OBC Ragtime Mystery....

[wendilin622]

Posted: 2/24/10 at 3:54pm

Hey all,
So as I am in the process of moving I came across both an old Ragtime "Showbill" and a ticket stub from March 10, 1999. My ticket stub says that the theatre was called "The Ford Center for Performing Arts" at 214 w. 43rd street, nyc. My "Showbill" also has the theatre name as the "Ford Center for the Performing Arts". Can anyone tell me what I'm looking at exactly? I know I saw the show on Bway in 8th grade (and I was in 8th grade in 1999) and on a tour during its first run. However, the theatre where I saw the tour would not have had such an elaborate program.
Sarah was played by LaChanze....if that helps anyone.

Thanks in advance!

[wdwfreak]

Posted: 2/24/10 at 3:57pm

I believe that was the old name for te current Hilton Theatre. I may be mistaken, but I am pretty sure.

[tamra2]

Posted: 2/24/10 at 4:06pm

^ you're right... trusty ibdb to the rescue
http://ibdb.com/venue.php?id=1156

[wendilin622]

Posted: 2/24/10 at 4:11pm

I just wikipedia'ed the difference between a showbill and playbill, so who knows how accurate it is, but at least it gave me a story. I didn't realize Ragtime ran for almost 2 years...I thought it was a lot shorter than that.

[roseaddams]

Posted: 2/24/10 at 4:15pm

The wikipedia entry is basically right. A Showbill is a Playbill that producers have to pay for, so that they can control the content. Disney does this so they can prohibit alcohol and tobacco advertisements.

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/112014-ASK-PLAYBILLCOM-Playbill-and-Showbill

[CapnHook]

Posted: 2/24/10 at 4:17pm

Correct -- it was indeed the Ford Center for the Performing Arts. The last show to play at the theatre before Ford dropped sponsorship was the 42nd STREET revival. After that, the Hilton became a sponsor and thus the theatre was renamed.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/24/10 at 4:34pm

Thanks, roseadams, I never knew the differences between Showbill and Playbill.

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 2/24/10 at 4:45pm

ACTUALLY

La Chanze also did the role in Vancouver, BC. That venue at the time was also named Ford Center for the Performing Arts.

Could that be where you saw it?

Updated On: 2/24/10 at 04:45 PM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/24/10 at 4:48pm

She's listed as taking over the role (but no dates) on B'way on imbd and it did indeed open at the Ford Center.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 2/24/10 at 4:49pm

Mildred, the OP said that the ticket stub lists the address as New York City. Not Vancouver.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 2/24/10 at 5:05pm

"La Chanze also did the role in Vancouver, BC. That venue at the time was also named Ford Center for the Performing Arts."

She also opened the Chicago production at, you guessed it, the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre.

[wendilin622]

Posted: 2/24/10 at 5:07pm

No I've definitely never been to Vancouver before lol...
Thanks for all the responses. I'm excited I found this! Now if only I could find my Producers playbill from when I saw it in previews...

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/24/10 at 5:12pm

I never realized that the original ran for two years!

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 2/25/10 at 2:09am

Garth Drabinsky sold the naming rights to 4 theatres to Ford around the time he launched RAGTIME. That is why the theatres in Vancouver, Toronto, Chicago and New York were all Ford Centres for the Performing Arts.

Unfortunately the deal was between Garth and Ford (obviously he pocketed the cash) and when Livent went into receivership, the Ford Motor Company no longer had any claim to the name even though they had paid for multiple years. It was just one of many deals he cooked up (along with the books.)

And yes, the original Broadway production of RAGTIME ran 861 performances (108 weeks) and grossed $79.9 million. Even it it's final year the average attendance was 87.93%. Yet Ahrens and Flaherty claim many weeks they received no royalties, and when the show closed Variety reported it had still not paid off its reported $14 million. I think we all know where all that money went. Under normal circumstances, the show would have been declared a hit and probably run even longer.

It was this thinking that helped lead to the recent revival, which got even better reviews and did no business. Some blamed the economy, others blamed the production but for whatever reason no one has ever made money from RAGTIME except for Garth Drabinsky.

[mallardo]

Posted: 2/25/10 at 11:45am

42nd Street also had a Showbill as opposed to a Playbill. Did it go with the theatre?

[Jon]

Posted: 2/25/10 at 12:27pm

The Ford Motor Co. was a major financial participant in Livent, Garth Drabinsky's company. That's why the theatres Ragtime played at in Toronto, NYC, Chicago and Vancouver were all called "Ford Center".

"Showbill" was used because "Playbill" contained ads for General Motors and othjer auto companies. The "Showbill" used for Ragtime only had Ford ads.