Livent Scorecard

In what way did Livent engage in anal sex (which is what that euphemism "Hershey Highway" stands for?) Do you mean "cooking the books" rather than "engaging in hot Greek love?"

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Could you give us your source on which these facts are based?

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I believe Kiss of the Spider Woman lost money.

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Additionally:
Candide - critically and financially unsuccessful
Barrymore - a hit
Show Boat - Critical success; did not fully recoup its cost

Plus Livent had the Canadian production rights to several shows like Phantom and Sunset Blvd. and I don't know whether they made back their costs or not.

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did KISS even lose money once Vanessa went in?

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There are two breakeven figures when it comes to shows:

Weekly - a show has to gross a certain dollar amount to meet its weekly playing expenses: rent, salaries, royalties, etc.

Capitalization - which is the amount the show cost to open. Any monies over and above the weekly nut is operating profit and goes toward paying off the show's capitalization and once it is paid off, those monies become profits.

Kiss of the Spider Woman played mostly profitable weeks, but there were not enough weekly operating profits to cumulatively pay back the show's capitalization even after 2+ years. It is possible to play months and months at a weekly profit and still close at a loss. In fact it seems to be the norm these days.

Also Livent had a creative accounting scheme that while interesting and different was transparently a case of mis-stating assets. A show was not written off until it had closed for good. I wish I understood it enough to be able to recount the practices, but I can't.

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