Odessa Texas Troubles - Anyone Know What's Going On?

[Rob]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 5:17pm

Does anyone have the skinny on this strange situation?

https://www.broadwayworld.com/blogs/viewblog.cfm?blogid=979

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 6:22pm

Ambitious twenty year old Texas kid who idolizes Broadway decides his hometown should be a theatre capital of the southwest.

Since hometown is a smalltown, with little theatrical savvy, he doesn't have a difficult time getting involved with the local theatre.

Comes up with a killer season featuring world class talent. Makes promises about salaries and contracts without really having any cash, but assures himself he'll have a few months to get it together.

Smalltown looks at the plan (which makes no sense fiscally) and decides it doesn't want to toss 2 million dollars in the garbage.

Ambitious kid, thus, is stuck with egg on his face for making promises he can't deliver on.

How's that for a scenario?

___________________________________

My personal feeling is Tony Georges is a kid who had good intentions. When I was 20, I was a lot more fearless (and a lot more stupid) then I am today. I truly believe he thought he could pull this off, as unrealistic as the plan clearly was.

Buckley and Friedman probably should have asked early on, where the cast and the musicians were coming from. This is Odessa. Not Dallas or Houston. Unless they were planning on importing the entire cast, I would think it would be safe to assume that despite the star talent, there would be a great many "amateurs" in the cast who make their living being housewives, mothers, hair dressers, etc.

I feel bad for Tony Georges, who despite being a bit of the guilty "Man behind the curtain" is also very, very young. This will be a pretty grave lesson for his young career.

[musicaltheatreman]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 6:33pm

so did and friedman back out when she found out that the other actors in the production were not professional actors???

[zbigner]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 10:43pm

The first 2 results on the page linked below are short articles from the Houston Press about the Odessa deal. The first one is after the cancellation, and the second one is from before. After you click on the first result, scroll down a little for the the Sweeny article.

I don't know how accurate the information is, but it doesn't paint a particularly nice picture of Betty Buckley.
Houston Press search results

[apdarcey]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 11:27pm

how old is georges?

[morosco]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 12:48am

Tony Georges

[morosco]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 12:51am

Recent article in Odessa's local paper

[morosco]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 12:55am

An article where Bernadette Peters' agent doesn't have nice things to say about the situation.


more from the press in Odessa Updated On: 7/17/05 at 12:55 AM

[BWAYboi_yes]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 12:56am

I know someone who was supposed to work on Sweeney at the Ector, an associate of Betty Buckley's. Betty is apparently threatening legal action against the theatre because they terminated her contract. This may be where the financial problems were started.

I don't know the real truth, but it seems likely that Betty did what Betty does, the show got scrapped, the young producer was throw back when Betty came at him with a lawsuit, and didn't have the money to buy out of it. I can't believe Betty would back out of the show herself, not after all the press associated with it.

Posted: 7/17/05 at 12:58am

I'm suprised you all know where Odessa is! I was just there today :)

with that being said: this is horrible. I thought we were finally going to have a sense of culture in west texas!

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 12:59am

Poor dear. Blacklisted in the industry at 20 as an unreliable producer. He needs to get the hell out of Odessa, go get a BFA somewhere, change his name and start over.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 1:01am

See, Margo, I believe he'll be working for some Broadway producer within weeks.

[Bret]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 1:04am

All I know is that I feel bad for the guy(or anyone who has to livein Odessa for that matter.). Not only has he ruined his future, he lives in Odessa.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 1:09am

Are the Weisslers hiring?

Sad thing is, if his last name were Nederlander, this would all just seem "cute" and a "youthful indiscretion."

[buffyactsing]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 1:09am

I doubt he's ruined his future...I think this whole thing will blow over in a few years (if not less). I think he'll be forgiven due to his tender age.

That said, assuming he didn't have all the funding there when he promised it, it wasn't a very smart thing to do.

[morosco]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 1:09am

Hopefully the problems stem simply from an inexperienced kid making stupid mistakes. Who knows? His ambition might take him places.
Updated On: 7/17/05 at 01:09 AM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 1:10am

And taking on Betty Buckley et al is something that causes agita for "producers" three times his age.

[apdarcey]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 1:14am

my question is how did a 20 year old book bernadette peters, betty buckley, shurler hensley, maria friedman and daisy egan? 4 tony winners and an olivier award winner in one season? how did these performers sign up for this?

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 1:15am

My point exactly, ap. Someone is gonna snatch this boy up.

[BenIdIct]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 1:17am

not to mention jonathan tunick, and his sound designer steve kennedy

[apdarcey]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 1:19am

i just really don't understand at all how this worked. i mean, let alone doing both sweeney todd AND gypsy in one season. each of them on their own is a lot for a company to handle, and to try and do both in one season with the 4 afore-mentioned stars... how?

[BWAYboi_yes]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 1:22am

Maybe is was a masterful plan for attention. He certainly got ours.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 1:40am

Maybe he's Garth Drabinsky's nephew (and may end up with the same fate).

Is it just me or does this whole situation SCREAM out to be told in a book, play, musical .... ? A 20 year old theatre queen in desolate, going nowhere, Odessa Texas comes up with an idea to bring Broadway to him since he can't get to it. This miniature Max Bialystock/Harold Hill/Corky Sinclair somehow talks fast enough and convinces several of the biggest Broadway and West End stars in the world to come down to Odessa to perform. He's got no professional actors in his company, so he talks his aunt and other locals to be part of it. Contracts are signed, press releases go out, but midway through Act II it all falls apart because he can't raise the money. The shows are cancelled and his family, friends and neighbors are crushed because they so wanted to see THEATRE, real theatre in their lives in that otherwise depressing community. And they all hate him and some have lost a lot of money because of his bumbling. What is he to do?

How does it end? Does he get the towns folk to rally around him and put on their own show that will be JUST as good -- if not BETTER -- as that fancy "big city" show he promised? Does he call up Bernadette, have a heartfelt conversation with her causing her to have a change of heart and fly down and get all "perky" for them and give them the concert of their lives? Or does he flee to Canada like Garth Drabinsky evading the federal authorities, change his identity and later open a flower shop in Alberta with his lover Kevin? So many possibilities .............

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 1:42am

And I see John Tartaglia or Michael Arden in the lead role.

[Becky]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 1:43am

I doubt he's ruined his future...I think this whole thing will blow over in a few years (if not less).

Perhaps you may be right. Unfortunately, for a *long* time, anything that gets written about him will include this little fiasco. Journalists/papers will throw this up time and time again.

It's going to take him having a great deal of successful productions (and professional business dealings) to start gaining the trust of many and slowly bury this.