Official Kickstarter to get Spring Awakening to perform on the Tonys- Page 17

[HogansHero]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 1:35pm

QueenAlice said: "At this point, its really not a question for Ken Davenport or the producers of SPRING AWAKENING. It's a question for the League of Broadway producers.  

Much like GODSPELL, I assume Davenport has cleverly found a way to use some kind of loophole in the rule book that says there is no reason why Broadway productions can't accept 'donations' (presumably in a situation in which, for some reason, someone wants to give to the production without the government regulated guidelines for being an 'investor'.

I'm sure what he is doing is likely technically legal, but the ethics behind it are of course very questionable.  If our suspicions are correct, He is basically funding the repayment of a bridge loan under false pretense."

It may or may not be legal, and we may or may not find out if it is or is not.

It IS sleazy to the extreme.

But there is no problem accepting donations for a Broadway show-that's what all the nonprofits do every day. If there is illegality it involves a misrepresentation of the source and use of funds, and it may also lead to a private inurement claim. 

[Broadwaystar2]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 1:36pm

SHOCKER!!! Spring Awakening already slated to perform. And were always going to perform. Congrats to those of you who donated to Davenports scam!!! Seeing how they're still 40,000 short proves this complete lie. 

[gypsy101]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 1:39pm

hes16 said: "On Instagram many people are saying "Yay Spring Awakening made it" or "Yay they raised enough money." I wish I could tell them all that it is a scam."

You could say that. I've said it several times on Facebook and Youtube posts about it.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 1:44pm

Or that they can feel as though they "made a difference".  

[JBroadway]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 2:14pm

They are actually quite close to their goal. I'd wager that if they do try to explain away the announcement about Tony performances, they'll say something like "When we realized how much support we were getting, and how fast the money was being raised, we decided to just front the money and hope we get to our fundraising goal in time!" 

[gypsy101]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 2:18pm

yes, they'll go down lying about the whole thing like they've been doing.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 2:19pm

They WEREN'T close a few hours ago. They were still solidly in the $165k range.

But then... today, they raise over $30k. Three $10k+ donations came in.

On the same day they're announced to perform on the Tonys? Yeah. That seems legit.

[thirtythirtyninety]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 2:21pm

https://twitter.com/cerveris/status/740604537921253377

[Blockhead24]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 2:26pm

"thirtythirtyninety said: "https://twitter.com/cerveris/status/740604537921253377"

*sigh*

 

 

[gypsy101]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 2:38pm

i see now they're over their goal. Totally not suspicious at all. I just wish people weren't such clueless idiots.

[RW3]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 2:42pm

Dammit Michael Cerveris and Lisa Kron.

[thirtythirtyninety]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 2:44pm

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-jsqZQ4OOY

[gypsy101]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 2:48pm

seriously how can Lisa and Michael have fallen for that.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 2:48pm

So over $35k came in after today's announcement the performance would be on the Tonys, largely in the form of very large donations.

We wanted a response from Davenport and co? Well, there it is. A hasty infusion of money to retroactively make it look credible.

Updated On: 6/8/16 at 02:48 PM

[ANewBrainn]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 3:14pm

This is such a scam, Davenport should be ashamed of himself

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 3:18pm

Ken Davenport has no shame.

If we're looking for a bright side, Ken looks worse in this community than he ever has before.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 3:28pm

If Ken Davenport can get a way with it think about the precedent he's set. Imagine Nickelodeon creating a Kickstarter to get spongebob on the tony awards. Or they may add additional charges to your tickets which helps the show get on the tony awards. 

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 3:37pm

I don't think so. Ken likes to think he's doing things people haven't done before because he's innovative. He's doing things people haven't done before because they're terrible, foolish, and exploitative ideas. Didn't see anyone copying his Godspell model.

[GreenGables]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 3:45pm

I know I'm a total idiot here - but can someone explain what you are all referring when you talk about the GODSPELL mess?  I thought it was genuine equity crowdfunding, no?  Put $1k in, receive $1k of equity in the show.  Of course, the show flopped so you got nothing back, but that's the same risk you take with any show.  But I didn't put money in so I don't know the specifics

[CindersGolightly]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 3:47pm

"SpongeBob"? Are you kidding? No, no, no. The creative team on that show actually has integrity and would never do this.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 3:52pm

There was no equity in Godspell, if I recall correctly.

[ANewBrainn]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 3:58pm

Crowdfunding is supposed to be for independent artists who are unable to make art without it.  Davenport just does it to raise his profit margins.  In Godspell he essentially got a bunch of people to be his investors without getting any of the show's profits in return and keeping it all for himself.  So offensive

[GreenSharpie]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 4:12pm

Call_me_jorge said: "If Ken Davenport can get a way with it think about the precedent he's set. Imagine Nickelodeon creating a Kickstarter to get spongebob on the tony awards. Or they may add additional charges to your tickets which helps the show get on the tony awards."

But this ISN'T Nickelodeon or Spongebob Squarepants. Far from it- this is a tiny non-profit theater with the mission of connecting the Deaf and hearing. Hardly a money-making (let alone money-laundering as some of you are implying) venture, but a worthy and inspiring one nonetheless.

Give or take Ken Davenport, this whole debate comes down to the fact that Deaf West Spring Awakening would not perform at the Tony's this weekend without this Kickstarter. It is quite clear that they had to arrange a compromise with their producer(s)- to partially fund the performance with the fans' help in order to get the rest of the assistance from the producers. Otherwise, with no promise of partial fan assistance, this performance would not be happening. Period. It's clear the producers were not willing to back all of the expenditures involved, otherwise none of this would be happening. My guess is that the couple weeks' delay in starting this Kickstarter was caused by a back-and-forth with the producers that ended with this Kickstarter-funded compromise. Unfortunately for Deaf West, their main producer is the misguided Ken Davenport, who marketed and coordinated this Kickstarter completely wrong and dragged everyone's reputation's down with his. And Deaf West probably can't speak out or do anything against his wishes, because that would be biting the hand that feeds them and also might make them seem disloyal to potential future investors/producers.

In the end of the day, this debate comes down to how important you versus Deaf West feel a Tony performance is, and whether it is worth donating to help make it happen. I think it's huge for Deaf West, and that's why I donated $50. It's not much for me to give, but it's a cause I support wholeheartedly. Clearly, most of you (or at least the ones that are most vocal) feel differently about the importance of a Tony performance. That's fine. But in the end of the day, when this witch hunt is over (and yes I do see it as a witch hunt at this point), the fact of the matter will be that the Deaf West Spring Awakening cast - half of whom are Deaf plus the first performer on Broadway in a wheelchair - will make history while performing a piece from their beautiful show at the Tony Awards, and that is a milestone that will stay in the books, no matter what cynicism comes out of this message board. To me, that's the big picture here.

It's just too bad you all have been bullying Deaf West directly so much, because you have probably truly discouraged them from ever feeling they can be part of the Broadway community. That's what breaks my heart about all of this.

[MaddieBB12]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 4:19pm

Broadway.com just posted this article:

http://www.broadway.com/buzz/185108/kickstarter-complete-or-not-spring-awakening-would-have-performed-at-the-tony-awards/

 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 6/8/16 at 4:19pm

it is worth noting that a show that loses every penny still pays its producer a handsome sum, and that can be augmented many times over when a producer sets him or herself up to provide additional services to the production such as general management, marketing, consulting etc etc etc.