Philip Boroff

DID ‘REBECCA’ PRODUCER IGNORE WARNINGS ABOUT GRIFTER?

May 8, 2017 by Philip Boroff

EXCLUSIVE: The email was sent at 8:21 am Sunday, Sept. 23, 2012. Subject line: “Confidential.”

“Have you ever Googled Mark Hotton Long Island?” wrote Marc Thibodeau, press agent for Rebecca the Musical, to lead producer Ben Sprecher about the West Islip, Long Island, stock broker Sprecher hired to raise money. Thibodeau wrote that he discovered “several instances of lawsuits against him for fraud.”

The publicist added that the broker hadn’t produced evidence that an investor named Paul Abrams who purportedly died of malaria — one of four mysterious overseas angels Hotton recruited — ever existed.

‘REBECCA’ TESTIMONY ENDS ON DISCLOSURE OF WEAK SALES

May 5, 2017 by Philip Boroff

EXCLUSIVE: On Sept. 27, 2012, four days before Rebecca the Musical was to begin rehearsals, it sold 27 tickets.

The day’s “wrap,” or sales, was $2,952.50, according to an internal production document introduced this week in the Rebecca civil trial.

Its advance sale was $1.035 million, the document said. “That would be a weak advance,” testified Aaron Lustbader, a partner at Foresight Theatrical, the general manager of such shows as Phantom of the Opera. Lustbader wasn’t involved in Rebecca, which was postponed for the third and final time a day before rehearsals were to start. Big musicals typically wrap $50,000 each day before previews, he testified yesterday.

THE STRAIGHT PLAY CHALLENGE: CAPITALIZE ON TONY NOMINATIONS

May 3, 2017 by Philip Boroff

The Tony Award for best musical is commercially valuable, but what about nominations for plays? The next few weeks will test how much theatergoers care, with three of the four best play nominees box office under-performers.

Crain’s story

‘NATASHA,’ ‘DOLLY’ & ‘DOLL’S HOUSE 2’ LEAD TONY NOMINATIONS

May 2, 2017 by Philip Boroff

Bette Midler in ‘Dolly’/Julieta Cervantes

Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Hello, Dolly! and A Doll’s House, Part 2 got the most Tony Award nominations this morning in their respective categories.

Natasha competes against Dear Evan Hansen, Come From Away and Groundhog Day the Musical in the all-important new musical category. Among the high-profile snubs, the new musicals A Bronx Tale, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Amelie got no nominations. Also bageled was the hit musical revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard, although star Glenn Close, who won for the role in 1995, was out of contention.

SPRECHER CHOKES UP TESTIFYING ABOUT ‘REBECCA’ COLLAPSE

April 28, 2017 by Philip Boroff

Producer Ben Sprecher broke down on the stand today at the Rebecca civil trial in lower Manhattan, while recounting being forced to shutter the $12 million musical on the eve of its first rehearsal.

“The whole thing was a tragedy,” Sprecher testified, speaking with apparent difficulty. “I don’t know what to say.”

‘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.

BAREILLES, MIDLER, RUFFALO SELL OUT; STAR-LESS PLAYS FLAT

April 18, 2017 by Philip Boroff

Easter week was flush for Broadway’s flashiest star vehicles and dismal for serious new plays, Pulitzer Prize notwithstanding.

Two Scott Rudin productions in previews tell the story: Hello, Dolly! with Bette Midler passed $2 million for the first time, its average ticket rose $8 to $201, according to sales figures released by the Broadway League. Meanwhile Lucas Hnath’s A Doll’s House Part 2 was little changed at $91,000, with an average ticket of $24.

BRANTLEY DOUBLE PLAY HOBBLES COMPETITION FOR ‘OSLO’: BOX OFFICE

March 27, 2017 by Philip Boroff

Oslo arrives with a rare asset for a play this season: strong pre-Broadway reviews from a working New York Times critic.

Ben Brantley called J.T. Rogers’ drama about the 1993 accord between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization “crackling theater” when he reviewed it over the summer. Since transferring from Lincoln Center Theater’s Mitzi Newhouse to the Vivian Beaumont, it sold a healthy $297,000 in its first four previews, buoyed by LCT members with access to discounted tickets.

‘DOLLY’ SALES DELECTABLE IN BUSIEST WEEK OF 2017: BOX OFFICE

March 20, 2017 by Philip Boroff

‘Dolly’ production photo/Julieta Cervantes

One of the season’s most anticipated musical revivals, the Scott Rudin-produced Hello, Dolly!, got off to a fast start in Broadway’s top-selling and best-attended week of the year.

The show grossed $1.4 million in five previews, according to the Broadway League. Both its $750 top seat and $196 average ticket were second only to Hamilton: An American Musical, which has an $849 top ticket and $267 average last week. The numbers confirm that Dolly!, with Midler singing on Broadway for the first time since Bette! Divine Madness in 1979, is on track to be the top-grossing new production of the spring. The classic last appeared on Broadway two decades ago, with Carol Channing reprising a role she played repeatedly on Broadway and on tour.

PATTI LUPONE, PHILLIPA SOO & JAKE GYLLENHAAL DELIVER IN BROADWAY’S BIGGEST WEEK SINCE EARLY JANUARY: BOX OFFICE

March 13, 2017 by Philip Boroff

Starry musicals got off to a strong start in what was the industry’s best seven days since the first week of the year. Sales were $27.7 million, up 16 percent from the week before and up 17 percent from the same week last season, according to data from the Broadway League.

War Paint, with Christine Ebersole and Patti LuPone as cosmetics icons Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein, grossed $800,000 in seven previews. It’s by the same creative team as 2006’s Grey Gardens. And former Hamilton lead Phillipa Soo apparently proved a draw in Amélie. The adaptation of the 2001 movie did $377,000 in four previews. Average tickets to both exceeded $100.

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