PRODUCER’S PERSPECTIVE Ken Davenport, Broadway Producer, Off-Broadway, Theater

The Neil Simon tragedy.

Tragedy.  

Now there's a word rarely uttered when speaking of one of the greatest comic minds of the century.

Unfortunately, Broadway hasn't been kind to Mr. Simon lately.

Prior to Brighton Beach, post-9/11 Broadway had seen productions of a the original 45 Seconds From Broadway as well as revivals of Barefoot in the Park, Sweet Charity and The Odd Couple.   

The Odd Couple, with Broderick and Lane, is the only one of those that recouped, but it wasn't the smash that everyone had expected it to be.  

Sweet Charity sneaked out a seven month run, but Barefoot, and now Brighton and Broadway, were unfortunate disappointments.

Why?

Well, Mr. Simon, to use hackneyed break-up phraseology, it's not you.  It's us.

Our tastes have changed. In fact, perhaps it was 9/11, or perhaps it was Jon and Kate plus Stupid, or perhaps it's the economic crisis, that turned our taste buds a little more acidic.

Neil Simon's plays are classics, but no matter how great the productions may be (and I heard Brighton was fantastic, especially under the gentle hand of David Cromer), today's audiences just don't take to them the way they used to.

Our taste in television comedies has changed over the last twenty-five years, so as much as I was pulling for this double-feature, it's no surprise to me that our taste in theatrical comedies has changed as well.

In my opinion . . . Yasmina Reza is the modern day Neil Simon.  Belly laugh funny with a bite.

Now let's see if Promises, Promises can break this streak. I know I'm pulling for it.  I mean, come on, it's got a song called, "She Likes Basketball!" 

Nobody puts Baby Wants Candy in a corner.

If you've never seen a fully improvised musical by a cracker-jack improvisational team, then you're missing out on one of the greatest achievements of mankind.  

Putting a man on the moon, splitting the atom, and creating an hour-long musical based on one random title suggested by an audience; these are the things that separate us from the animals.  

We all know creating a great musical can take years and years of development (and frankly, sometimes creating a crappy musical takes years and years of development).  So for those of us who have been in the business of creating a musical from scratch, there is nothing more fun than watching a musical come together right before your eyes . . . especially when the writers/actors/lyricists are Baby Wants Candy.

Baby Wants Candy is an improv team out of Chicago that specializes in this unique art form.  Lucky for you, they're at the Barrow Street Theatre on Saturdays for the next month or so.  And doubly-lucky for you, this engagement features this guy.  

I went on Saturday.  Did I like it?

Let's just say this:  I've lived in NYC for 18 years now.  I've seen a lot of readings of new musicals.  What I saw on Saturday was a lot more fun than so many of the shows I've seen. And they had scripts!

Check it out.  You'll laugh.  And maybe you'll be inspired to write.  Because if they can write something in one hour, certainly all of us can finish what we're working on in one month, right?

If you want to save some money on tickets for BWC, check out the discount area on www.BestOfOffBroadway.com.  

Why sucking is sometimes good.

I had a hard deadline today to finish a commissioned treatment of a new project that I started working on a few months ago. 

To be honest, I've been procrastinating on this project like a junior high school student with algebra homework.

It's not because I don't like the project.  I love it.  I was putting it off because I didn't have answers to a couple of the big questions that I needed in order to write the treatment.

I finally sat down on Sat. and Sun. and forced myself to answer those questions somehow, because I did have a deadline, after all.  I had no choice but to finish.

You know what?  I came up with something, because I had to, and I finished the treatment.

Is it perfect?  No.  In fact, it may even suck. 

But I'd take something that sucks over nothing any day of the week. 

Because something can get better. Nothing just goes nowhere.

Why make things up when you don't have to.

I'm developing a new musical through improv with 12 other collabovisers (improvising writers), tentatively titled Garage Band.

Garage Band is set in Sayreville, New Jersey.

Monday, all 14 of us hopped on a party bus and headed on out to Sayreville to soak up some of the local culture and learn what it was like to be a real resident.

Since we were creating characters that lived in Sayreville, we wanted to check out some of the history (a brick company "built" the town), find out where the high school hangout was (a diner affectionately referred to as 'The Pank' that sold scratch tickets and sandwiches with mozzarella sticks inside the bun), and see what they really thought about Bon Jovi who grew up nearby (one guy called him "Bon 'Phony'").

We could have spent months improvising all sorts of situations . . . and we never would have come up with "Bon Phony". 

I'm sure I'm not telling you something you don't know already, but it deserves repeating:

Writing is the equivalent of an open-book test.  Use what's around you.  It's not cheating.  It's encouraged.

You'll never find anything more interesting, more unique, or funnier, than the truth.

It's a lot like riding a bike.

We're at halftime of the 2009 festival season.  The fringe is done (except for the Encores), and we're waiting for NYMF to begin.  I saw a few fringe shows this year, and I've got a few NYMF shows on my radar as well.  But over the course of my entire life, I've probably seen a gross of festival shows. 

To be honest, most of them haven't been that good.  But that's ok, you know why?  Most were by new writers, and that's what festivals are for. 

Over the last few years, however, festivals have faced unreasonable amounts of pressure to produce the next big hit.  I call it 'The Urinetown Syndrome' . . . and it's unfortunate.

New writers need time to work on their skills in front of an audience, without worrying about whether people think they shows are ready to move Off-Broadway two weeks later, and without worrying about what the critics think.

So many fringe and festival shows are first-timers for authors.  Are we really surprised that most aren't great?

I think first scripts for writers are exactly like the first time you got on a two-wheeer.  You're trying super hard to balance everything, you can't even think about where you're headed, it takes you much longer to get anywhere, your style is wobbly, etc. 

So, if you're a writer, don't beat yourself up if your first show, fringe or not, wasn't fast-tracked to full production.  It was just your first script.  Be happy that you didn't take a spill on your brand new Huffy and scrape up the side of your face (that happened to me . . . literally, when I was 10, and figuratively, with my first script). 

The important thing to do is . . . wait for it . . . yes, get back on the bike and go for another ride. 

I guarantee your second one will feel easier than the first, and the third will be easier than the second, and so on and so on.

Just keep wriding. 

Three things we can learn from THAT wedding video.

If you haven’t seen Jill & Kevin's wedding video, then you’re one of the few (I posted it below).  The “Video Seen ‘Round The World” has now been viewed by almost 18 million people.  In fact, it was so popular, it got protestors!  (You know you’ve made it, when people start criticizing you.)

But why did it go from something that they did for fun, to a global phenomenon?

Here are three reasons why this viral video was so successful:

1.    PEOPLE LOVE FUN

At the end of the day (literally), people want a good time.  Most people’s lives are filled with stress, anxiety, and more.  Watching a whole bunch of people have a good time is a good time.  The energy and fun is contagious.

2.    PEOPLE LOVE ROMANCE

No matter how many failed marriages we hear about, or how many affairs are touted in the tabloids, deep down, we’re still a sucker for a good love story. We want to believe that it’s still possible for two people to belong together. Nothing says that like a wedding, where the bride and groom look like they’re having the time of their lives.

3.    PEOPLE LOVE SURPRISES

We all know how weddings are supposed to go.  They have a format.  Most of them are formal to some extent.  It’s a serious matter dedicating yourself to another person for the rest of your life, so it should be done with a certain tone, right?  Well, here comes Jill and Kevin dancin’ down the aisle doing something we were totally not expecting.  By blasting convention, they surprised us, and made their wedding unique and remarkable, and unlike any other in the world. 

So those are the three reasons why Mamma Mia is so successful. 

Oh wait, I was talking about a viral video. Or was I? Wait a second.  Mamma Mia is all about fun, with romance at its core, and unexpected songs telling its story.   Huh.  Look at that.

The above three characteristics are why the video (and Mamma Mia) were successful, yes, but also why it was entertaining.  And the proper ingredients to entertainment can be applied across platforms to videos, sitcoms,  and yep, shows.  Does your show have these elements?

Don’t get me a wrong.  There are other ways to entertain people, but by the look at the number of views on that video, and of the number of people that have seen Mamma Mia, it may be that these characteristics are the way to entertain the most people.

Oh, and the other reason why this video became a phenomenon?  They didn't try to make it one.  They just made it. 

The audience took care of the rest. 

I hate politics.

Then why oh why oh who oh does watching The West Wing make me want to be a politician?  (Yes, I know the show went off the air a few years ago, but I've only recently started watching the show over again, starting with episode 1).  

I mean I really hate politics.  The bureaucracy and the amount of time it takes to get something done makes Broadway look as easy as a game of checkers, played by yourself.

Seriously, the writing is so exceptional and most important, the characters so beloved (even the flawed ones), that the show makes the audience want to get off their couch and join the world that the writer has created. Great characters in dramas of any kind, are just ones you want to hang out with for awhile, aren't they?

The world of The West Wing seems more interesting than my world.  And it seems more fun (even when Pakistan and India are on the brink of a nuclear showdown).

I used to say that powerful writing reached across whatever fourth wall was created and grabbed an audience member by the shirt collar, pulling them into the world of play.

Now, I think great writing is writing that makes the audience member want to get up out of their seat and run straight at the wall so fast, that they'd blast right through it.

Want a real treat?  Find a copy of this and don't watch episodes of The West Wing.  Read them.  Or read the script of your favorite TV show or movie.  Reading these scripts gives you a whole new perspective.  

And it teaches you how to make sure your shows are jumping on the page, so producers like me will want other people to see it.

Please DO feed the animals.

I went to the zoo on Friday.  Right in front of the monkey pond there was a sign reminding zoo-goers like me not to throw food to the monkeys.

I went to a sushi restaurant on Saturday.  Right in front of the hostess there was an giant aquarium with a sign taped to the glass telling raw fish eaters like me "Please, do not tap on the glass."

I went to a baseball game on Sunday.  There were a whole bunch of signs all over the place reminding fans of the fines for jumping on to the field (someone did it anyway).

It is a human being's natural instinct to want to interact . . . especially with things put on display. It's so much of the majority's curiosity that we have to put up signs telling us not to, when it's not appropriate or not safe.

I also went to see a show on Sunday.  This show took advantage of our natural curiosity and had actors handing out programs, had the star talking to the audience, and even had a couple of audience members on the stage.  And a better time was had by all as a result.

It's simple, and not ground-breaking, but it works every time. Why?  Because it's part of who we are.  

We want to feed the animals.

So give your audience that chance in whatever way is appropriate for your show.  Maybe you can't have audience members on stage. Maybe you can't break the fourth wall.  

But there's gotta be something you can do.  And you're creative enough to figure it out.

Favorite Quotes Vol. XXI: the first of many from Mister Abbott

I just finished reading George Abbott's autobiography, so expect a few Favorite Quotes from him in the coming weeks.  Frankly, I could put half of the book up here, the writer/producer/director had so many great things to say.  He is the original Mr. Broadway, working on more than 100 Broadway shows.  And it's no coincidence that this prolific director tutored another prolific director, Mr. Hal Prince.

The book is hard to come by now, and while George can be a little self-indulgent sometimes, it contains some great lessons in how to create Broadway entertainment.  So get it, if you can (you know what's really amazing about the book?  It was published in 1963, when George was 76.  And he lived another 31 years!!!). 

Here's a great quote for the writers out there, as George remembered one of the greatest lessons he ever got.

Professor Baker was an inspiring man.  He gave you no nonsense about inner meanings and symbolisms; he turned your whole thoughts and energies into a practical matter of how to make a show. If it was good, a farce of a melodrama was just as important as a tragedy.  One of the things he kept hammering on was, "Get the greatest given emotional result from the given scene."  Don't have the character just come in and pick up the letter and go, but have him pick up the letter, then look under the bed, and go.

I mean, it doesn't get much simpler than that.  

Acting and Advertising have a lot in common.

The first rule of advertising when launching a new advertising campagin for a product is to test, test, and test.  And when you're done, test again.  Because no matter what you think of a logo or a tag line, it's not until it's in the market that you know if it works or not.

And with each set of results, you tweak your campaign until you better the results.  Simple.

Acting is no different.  Yes, you need to have a firm grasp on how to present your character before you "launch," but once you get in front of that audience, you may find that they respond a bit differently than you thought they would. 

You could be stubborn, and not allow the audience's response to affect what you do.  Or, you could treat it like an advertising campaign, and make little tweaks here and there, depending upon the audience's reaction, to allow them to enjoy your performance even more (provided, of course, that these tweaks [and I'm not talking about making changes to the actual text, mind you] are with the Director's approval).  

That's what's great about acting for the theater, as opposed to film.  Once that film performance is in 'the can,' you can't make a tweak, no matter what.  You couldn't even dodge a tomato if it was thrown at you.

But in the theater, you can, and you should, because having a live audience is like a having a focus group in front of you every single night.  

To ignore them, would be like a marketing person ignoring metrics.