Is Jujamcyn Selling Its Theatres to ATG?

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 1/19/23 at 11:29am

Rumor reported in the New York Post:

"Broadway’s moving. At least its theaters are. Rumor around that Jujamcyn’s St. James, Walter Kerr, August Wilson, Eugene O’Neill playing award winners 'Moulin Rouge,' 'Book of Mormon,' 'Hadestown' being sold to the Ambassador Theatre Group, which owns the Lyric ('Harry Potter’s' there) and Hudson, which had 'Death of a Salesman.'

Something like $800 million changed hands — or stages."

https://nypost.com/2023/01/17/gorgeous-gina-lollobrigida-leaves-behind-a-lasting-legacy/

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 1/19/23 at 11:41am

Interesting that Jordan Roth would want to sell. I mean, you don't need to own a theatre to produce a show, but it sure makes it easier. 

Also, I'm going to assume it was an oversight that the article didn't mention the Al Hirschfeld, or Funny Girl, but mentioned the August Wilson and Moulin Rouge.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/19/23 at 12:12pm

Iiiiiinteresting. If there's validity to this, we should learn more soon...though it is Cindy Adams, so should be taken with a grain of salt.

Being a landlord can be a tough gig –– even with hits as Jujamcyn has had –– and Jordan may feel that he prefers to be in a creative producing atmosphere as he approaches age 50. Or, it may mean that Jujamcyn has had losses substantial enough that Jordan and his father (Steve Roth, age 82, who put up the money for Jordan to buy 50% in 2009, and then the majority of shares in 2013) wants to shore up finances.

I'm kind of surprised Vornado (Steve Roth's real estate company) has never folded Jujamcyn into its existing portfolio, which might have cut down on some expenses related to staffing, operations, and HR, and offers a bit of a cushion for the theatrical side.

ATG is a good manager of theatres and obviously could benefit from this acquisition. If this happens, I'd love to see big facelifts for the August Wilson and St. James. Get rid of those pumpkin spice-colored plaster walls, please, and give us some Broadway glamor!!! And fix the Hirschfeld bathroom situation once MOULIN exits :) 

[saxpower]

Posted: 1/19/23 at 1:12pm

I just checked NYC's online parcel lookup for the Kerr and St. James and Jujamcyn is still listed as the owner.  Doesn't mean they aren't  being sold, just that nothing's been finalized.  The article made it sound like the money had already been paid, which would likely mean the transfer had occurred. 

[Smaxie]

Posted: 1/19/23 at 1:28pm

>If this happens, I'd love to see big facelifts for the August Wilson and St. James.<

Just noting that the August Wilson HAS been restored. At some point, the original interior was stripped to the walls and for much of the 1980s and 1990s, it was a dreary blackbox, with no ornamentation or character whatsoever. Francesca Russo, who has restored many of the Shubert and Jujamcyn theatres, did a recreation of the theatre's original Italian palazzo motif. The one thing it is missing from the original design were very large gobelin tapestries that hung on the sides of the interior (and prompted an opening night critic to remark, "the gobelins will get you if you don't watch out." You might not dig it, but it's a semblance of the theatre's original 1925 design.

Here is what the original interior looked like: 

And info from Francesca Russo's website about the restoration:

Francesca Russo - August Wilson Theatre

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 1/19/23 at 1:43pm

Damn, the lack of basic grammar in her column. Can Rupert Murdoch afford a Grammarly subscription?

I worry if they were sold to ATG. While they do an amazing job maintaining their spaces, their reliance on and heavy pushing of concessions worries me, especially since they don't let their ushers maintain audience behavior.

[JSquared2]

Posted: 1/19/23 at 1:45pm

everythingtaboo said: "Damn, the lack of basic grammar in her column. Can Rupert Murdoch afford a Grammarly subscription?

Please, the woman is barely continent -- and you expect her to have good grammar?

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/19/23 at 2:03pm

Yes, I am aware of the Wilson restoration (and some of the St. J work before FROZEN) –– I just don't personally dig the aesthetics of those theatres, even if they are recreations of the original look.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 1/19/23 at 2:51pm

I understand the need for light bars in the auditoriums of theaters but they're ugly. You would think that the enormosly creative minds on Broadway, they'd find ways to mask them. The Metropolitan Opera has done so.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/19/23 at 3:42pm

Dollypop said: "I understand the need for light bars in the auditoriums of theaters but they're ugly. You would think that the enormosly creative minds on Broadway, they'd find ways to mask them. The Metropolitan Opera has done so."

Do you have the same complaints about a visible orchestra pit?

I do think this is something that contributes to the theatrical nature of the performance and reminder that we are at a live show. Technology & design must evolve as the world evolves, and I think it's ok that the theatre owners have chosen not to adapt their venue designs to aesthetically cover up these things. A show needs to put lighting & sound equipment in the most convenient & appropriate spaces and shouldn't be limited by the venue trying to mask those things; light must come from so many different angles for an effective modern design. I suppose the Met being a Rep house and using very little sound reinforcement helps mask some of the equipment for those shows, and often less complex lighting design than a big Broadway musical.

The good news is when the lights go down and the show starts, nobody's paying attention to where the lighting or sound is coming from.

Updated On: 1/19/23 at 03:42 PM

[BETTY22]

Posted: 1/19/23 at 4:40pm

So rude.

Cindy was one of the first women ever in The New York Post newsroom.

She has broke hundreds of cover stories and exclusives over her many years. 

Shame on you. 

[uncageg]

Posted: 1/19/23 at 6:19pm

Only a thought because I don't know how it would all work.... My immediate thought after reading the post here that the theaters are still in their name, was that the other two big theater owners may have caught wind and if Jujamcyn is,in fact, looking to sell, they may have an interest in buying them also. 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 1/19/23 at 6:25pm

I thought it was pretty clear that this had not been finalized yet, even though she said money had "changed hands." If you could easily search online and find that ATG was the new owner, it wouldn't be a rumor.

[Melissa25]

Posted: 1/19/23 at 6:30pm

If this is true, then it does not bode well for SeatGeek who was just dropped by the Barclay Center.

Barclays Center Drops a New Ticket Vendor for Its Old One: Ticketmaster

[HogansHero]

Posted: 1/19/23 at 8:08pm

A few things.

1. As with buy a house, but multiplied many, many times over, real estate transactions do not happen on a dime. There are inspections, there are document reviews, there is due diligence, and on and on. 

2. Poor Cindy rarely knew very much about what she was talking about when she was in her heyday. No reason to think that has changed. Money changing hands may just be sloppy, or it may be that money passed from the buyer to an escrow agent. That this never occurred to some is mind-boggling. 

3. I think it is possible that Jordan is tired of the day in, day out aspect of running a theatre business. He may be ready to spend more time as a socialite and fashionista. He may also prefer producing to landlording. He will not have a problem getting theatres for what he wants to produce. 

4. I don't think having Vornado take title to the property is a part of the game plan, which is a probably very artful estate planning technique. 

5. I don't think this is about other landlords. 

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 2/14/23 at 8:33am

It's official!

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Ambassador-Theater-Group-is-Joining-Forces-With-Broadways-Jujamcyn-Theaters-20230214

[Jakeevan942]

Posted: 2/14/23 at 8:34am

Confirmed in the New York Times this morning. BWW Story below. I'm sure more details will come in the coming time.

BWW Story

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 2/14/23 at 8:40am

The thing I can't figure out from this article is what happens to the Jujamcyn brand and infrastructure. It talks a lot about them "joining forces," but also says that ATG is acquiring the theatres. 

Will the theatres remain Jujamcyn-branded theatres, but with ATG officially owning them or is the Jujamcyn brand dying? Will there be come of level of independence for them or will they be completely folded in? What staffing "redundancies" will there be? I assume there will be some, but I think the answers to my other questions could determine whether it's just a few or a total wipeout of their management staff. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/14/23 at 9:30am

If I had to GUESS:

1) Jujamcyn creative dept (Nicole Kastrinos) would transfer to the new entity since Jordan will be the Creative Director. That could mean farewell to Kristin Caskey at ATG, or maybe they find a new role for her.

2) A big consolidation of management, accounting, operations, HR, etc. with perhaps some Jujamcyn folks being laid off. But they might not be getting rid of THAT many people for now, since 5 theaters is a lot.

This is a vague announcement and I hope we’ll know more soon. Such as name, timeline, etc. 

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 2/14/23 at 9:56am

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "If I had to GUESS:

1) Jujamcyn creative dept (Nicole Kastrinos) would transfer to the new entity since Jordan will be the Creative Director. That could mean farewell to Kristin Caskey at ATG, or maybe they find a new role for her.

2) A big consolidation of management, accounting, operations, HR, etc. with perhaps some Jujamcyn folks being laid off. But they might not be getting rid of THAT many people for now, since 5 theaters is a lot.

This is a vague announcement and I hope we’ll know more soon. Such as name, timeline, etc."

After I posted my initial comment, I realized that it could go the other way too, as you suggested. The BWW article does mention the "expertise" from Jujamcyn being folded into ATG. That definitely doesn't sound like just Jordan. 

I'm also super curious about the ATG management structure. I really don't know anything. Do they have a team in New York that manages their Broadway and touring houses? If they don't, I wonder if this is a way to establish more local control for them. If that's the case, then maybe most of Jujamcyn people are folded in. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/14/23 at 10:07am

This site lists ATG’s 30-person US staff. Fairly robust, with more support & leadership coming from the UK —

https://www.lyricbroadway.com/about-us/our-team

Jujamcyn’s team is approx 45 people (excluding those who work for the individual theatres) —

https://www.jujamcyn.com/about-us/

[Det95]

Posted: 2/14/23 at 11:54am

I am not a fan of this at all. ATG brought my local touring house from Nederlander coming out of the pandemic, and ever since then my experience at the theatre has worsened. ATG pushes so many crinkly and crunchy snacks that are so distracting. The selling of soft pretzels in parchment paper specifically comes to mind. I know this comes off as entitled, but with the recent audience behavior this is just gonna add more and more distractions. It really is a shame they sold the Fisher Theatre, as it was the birthplace of the Nederlander Org.

[kdogg36]

Posted: 2/14/23 at 5:49pm

Det95 said: "The selling of soft pretzels in parchment paper specifically comes to mind."

They should drop the parchment and just hand it out in a napkin. That would be basically a maximally quiet snack, for those who can't go two or three hours without eating something. (Which admittedly is me at home, but not in a theater!)

[Robbie2]

Posted: 2/14/23 at 9:14pm

Jordan is simply tired and no longer has the desire of runing theatres under Jujamcyn is what I hear. Jujamcyn theatres will be become ATG. He'll probably just be a creative advisor and producer allowing him to sleep till noon so he can lead his priviledged life as a socialite - fashionista. He's not cut out for running Jujamcyn now in his life. 

Updated On: 2/14/23 at 09:14 PM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/14/23 at 9:46pm

Robbie2 said: "Jordan is simply tired and no longer has the desire of runing theatres under Jujamcyn is what I hear. Jujamcyn theatres will be become ATG. He'll probably just be a creative advisor and producer allowing him to sleep till noon so he can lead his priviledged life as a socialite - fashionista. He's not cut out for running Jujamcyn now in his life."

I don't think anyone questions this –– and who can blame him? Being a landlord can be a bum gig when the economics are as shaky as Broadway, especially after the tumultuous past few years. I bet he'll be thrilled to relinquish the day to day running, and focus on the creative & producing elements (and being the resident fashionisto, and being dad to a 6-year-old).