Ken Davenport - Opinions from a Broadway Producer

Attention musical theater writers, it’s time for boot camp!

Stuck on Act II?  Need some structure to help with your structure?  Want a deadline to make sure your show gets finished on time?

Come to Musical Boot Camp!

The writers we talk to and who submit shows to us ask us for feedback, creative criticism as well as help with making sure they accomplish their goals on time (New Year’s Resolutions anyone?).

We’re big believers in the “group think” so we put our heads together and came up with a solution to help a whole bunch of you with similar issues at the same time. 

So, by popular demand, my Director of Creative Development, the fabu Jane Caplow, and I are thrilled to announce the first Musical Boot Camp, a workshop for musical theater writers to help keep you on track and make sure you get your shows done, and done well.

The very first Boot Camp starts Wednesday, March 14th.  It’s a six-week workshop from 5 – 7 PM with a very select and limited number of participants. 

To get more information and apply for one of the few slots, click here.

One note:  it’s going to be some work, so don’t apply unless you’re serious about getting your show or musical project to the next level.  And as with all of our seminars and workshops, when it’s over, we guarantee that you’ll be much happier with the state of your project than when you began.  

And you’ll be meeting a lot of other passionate folks just like you in the process.  Project Building + Networking = Awesome.

Take The Boot Camp!

 

(Got a comment? I love 'em, so comment below! Email subscribers, click here, then scroll down, to say what's on your mind!)

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Rev up those engines, it’s speed dating time again!

It's time to date it up!

One of our most successful events last year was our Collaborator Speed Date. 

If you weren’t a reader back then, a CSD is when we gather partnerless composers, librettists, and lyricists in a room and introduce them to each other, in the hopes that they will make a match . . . and then, maybe a musical.

It’s a terrific opportunity to meet new people and hope that something clicks.  And who knows, maybe after a little bit of time together you’ll go all the way . . . to the Tony Awards! (Oh Sexual Innuendo, you minx.)

I’ve received a lot of requests recently to throw another speed dating extravaganza (translation = a room and some chips, salsa, soda and wine).  And, well who are we to get in the way of people looking for someone to spend a lot of late nights with, and fight with mercilessly, and make up with effortlessly, and hopefully become the next Ahrens and Flaherty.

So, in the spirit of Valentine's Day, we’re doing it again!

Our next Collaborator Speed Date will be held on Thursday, February 16th at 6:30 PM here at my studios.

Registration is a must.  Last year we “sold out” in advance, so click here to sign up now.

You can register as a Composer, a Lyricist, a Librettist . . . or hey, maybe you even swing both ways (Oh there you go again, Innuendo . . . just when they think they are safe, you “pop up!”  Damn it!)

See you at the Speed Date!  And spread the word!

 

(Got a comment? I love 'em, so comment below! Email subscribers, click here, then scroll down, to say what's on your mind!)

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- Win tickets to see Stick Fly on Broadway.  Enter here!

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I want a new "I want."

There's a classic musical theater axiom that states within the first fifteen minutes of any musical, the lead character or protagonist must have what is known as an "I want" song.  Click here for a more thorough analysis or here to read Stephen Schwartz's commentary on the subject. 

I'm definitely a subscriber to this Lehman Engel school of thought, and look for it in all the musicals I read, write and produce.  

But lately I've been thinking that as much as I love the strength and determination of a "want", what seems to be necessary for a musical is more than just a "want".  I can want an ice cold coke.  I can want to take a vacation.  But that doesn't seem like enough.

For a character to break out into song, the themes must be grander.  Love, adventure, immortality, revenge, justice and so forth are more the kinds of things necessary to start a musical engine.

So, I've stopped thinking about what a character wants . . . and have started thinking about what a character dreams.  

Since audiences love to watch a character's dreams come true (because it gives them the hope that theirs may come true as well) it seems more fitting to hear about these in the first fifteen.  

It's a subtle difference, mind you, but an important one in my "book".  

Dreams are worth dying for.  And it's those kinds of grand themes that make for the most compelling musicals.

(BTW, if you're looking for a great book on writing musicals, read Mr. Engel's classic, Words with Music.)

 

(Got a comment? I love 'em, so comment below! Email subscribers, click here, then scroll down, to say what's on your mind!)

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FUN STUFF:

- Win tickets to see Stick Fly on Broadway.  Enter here!

- Take a Broadway Road Trip!  From Mass on 2/4 and From DC on 2/25!  Click here!

- SEMINAR ALERT: Get Your Show Off the Ground Seminar: 2/18.  Only 2 spots left!  Sign up today!

Got a musical? Submit it to NYMF . . . but hurry.

The morning after one of his new shows opened, Hal Prince always held a production meeting for his next show.  It always kept him moving forward, and never allowed him to bask in the glory if his show was a hit, or get too depressed if his show wasn't . . . because there was work to do on the next one.

It's one of my favorite lessons from this book (which I highly recommend), and it's something that I've adopted as well.

And I'm not the only one . . .

The New York Musical Theatre Festival just ended a few days ago. They haven't even had their awards gala yet (which is on Nov. 6th, btw).  

But they are already seeking submissions for next year's festival! 

In a schedule switch-up, next year's NYMF will happen in July, which means the script-reading crew upstairs (NYMF and I share a building) will be hard at work soon enough.

So, if you've got a musical that you think could be the next Next to Normal, [title of show], or (yep), Altar Boyz, then submit away . . . but the deadline is SOON!

You have to send in your script by October 31st.  And that's, gulp, 11 days away!  

To submit your script, click here.

If you haven't finished or even written your script, you've got 11 days to do it.  And don't say "it can't be done."  What's the worst that could happen . . . you don't get in?  At least you'll have a script, right?

That's what Hal would do. (I may get post-it notes made up that say "WWHD").

Good luck!

 

(Got a comment?  I love 'em, so comment below!  Email subscribers, click here, then scroll down, to say what's on your mind!) 

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FUN STUFF 

- Win tickets to Priscilla Queen of the Desert on Broadway!  Click here!

- Seminar alert:  Tune Up Your Marketing Materials -  10/29 & Get Your Show Off The Ground - 11/1

"These Three Things . . ."

Today is October 13th.  

And there are three very special things associated with this great day.

- On October 13th, 1929, my father was born.  Today he turns 82.  Happy Birthday, Dad.  Thank you for giving me the gift of the theater.  Without you, I'd be a lawyer.  

- On October 13th, 2007, four years (!) ago now, I started blogging.  And thankfully you started listening, and inspiring me to do more.  And I love doing more. 

- And today, on October 13, 2011, after a two year gestation process, Godspell starts performances tonight, on its way towards its opening on November 7th.

Dad, Blog, Godspell.  What a trifecta.

October 13th is officially my lucky day.

If you've enjoyed my blog over the past four years, I hope you'll come see Godspell.  And come to a preview.  For those of you who are reading this blog to learn more about how Broadway shows come together, you'll learn a lot by seeing the show early, and then returning in a few weeks to see how it morphs, shifts and evolves.  As I said on the my last official entry on the Godspell Blog today, previews are the pupal stage for Broadway shows.  And well, I'm pretty excited about the beautiful butterfly Danny Goldstein and this sickly talented cast are cooking up at Circle in the Square.

Click here to get tickets.  We've got 6 shows this weekend.

And when you come, make sure you say hi.  I'll be at all the previews, most likely wearing my red Godspell hat, so I'll be easy to spot.  I'd love to say hello, and perhaps we'll have some time to continue this conversation we started online four years ago . . . offline and in person.  And isn't that what theater is all about?  I love blogs, and I'm thankful for this one . . . but we're in the theater because we like to meet other people in (legal) dark rooms and listen to ideas.  I look forward to hearing yours.

So Happy Birthday, Dad.

Happy Blog Birthday, The Producers Perspective.

And I'll see you at Godspell. 

 

(Got a comment?  I love 'em, so comment below!  Email subscribers, click here, then scroll down, to say what's on your mind!) 

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FUN STUFF 

- 0 Days to Godspell!  Read the day-by-day account of producing Godspell on Broadway here.

- Tune up your marketing materials at my new seminar!  Learn more here!

- Win tickets to Chinglish on Broadway!  Click here!

 

Trend alert: The British are . . . cutting costs.

Little Billy Elliot broke a lot of hearts last week when he announced he was hanging up his toe shoes and closing up shop at the Imperial Theater, where he has been dancing his bollocks off for 3 years.

It was a bit of a shock, actually.  While lots of folks knew Billy's dancing days were numbered, we certainly didn't expect to see him take off so quickly.

So what happened?

Well, kudos to Lead Producer, Eric "The Big Buck Stops Here" Fellner of Working Title Films, for stepping up and saying this to The Post:

"It's my fault entirely.  We'd never made a new musical before.  We believed in the vision of the show, and we decided to put on the best production we could without worrying about the [weekly] running cost.  But when you're grossing $700,000 a week, which is not bad, and losing money, there is a problem."

(One of the great things about the statement is that, of course, it wasn't all Eric's fault.)

It is a shame that Billy went down sooner than he should have . . . but that is not what this blog is about.

This blog is about a half-a-sentence towards the end of the Post article, that goes something like this . . . 

"While the show continues to do good business in London (where costs are lower) . . ."

Yep, the show is still running overseas.  And probably will for some time.  

I know, I know, you're thinking that it's running because it's more of a British story.  Well, maybe.

But does that explain the recent conversation I had with a veteran Broadway producer who, when I asked him what he was working on, said, "I'm bringing a show in to the West End.  It's so much cheaper over there . . . there's less risk, and you can do more adventuresome stuff."

Hmmmm . . . 

I've heard this from a few folks, lately, and it's starting to tickle my tutu.  Couple that with talk like, "a theatrical achievement like War Horse could never have been developed on American theatrical soil," and color me concerned.

Broadway's more cutthroat costs creates less fertile ground, which makes it harder for shows to take root.  Some would argue that's a good thing . . . it's a theatrical survival of the fittest, encouraging producers and writers to get better and better, or face premature wiltage.  

My concern is that Producers will just start looking to plant elsewhere. 

I know I've thought about it.  

 

(Got a comment?  I love 'em, so comment below!  Email subscribers, click here, then scroll down, to say what's on your mind!) 

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FUN STUFF 

- 2 Days to Godspell!  Read the day-by-day account of producing Godspell on Broadway here.

- Tune up your marketing materials at my new seminar!  Learn more here!

- Win tickets to Chinglish on Broadway!  Click here!

 

A Broadway Top 40

Every week, Ryan Seacrest counts down the Top 40, in a tradition handed to him by the shaggy-voiced Casey Casem.  It's a weekly "hit-list" that I listened to as a kid, and millions more listen to today.

Best of, Top 10s, etc. are consumer crack when it comes to judging products . . . but at the end of the day, what they are . . . are the "best of" marketing tools.  

The Top 40 . . . The New York Times Best Seller list . . . Top Grossing Movies . . . these are all ways of getting out what the most successful products in an industry are, the Top 40 being the most successful because it not only lists the products, it allows you to experience the entire product at the same time.

We've got the Broadway grosses in our industry . . . but what's interesting about this set of numbers is that it's not a "top" . . . it's a top and a bottom . . . so it fails to be a marketing tool, like the ingenious Top 40 or the NY Times list.  Even sites that recap weekly grosses like Broadway.com, publish the "underdogs" by gross and capacity (the former not even taking into account the size of the house or the type of show it is).  

Do we need a new Top 10?  (I think we're going to work something like it into BroadwaySpace.com).  Or if we don't have a new Top 10, should we just be pushing for more publications to list our weekly grosses?  Is there another metric we could use to let consumers know what shows are the most popular that week?  And could we keep them coming back week after week to see the shift?

Whether we like it or not, consumers like to see competition between products in a related industry.  And, if it's going to be something that will make them follow it for week after week, we should give it to them . . . as long as we don't have to get Ryan Seacrest to host.

 

(Got a comment?  I love 'em, so comment below!  Email subscribers, click here, then scroll down, to say what's on your mind!) 

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FUN STUFF 

- 8 Days to Godspell!  Read the day-by-day account of producing Godspell on Broadway here.

- Spend an hour with me at Godspell tech!  Click here for info on how!

- Tune up your marketing materials at my new seminar!  Learn more here!

- Win 2 tickets to see The Blue Flower at Second Stage Off Broadway!  Click here!

 

 

The incredible shrinking cast size.

A few of you may be in a statistic induced coma by now ever since I started my numbers craze last week.

But I've got a-number one.  (Get it?  Ok, ok, I'll take that off the set list for my Last Comic Standing audition.)

Today we're talking about cast size.  Just how many pairs of chorus girl legs were kicking in the old days, and just how many are kicking now?  

In this analysis, I looked at the percentage of new musicals in each decade with casts over 30 (seemed like a good line between average and BIG).  

• In the 1950s, 69% of all new musicals opening on Broadway had cast sizes greater than 30.
• In the 1960s, 67% had cast sizes greater than 30.
• In the 1970s, 31% (!)
• In the 1980s, 24%
• In the 1990s, 38%
• In the 2000s, 27%

Over the last 30 years, we stabilized a bit after that precipitous decline in the 70s (what the heck happened there? - that's a subject for another blog).

Costs have obviously played a big factor in this cast-size shrinkage, but I'd also argue that smaller musicals (Next to Normals) are more likely to be done in modern times than they were in the Golden Age of musicals, which might play a small part in the decline.  

But for those of you out there that think that the only way to succeed is to prevent your authors from adding more people to the stage, remember this stat:

36 of the 64 Best Musical Tony Award winners have had casts greater than 30.

That's 56%.

Writers, you can thank me for that stat later.

 

(Got a comment?  I love 'em, so comment below!  Email subscribers, click here, then scroll down, to say what's on your mind!) 

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FUN STUFF 

- 91 Days to Godspell!  Read the day-by-day account of producing Godspell on Broadway here.

- Win 2 tickets to Silence, Shrek or Rocky Horror. Click here!

 

Prepare Ye. Godspell is coming back to Broadway this Fall.

I am thrilled . . . overjoyed . . . pumped . . . so excited that there are no words . . .  to announce that my production of Godspell by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak, directed by Danny Goldstein and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, will begin performances on October 13, 2011 at Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre.

For more info, including a message from Stephen Schwartz himself, visit www.Godspell.com.

Godspell on Broadway
Previews begin October 13th
Opens on November 7th

Group discount tickets on sale now by calling 1-855-DAY-BY-DAY or by clicking here.
Single tickets on sale July 11th. 

See you at the theater.  

 

(Got a comment?  I love 'em, so comment below!  Email subscribers, click here, then scroll down, to say what's on your mind!) 

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FUN STUFF

- Come to our Tony Awards Party!  Click here for more info and to get your ticket now! 

- Enter my Tony Pool!  You can win an iPad!  Enter today!

- Come to the Broadway Investing Seminar on May 31st.  RSVP here.

- Enter to win 2 tickets to see The Shaggs!  Click here.

The Sunday Giveaway: 2 Tickets to The Off-Broadway Co-Pro of The Shaggs

What I love about the theater is that even competitors can find a way to work together.

In the wake of the financial crisis, several non-profit theaters around the country got creative about how they could continue to produce new works despite a challenging fundraising environment.  Rather than shortening their seasons, many took a lesson from The Godfather and made it their own—by not only keeping their enemies closer, but actually making them their friends. 

And thus, the co-production was born, as two (or more) non-profits shared in development costs, production costs, etc.  And everyone, audience included, got to reap the benefits.

This idea was so successful, that even now that we're climbing out of the financial worm hole we've been in for 2+ years, the concept continues.

There's an example of a co-production happening right now Off-Broadway, featuring the Wonder Twin powers of two of NY's heavyweight non-profits, Playwights Horizons and New York Theatre Workshop.

The show?  The Shaggs by Joy Gregory, Gunnar Madsen and John Langs.  

The Shaggs is a new musical based on a true story about a male Mama Rose, trying to turn his 3 talentless daughters into Rock & Rock icons, whether they like it or not.  

And we've got tickets!

Here's how you can win two tickets to The Shaggs:

Comment below, and tell me . . . in one sentence, why you should get the tickets.  For example, "I should win the two tickets to The Shaggs because I actually believed The Rapture was going to happen and now I need something to get me out of my depression."

Ok?  

Comment away and I'll pick a winner.  Good luck!

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FUN STUFF

- Come to our Tony Awards Party!  Click here for more info and to get your ticket now! 

- Enter my Tony Pool!  You can win an iPad!  Enter today!