A Kickstart to Broadway?- Page 2

[ahamilton]

Posted: 8/24/12 at 12:31pm

Thanks for your comments, so let me make a few remarks. You say,
"A better campaign, in general, would be to fund a production; an actual, concrete, production."

I agree wholeheartedly with the suggestion, but the economics don't work out. The cast of OH, JOHNNY is at a minimum of ten. To do a showcase production would cost $45,000 at least, at the end of the showcase, you have nothing. Perhaps a few reviews, but the show is again a script and score on paper. We have the reviews and we have a demo recording. Is recording ten more songs going to make someone fork over $10,000 for a share in a show. OH, JOHNNY was done in a showcase with a cast of thirteen. But that was in the days when theatre costs were low.

An Off Broadway production is impossible. The limit of the economics is for a maximum cast of five. It is not so much the salaries, but the pension, welfare, unemployment tax, insurance, etc, that make only small cast shows viable.
Plus, hit Off-Broadway shows do not pay off as much as Broadway shows and it is harder to get an audience. Broadway shows come with built-audiences that will see every show and publicity is easier. It is much more difficult to have a sustained off-Broadway show.

Saying that this is not "producing anything of substance" is not exactly correct. Before any Broadway show can be produced someone (producer & general manager) have to sit down and decide what the show is going to cost. That is the absolute first step. There must be a reputable general manager, or nothing is going nowhere. Investors of any knowledge or substance do not trust producers as much as they trust the general managers to keep the books, and be prudent in the business affairs.

Second, based on the budget, a legal document can be drawn up. At that point, other investors/producers/organizations might come into participate.

These steps are not free. That is what "Front Money" is for.

Note that One For My Baby has raised $60,000 through Kickstarter for a workshop production. But what if no one bites? That money is also totally lost. For a producer to go ahead with that he would have to make the Front Money investment of thousands of dollars before anyone could invest a dime.

There is no easy way to do this, but I don't see that doing another Showcase as useful, an Off Broadway production is not financially viable, and a full cast recording would not convince anyone over a the demo songs we have. The only option I see is raising the Front Money and putting the proposition together. At that point, it may be easier to get substantial producers involved.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to write the note.

paul streitz
co-writer and producer