I wish there was a good solution for all of this. Several longtime producers have gotten out of the Off-Broadway game altogether because following failed attempt after failed attempt, they simply cannot figure out how to turn a profit off-Broadway anymore. Even with a rave from the Times and a small cast, it's a struggle and a crapshoot. In commercial off-Broadway your capacity is limited (houses are often a third or fourth of the size of the average Broadway house), but your marketing costs are the same. You're limited in how much you can charge for tickets because most Broadway shows have readily available discounts reducing their prices to the $50-65 range and many theatregoers given a choice would prefer to spend that amount on a $10 million Broadway spectacle than on your intimate little two character play (and given even at $60 a ticket your profit margin is so small that reducing the price much further would make it very difficult for you to break even).
Once upon a time, it used to be that people would take a chance on an interesting-sounding little show with a good notice from the Times, figuring that for $20 or $30, it was worth taking a risk; for $60-70 though, people want a sure thing or at least a bit of spectacle. Those little plays that were more understated or quirky or experimental or attempted to play with form and style and content in ways you wouldn't normally see in traditional theatre are disappearing. They weret were what made downtown/off-Broadway theatre thrive and seem so exciting for a couple of generations and they no longer really have an outlet or a place to try out. If a show doesn't fit into an easily identifiable box or category and can't be simply packaged and marketed and sold to the masses
it has nowhere to go (other than perhaps not-for-profit off-Broadway if it's lucky). These were the shows that broke new ground, were where fledgling artists learned their craft and were the spark and inspiration for other artists who were influenced by these works and went on to later create similarly notable (and at times more commercial works) that had a great impact on the theatre at large. We're losing that legacy.
Commercial Off-Broadway doesn't seem fixable at the moment. And Broadway as it currently exists isn't the answer for many of these shows either. It'd be nice if there were a few more houses the size of the Helen Hayes or Circle in the Square for some of these sorts of shows. But, beyond that, perhaps a concerted effort to negotiate concessions with the unions, the New York Times advertising board (which overcharges the same for all shows, Broadway and Off-Broadway regardless of size) and any other entities which have caused costs off-Broadway to balloon in such epic proportions in recent years that it's hurting everyone involved -- producers, directors, playwrights, theatre staffs, marketing people, actors, musicians, theatregoers and yes, even the New York Times, which can't make as much money overcharging if there are few shows that can have a decent run in this environment. We've also lost nearly a dozen commercial off-Broadway houses in the past couple of years to developers who realize there are much surer ways to make money from these properties than from them being legit theatres -- no matter how historic or important they have been. For the good of the American theatre, major changes need to occur ASAP.
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
Updated On: 7/20/06 at 08:40 PM
.jpg?format=auto&width=365)
