What’s going on at Second Stage?

Rent in the Tony Kaiser skyrocketed, but their last public communication was all very positive sbout moving forward/ looking for new space

Yes, and they’ve done well with Appropriate and I haven’t looked up the grosses for Mother Play (I know, I should!) but I’m guessing with Jessica Lange in the play it’s bound to be doing well. It’s not on TKTS so that’s a good sign for financial betterment than others.


it seems like Second Stage has done well working with productions that can get star power in there, so I know that helps. Appropriate is their second play to find a later life on Broadway due to high demand after its initial run ended. Take me Out was the other one. And that one got Jesse Tyler Ferguson his Tony.

It should be good for them that Sarah Paulson is going up against Jessica Lange for Best Actress in a Paly

I was wondering the same thing. I’ve been a subscriber for years, and they usually ask you to resubscribe by now. Crickets.

I don't think there's anything to worry about yet. Of the Broadway nonprofits, only Roundabout has announced their full season. Lincoln Center also hasn't announced anything and MTC hasn't announced their Winter show (which usually has similar dates to 2nd Stage's first show of the season).

I believe they are booking a sumnmer show prior to their season. With Forbidden Broadway now forbidden to come in during the summer, it looks likely that the intriguing play JOB will be there for an interim engagement. I wonder if the producer will give the actors who did it in two off-off-Broadway venues the opportunity of creating their roles on Broadway.

jkcohen626 said: "Fordham2015 said: "jkcohen626 said: "I don't think there's anything to worry about yet. Of the Broadway nonprofits, only Roundabout has announced their full season. Lincoln Center also hasn't announced anything and MTC hasn't announced their Winter show (which usually has similar dates to 2nd Stage's first show of the season)."

MTC's winter show is Eureka Day"

No, Eureka Day is Fall and Old Friends is Spring. For Broadway, MTC usually has a Fall show that runs from September-November, a Winter show that runs from December-February/March, and then a Spring Show that runs March/April-June (or I suppose beyond if there's demand).

It doesn't have a season listed, but MTC's subscription page confirms that they have a third unannounced Broadway show:https://www.manhattantheatreclub.com/subscribe/"

MTC is not doing a fall Broadway show, or at least not one at the Friedman. They're doing some capital projects (HVAC, fire alarm, lighting upgrades) at the Friedman that are going to go into the fall. Eureka Day isn't starting previews until late November.

Updated On: 5/2/24 at 11:02 PM

Carole Rothman gives a very blunt "exit interview" with Michael Paulson. Most notably, she confirms the long-held suspicion that this was not her choice to leave, implies that a man (Evan Cabnet) wouldn't have been her first choice of successor, and leaves the door open to possibly switching over to Commercial theatre producing.


What do you want to say about the circumstances of your departure?
I was negotiated out. [Second Stage Theater declined to comment.]

And how are you feeling about that?
Let’s put it this way. Five minutes after I won the Tony for “Appropriate,” I got a text from my friend Michael R. Jackson who said that was a great mic drop.

You’re not happy that the board decided to let go of the Kiser.
To give up that space breaks my heart. So you want to become some place that just rents some random theater? Go ahead. I hope somebody else rents it. Or else they’ll tear it down.

Any advice to your successor?
No.

Is there anything I’ve forgotten to ask?
Can I just take a moment to talk about why it’s important to have women leaders? ... I think it’s not just the optics of having a woman in a leadership role, which is important, but the fact that it shows that a woman can be an aggressive, ambitious, forceful leader. It models behavior for other people. It’s been difficult over the years to deal with the sexism and sexual harassment in the industry. It’s something that I’m proud of, that I’ve been able to, for the most part, deal with that and hopefully be some kind of a role model to other women.

Can you give me an example of sexism that you’ve faced?
Yes. I’ve recently had a board member say that the biggest problem with Second Stage was that I wasn’t very nice. I don’t think anybody would say that to a man. Niceness is probably not one of the top qualities that I think I should try to attain. [Second Stage Theater declined to comment.]
...
If I do come back to producing, it will be commercially...

Updated On: 8/30/24 at 11:32 AM

I didn’t know she was such a big Football fan!

Striking how she talks about Appropriate’s success and Tony win without ever mentioning Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins. “After I won the Tony for Appropriate…” obviously is technically correct, but phrased in a self-centered way that you seldom see producers do when a production wins.

Updated On: 8/31/24 at 09:45 AM

Barbour Pole said: "Fun to see Carole Rothman breathing fire on the way out the door. Weird that a theatre founded by two fierce women would backslide into having just another white guy. No disrespect to Cabnet but I'm sure that a lot of people read the room enough to not even take that interview. Ms. Rothman made it pretty clear that a woman should be running that theater and it's shame that she didn't get input into that."


Cabnet is a proven artistic leader and gender usually isn't the primary consideration in choosing a leader of a theatre company. The Board hired him, so I guess he read the room correctly!

She may be the founder, but she is a paid employee whose contract is controlled by a Board. She has no equity stake in the company (nobody does), nor any control over the Board. This is what you get when you start a nonprofit theatre, and politicking is a huge part of leadership. Understandably she wanted this to go a different way, but it's hard to find that much sympathy for a white woman making ~~$400K a year. The tone of this interview is not surprising to those who know of her working style; the fact that it all became public in this way is a little surprising.

If things hadn't been so contentious in Rothman's exit, she probably would have had a stronger voice in hand-picking her successor. Having a great woman as #2 who could have stepped up permanently also would have been a way to secure her legacy (see: Adam Greenfield at Playwrights Horizons), but instead she chased people out every few years.

Updated On: 8/31/24 at 11:01 AM