Riedel on Nerds — Page 2

I feel so bad for everyone involved in this...

But weren't the out of town productions some time ago? Unless this lead producer was attached way back then, those regional stagings wouldn't have been used to generate investment dollars for this planned Broadway production. I thought the argument was they should have done another try-out or 'enhanced' developmental production to better capitalize a Broadway staging.

You can have as many out of town productions, or "tryouts", as you want. It won't make a show into a show people want to see. Ask Bright Star.

Producing is actually pretty carefully regulation by the Security Commissions to avoid the cliche Bialystok and Bloom situation. A producer has to legally declare a production budget - usually with a minimum capitalization (meaning the production must raise that dollar amount in order to legally open) -- a production 'budget' - which usually sits somewhere in the middle and a 'maximum' capitalization amount -- meaning there is a ceiling (over the budget) that can be raised for reserve.



So basically how it works - is that producers hire a General Manager to create a budget that includes mounting costs (scenery, costumes, pre-production advertising) and also a weekly running costs -- (cast/crew salaries, weekly advertising, theatre rent etc).



So a potential investor is shown these documents and can make their own determination as to whether they think its a good project to put their money into. The documents for the Broadway production I saw actually had a diagram that showed how long it would take the show to recoup in various box office intake scenarios.



But for the most part, you shouldn't be investing in a show unless you have what I call "Monopoly Money" -- that you can totally expect to lose. Most people don't invest in Broadway shows to make money -- they invest because they want to go to the opening night party, have access to house seats, bragging rights and maybe a shot at standing on the stage at the Tony Awards (with the 500 other producers) if their show wins a top Best Musical honor.



In terms of producing the show -- usually the lead producers create a company LLC to actually 'produce' the production. The contracts are usually signed with this LLC - not the producers as liable individuals. Again, I don't exactly know how this works when the show closes prematurely, but I assume if the LLC closes at a complete loss (with outstanding debts like in the situation with NERDS) it would file bankruptcy and the unpaid vendors would be paid pennies on the dollar as when any company files for bankruptcy. I don't know if these vendors ever have insurance to cover situations in which they don't get paid -- but again, at this level, this hypothetically would play out the same as it would if a store closed and they couldn't pay for their inventory, unpaid bills etc.

Updated On: 3/25/16 at 01:29 PM

I'm not questioning your knowledge but genuinely interested, where did you learn all this? Was it a book, website or conversation, and if it was a book or website could you direct me to it?

Exactly. BRIGHT STAR did two out of town tryouts with its lead producers attached and it used its tryouts to gain reviews and momentum to attract investors for the Broadway production. But they were apparently still raising money in previews to reach their full capitalization. That is the norm.



KCW -- I personally only know this because I had a number of conversations with a Broadway producing team about putting money into a show a few years back. Being a novice, they very graciously talked me through every step of how Broadway fundraising and producing works. And I came close to investing -- but I was changing careers at the time - and decided I didn't have the 'monopoly money' to lose. The show I almost invested in, btw, did just narrowly recoup -- but it would have been a real gamble. But I absolutely adored the material - and that is why I would have put my money in. Not to ever see it again.

Updated On: 3/25/16 at 01:34 PM

With the names Steve Martin and Edie Brickell attached, I don't think treating Nerds as if it were on the same playing field as Bright Star is fair.

Updated On: 3/25/16 at 01:37 PM

And who's to say that those involved would've even had the time for an out-of-town tryout and a transfer if the reception had warranted it? It's not always just about the timing of theatre availability. A lot of schedules have to align as well.

I agree Hogans but in the situation with NERDS we don't know if audiences wanted to sit through it or not. Perhaps the producers looked at the early box office receipts and they were dire and that's why they pulled the plug - but they also had done no advertising and the show was only briefly on sale - so its very hard to say if that is what happened. That statement only holds water if it had been a huge box office failure in its regional productions. Do we know that is true?



Maybe Neon is speaking specifically about BRIGHT STAR which didn't exactly light up reviews or box office out of town, so the question of bringing it in had inherent risk.

Updated On: 3/25/16 at 02:01 PM

HogansHero said: "yes Alice we don't know. my point was simply that you can do everything "right" and still die a miserable death."



Indeed.

Which does make you wonder why the lead producers here did little right at all.

Wilmingtom said: "I'm on team bk here. And if you can't raise your capitalization over a period of, say, a year, to think you'll raise it during your preview period is delutional [sic] and irresponsible. "

Naive position to take, since it happens all the time. Perhaps it is objectively irresponsible but it is hardly delusional. Without it Broadway would be paved with dark theatres.

This was sort of touched upon but producers are often squeezed into dates by the theater owners. They don't just get to waltz up and choose when they open. A lot of times it's a this date or no date pressure and when you spend time developing a piece for so long and want to see it come to Broadway, it's a heartbreaking choice to have to make... Wait and hope the owners will give you a better opening date with more time to put your tickets on sale or just go for it because you don't know when your next chance will be. It just seems like lesser experienced or less well known producers have an uphill battle from the start. Just something to think about.


Also, actors, musicians, directors, publicists, general managers, production rental houses... you chose to work on Broadway. Know the state of the industry! Know the inherent risk in your job and know the people who employ you and hire you for your work. To take all responsibility off of all of the other people involved in making a Broadway show is ridiculous. Yes the producer brings them together and employs them but the good producers do the best to educate and protect their teams. It just isn't always possible to get a show to opening and everyone working in Broadway in any capacity should be aware of that. We're all adults and ultimately we have to be responsible for ourselves and the decisions we make. Know the state of the industry and that many if not most shows are not fully capitalized until during previews. Don't turn a blind eye to that and then complain when you're stuck with unpaid bills.



Everyone on Broadway world smelled something from the beginning and I think it's crazy that all involved could say they didn't.

Updated On: 3/25/16 at 04:20 PM