Producers

JACKSON ESTATE WILL BE THERE FOR OUTSIZED ‘MJ’ PROFITS (EXCLUSIVE)

February 16, 2022 by Philip Boroff

If MJ The Musical becomes a box office sensation, Paris Jackson, Bigi Jackson, Prince Jackson and the executors of their father’s estate stand to enjoy a bonanza.

Typically, half of a Broadway show’s adjusted net profit is shared among the lead producers. The other half goes to investors, who also qualify for some lead producer profits by raising or investing large sums. On MJ, however, “the entire 50% share of Adjusted Net Profits [due the lead producers] will be paid to the Estate,” according to an investor operating agreement obtained by Broadway Journal.Continue Reading

PANDEMIC PUMMELS AMBASSADOR THEATRE GROUP (EXCLUSIVE)

January 28, 2022 by Philip Boroff

The self-described “world’s No. 1 live theater company” has taken a drubbing.

The parent company of U.K.-based Ambassador Theatre Group reported a pretax loss of $202 million for the 12 months ended in March 2021. The holding company attributed the results to Covid-19, which decimated rental income when its theaters shuttered in March 2020.Continue Reading

‘BOOK OF MORMON’S BLACK ACTORS PUSH TO CHANGE PORTRAYAL OF AFRICANS (EXCLUSIVE)

February 27, 2021 by Philip Boroff

If and when The Book of Mormon resumes performances on Broadway, the take-no-prisoners musical will reconsider its mission.

In a video call last summer organized by lead producer Anne Garefino, co-writers Trey Parker and Matt Stone assured Black cast members that they were eager to take a fresh look at the 10-year-old blockbuster and were open to making changes, a person familiar with the conversation said. The call came in response to a letter from the actors — both original and current cast members — outlining their concerns regarding the musical, which is about inept Mormon missionaries in a Ugandan village ravaged by AIDS and civil war. Among other issues, the letter addresses the challenges of differentiating between racial stereotyping and satirical storytelling, especially in moments of the show when African characters are treated as “props and punchlines.”Continue Reading

PRODUCERS WANT UNION CONCESSIONS BEFORE REOPENING

November 16, 2020 by Philip Boroff

Broadway seeks givebacks from the industry’s unions before performances resume, the head of the trade group that represents commercial producers and theater owners told an online industry conference Monday.

“There have been general conversations [with unions] about what the contracts might look like, what might be changed,” Broadway League President Charlotte St. Martin said during the final day of The TheaterMakers Summit. “We’ll have to get to the changes, if any, toward wages and work rules and all of that to get open, because the producers will have to figure out if they can reopen. If you reopen at 50 percent of your previous attendance, nobody even comes close to recouping at 50 percent of the theater being open. So we’ll have to talk about things.”Continue Reading

‘TOOTSIE’ TO CLOSE ON JANUARY 5

November 11, 2019 by Philip Boroff

Tootsie , the Broadway musical adapted from the 1982 movie about a struggling actor whose career takes off when he plays a woman, will close on Jan. 5, the production announced tonight.Continue Reading

SONDHEIM, JASON ROBERT BROWN & CRITICS ON HAL PRINCE

August 1, 2019 by Philip Boroff

Jeremy Gerard, Frank Rich and Jesse Green published valuable reminiscences of Hal Prince, the prolific and hugely successful and influential producer and director who died yesterday, at 91.

Composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim, 89, wrote of their collaboration in his 2011 book, Look, I Made a Hat:Continue Reading

TOOTSIE’S INSIDER ADVANTAGE AT THE TONY AWARDS

June 7, 2019 by Philip Boroff

EXCLUSIVE: In competitive Tony Awards contests, can producers who vote for their own shows have an outsized impact? Apparently.

I obtained a list of voters in the 2017-18 season — which I’m told is largely current — and cross-referenced it with names above the title of this year’s Best Musical nominees.

I counted 17 Tootsie producers and co-producers who were eligible to vote, 16 on Ain’t Too Proud, 12 on Hadestown and nine on The Prom. With just 831 voters, those margins aren’t negligible. Continue Reading

RUDIN, TENNESSEE WILLIAMS ESTATE TENTATIVELY SETTLE ‘GLASS MENAGERIE’ LAWSUIT

February 8, 2018 by Philip Boroff

Joe Mantello and Sally Field/Julieta Cervantes

EXCLUSIVE: A promising Broadway courtroom drama appears to be closing out of town.

Scott Rudin and the University of the South have agreed in principle to settle the University’s lawsuit alleging that Rudin’s production company failed to pay royalties on his Glass Menagerie revival starring Joe Mantello and Sally Field. Lawyers for both sides filed papers in Federal Court in Tennessee disclosing the tentative deal yesterday, exactly a year after the play began previews at the Belasco Theatre.

‘REBECCA’ PRODUCERS SEEK NEW TRIAL TO REASSESS DAMAGES AGAINST PRESS AGENT

June 1, 2017 by Philip Boroff

EXCLUSIVE: The producers of Rebecca aren’t giving up on their four-and-a-half-year campaign to force their former press agent to pay for the musical’s collapse.

Rebecca Broadway Limited Partnership, led by Ben Sprecher and Louise Forlenza, requested a New York judge throw out last month’s $85,000 jury award for wrongful interference against publicist Marc Thibodeau. Sprecher and Forlenza originally sought at least $10.6 million. Their lawyer, Erik Groothuis, said in a court filing that the jury picked $85,000 “from thin air.”

‘REBECCA’ COURTROOM BOMBSHELL: SPRECHER LOSES RIGHTS TO MUSICAL, OWES INVESTORS $5.5 MILLION

April 24, 2017 by Philip Boroff

UPDATE: Producer Ben Sprecher’s 11-year quest to bring Rebecca the Musical to Broadway is over. Last year, he lost the rights to produce the show and now must repay his investors $5.5 million, his lawyer said in opening statements in the civil trial against his former press agent, Marc Thibodeau.

Sprecher, his partner, Louise Forlenza, and their lawyer, Erik Groothuis, all declined further comment. An email to licensor VBW International wasn’t returned.