AHHHHH LOOOOL

[Amneris]

Posted: 11/24/03 at 8:17pm

On ABC right now they are doing a story about film stars on bway and the weisslers were interviewed / ben brantley and asked WHY did they cast Melanie in Chicago even though she was untalented lol... and they showed forbidden bways spoof making fun of them lol.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 11/24/03 at 8:19pm

ha ha ha ha ha The Wiesslers DO need to be put in their place... FAR away from a Broadway theatre

[Theatreboy33]

Posted: 11/24/03 at 8:24pm

thats special was too short and uninteresting. and those producers? ughhhhhhh. they really gave a bleak outlook for broadway theatre. oh well. i guess its so long to the broadway star...

[krisjoseph]

Posted: 11/25/03 at 10:17am

In my estimation, there are few Broadway producers nowadays who produce because they love the theatre. There are two agendas at work: the desire to create meaningful theatre (define meaningful however you want: audience appeal, or poignant, or challenging, or some combination of those or others...), versus the desire to make a profit from theatre. I gurantee you that the bleak outlook is coming from producers in the latter category.

If you invest as much LOVE into producing a show as you do MONEY, the result is often fantastic. Passion poured into creating and presenting theatre is infectious for an audience; it's addictive. When the right mix is there, THEATRE can be financially successful. When you start hedging your bets and making decisions based on what makes the biggest "dollar impact" instead of the biggest "emotional impact", you start creating the kind of mismanaged dreck that we all know is all over Broadway right now.

The benefits a thriving arts community has on a local community are well-known. Many people estimate a 4-to-1 return on investment when you look at the BIG PICTURE: people don't just go to theatre.. they travel, they stay in a hotel, they go out for dinner, they check out other attractions. Everybody benefits a little bit when the effect is viewed on that scale; most producers, however, would rather have a few people benefit a lot.

In my opinion, the focus is misplaced. When I produce a piece of theatre, I ask myself at every step of the way if the decisions I'm making are for the benefit of the audience. When I start cutting corners to save MY money (or my investors' money), or to increase my chances of making back MY money, I know I'm on the wrong track, entirely. That doesn't mean I'm reckless -- there's a balance -- but you get the point. Theatre is something you create for other people, not for yourself. Most theatre producers would be wise to read, digest, and LIVE that statement.

If you want to make money, invest in biotech. Theatre production is, IMHO, the realm of the philanthropist... not the corporate suit. When a producer starts waxing "bleak", it's time to get out of the game. Buy a coffee shop and make a mint that way, on the backs of the REAL, passionate producers whose break-even shows are creating business for you.

[Madame X]

Posted: 11/25/03 at 11:37am

So what was the Weissler's answer? LOL...