Official Kickstarter to get Spring Awakening to perform on the Tonys- Page 23

[elphaba.scares.me]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 6:15pm

lexivas said: "They used Kickstarter for the first production out in LA, that Michael Arden and Andy Mientus started with Deaf West, Ken Davenport had nothing to do with then. That's why they chose it again."

Except Ken Davenport was a secret investor in/enhancer of the original production, and basically the whole industry knows it.

 

[GreenSharpie]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 6:47pm

^ I'm not sure what you're implying.. He might have been one of the people who backed the original Kickstarter (a lot of people did), but I don't think that means he was a shoe-in to bring it to Broadway. I remember there was talk of a lot of producers vying for the show after its second run in LA, but he was apparently the only one willing to transfer it immediately rather than waiting for a future season, and the creative team didn't want to risk losing cast members by waiting. I believe in the Theater People podcast with Spencer Liff, Spencer said they still don't know if that was the right decision. Probably a lot behind those words..

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 6:48pm

Interesting. I haven't listened to that one. Is it this?
 http://www.theaterppl.com/portfolio-view/episode-63-spencer-liff/

[lexivas]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 6:53pm

If I was just a person at the stage door I wouldn't refer to them as friends. I met Sean back in Ithaca before the production even came to bway, so it's been a while. He introduced me to the others. 

[GreenSharpie]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 6:55pm

LizzieCurry said: "Interesting. I haven't listened to that one. Is it this?
 http://www.theaterppl.com/portfolio-view/episode-63-spencer-liff/"

Yup, I believe so!

[RW3]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 7:59pm

1st visual proof of them rehearsing. It looks like "Mama who bore me"

https://twitter.com/TheTonyAwards/status/741055943102857216

[MaddieBB12]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 10:37pm

I wonder if it is a medley then because in this picture posted by Alex Wyse it looks like they are in their respective seats at the desks for "The Bitch of Living", and while it could be from the original rehearsals, it is tagged #Tonys2016.

https://instagram.com/p/BGamzAPmQgf/

 

ETA: Andy Mientus' hair is dark in the photo linked above, which means it IS from recently. A medley sounds GREAT... Maybe they are doing the same medley the OBC did!!! That was "Mama", "Bitch of Living" and "Totally". That would be SUCH a great throwback to the original production!

 

 

Updated On: 6/9/16 at 10:37 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 10:37pm

lexivas said: "Honestly, no one involved has even really heard about all the drama, that's why they haven't commented. They've been in rehearsals and etc., so they might not even realize.."

 

So they've been rehearsing even though they couldn't perform unless the Kickstarter was a success? What would happen if t wasn't? How would they have been compensated? How would the rehearsal time been paid for? The rehearsal space? The musicians? Everyone involved?

 

this requires weeks of work from people who can't work on IOUs. 

The cast probably knows nothing about this stuff because why would they? They're getting to perform and will be paid. This isn't about them, or their performance. 
 

Updated On: 6/9/16 at 10:37 PM

[HogansHero]

Posted: 6/10/16 at 12:18am

@Kad, but no, surely there is no naiveté on Lexi's part. LOL.

[lexivas]

Posted: 6/10/16 at 9:41am

Honestly, they believed they would, so they went ahead and did it. Other than figuring out who would have paid for the rehearsal space, they wouldn't have minded the time put in because they all enjoy being around each other and hanging out. They're all newbies, they hang out all the time. Someone would have figured out how to pay for it, and would have probably been reimbursed later once the tour starts.

The fact of the matter is, does it really bother you all that much where you have to waste your time worrying about it? I agree with you all on many points, it seems suspicious, there were large donations made towards the end (but a few of them were also made speratically throughout the last week and a half). It'll come out that they're not using it for personal endevors.

Let's all just be excited that they're performing and making some history.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 6/10/16 at 10:03am

@Lexi, you are (a) projecting, (b) envisioning a serious union contract violation, (c) imagining that they were exempted from paying for their spot in advance, (d) leaving a tickler list of at least 100 logistical and infrastructure items (and their attendant expenditure) to the last minute and (e) backtracking. Still naive, I'm afraid. No one doubts your enthusiasm and/or loyalty.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/10/16 at 10:13am

You are again conflating the cast with the producing bodies- who are not newbies at all. You need to separate your personal relationship with cast members from this whole thing.

"They thought they'd get the money anyway so they went ahead and undermined the whole purpose of the campaign" is not a legitimate excuse. Or an excuse at all. "They'll figure it out later!" is not an excuse.

And this honestly doesn't take very much time at all. Why do people assume that posting on a message board with any frequency is so damn time consuming?

It bothers me that a production as worthy of nomination and a Tony performance as this one has a misleading and disingenuous campaign like this. I don't think the ends justify the means when the means involve preying on the generosity or devotion of people.

[gypsy101]

Posted: 6/10/16 at 10:45am

lexivas...

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 6/10/16 at 11:52am

I have a really hard time respecting the sentiment that pointing out a serial explorer's behavior is just being mean.

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 6/10/16 at 12:10pm

I am still frustrated that Davenport is using our (i.e. fans who really want to see this production on the Tony Awards) money to finance the publicity for the tour.  Commercially there is a big benefit to the tour from the exposure - and none of the kickstarter contributors will share in that benefit.  But Davenport will.

[Cupid Boy2]

Posted: 6/10/16 at 12:13pm

theatregeek6 said: "I am still frustrated that Davenport is using our (i.e. fans who really want to see this production on the Tony Awards) money to finance the publicity for the tour.  Commercially there is a big benefit to the tour from the exposure - and none of the kickstarter contributors will share in that benefit.  But Davenport will."

I'm still not convinced a tour will even come to fruition.

 

[hypno68]

Posted: 6/10/16 at 12:14pm

If Ken doesn't have $200k to put up the Tonys performance, he doesn't have the money to begin a tour.

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 6/10/16 at 12:24pm

hypno68 said: "If Ken doesn't have $200k to put up the Tonys performance, he doesn't have the money to begin a tour.

 

"

OH-I'm sure he HAS it - but why spend it if you can get suckers to finance it for you?

[HogansHero]

Posted: 6/10/16 at 12:40pm

theatregeek6 said: "OH-I'm sure he HAS it - but why spend it if you can get suckers to finance it for you?"

You could say this about most shows (and all of Davenport's since he has yet to make anyone except himself a penny). The difference is that when people invest money in shows that are foolhardy, they do so fully aware of what they are getting, how their money is expected to be spent, what the risks are etc -all as required by law.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 6/10/16 at 1:08pm

I don't believe a tour will happen either, unless he's going to kickstart that too.

[WesternSky2]

Posted: 6/10/16 at 2:43pm

Marlee Matlin just tweeted out this article: http://www.teenvogue.com/story/spring-awakening-2016-tony-awards-performance

This quote is rich: "The campaign’s deadline was initially scheduled for June 11; however, earlier this week, the production predicted that it would raise enough money and made the decision to go ahead with performing at the Tonys. A video was posted to Spring Awakening’s official YouTube page to share the good news."

 

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 6/10/16 at 2:56pm

HA.

[RW3]

Posted: 6/10/16 at 3:04pm

WesternSky2 said: "Marlee Matlin just tweeted out this article: http://www.teenvogue.com/story/spring-awakening-2016-tony-awards-performance

This quote is rich: "The campaign’s deadline was initially scheduled for June 11; however, earlier this week, the production predicted that it would raise enough money and made the decision to go ahead with performing at the Tonys. A video was posted to Spring Awakening’s official YouTube page to share the good news."

I saw the same thing and I f*cking rolled my eyes. God, my anticipation for their performance is going away every single moment. Also, the sympathetic articles about this is just sickening. 

 

 

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