So I made the journey west on the 101 to see a show at Rubicon Theater. It was well worth the drive. It is always a pleasure to see folks up on the stage that you have worked with but even more fun when they look and sound great. Jessica Phillips (who I worked with in The Scarlet Pimpernel) sounded terrific as did the whole cast. Billy Porter (who I worked with in Grease) was also his usual amazing self and I am certainly looking forward to seeing his direction of Once on This Island for Reprise later this year. Although I highly recommend the show, I went on the closing performance so we will just have to get it up and running in another production soon!
Here's the breakdown on the show:
It's Only Life
Music and lyrics by John Bucchino
This joyous musical revue features the talents of recent Broadway discovery John Bucchino, a songwriting sensation whose music and lyrics have been recorded by Art Garfunkel, Michael Feinstein, Judy Collins and Patti Lupone. Each song is a revelation - an "aha" moment in which we discover something essential, something elemental, about life. According to the New York Times, Bucchino's "flowing, finely made piano ballads describe an urban life in which relationships come and go in cycles of yearning, fulfillment, heartbreak and healing" - where romantic love is anticipated with "high expectations, high anxiety and open hearts."
Friday, July 18, 2008
Friday, July 4, 2008
Happy July 4th
Hello all,
Happy July 4th to all. It has been a very busy month of June for Dreampeddler Productions. The Producer's Panel at ANMT was very invigorating. It was great to meet some of the directors of new development across town. Panelists I sat with included Tom McCoy (Executive Producer, McCoy Rigby Entertainment); Michael Michetti (Co-Artistic Director, The Theatre @ Boston Court); Michael Jackowitz (Producer/Director of New Works, The Rubicon Theatre); Hilary Genga (Producer); Arnold Margolin (Producing Director, Falcon Theatre).
What I found most interesting is how engaged all of the panelists were and how passionate the attendees were about musical theater. It is clear that there is a real desire to produce, write and mount new musical works throughout the city. We are currently taking meetings with multiple theaters and hope to announce an exciting project very soon. Keep an eye on the blog over the next month and I will keep everyone informed.
Don't forget, if you are in New York July 14th, check out Ed Dixon's new musical Whodunit? at the York Theater.
Happy July 4th to all. It has been a very busy month of June for Dreampeddler Productions. The Producer's Panel at ANMT was very invigorating. It was great to meet some of the directors of new development across town. Panelists I sat with included Tom McCoy (Executive Producer, McCoy Rigby Entertainment); Michael Michetti (Co-Artistic Director, The Theatre @ Boston Court); Michael Jackowitz (Producer/Director of New Works, The Rubicon Theatre); Hilary Genga (Producer); Arnold Margolin (Producing Director, Falcon Theatre).
What I found most interesting is how engaged all of the panelists were and how passionate the attendees were about musical theater. It is clear that there is a real desire to produce, write and mount new musical works throughout the city. We are currently taking meetings with multiple theaters and hope to announce an exciting project very soon. Keep an eye on the blog over the next month and I will keep everyone informed.
Don't forget, if you are in New York July 14th, check out Ed Dixon's new musical Whodunit? at the York Theater.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Amazing Show - Red Dog Howls
Hello all,
Just a quick note and recommendation. Ed is still working on his new chapters and should have them up soon. He has been finishing a new musical called "Whodunit?" and will be doing a reading of it at the York Theater on July 14th. Check out their info below. Also saw a very powerful show called "Red Dog Howls" at the El Portal last weekend. It stars Broadway great Kathleen Chalfant (Angels In America, Wit) and is about a young man who thinks he is Greek until he discovers a letter his late father wrote to his grandmother, who hid their Armenian origins. The last day to see the play is tonight!
WHODUNIT...THE MUSICAL BOOK, MUSIC AND LYRICS BY ED DIXON A wealthy spinster takes a large house in Connecticut for the summer and is joined by her surly maid and her beautiful niece who surprises everyone by bringing along a boyfriend. (Heavens!) However this isn't the only surprise awaiting the occupants of Sunnyside Cottage. The butler informs them that all the rest of the staff have quit due to "strange goings on" and before you can say Whodunit, there's a dead body in the middle of the living room... then another. This fast, breezy and tuneful period piece, set in the elegant 1930's, is a lot of laughs... and maybe a couple of screams.
Monday, July 14, 2008 • 7:30 PM
York Theatre Company 212-935-5824 x24 The Theatre at Saint Peter’s 54th Street, Just East of Lexington
www.yorktheatre.org
ADMISSION IS FREE!
Reservations are suggested. Email Jeff Landsman (please mention your name, phone number, the show you want to see, and the number of tickets you’d like) or call 212-935-5824, ext. 24. There is no admission charge.
THIS SERIES MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH A GENEROUS DONATION FROM THE DOROTHY STRELSIN FOUNDATION
Would YOU like to submit a show for inclusion in the Developmental Reading Series?
Our mission here at York concerns musicals only; we do not accept submissions of plays. A completed script must be submitted, as well as a sound recording of at least most of the songs. If you’d like your materials returned, you must enclose a self-addressed, postage paid envelope.
As we are one of the only theatres in the country which accepts unsolicited scripts, we receive around 400-500 scripts per year. We pride ourselves in properly evaluating each script, which takes time as we have a small staff and a loyal group of volunteer readers. It generally takes at least 6 to 12 months to get a script through our entire process.
Material should be submitted to: York Theatre Company, DEVELOPMENTAL READING SERIES, The Theatre at Saint Peter’s, 619 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022
Just a quick note and recommendation. Ed is still working on his new chapters and should have them up soon. He has been finishing a new musical called "Whodunit?" and will be doing a reading of it at the York Theater on July 14th. Check out their info below. Also saw a very powerful show called "Red Dog Howls" at the El Portal last weekend. It stars Broadway great Kathleen Chalfant (Angels In America, Wit) and is about a young man who thinks he is Greek until he discovers a letter his late father wrote to his grandmother, who hid their Armenian origins. The last day to see the play is tonight!
WHODUNIT...THE MUSICAL BOOK, MUSIC AND LYRICS BY ED DIXON A wealthy spinster takes a large house in Connecticut for the summer and is joined by her surly maid and her beautiful niece who surprises everyone by bringing along a boyfriend. (Heavens!) However this isn't the only surprise awaiting the occupants of Sunnyside Cottage. The butler informs them that all the rest of the staff have quit due to "strange goings on" and before you can say Whodunit, there's a dead body in the middle of the living room... then another. This fast, breezy and tuneful period piece, set in the elegant 1930's, is a lot of laughs... and maybe a couple of screams.
Monday, July 14, 2008 • 7:30 PM
York Theatre Company 212-935-5824 x24 The Theatre at Saint Peter’s 54th Street, Just East of Lexington
www.yorktheatre.org
ADMISSION IS FREE!
Reservations are suggested. Email Jeff Landsman (please mention your name, phone number, the show you want to see, and the number of tickets you’d like) or call 212-935-5824, ext. 24. There is no admission charge.
THIS SERIES MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH A GENEROUS DONATION FROM THE DOROTHY STRELSIN FOUNDATION
Would YOU like to submit a show for inclusion in the Developmental Reading Series?
Our mission here at York concerns musicals only; we do not accept submissions of plays. A completed script must be submitted, as well as a sound recording of at least most of the songs. If you’d like your materials returned, you must enclose a self-addressed, postage paid envelope.
As we are one of the only theatres in the country which accepts unsolicited scripts, we receive around 400-500 scripts per year. We pride ourselves in properly evaluating each script, which takes time as we have a small staff and a loyal group of volunteer readers. It generally takes at least 6 to 12 months to get a script through our entire process.
Material should be submitted to: York Theatre Company, DEVELOPMENTAL READING SERIES, The Theatre at Saint Peter’s, 619 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Academy of New Muscial Theater
Hello all,
Just a quick update. Ed is working hard on the next chapters of Secrets From a Lifetime on the Stage... and Off! but in the meantime has written another FULL LENGTH musical. I'll be reading it this weekend! We are also pursuing a new production of RICHARD CORY, a musical he wrote based on A.R. Gurney's play, based on the famous poem. It truly is an amazing piece and we hope to get it up in a larger venue than the previously award winning version we did at the NYMF festival in 2005.
If you happen to be in LA at the end of June I will be sitting on a panel at The BIZ OF THE MUSICAL THEATRE BIZ Conference that will take place June 27-30 at The Academy for New Musical Theatre and the Colony Theatre in North Hollywood. My panel will be discussing:
GETTING TO THE TOP OF THE PILE
Producers, artistic directors and agents talk turkey about why they pick a submission from out of the Pile, and why they leave others at the bottom of the Pile. If you register for the conference (or for the Sunday-Only pass), you’re entitled to submit one project to the Pile. It’s up to you what kind of package you submit: full artwork/DVD/script, or just a script, or even just a pitch. The panel will discuss candidly which projects in the Pile get their attention and why. To be considered, submissions must arrive at ANMT no later than 3:00 p.m. Sunday June 29th.
Confirmed Panelists: Tom McCoy (Executive Producer, McCoy Rigby Entertainment); Michael Michetti (Co-Artistic Director, The Theatre @ Boston Court); Michael Jackowitz (Director of New Works, The Rubicon Theatre); Hilary Genga (Producer); Arnold Margolin (Producing Director, Falcon Theatre); Nick Cavarra (Producer, Off-Broadway)
Invited Panelists: Karyl Lynn Burns (Producing Artistic Director, The Rubicon Theatre); David Hamlin (Producer, East of Doheny); Amy Levinson Millan (Literary Manager/Dramaturg, The Geffen Playhouse); Pier Carlo Talenti (Literary Manager of CTG); Steve Rabineau (William Morris Agency); Michael Shepperd (Incoming Artistic Director, Celebration Theatre)
Look forward to seeing you there!
Dreampeddler
Just a quick update. Ed is working hard on the next chapters of Secrets From a Lifetime on the Stage... and Off! but in the meantime has written another FULL LENGTH musical. I'll be reading it this weekend! We are also pursuing a new production of RICHARD CORY, a musical he wrote based on A.R. Gurney's play, based on the famous poem. It truly is an amazing piece and we hope to get it up in a larger venue than the previously award winning version we did at the NYMF festival in 2005.
If you happen to be in LA at the end of June I will be sitting on a panel at The BIZ OF THE MUSICAL THEATRE BIZ Conference that will take place June 27-30 at The Academy for New Musical Theatre and the Colony Theatre in North Hollywood. My panel will be discussing:
GETTING TO THE TOP OF THE PILE
Producers, artistic directors and agents talk turkey about why they pick a submission from out of the Pile, and why they leave others at the bottom of the Pile. If you register for the conference (or for the Sunday-Only pass), you’re entitled to submit one project to the Pile. It’s up to you what kind of package you submit: full artwork/DVD/script, or just a script, or even just a pitch. The panel will discuss candidly which projects in the Pile get their attention and why. To be considered, submissions must arrive at ANMT no later than 3:00 p.m. Sunday June 29th.
Confirmed Panelists: Tom McCoy (Executive Producer, McCoy Rigby Entertainment); Michael Michetti (Co-Artistic Director, The Theatre @ Boston Court); Michael Jackowitz (Director of New Works, The Rubicon Theatre); Hilary Genga (Producer); Arnold Margolin (Producing Director, Falcon Theatre); Nick Cavarra (Producer, Off-Broadway)
Invited Panelists: Karyl Lynn Burns (Producing Artistic Director, The Rubicon Theatre); David Hamlin (Producer, East of Doheny); Amy Levinson Millan (Literary Manager/Dramaturg, The Geffen Playhouse); Pier Carlo Talenti (Literary Manager of CTG); Steve Rabineau (William Morris Agency); Michael Shepperd (Incoming Artistic Director, Celebration Theatre)
Look forward to seeing you there!
Dreampeddler
Monday, April 21, 2008
My Fair Lady - Ahmanson
So last night was the last show on my season ticket list for the Ahmanson. It was a very good production of My Fair Lady. Strangely though, for the third show in a row we saw the understudy instead of the lead. This seems odd to me as all the show times were prime slots like Friday or Saturday nights, but so it goes.
I'm not a big fan of the "old fashioned" musicals, but this production is beautifully staged and looks as if they definitely spent some money on sets and costumes. It even boasts a large cast which is nice to see for my fellow actor friends. Michael Farina, who was wonderful in my production of Fanny Hill, and Jesse Swimm, who was in a production of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Westchester Theater that I played Judas in, were both in the production. I love it when people you've worked with show up in a production you go to see.
All in all, it was a very pleasant show. Nothing to jump up and down about from my perspective, but certainly everyone there enjoyed it.
I'm not a big fan of the "old fashioned" musicals, but this production is beautifully staged and looks as if they definitely spent some money on sets and costumes. It even boasts a large cast which is nice to see for my fellow actor friends. Michael Farina, who was wonderful in my production of Fanny Hill, and Jesse Swimm, who was in a production of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Westchester Theater that I played Judas in, were both in the production. I love it when people you've worked with show up in a production you go to see.
All in all, it was a very pleasant show. Nothing to jump up and down about from my perspective, but certainly everyone there enjoyed it.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Amazing Website to Inspire - Ted.com
Hello all,
A quick diversion from Ed's chapters. He sent me an amazing website that if you haven't heard about, you need to check out. It is www.ted.com.
The site is a repository of amazing speeches given by some of the world's most fascinating thinkers. For example see:
Al Gore give his updated slideshow regarding Climate Change
Jill Bolte Taylor, Harvard Neuroanatomist give an amazing speech on her experience of having a stroke
Jan Goodall speak about man and apes
As stated on their website:
"The annual conference now brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes)."
TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.
"This site makes the best talks and performances from TED available to the public, for free. More than 200 talks from our archive are now available, with more added each week. These videos are released under a Creative Commons license, so they can be freely shared and reposted."
Spend a few minutes on this site and change your thinking!
A quick diversion from Ed's chapters. He sent me an amazing website that if you haven't heard about, you need to check out. It is www.ted.com.
The site is a repository of amazing speeches given by some of the world's most fascinating thinkers. For example see:
Al Gore give his updated slideshow regarding Climate Change
Jill Bolte Taylor, Harvard Neuroanatomist give an amazing speech on her experience of having a stroke
Jan Goodall speak about man and apes
As stated on their website:
"The annual conference now brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes)."
TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.
"This site makes the best talks and performances from TED available to the public, for free. More than 200 talks from our archive are now available, with more added each week. These videos are released under a Creative Commons license, so they can be freely shared and reposted."
Spend a few minutes on this site and change your thinking!
Monday, April 7, 2008
Open letter to Actors' Equity Association re: New York Music Theater Festival
April 6, 2008
Dear Actors' Equity,
I am in a very unique position as a producer of off-Broadway shows (including the 2005 production of Richard Cory at the New York Musical Theater Festival (NYMF)) and a proud member of AEA (performer in The Scarlet Pimpernel, Grease! and King David under the production contract) and am writing to express my concern regarding the issue of increasing upfront costs to showcase productions specifically done at NYMF.
As a member of the production contract negotiating committee in 1999, I long ago saw the writing on the wall regarding the seemingly endless escalating costs to mount a new show due to salaries, rent, health insurance, advertising - everything. And since all the costs are rising, where is the first place producers go to cut costs? Development. But what is the most crucial part of any new show’s fragile life? Development. As an artist AND a producer, I am tired of seeing the endless stream of singing mermaids, dancing plates, chimney sweeps and tired second rate movies being the only thing considered for Broadway musicals IN NEW YORK. It is time for all of us to grow up, and that includes Actors’ Equity.
I, like many of my fellow AEA members, have an entrepreneurial spirit. Actors usually do as they are running their own micro businesses that include self promotion, advertising, training and the like. Because of that entrepreneurial spirit, back in 1999 I mentioned to Alan Eisenberg, then Executive Director of Equity, a potential plan for Equity to consider to help reduce upfront costs for a new production with exceptional gains on the back end for any member of Equity. This was a plan that only involved the “development” time for a production. I mentioned this plan to him as AN ACTOR not a producer, knowing that as an actor I was willing to help solve the problem. He simply shot the idea down saying, “Equity actors are salaried employees and will never consider lowering any rates even with the potential of higher pay on the back end.”
I believe that type of thinking was short sighted then and continues to be now. In the specific case of NYMF, they have come up with a working solution to help reign in costs for the development of shows. For going on five years now they have been able to successfully help develop over 32 shows PER YEAR that otherwise might not have been done. And they did it in a way that encompassed full solidarity across the unions. Talk about “favored nations,” everyone involved in every production produced at NYMF, including musicians, directors, stagehands, and designers, by contract made no more than any of the actors involved in the show. Everyone has been and is willing to accept minimum upfront stipends for the very short amount of time required for these developmental productions. Let me simply say this: As a producer I was willing to spend my own money to see the dream of Richard Cory be realized on stage for only 8 shows. We nearly sold-out all of our shows and we still lost money. But seeing that show get done was worth it. We even won the audience award for the show, but since it is a thoughtful piece – not a “commercial” piece, it may never be done again. So be it. But if ever I am able to get the show up for a Broadway or even off-Broadway run – I would run to give every actor, our amazing director, everyone involved in the show, the opportunity to be in that version.
I implore the union to stop thinking in the short term and think long term. Raising the stipend from 300 to 500 dollars could very well put the cost of doing the shows at NYMF beyond the threshold of the young producers trying to get these shows up. It is a bit like the almost laughable stimulus package giving the nation $600 dollars per person to go blow on consumer goods. It will not solve the problem. Trying to enforce the possibility of actors getting an extra $200 dollars now versus the very possibility that increase could actually remove the possibility of getting anything due to unattainable budgets is shooting eveyone in the foot, and maybe even in the head. This raise could even eliminate the possibility of these shows moving on to viable, real wage positions that would include contributions to the union, the health and welfare fund and weeks of work.
As actors we have to understand that we don’t get to be the only ones who get to play and participate in this wonderful thing called theater when more than 90% of all shows don’t even recoup their investments. It is a risky business, and investors are not going to continue to risk their money unless they can see the success of their shows up in front of an audience so they can see their reaction. It is time for the union to take responsibility for our portion of the “business” side of show business and understand that we have to be partners with the entrepreneurs risking their money for us to be able to do the play. I am not asking that we work for free. Hardly. I am asking for us to be smart business people and invest our time in the development process to pay off in dollars when the 10% that move on get the chance to pay us back at a more than respectable rate.
NYMF has come up with and employed a solution to the escalating cost issues of developing new works. Do not eliminate this solution for a lousy 200 bucks an actor. Actors are not being taken advantage of when participating in NYMF. They are participating as partners in the development of potential new works with the promise of a successful show down the road. If the union feels more protection is required, then demand a better package on the back end for those that are participating. Believe me, any producer there would be happy to take care of their fellow partners. If we take away this solution, we are not going to rise above singing candlesticks and dancing apes in the jungle. Not that those are bad things, but it shouldn’t be the only option.
Sincerely,
Nick Cavarra
Dear Actors' Equity,
I am in a very unique position as a producer of off-Broadway shows (including the 2005 production of Richard Cory at the New York Musical Theater Festival (NYMF)) and a proud member of AEA (performer in The Scarlet Pimpernel, Grease! and King David under the production contract) and am writing to express my concern regarding the issue of increasing upfront costs to showcase productions specifically done at NYMF.
As a member of the production contract negotiating committee in 1999, I long ago saw the writing on the wall regarding the seemingly endless escalating costs to mount a new show due to salaries, rent, health insurance, advertising - everything. And since all the costs are rising, where is the first place producers go to cut costs? Development. But what is the most crucial part of any new show’s fragile life? Development. As an artist AND a producer, I am tired of seeing the endless stream of singing mermaids, dancing plates, chimney sweeps and tired second rate movies being the only thing considered for Broadway musicals IN NEW YORK. It is time for all of us to grow up, and that includes Actors’ Equity.
I, like many of my fellow AEA members, have an entrepreneurial spirit. Actors usually do as they are running their own micro businesses that include self promotion, advertising, training and the like. Because of that entrepreneurial spirit, back in 1999 I mentioned to Alan Eisenberg, then Executive Director of Equity, a potential plan for Equity to consider to help reduce upfront costs for a new production with exceptional gains on the back end for any member of Equity. This was a plan that only involved the “development” time for a production. I mentioned this plan to him as AN ACTOR not a producer, knowing that as an actor I was willing to help solve the problem. He simply shot the idea down saying, “Equity actors are salaried employees and will never consider lowering any rates even with the potential of higher pay on the back end.”
I believe that type of thinking was short sighted then and continues to be now. In the specific case of NYMF, they have come up with a working solution to help reign in costs for the development of shows. For going on five years now they have been able to successfully help develop over 32 shows PER YEAR that otherwise might not have been done. And they did it in a way that encompassed full solidarity across the unions. Talk about “favored nations,” everyone involved in every production produced at NYMF, including musicians, directors, stagehands, and designers, by contract made no more than any of the actors involved in the show. Everyone has been and is willing to accept minimum upfront stipends for the very short amount of time required for these developmental productions. Let me simply say this: As a producer I was willing to spend my own money to see the dream of Richard Cory be realized on stage for only 8 shows. We nearly sold-out all of our shows and we still lost money. But seeing that show get done was worth it. We even won the audience award for the show, but since it is a thoughtful piece – not a “commercial” piece, it may never be done again. So be it. But if ever I am able to get the show up for a Broadway or even off-Broadway run – I would run to give every actor, our amazing director, everyone involved in the show, the opportunity to be in that version.
I implore the union to stop thinking in the short term and think long term. Raising the stipend from 300 to 500 dollars could very well put the cost of doing the shows at NYMF beyond the threshold of the young producers trying to get these shows up. It is a bit like the almost laughable stimulus package giving the nation $600 dollars per person to go blow on consumer goods. It will not solve the problem. Trying to enforce the possibility of actors getting an extra $200 dollars now versus the very possibility that increase could actually remove the possibility of getting anything due to unattainable budgets is shooting eveyone in the foot, and maybe even in the head. This raise could even eliminate the possibility of these shows moving on to viable, real wage positions that would include contributions to the union, the health and welfare fund and weeks of work.
As actors we have to understand that we don’t get to be the only ones who get to play and participate in this wonderful thing called theater when more than 90% of all shows don’t even recoup their investments. It is a risky business, and investors are not going to continue to risk their money unless they can see the success of their shows up in front of an audience so they can see their reaction. It is time for the union to take responsibility for our portion of the “business” side of show business and understand that we have to be partners with the entrepreneurs risking their money for us to be able to do the play. I am not asking that we work for free. Hardly. I am asking for us to be smart business people and invest our time in the development process to pay off in dollars when the 10% that move on get the chance to pay us back at a more than respectable rate.
NYMF has come up with and employed a solution to the escalating cost issues of developing new works. Do not eliminate this solution for a lousy 200 bucks an actor. Actors are not being taken advantage of when participating in NYMF. They are participating as partners in the development of potential new works with the promise of a successful show down the road. If the union feels more protection is required, then demand a better package on the back end for those that are participating. Believe me, any producer there would be happy to take care of their fellow partners. If we take away this solution, we are not going to rise above singing candlesticks and dancing apes in the jungle. Not that those are bad things, but it shouldn’t be the only option.
Sincerely,
Nick Cavarra
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