Baci cancels many touring shows

[tazber]

Posted: 2/21/07 at 9:32am

I was so excited to see Dirty Rotten Scoundrels tommorrow night and then I saw this article. Bummer. Ticketmaster did refund my $$ though.
http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=119857&ran=203142&tref=y

[philcrosby]

Posted: 2/21/07 at 12:34pm

They cancelled the touring SWEET CHARITY in Richmond because of "low ticket sales" even though they never advertised it here! Something fishy is going on with them, definitely.

[AnothaPartofMe]

Posted: 2/21/07 at 1:19pm

I may wrong, but I thought SWEET CHARITY was NETworks with Molly Ringwald.

[morosco]

Posted: 2/21/07 at 2:18pm

Rumor has it that Broadway Across America (Live Nation) is eager to present a Broadway series in both Richmond and Norfolk. Looks like BACI's failures might be a good opportunity for them.

[morosco]

Posted: 2/21/07 at 2:20pm

"I may wrong, but I thought SWEET CHARITY was NETworks with Molly Ringwald."

NETworks is the producer of the show. BACI was the promoter of the run of the show in Richmond.

[FeelingElectric]

Posted: 2/21/07 at 4:59pm

Baltimore's Lyric Opera House may be the worst example of this. Casablanca,On Golden Pond, Aida, and Cabaret have all been canceled. I Can't Stop Loving You will likely be cancelled soon, leaving Jesus Christ Superstar as the only show of the Lyric's season to actually play (Rent also played, but it was not part of the official season.).

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 2/27/07 at 1:27am

Times-Dispatch article
click

[tazber]

Posted: 2/27/07 at 11:25am

thanks for the link Lizzie.
FeelingElectric, i so commiserate with you. Nothing worse than getting all excited to see a show and have it cxled a day before.

[philcrosby]

Posted: 2/27/07 at 11:33am

Things seem to be getting worse in Richmond for the Baci tours ... at least the paper is on it.


Baci Subscribers Worried About Refunds

[morosco]

Posted: 2/27/07 at 2:52pm

Cabaret is supposed to open in Richmond on 3/6 and it's not on sale yet for single tickets. Not a good sign.

[folkyboy]

Posted: 2/27/07 at 2:57pm

for a second there i thought this was THE WHOLE TOUR but now i see it's just your area. i'm seeing DRS next week and you had me a bit worried.

thread jack: does anyone know who is doing the Man of La Mancha tour?

[philcrosby]

Posted: 2/27/07 at 3:03pm

More reports about the cancellation of DRS in Norfolk


Fox News Story

[FeelingElectric]

Posted: 2/27/07 at 5:40pm

It's official, I Can't Stop Loving You has just been cancelled in Baltimore. That means that the entire sesason schedule here has been scrapped (JCS is a subscriber option). I am so happy I did not purchase a subscription at the Lyric, deciding instead to get one with BAA at the Hippodrome.


‘Ray Charles’ out at Lyric

[bwaydoc]

Posted: 2/27/07 at 9:22pm

Does anyone know if BACI has anything to do with the Warner Theatre in DC? I know they've cancelled several shows over the past several months and was wondering if it was related.

[morosco]

Posted: 2/27/07 at 9:46pm

"Does anyone know if BACI has anything to do with the Warner Theatre in DC?"

BACI books and promotes many of the thearical presentations there.

[philcrosby]

Posted: 3/5/07 at 1:10pm

And BACI has officially announced that a CABARET tour will not open in Richmond on Tuesday as scheduled. No refunds are happening in Richmond, Norfolk or Baltimore and apparently the Maryland attorney generals' office is primed to take action.

[morosco]

Posted: 3/5/07 at 1:22pm

What a MESS!

[Gpvegas]

Posted: 3/5/07 at 1:47pm

I have a question about the refunds. Did they refund you the ticketmaster fees?

If not that is wrong!!! Since they cancelled, they should be responsible for paying ticketmaster the fees.

[NJgirl]

Posted: 3/5/07 at 1:54pm

Yes, they do have shows in DC...bc they cancelled Caberet and I was planning on going to the show on my visit to DC in a few weeks. Good thing DOUBT is at the National theater as I can at least see something....

[keen on kean]

Posted: 3/5/07 at 3:02pm

Someone should suggest that the Maryland state Attorney General look into this. Can anyone spell Ponzi scheme?

[AnothaPartofMe]

Posted: 3/5/07 at 8:20pm

They've had it coming for awhile... when FOREVER TANGO played Broadway, BACI got a huge boost in funding because of their Broadway credit. A friend was in HEDWIG produced by BACI - it closed after two cities, having initially booked about a dozen places.

[JasonM12480]

Posted: 3/8/07 at 3:16pm

Interesting (and pretty depressing) article from my hometown of Richmond:

http://www.richmond.com/news/output.aspx?Article_ID=4609652&Vertical_ID=127&tier=1&position=1

A Chorus Line of Complaints
The imploding of Broadway Under the Stars' season has Richmond ticket holders singing the blues.

Not too long ago, the Broadway Under the Stars performance series brought memorable characters and catchy song and dance numbers to Richmond's Landmark Theater. This week, however, the theatre sits dark when it should have been alive with music, and Broadway Under the Stars is more likely to be associated with frustration and anger than hummable tunes.

The 2006-2007 Broadway Under the Stars season, which is administered by Baltimore-based Baci Management, has been cut short, with three of its five shows cancelled. Many season ticketholders, who shelled out $180 to $287 for the five-show series subscription last spring, have been unable to secure refunds from Baci, whose office did not return calls to Richmond.com.

Thirteen complaints against Baci Management, which has been putting on shows at the Landmark since 1988, have been filed with the Virginia Attorney General's office, and 16 have been filed with the Office of Consumer Affairs, which serves as Virginia's central clearinghouse for consumer complaints.

The Baltimore Sun has also reported that more than 30 lawsuits, some for unpaid bills, have been filed in Maryland against Nicolas Litrenta, Baci's president, and his companies over the past five years.

Virginia's Office of Consumer Affairs is currently investigating the alleged violations against Baci, although it also seems to be having trouble reaching the company's management.

"From what I understand they have not been able to get in touch with Baci at this point," said Marion Horsley, a spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which oversees the Office of Consumer Affairs.

When theatergoers bought a subscription to the 2006-2007 series last spring, they were expecting to see "Aida," Sweet Charity," "Casablanca," "Cabaret" and "I Can't Stop Living You," along with subscriber options "Rent" and "Cats."

While "Aida" went on as scheduled last October, the stage version of the movie "Casablanca," which never went on tour at all, was replaced with "Tony n' Tina's Wedding" in January. "Sweet Charity" was cancelled within days of the performance, reportedly due to low ticket sales, and "Rent" and "Cats" have both been cut as well.

Now, with the recent cancellations of "Cabaret," which was set to run this week, and "I Can't Stop Loving You," the five-show subscription series has dwindled down to two – and left many subscribers wondering if they'll ever get their money back.

And not just the subscribers. Richmond.com, for example, is still awaiting payment on more than $14,000 worth of advertising provided to Broadway Under the Stars.

The city of Richmond also loses out when shows don't make it to town, as the rental fees for the Landmark Theater, which are supposed to be paid for at the time of the event, go unpaid. So, while the city keeps the $5,000 deposit Baci Management put down for this week's "Cabaret" run, for example, it loses $13,750 in rental fees, not to mention potential tax revenue in restaurants, hotels, parking, etc.

The city of Richmond's Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities has maintained a contract with Baci Management on a year-to-year basis. Though the city is responsible for renting the building, city spokesman Linwood Norman emphasized that it is not responsible for the operation of the entertainment.

"We have no explanation either," he said. "This is to be explained by the Baci Management, Inc."

Norman said the city would take the current situation into consideration when determining future contracts. However, the city currently is not undergoing negotiations for the 2007-2008 Broadway season. According to Joel Katz, who served as executive director of the Carpenter Center from 1995 to 2005, this might be a problem.

"There are a dozen other companies that could provide high-quality services," said Katz. "The problem is that it's mid-March and the booking season for the next Broadway season is well over, so somebody's going to have to jump in at the last minute if Richmond is going to have any kind of Broadway offerings at all."

Performing space has been limited within Richmond since the Carpenter Center and its 2,000-plus seats closed in January of '05. The renovated and expanded space, originally slated for completion this year, is now scheduled to open in 2009 as Richmond CenterStage.

Richmond subscribers are actually faring better than others dealing with Baci Management. Baltimore's Lyric Opera House and Washington D.C.'s Warner Theatre both had their entire seasons called off, while Norfolk's Chrysler Theatre seems destined for the same conclusion, with three of its season performances cancelled or postponed and no word on the remaining two shows.

While the Virginia Pilot reported Wednesday that city officials in Norfolk are planning on giving partial reimbursements to season ticket holders, Norman said Richmond is not planning on following suit.

"Not at this time," he said. "This is strictly between Baci and Ticketmaster and the subscribers."

According to Katz, last-minute theatre cancellations are not common occurrences within the industry.

"It is extremely uncommon," he said. "As I understand the business, the show should be under contract before tickets are put on sale."

This was not always the case with Baci, who presented shows at the Carpenter Center for over a decade.

"We had shows that were sponsored by Baci come to town with unfinished contracts, which made it difficult for the Carpenter Center staff to provide services, not knowing what was being paid for by Baci," he said. "We had some instances of shows being promised and then cancelled, which was a regular thing at the Landmark Theater as well."

Katz remembers one show in the late '90s where the cast and crew never showed up.

"[It was] 'Cheating on God's Time,' which was a gospel play. The show was promised, the opening night audience was seated and the set and the majority of the actors had never shown up," he said. "One of the actors came out and tried to calm the crowd, saying the truck was caught in a tornado. The reality was there was no show. It was very difficult for customers to get their money back."

Katz also recalled receiving calls from customers who called the Carpenter Center wondering why they hadn't received their tickets months after paying for their subscriptions. When Baci's contract was up in 2002, Katz decided not to renew.

"We no longer cared to be associated with the company because of the quality of the shows and the lack of customer service," he said.

Though Katz' displeasure with Baci Management is now being echoed by thousands of Broadway under the Stars ticket subscribers, a couple local theater companies are hoping to temper the sour taste with a sweet deal.

Barksdale Theatre and Theatre IV are offering each Broadway Under the Stars season ticket holder a ticket to one of their upcoming shows.

"Like anybody else, we were reading in the newspaper wondering what the heck is going on," said Judi Crenshaw, the publicist for both theatres. "And as we read and see those frustrations, it makes us frustrated. When a theater goes out of business or leaves people high and dry, it's bad for the whole industry; it's bad for theater in general.

"So we though, we can't do anything to fix that situation, but we can try to keep people turned on to professional theater that's already here."

The offer is being extended on an "as available" basis for performances of "Brooklyn Boy," "Intimate Apparel" and "Into the Woods" at Willow Lawn; "Smoke on the Mountain," "The Odd Couple" and "Deathtrap" at Hanover Tavern; "The Wizard of Oz" at the Empire Theatre and "Disney's High School Musical," a co-production of Barksdale Theatre and Steward School.

As of Wednesday, about 50 people had taken advantage of the offer, though box office manager Joy Ross said they were expecting "hundreds" of takers, now that the word has started spreading.

"All we can do is try and provide what we have, which are theater tickets," said Crenshaw. "It's sort of a goodwill thing that you figure will be worth it in the long run. Anytime you can get someone in a theatre seat and get them to realize the quality of professional theater that's already here, that's a good thing."