabe sophisticates the brilliant Yasmina Reza serves up on stage. I admit, I sat up in the Lodge for $75 bucks a pop.

I have always considered the Center Theater Group to be reasonably priced - but God of Carnage has established a new price structure for them - with many orchestra seats now demanding $200 bucks from your wallet before you can have the right to sit on it there. I know I am not the first to cry wolf here, but if we continue to escalate prices to see live theater, we will continue to diminish the audiences that come to see this vital form of entertainment. I'll say it plainly here, the night I saw the show, the audience was 95% white and over 50 years old - probably most over 60. Did anyone read the census numbers from 2010? 51% of all babies born in California are now Hispanic - and I would be hard pressed to say there was anywhere near 5% of anyone of Hispanic decent sitting in the audience.

It is no wonder that every subscription based theater out there (from Center Theater Group, to The Old Globe, to La Jolla) has put into place ways for their supporters to contribute to their favorite theaters in their wills. That's right, be sure to designate some of your estate to the shrinking endowments of these theaters. I hope everyone does, but the theaters better get big chunks 'cause that audience ain't gonna be around a whole lot longer... And once they're gone - so is the chance to get $200 bucks a seat.

I guess I wouldn't mind so much if every time I went to the theater I was guaranteed to laugh as much as I did at God of Carnage - or think as much as I did when I saw Parade at the Taper last year - but for every wonderful production, there are far more not so successful versions of The Color Purple, 9 to 5, Minsky's and the like. But that is the way of theater. For if it were easy to create, write, and produce a hit - how would we know how special the rare occurrences are when actors, writers, directors, designers, musicians, and all the others that contribute to live performances - are all working in tandem and striving to hit the same creative goal and message - and NAIL IT.

Maybe there is nothing to be concerned about at all. Perhaps theater will struggle as it always has - only to be saved by investing angels and the creative spirit to hold a mirror up to our world and demand everyone take a look. Perhaps theater is an acquired taste... Perhaps we just haven't yet figured out how to do live theater written in computer code... Or incorporate live tweeting with live theater in an enlivening, and engaging way. Perhaps we will. Until then, I guess my seats will just get further and further back from the orchestra.

Dreampeddler

PARADE at the Mark Taper

A very well done production of PARADE at the Mark Taper. J.R. Knight is terrific as Leo Frank and the supporting cast delivers as well.

This production makes you think and is a "serious" musical. It reminded me of a production of RICHARD CORY that I produced at NYMF back in 2005 - and the struggle to get something "serious" to be produced on a large scale. Even though we won the NYMF Best Musical Award and sold out our limited engagement we have been unable to give it a life it deserves on Broadway. Launching "serious" musicals can be very difficult for many reasons: 1) Not many folks in this economic climate want to spend $80-$150 bucks to be depressed; 2) No commercial producer wants to risk millions of dollars on a "serious" show that will not appeal to the younger market (the ones who ask their parents to buy them tickets over and over again, i.e. Wicked) 3) No not-for-profit theater has any money at all to risk right now - they are just trying to make payroll if they haven't already closed their doors. Just those reasons alone make me depressed and in need of an entertaining "forget your troubles" musical!

But thoughtful pieces must continue to be done, and we have to continue to find a way to make it happen. If this economic climate is indeed about to change, and I hope it is, perhaps we will all want to start "thinking" again - and not just get through the day whistling happy tunes to distract us through our 60 hour work week!

dreampeddler

The Upcoming Minsky's at the Ahmanson

So here's the next one on the slate worth looking at. They are doing a pre-Broadway run at the Ahmanson in Los Angeles beginning in January. I'll be watching it closely. This is off the CTG website:

A BRAND NEW MUSICAL!

Minsky’s is a big, racy, new musical comedy set in a time when entertainment was about legs and laughs, and you had to push the limits to keep the customers buying tickets. A rollicking backstage story, set in Prohibition Era New York City, that peeks into a world populated by comedians, con men and seductive, sexy women; a world reigned over by the king of burlesque himself, Billy Minsky — until the day he falls in love and the cops come banging on his door.
Writer Bob Martin and Director/Choreographer Casey Nicholaw (both of The Drowsy Chaperone fame) join forces with the legendary composer Charles Strouse (Bye Bye Birdie, Applause, Annie) and acclaimed lyricist Susan Birkenhead (Jelly’s Last Jam) for this world premiere.

Busy July - Lot's Going On - WHODUNIT?

It has been one busy July. Ed is busy at work on his WHODUNIT and we will be doing a reading of it here on the west coast. Stay tuned for the time and place.

Will be launching a new DREAMPEDDLER PRODUCTIONS website soon as well. I am currently raising money for a unique Theater Fund which will invest in 4 Broadway shows and 4 Developmental shows. More to come soon.

I attended Of Equal Measure at the Kirk Douglas Theater. It was very thought provoking in the sense that I walked out of the theater thinking about more than just the presidency of Woodrow Wilson, but of all our presidents. Theater is supposed to make us think and reflect, and Of Equal Measure did do that.

I also left the theater thinking how Center Theater Group would be a great place to work. Nothing like having a guaranteed budget to support new works. There are so many folks out there that are willing to give 5 or 10 thousand dollars to have their name in the program or on the wall and be able to say they support the arts... I'm hoping to many more that actually want to INVEST in the arts.

Sweeny Todd at the Ahmanson

The show is the star in the new Sweeny Todd tour that came through the Ahmanson that I saw last night. Although there are some terrific performances in the piece, especially Judy Kaye in the deliciously devilish roll of Ms. Lovett, it is really the mind's eye of the designer/director John Doyle that shines through. And thank goodness. This is a very stylish, thoughtful piece that manipulates you down to every beat. This can only be done with a show that has a history of success and an already solidified pedigree in our consciousness. It seems to have come from the "let's do Richard III as if it were taking place in Natzi Germany" or "let's do a take on Romeo and Juliet that takes place in LA with fast cars, automatic weapons and beautiful youth." If we were not already familiar with the storyline, I am not sure we could appreciate all the thoughtful "variations on the original theme" that are taking place in this version.

That being said, it was wonderful to be in the theater and be challenged to concentrate on what was being delivered. This was not a Disney film turned Broadway musical that we know the ending before we start. This was an evening of clever surprises to what was coming next. Questions like, "how are they going to deal with all the blood that can be in this show?" - very effectively handled by slowly pouring a dark red liquid from one small white pail into another in a demonstration of symbolism (something I'm sure the stage hands appreciated). "How will they deal with the usually complicated barber's chair?" - again handled with the deceivingly simplistic use of a coffin, but broken down and arranged in intricate pieces to suggest the horrors to follow - and forces our participation as our imaginations take over to fill in the gory details.

The only detriment to the show in my book was all this thoughtful manipulation made the show almost too cerebral, demanding our respect, but not quite drawing us in. At the conclusion of the piece, I think everyone was duly impressed will all the talents on stage and the precision of the procedure, but my dentist's deft hand also demands my respect, but it still doesn't make my teeth feel better after a deep cleaning.

Dreampeddler

Los Angeles, the New Broadway?

If you want to see a Broadway show, go to LA. Okay, you can beat me now for those blasphemous words. We all know LA is a movie town and nobody here cares about theater, except if you're an actor and you want to do Hamlet as a showcase in a 99 seat plan theater so casting directors can come see you - which they never do. But...


The Center Theatre Group, which runs the Ahmanson, Kirk Douglas and Mark Taper Theaters here in LA, just announced they will be doing not one but TWO original musicals this season with an eye toward taking them to Broadway. Previously discussed here, 9 to 5 with music and lyrics written by Dolly Parton, and now Minsky's, the new title of the Charles Strouse-Susan Birkenhead musical comedy once known as The Night They Raided Minsky's. (see Playbill article here). Factoid, Casey Nicholaw and I did Scarlet Pimpernel together.


These are just the latest editions of The West Coast Broadway Pipeline. Curtains started at the Ahmanson, as did The Drowsy Chaperone. And just drive south on the 405 for a bit to La Jolla Playhouse where they gave birth to Cry-Baby (Braodway bound in 2008), The Farnsworth Invention, Jersey Boys, 700 Sundays, Throughly Modern Millly, Jane Eyre, The Who's Tommy and many others.


Oh and drive just a bit further down the 405 to The Old Globe where they premiered A Catered Affair, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life, The Times They Are A-Changin', Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and The Full Monty, among others...

So what is it about LA or Southern California for that matter? Are original musicals or plays suddenly in the drinking water? Has all the New York talent moved to the beach for the weather? Yes, and no.


Dig just a bit further and you'll see the real reason why all of these Broadway shows are coming from the regions - Regional theaters are the only game in their respective towns. On any given night in New York, there must be at least 20 Broadway shows, 30 off-Broadway shows and every other media attraction that all the major cities have like movies, dining, etc. However, most of the New York theater shows have single producing entities that don't mitigate risk with investment over multiple shows. It's like a bunch of mom and pop shops, each having to compete against all odds.


Not LA. Everyone in LA knows that if you're going to go to the theater and if it is not at the Ahmanson or perhaps the Geffen, odds are it is NOT going to be good. And when I say NOT good, I mean, it will probably SUCK. Not always and I love it when I am pleasantly surprised, but odds are pretty good it will be pretty bad. So that leaves CTG as the only game in town, and this town has some serious money. So the money goes to the CTG in the form of subscribers. They know the shows will be well funded and produced (if not necessarily good) so they pay the price for the guarantee.


The other important characteristic about the surrounding environs of these theaters is they are in uber-affluent regions loaded with people with lots of money. I did not say these folks are foolhearty enough to throw some money into a show and roll the dice. No, these folks are the ones who have made very good livings in the non arts world (where else), who can actually afford to buy subscriptions series tickets and then fill in that seldom used line on the form that says "additional amount to support the theater." Not only do they add a bit of extra on that line, they also bring their friends as their guests and frequent the restaurants and bars either in or around the theater. These folks are worth their weight in GOLD.


These subscribers and art angels are the reason CTC, The Old Globe and La Jolla can produce and fully fund 1 out of 8 or so productions that they mount. The annual budget for CTG last year was somewhere around $32M, for The Old Globe revenues reached nearly $38M and for La Jolla, revenues were around $10M. The subscribers are the folks that contribute the most to those figures and each of them are happy to see the standard road tours that come through each of these houses (already vetted on Broadway) but they are even more happy when one of their original shows becomes the next hit on Broadway.

All I can say about this, is God bless 'em. Without these angels, we would see nothing but mermaids, dancing plates and singing lions on the stages of what used to be the Mecca for Theater Arts. Now it is often just a road stop for productions envisioned and created elsewhere.

History Boys and 9 to 5

So we're off to see History Boys at the Ahmanson this evening. I am definitely looking forward to it. One of the most important things to do as a producer is to attend other shows as much as possible to see what other producers are up to and how the "market" is reacting to works. It is always cyclical. Remember when there was nothing but jukebox musicals coming out? Perhaps the producers of the Beach Boys musical, Good Vibrations, would have been better served to not come into the market after so many others had already opened, and quite frankly, made the critics very resistant to giving a good review to anything resembling this type of musical. They closed 44 performances after they opened.

The new trend is to base a musical on a famous movie. Next year, the Ahmanson is jumping on board this trend, producing the upcoming 9 to 5 with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton. They have a powerhouse cast lined up including Allison Janney (one of my favorite actresses from West Wing and many other shows) and Megan Hilty from Wicked. From an investor standpoint, this is probably a pretty good bet (although investing in theater is always gambling). But from an artistic standpoint, I would be very concerned.

It all started with the Broadway version of Beauty and the Beast and Grease! We all know these stories from beginning to end before we even step foot into the theater. And because of that, these shows are not required to truly tell the whole story on the stage. What happened with Grease! was since the production was not required to show you the relationships of the characters on the stage because everyone already knows what is supposed to happen, all the numbers became these flashy, Vegas production type numbers that were there only to wow the audience, not inform the audience or push the story forward. With Beauty and the Beast, if you have not seen the movie, I would venture to guess you would be quite confused by the stage version as there are countless holes in the show that are easily filled in by audience members who know the story already so the holes are certainly forgiven if even noticed by those audience members.

My hope for 9 to 5 is this: Remember to show us the whole story in a unique way employing the special storytelling elements and medium of musical theater to entertain the audience. Don't just be a bunch of showy numbers about 3 women who get back at their terrible boss. If it falls into that category, it will be a terrible show. It it falls into the former, it has a shot to be something special.

Dreampeddler