Producers

‘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.

BISHOP EARNED $912,000 IN 2014 ATOP LINCOLN CENTER THEATER

June 29, 2016 by Philip Boroff

Andre Bishop and Katherine Farley, chairwoman of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Photo: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg

EXCLUSIVE: Andre Bishop, Lincoln Center Theater’s longtime leader, earned pay and benefits of $911,670 in 2014, one of the richest compensation packages at a U.S. nonprofit theater.

Among the components listed in the organization’s latest tax return, Bishop’s salary increased by $99,000, or 16 percent, from a year earlier to $719,621. The return valued his benefits, including retirement and other deferred pay, at $192,049. His compensation more than doubled in nine years as the budget was little changed.

‘BRIGHT STAR’ PRODUCER PLANS PRIORITY LOAN AS FIVE TONY AWARD NOMINATIONS OFFER PRICEY IMPRIMATUR

May 6, 2016 by Philip Boroff

Photo by Nick Stokes — Publicity photo by Nick Stokes

Tony Award contenders often say it’s an honor to be nominated. For Bright Star, like any struggling nominee, it’s an expensive honor.

Instead of potentially folding after ten slow weeks, Joey Parnes, the lead producer of the original Steve Martin and Edie Brickell musical, is betting on the marketing muscle of its five nominations. The production will borrow money to run at least through the Tonys on June 12, he said, as well as to advertise the nominations and stage a number on the CBS telecast. The last expense typically runs in the six figures.

“It’s not a secret that we’ve been having less-than-robust grosses,” Parnes said earlier in the week. “To say we’re an underdog is an understatement.”