Scott Rudin Planned revivals

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 5/15/21 at 11:10pm

On another topic a fellow poster had mentioned that they had heard that Scott Rudin had purchased rights to four other revivals at the time of purchasing Music Man (including Mame and Night Music). This had been the same thing I had heard from a source a couple years back. I was wondering if anyone else had heard anything similar (and if there had been any titles for the other two shows known). And any thoughts what will happen to them now

Here's what I was told:

 At that time I heard he had a list of five major revivals planned as well. I had heard about Music Man with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, A Little Night Music (which if my sources were true he had been discussing it to be Julie Andrews and Cate Blanchett... which pre-shutdown, had be planned for late 2021-early 2022). Mame was to have followed (names had been floated around but nothing had yet to have taken shape. Meryl Streep and Cher had been thrown around)

I would love to have known what the plans are for Mame and Night Music. If they are totally scrapped or if he's managed to hand them off to someone else. 

Though I do not know what the other two were I wonder if they were... Singing In The Rain, Annie Get Your Gun, A Funny Thing Happened, Brigadoon, Show Boat... all I was told they All were to be HUGE names, lush "event" revivals.

[JayElle]

Posted: 5/15/21 at 11:29pm

 

He resigned from B'way league. He said he's pulling back.  So wouldn't that impede his participation?

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 5/15/21 at 11:44pm

Unless he returns the rights these productions aren't happening. And if he returns the rights then none of his plans would be honored for them. So the answer is none of them are happening. Whether he'll (like I said) return the rights or make them wait the allotted time frame he paid for to have someone else give their spin who knows. He's a petty ass guy so I'm sure it's the latter.

[KFC1991]

Posted: 5/16/21 at 9:59am

What thearefan said. He was able to "hand off" music man because it was already ready to go. For these other shows in the planning stages there is nothing to hand off; just a matter of when he gives up the rights.

In addition to musicals there were also plans for revivals of Our Town and Death of a Salesman with Metcalf and Nathan Lane.

I hate to think about all the potentially amazing revivals we will lose out on. People say they want "a Scott rudin style revival without Scott rudin" and I'm not sure that's possible. I don't see any other commercial producer doing Mame. Even if they wanted to, could they raise the money?

Best we can probably hope for is Lincoln Center doing some of these classic musicals.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/16/21 at 10:23am

Rudin's skill of talent-wrangling and persuasiveness cannot be understated, and it's not like just anyone can "take over" that role. These productions were happening because of him, period. There's a huge behind-the-scenes nuance of dealing with stars and putting great teams together and giving them the space/time/money to do great work (which obviously came at the expense of his horrible treatment to assistants).

It's like Bette and DOLLY: She had offers to do that show for 20 years and always turned it down; the Nederlanders had the rights forever and could never get the show up (with any number of stars); Jerry Herman was infamously picky about how the show would be done; and finally Rudin was able to make everything come together.

Same with getting folks like Angela Lansbury, Elaine May, Mike Nichols, Glenda Jackson, Bobby Morse, etc. to return to Broadway, or producing something with the scope and ambition of Shuffle Along or Gary or Van Hove's WSS.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/16/21 at 10:27am

Regarding speculation of what else he might have produced: I don't know if he ever held the rights to FOLLIES, but I do know it was one of his favorite shows (he saw the original productions of Company and Follies a dozen times each as a child). A big, lavish FOLLIES seemed kind of inevitable from him.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 5/16/21 at 11:44am

Scuttlebutt suggested a Gypsy led by Audra (not sure if it was all-black, or just Broadway's first black Rose) was one of 'em.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/16/21 at 12:02pm

g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "Scuttlebutt suggested aGypsyled by Audra (not sure if it was all-black, or just Broadway's first black Rose) was one of 'em."

Would Audra have wanted to work with Rudin again after the Shuffle Along debacle, though?

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/16/21 at 12:46pm

bwayphreak234 said: "g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "Scuttlebutt suggested aGypsyled by Audra (not sure if it was all-black, or just Broadway's first black Rose) was one of 'em."

Would Audra have wanted to work with Rudin again after the Shuffle Along debacle, though?"

Yup. She had also been attached to a Rudin/Sam Gold production of STREETCAR in like 2018 (alongside Adam Driver) which never materialized.

[JayElle]

Posted: 5/16/21 at 10:20pm

TheatreFan4 said: "Unless he returns the rights these productions aren't happening. And if he returns the rights then none of his plans would be honored for them. So the answer is none of them are happening. Whether he'll (like I said) return the rights or make them wait the allotted time frame he paid for to have someone else give their spin who knows. He's a petty ass guy so I'm sure it's the latter."

Couldn't he work out a deal to get a partner who is the public face while he gets a slice of the $ in its production behind the scenes?  Like a silent partner?

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 5/16/21 at 10:24pm

JayElle said: "Couldn't he work out a deal to get a partner who is the public face while he gets a slice of the $ in its production behind the scenes? Like a silent partner?"

Sure as **** wouldn't be silent for long... this industry leaks like a sieve and now that he's been ousted anything tangentially related to him will be known and shouted from the roof top.

[massofmen]

Posted: 5/16/21 at 11:13pm

I look forward to the thousands of jobs lost because rudin  stops producing theater.
Then we get to listen to  all the actors whine about all these amazing revivals that we lost bc he is gone. 

I love how all the actors still want him to produce the jobs for all the actors as long as he is a silent partner. 
This young stupid generation is absolutely hilarious. 

"WE WANT ALL THE JOBS AND ALL THE MONEY but we don't want anyone we don't like giving us all the jobs and all the money..because we deep down, truly don't care that he was mean to interns as long as he keeps providing us jobs and money..but silently. We will take the white savior money as long as no one knows that we are...because we want Audra in "MAME"" Its so pathetic. 

See kids, broadway isn't a govt entity. It doesn't have to be here. So when you start taking down all the people who create broadway...what or who fills the void?


Let's see what happens when all the "horrible cis straight white men" stop investing, producing, and creating broadway shows. 


 

[Jaxson2]

Posted: 5/16/21 at 11:48pm

massofmen said: "I look forward to the thousandsof jobs lost because rudin stops producing theater.
Then we get to listen to all the actors whineabout all these amazing revivals that we lost bc he is gone.
I love how all the actors still want him to produce the jobs for all the actors as long as he is a silent partner.
This young stupid generation is absolutely hilarious."

I'm uncertain about your reference to "actors still want him to produce jobs for all the actors as long as he is a silent partner."

I referenced that from a curiosity standpoint. He announced he was stepping back. A significant presence in the theater and film industry just doesn't throw in the towel and take all his toys and stomp home.  He has legal and business deals that he must address.

I am not an actor. I am not of a "young stupid generation" as you put it.   But I do have extensive business/legal experience. Silent partners exist in all industries and for many reasons.

He wasn't just "mean" as you call it. He engaged in potentially criminal acts. Throwing objects at employees causing significant injury is assault. He paid settlements. He discriminated. He created a toxic and hostile work environment that likely violated many laws in the employment sector.

I cannot believe many of the theater titans want to see Broadway fail because of it.  If you follow the demise of many a corporate leader due to a variety of issues..Bernie Madoff is one.., many attempts are made to save the business despite the actions of one.

Read about his film antics and you'll learn that even folks in that industry had enough of his BS.  Broadway will survive just as it would if he died.

I guarantee Rudin, the League, theaters, performers, etc. have dozens of attorneys digging through the mess to resolve it all.


 

 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/16/21 at 11:54pm

massofmen said: "Let's see what happens when all the "horriblecis straight white men" stop investing, producing, and creating broadway shows.

I am astonished someone would defend or try to justify Rudin, but I guess nothing should surprise me any more. 

Regarding the cis white men, all I can say is LOL. Boy are you misinformed. And naive. 

 

 

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 5/17/21 at 12:04am

massofmen said: "I look forward to the thousandsof jobs lost because rudin stops producing theater.
Then we get to listen to all the actors whineabout all these amazing revivals that we lost bc he is gone.

I love how all the actors still want him to produce the jobs for all the actors as long as he is a silent partner.
This young stupid generation is absolutely hilarious.

Literally who is advocating for this? People want him gone. He pushed somebody out of a ****ing moving car for Christ sakes... There are other producers out there to pick up the slack. He has not been a one man band single handedly carrying Broadway on his back.

Let's see what happens when all the "horriblecis straight white men" stop investing, producing, and creating broadway shows.
 

It's actually very easy because there are also countless creators who are not pieces of **** who aren't abusing people who put out good work. This idea of because people create something you enjoy that they should be able to act with impunity is what got us here. It's what enabled others like Rudin to continue abusing others. It's the lack of accountability that creates monsters and its with hope that acknowledging it now and hopefully doing something about opens up the next generation of creators & producers to not have as many colossal pieces of **** among their ranks so we don't have to in turn lose a lot of the good in what they created and financed.

"This stupid generation" really makes you appear as a child who shouldn't even be involved in any sort of discussion.
 

Updated On: 5/17/21 at 12:04 AM

[massofmen]

Posted: 5/17/21 at 12:13am

a ) I didn't defend RUDIN. I am making fun of the actors who want RUDIN to keep producing his musicals , as long as his name isn't on it because they want the revivals to keep happening. You all need to read a little better. Rudin is a POS who allegedly did some horrible things to people over the years. No way i am defending him.

b) You think there are just producers like Rudin lying around waiting? LOL. You think that there are amazing producers that can get any theater owner on the phone whenever they want , get any theater they want , have the money ready for the bond and deposit for the theater,  call whatever super movie star to star in a new musical/play  and say yes? You think they just grow on trees?


its like saying "just get another cameron mackintosh..no big deal"
come on kids. 

 

Updated On: 5/17/21 at 12:13 AM

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 5/17/21 at 12:30am

What actors? Name them.

Rudin is not the only person producing Revivals on Broadway. Will he be replaced in the amount he did? Likely not, but that's the expense. Broadway does not fall apart because we couldn't get Bette in Dolly for a decade.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 5/17/21 at 2:07am

It's a little disingenuous to suggest he wasn't preeminent as a producer of plays, and that it will be easy to fill the gap his absence leaves.

We shall see.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/17/21 at 3:00am

Not to defend "massofmen" cause girl, no, but I kind of get the point. Rudin was responsible for, what, like at least 4 shows a season, and when you're dealing with such small real estate, that is kind of a big deal. Without him, we wouldn't have theater royalty Laurie Metcalf's last couple of performances. I get what he did was horrible, and unwarranted, but I don't know. I know I struggle with it. Like, does he need anger management? Obviously. But I'm not ready to put him up there with Bill Cosby or Spacey. 

[A Director]

Posted: 5/17/21 at 3:09am

RippedMan said: "Not to defend "massofmen" cause girl, no, but I kind of get the point. Rudin was responsible for, what, like at least 4 shows a season, and when you're dealing with such small real estate, that is kind of a big deal. Without him, we wouldn't have theater royalty Laurie Metcalf's last couple of performances. I get what he did was horrible, and unwarranted, but I don't know. I know I struggle with it. Like, does he need anger management? Obviously. But I'm not ready to put him up there with Bill Cosby or Spacey."

Other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?

 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/17/21 at 10:09am

massofmen said: "a ) I am making fun of the actors who want RUDIN to keep producing his musicals , as long as his name isn't on it because they want the revivals to keep happening. 

I read everything that is published on this subject (among many others) and I do not recall seeing anyone advocating this. I am pretty sure if you read whatever you are relying on more carefully, you will find that those addressing this subject have advocated his removal from producing on Broadway, not just the removal of his name, and many have said they would withdraw if he was involved in producing. (It is a moot point as he has withdrawn.) Perhaps your casual reading has mistaken those (myself included) who do not object to his profit sharing in pre-existing productions for which he was responsible, because divestiture is an alien concept under our system. Saying some actors want revivals to keep happening is a straw man argument. 

b) You think there are just producers like Rudin lying around waiting? LOL. You think that there are amazing producers that can get any theater owner on the phone whenever they want , get any theater they want , have the money ready for the bond and deposit for the theater, call whatever super movie star to star in a new musical/play and say yes? You think they just grow on trees?

its like saying "just get another cameron mackintosh..no big deal"
come on kids."

Broadway adapts and always has. Producers (directors, and everyone else) arrive and depart. If we can survive the deaths of the most respected names, we can survive Rudin's "death." It is absurdly factually inaccurate to say there are no other producers who can call Bob Wankel, who have access to all the money they need, can line up top talent. Just look around. Again, your casual reading is leaving you in a weak place. Yes Rudin produced some shows that a lot of people liked [he also screwed up his fair share of shows and wasted a lot of money] and others may have other interests that result in less fuddy-duddy shows being produced, but Broadway abhors a vacuum. And particularly at a time that everyone is focused on the advancement of BIPOC producers, there will be no vacuum. Broadway is no static, Broadway evolves, Broadway is resilient, Broadway is far better without Rudin. 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/17/21 at 10:14am

devonian.t said: "It's a little disingenuous to suggest he wasn't preeminent as a producer of plays, and that it will be easy to fill the gap his absence leaves."

 

But again, who is suggesting this? As I've said in other threads, before this, I was a devout follower of Rudin's work the past few years. I have often considered him one of Broadway's most valuable assets, and one of the few producers whose curation was so spot-on that he was almost like an artist himself. 

So trust me that I'm not being flippant when I say: it's not worth it. Great art is not worth decades of employee abuse. And while it's very possible that no one will fill the artistic hole that Rudin left, there will be others that fill the real-estate holes, and the employment holes. Broadway will not go dark because Rudin is gone. And if the art isn't quite as good as it was before? So be it.

But even then, even if we won't have the same brand of high-profile play revivals with A-list stars, that doesn't mean that we won't get equally - if not more - compelling work from the other producers filling the gap. Especially if we get a new, more diverse set of producers taking up the mantle. And I'm not using "diverse" as a euphemism for non-white (though that's certainly a part of it) - I really mean diverse in every sense of the word, because I truly believe diversity breeds creativity. 

EDIT: looks like Hogan beat me to some of these sentiments while I was typing, but oh well, I stand by them, as well as his! 

Updated On: 5/17/21 at 10:14 AM

Posted: 5/17/21 at 2:01pm

My take is that Rudin's departure is a net-loss for the theatre community in the short-term, but in the long-term individual humans, no matter how indispensable we perceive them to be, are all 100% replaceable. His future productions will likely not be staged, and they will be replaced by other productions that might not have the same pedigree, but whose diversity will likely have other (and possibly altogether better) qualities.

The analogy I would make is how natural disasters often have, counterintuitively, net-positive economic benefits because they destroy antiquated-but-protected infrastructure that can be replaced with new and improved structures. It's bad in the moment, and no one roots for it to happen, but there is a silver-lining.

All that being said, I would nevertheless willingly trade a handful of petrified assistants (grown-ass humans who voluntarily chose to work for a lunatic) for several excellent Broadway productions in the coming years. In the land of cancelville, "abuse" of employees does not bother me anywhere near the level of sexual misconduct/assault or racism.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 5/17/21 at 5:35pm

I'm not defending Rudin's actions but I will always respect him for giving us a production of HELLO, DOLLY! that in many ways was better than the original.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 5/17/21 at 6:26pm

ctorres23 said: "In the land of cancelville, "abuse" of employees does not bother me anywhere near the level of sexual misconduct/assault or racism."

*checks notes*

He pushed someone out of a moving car...

He threw **** at people...

It's not "abuse" it's abuse.