HONEYMOON IN VEGAS struggling on Broadway- Page 31

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 10:42am

Tony Danza is the right age. He's supposed to be older. His tap dancing is fine, not super impressive.

Amen, dramamama.

[Phillypinto]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 10:54am

"The carcass is PhillyPinto. Nothing more."

how am i a carcass? Please explain this

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 11:02am

No, figure it out.

[brdwydreamer]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 11:10am

Thanks LoveGreatVocals, I would've never figured it out had it not been for your post. :)

Peeeeersonally, I don't find it such a mystery as to how or why the show is still open. How is it open, some investors have a lot a lot a lot of money. Why is it still open? Some investors must really love the show that they're willing to pay for the performances.

I also don't really see it as LITERALLY throwing money down the drain. They're throwing money at everyone that's working hard to put up this show. And if they really have THAT much money to give every week, then heck, knock your-self out. After all, there's people out there bidding over $60,000 for a bag of air from Kanye's concert...

And the producers cannot be so blind as to see what us 'outsiders' see. But if they have investors willing to keep it open, why would they stop them?

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 11:40am

"And the producers cannot be so blind as to see what us 'outsiders' see. But if they have investors willing to keep it open, why would they stop them?"

I think you're confused. It's the lead producers who are keeping it open.

[Phillypinto]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 11:42am

Listen to neonlights. He knows everything

[brdwydreamer]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 11:45am

'I think you're confused. It's the lead producers who are keeping it open. '

No I understand, I just don't really think every lead producer in the show is giving their money to keep it open. It could all be Danza. It could all be the Richs'. It could all be from a lead producer's rich uncle. Who knows? All we know is there's money coming from someone who has a lot of it and really enjoys the show.

[LoveGreatVocals]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 11:51am

A majority of the people/groups who put up money for a show are no longer "producers" in the traditional definition. They have no input into any artistic decisions. They used to always be called "angels" not producers, and did not get listed in the PlayBill or anywhere else.

PhillyPinto, did you keep the PlayBill? How many producers are listed? Just curious.

I've read that you can be a "producer" for some shows for as little as $5000. That gets you into the game, a few free tickets, entrance into some parties you would otherwise not be allowed to attend, and, if the show gets a Tony nomination, even if it has no chance of winning the Tony, you can self-promote that you're a Tony Award nominated producer. For some, it's a pure vanity endeavor. They'd spend more on a family vacation than what they invested in the show. And, they can write off losses if they don't recoup anything from the show.

Yes, for many of the less-than-major producers, it's a love of the arts investment. But, not for all. For some, it's no different than any other venture capitral investment in a start-up company; win some, lose some, losses are capped.

[ggersten]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 11:56am

IBDB lists the producers as:

Produced by Dena Hammerstein, Roy Gabay, Rich Entertainment Group, Dan Farah, Metro Card, King's Leaves, Dan Frishwasser, Leslie Greif/Thom Beers, Susan Dietz & Lenny Beer, Howard Hoffman/Anna Czekaj, Important Musicals, Sharon Karmazin, L.G. Scott and Martin Markinson; Produced in association with Ken Greiner/Ruth Hendel, Krauss Freitag/Boyle Koenigsberg, Rick Steiner/Bell-Staton Group, Pam Pariseau and Paper Mill Playhouse (Mark S. Hoebee, Producing Artistic Director; Todd Schmidt, Managing Director); Associate produced by David Goldyn

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 11:58am

This is the kind of thing Patrick Healy would be all over. I miss him already.

[temms]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 12:07pm

Not everyone who invests is listed as a producer. A lot of those producers listed assembled money from other people and packaged it together to get perks like their name above the title and a right to buy a Tony if the show wins one, etc.

I imagine the investors have written off their money as lost at this point. So at this point, they're not sinking anything more into it, they're not getting anything back, so why not keep it going if someone else is paying for it? Maybe they really will get that nomination and they'll be able to claim that they invested in a Tony-nominated show. No additional loss for them, so why not hang on?

The question is - who is on the hook for the priority loans the show has taken out to keep running? The investors are only liable to the amount of their investment; any additional loans taken out get paid back before the original investors, but who is responsible for those? Can they just declare bankruptcy and walk away? I'm genuinely curious.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 12:13pm

The last intel we had was from Riedel's column:

"Lead producer Dena Hammerstein has, I’m told, been muscled aside by Dan Farah, Danza’s manager and a co-producer of the show.

Farah’s calling the shots."

and nothing since then

[LoveGreatVocals]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 12:27pm

Great comment.

No, they do not declare bankruptcy unless they formed a company for the sole purpose of investing in this show and the company cannot pay its bills when due and/or its liabilities exceed its assets and it cannot pay its debts. Unlikely. Just writing off the loss is good enough. Gets a bit complicated; you can form many companies, and try to isolate them all from each other in case some become legally bankrupt and others are profitable; but it's not always that easy. Legally, common control and piercing the corporate veil can doom you if you try to segregate.

I did work for one of the listed producers last year, and investing in Broadway is a minor part of his overall private equity and venture capital investments. But, a great PR and vanity thing. Even if there is a love for the arts.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 1:01pm

A few clarifications.

1. Temms basically has it right.

2. You cannot get a producer credit based on $5k. More like a 6 figure threshold.

3. The priority loans are coming from some (insane) person(s), presumably Danza and/or his "people." They are personally on the hook for this money, but it is highly unlikely it has or will bankrupt them. An investor in the show has no liability beyond the investment, and whether in corporate form or not, there is no basis for bankruptcy nor would it serve any purpose. No third party is going to loan unsecured money to an investment entity for a show without a personal guarantee, which effectively means the individual(s) forming the corporation would be at risk (and in this case that risk is virtually unavoidable).

[Phillypinto]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 1:04pm

6 MORE WEEKS TIL THE TONY NOMINATIONS!

[LoveGreatVocals]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 1:50pm

And, if this show gets a Best Musical nomination, then there is a dearth of musicals in the mix, and something seriously wrong with the nominating process.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 1:51pm

^ Nice. You finally learned how to post in threads properly?

Also, that's an adorable opinion from someone who hasn't even seen the show.
Updated On: 3/17/15 at 01:51 PM

[goldenboy]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 1:56pm

I think it will get a best musical nomination. Many in the biz including myself love the show. Heck it's Sondheim's favorite new show. It's a throwback to the fun and spectacle that Broadway once was.

[brdwydreamer]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 1:57pm

"^ Nice. You finally learned how to post in threads properly? "

Why are people so rude for uncalled reasons?! Geez. Baffles me.

I will second that you cannot judge if a show should or shouldn't get nominated if you've never seen it. That annoys me too. Next to unnecessarily rude comments.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 2:00pm

The "Sondheim's favorite new show" comment was because there are literally no other new musicals open.

[Phillypinto]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 2:00pm

I also think this show will be nominated for Best Musical, especially if they are still running, which I'm sure they will be. And there are a lot of people who like this show. It seems like most people saying bad things about the show just hate the fact that its still open.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 2:02pm

Agreed, Goldenboy. I'm definitely not ruling out a Best Musical nomination. If garbage like Leap of Faith can get a nomination, or heck, even a terrible show like Memphis winning the award....then Honeymoon definitely has a shot at a nomination.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 2:04pm

I also think its hard to determine whether a show will be nominated without seeing all the competition. Yes, it wouldn't be suprising if they did keep it open at this point. Remember, no one but you said what they WOULD do, only what they thought they SHOULD do.

A nomination is not likely to save any show, a win doesn't always do it.

[Phillypinto]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 2:05pm

"Why are people so rude for uncalled reasons?! Geez. Baffles me."

and yet you have done it many times in the 10 days you have been here. Baffles me.

Updated On: 3/17/15 at 02:05 PM

[goldenboy]

Posted: 3/17/15 at 2:06pm

Even though some of these are not open yet, I predict the following will be
nominated for best musical

The Visit
Finding Neverland
Something Rotten
Fun Home
and
Honeymoon in Vegas