Revival of Godspell to be "Crowd Funded"

[alliez92092]

Posted: 9/15/10 at 12:49pm

I'm really surprised that no one has mentioned this yet, but it sounds pretty interesting. I'm not sure how well it will work, but props to Ken Davenport for thinking out of the box and trying something completely new and original in terms of producing.

http://www.theproducersperspective.com/my_weblog/2010/09/the-1st-ever-crowd-funded-broadway-musical-and-its-got-your-name-on-it-.html

Posted: 9/15/10 at 12:53pm

Good luck Ken.

But if your minimum purchase is ten units and a unit is $100, the minimum investment in Godspell is $1000, not $100.

[averagebwaynut]

Posted: 9/15/10 at 1:03pm

JoeKv,

To be fair, he's quite careful to say only that an investment unit is $100. That's not the same as saying that the minimum investment is $100. The minimum investment is in fact 10 units, and therefore $1,000.

A little nimble with the wordplay, sure, but Ken has always been a cunning linguist.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/15/10 at 1:08pm

I was actually talking to a friend recently about how I wished that Broadway-bound shows accepted monetary "donations" from your average non-producer theatergoing people... because a lot of us don't have the kind of money producers need, but certainly find ourselves in positions where we believe in something enough that we want to make some kind of difference. I'm not sure how practical this is, or if it'll work, but it's interesting to see someone trying it. Not that I have 1,000 bucks laying around or care enough about Godspell to get in on this, but I am curious to see how it pans out.

[Andergoat]

Posted: 9/15/10 at 1:23pm

Eh, a movie producer tried this several years ago and it never panned out. I'm of the belief that crowd-funding works best when there is a common community or strong shared belief. Is that really the case with a revival of Godspell?

[BrianS]

Posted: 9/15/10 at 1:34pm

I can't wait to see how they pulled this off legally. The whole point of the SEC requiring only accredited investor have the ability to invest in Broadway shows is to protect naive people because of how incredibly risky these investments are. It seems like it would take only one person who claims a producer played on their love of a show and wasn't clear about the risk involved, didn't know what they were doing, to sue and this whole thing would fall like a house of cards.

Obviously, his lawyers have addressed it so I guess I'll see how soon.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/15/10 at 1:36pm

If I didn't have a New York trip coming up and some other stuff going on, I'd totally cough up the $1000 just to see what happens. Oh well! Interesting idea.

[RyToast1]

Posted: 9/15/10 at 1:38pm

Isn't this the idea of non-profit theatre?

[regnad kcin]

Posted: 9/15/10 at 2:08pm

BrianS, you are correct; since the website states that the offering is exempt from SEC registration, the shares in the LLC must fall under one of the exemptions. Those exemptions generally require that the investors be accredited (which means someone who has a lot of money) or sophisticated (sufficeiently knowledgeable to evaluate the risks). I guess Ken will go through some kind of qualification screening process.

[backwoodsbarbie]

Posted: 9/15/10 at 2:13pm

Hypothetically speaking, if this were to be a success and win a TONY for best revival, then who would accept the award? Every single "producer"?

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 9/15/10 at 2:38pm

If it was only $100 I would totally do it, but I don't have $1000.

[CandiceElyse]

Posted: 9/15/10 at 2:47pm

same, i would love to do this, but i just dont have 1000 bucks to throw around. i also agree with the above question of is Godspell the right show to try this out with? I think it would work much better with a musical like say, My Fair Lady, or Annie (if the upcoming revival hadnt already been announced), or something that is more treasured by the general public.

[alliez92092]

Posted: 9/15/10 at 2:47pm

Ken would probably be the one to accept it, but the number of people rushing to the stage would be insane.

[regnad kcin]

Posted: 9/15/10 at 2:52pm

I'm figuring about 2,000 investors. My guess is that there will be a lottery to pick the 20 or so of the 2,000 invited to the Tony Awards.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 9/15/10 at 2:57pm

You have to figure that the TONYS aren't being held at Radio City so I'm gonna guess the amount of producers allowed will be cut down too.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 9/15/10 at 2:59pm

There is a difference between an investor and a producer. The people participating in this would be investors with no input what so ever in the day to day operation of the production like a producer would have.

Posted: 9/15/10 at 3:08pm

Godspell is a massively popular and well-known show.

[tazber]

Posted: 9/15/10 at 3:41pm

Well other than billing you're not going to get a return so it doesn't really seem like you'd be an investor in the legal sense.

Someone earlier mentioned it as a donation, which I think is more accurate.

But "investor" sounds way better.

Kudos for trying something new. Very interested to see how it works.

[Brick]

Posted: 9/15/10 at 3:51pm

"Isn't this the idea of non-profit theatre?"

Well, not if you'll get a return on your investment. Big difference. But otherwise, similar model.

[PRFRMR20]

Posted: 9/15/10 at 3:54pm

Tazber not sure if you are saying that "you're not going to get a return" becuase of the chance of the show recouping or because you believe this is solely a donation...

But, according to Ken's blog:
"Investment in the Godspell LLC involves a high degree of risk, and investors should not purchase Units unless they can afford to lose their entire investment. Please see "Risk Factors" beginning on page 14 of the Offering Circular to read about important risks that prospective investors should consider before purchasing units."

So it appears to truly be an investment - whether you will get a return from the show's profit is another question.

[regnad kcin]

Posted: 9/15/10 at 4:19pm

It's like gambling in Vegas -- you do it knowing that you're more likely to lose than to win, but the ride is fun.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 9/15/10 at 4:27pm

I think its an interesting concept

[averagebwaynut]

Posted: 9/15/10 at 4:42pm

I agree that it is an interesting concept.

Not being terribly familiar with the Securities Laws, I do wonder what happens if the SEC ultimately determines that it is not subject to the exemption(s) that are referred to in the legalese. That is, if it is deemed to be a public offering of sorts, is it still possible to prevent the shareholders from having a vote that could overrule the will of the lead producer.

Or, perhaps, is Ken planning on only offer $2,499,000 of the capitalization to the "crowd" and financing $2,501,000 in some other fashion that allows him to maintain a majority voting interest overall, even if the investors are shareholders and get a vote.

In truth, it would be kinda interesting if he was required to have an annual shareholders meeting for a Broadway show -- I'd enjoy being a fly on the wall at that! :)

[wonkit]

Posted: 9/15/10 at 8:49pm

Someone needs to tell this guy that his web-blog probably just blew his exemption because it constitutes an offering to the general public.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 9/15/10 at 11:04pm

Oh no! If Godspell wins a Tony Award, they'll have to hold The Tonys at the Javits Center to fit all the "producers". Maybe someone can recycle Elaine Stritch's joke about a Greek chorus behind her.