Why Musicals SHOULD be VIDEOTAPED — Page 13

Exactly, Lolita.

Thank you.

---

Sounds like a common theme Lolita2....I say that is "semantics", meaning, its all down to the detail of working out the business plan on a case by case basis. In the movie business some people just go straight to DVD because the cost taking it to the next stage will not provide the returns required or that they don't have the funding to launch it on a nationwide scale.

Many of the thoughts in this stream were thinking about major broadway musicals but what Off-Broadway aspirational productions. They could choose an online approach in an attempt to bring in sufficient funds to take the production to broadway.

---

but what Off-Broadway aspirational productions

Commercial producers scout Off-Broadway productions all the time. If they find the show is worthy of a Broadway mounting (a la AVENUE Q and GREY GARDENS) then they will provide funds.

If they don't think the production is Broadway worthy, then they will not provide funds.

It's that simple.

Not all Off-Broadway productions are Broadway worthy.

---

ok FOA, but what about Regional theatre work that is Original but not financed enough to even make the move to Off-Broadway.

It could help the summer stock theatre industry and regional theatre industry tremendously.

I have no problem releasing DVDs of those shows since they are most likely limited runs and would help their profits.

But when people saw the videos of the show, there would be no need for it to move to Broadway or Off-Broadway everyone would have seen it already.

My point is...if it's a commercial production, you wait until it closes to view it on video. Plain and simple.

When a movie is in theatres you don't have the option to buy the DVD and bring it home and watch it over and over and over again. You wait until it's out of theatres to buy the DVD.

It should be the same way here.

I've taken quite a few entertainment marketing classes...I think I have an idea about this subject.

---

Okay, fine. Let me try. I haven;'t taken entertainment marketing classes. I produce major motion pictures in Hollywood. I have seven studio deals in my past (including Universal Pictures, Paramount, Fox and Warner Bros.) and currently have two films in production with two of the biggest studios in the world.

And we are seeing the effect of bootleg copies every day.

I was up in Toronto recently and on a Saturday afternoon, I counted no less than 20 different booths set up selling bootleg copies of movies in the Kensington Market district and Chinatown. If each booth sold to just five customers per hour - at six films for 20.00 - that means that each day, those operations are pulling in $24,000.00 (#21,380.00US or 11,757 UK pounds) in a 12 hour period! Times that by the other fifty locations around town, times that by the other 100 major cities in North America and you are talking about an enormous loss for the production companies and studios.

However, our product has a long shelf-life. I just bought a DVD (authentic) of Citizen Kane as a gift for a friend. That movie has sat on the shelf for 60 plus years, generating $$$$ each year.

But a musical has no shelf life. Not the original production. The day it closes the sets are torn up and the costumes and props sold off and the cast dispersed to the four corners of the business. The producer only has that one window to make $$$ off his production - and maybe some money from records. So why would a producer want to take a chance that the tape of his show gets bootlegged before the show closes? Other than licensing the rights, he has so few revenue streams to begin with.

Oh yes, and then there is the simple fact that paying the actors and musicians would involve enormous cash outlays. It would be more cost-effective to make a movie of the production (in which case the producing studio would REALLY not want the competition of a DVD of the stage show).

Now that's where I come in....

---

Bravo, Doug! Whew! Finally slogged through this blog! I think your idea is great. Recorded theatre will not "ruin" the business. The success of "Into the Woods" on DVD has made it one of the most performed shows in the US. The recent recording of "The Light in the Piazza" has caused a surge in ticket sales for it's final weeks. I recently showed the tape to some friends, and they immediately bought tickets. And these were non-theatre goers.

Someone posted earlier that Hollywood doesn't release DVD's at the same time as the theatrical release. That is not true as some recent movies have been released in multiple formats at the same time. This trend is continuing to grow as it can generate vasts amount of income for the studios. Why shouldn't Broadway and all theatre, regional or whatever, benefit from the same?

I'm fortunate that I live in Manhattan and see theatre regularly. You can never replace the live experience, but for those who have no other choice...or for those who wish to have a keepsake...

The Metropolitan Opera has been videotaping their productions for years and their sales have spawned a whole new generation of opera lovers. If you check the ticket line at any performance, you will find many young people standing in line for tickets!

Good luck with your venture. I'll definately be a customer!

---

Updated On: 6/25/06 at 03:56 PM

I'd support DVD recordings of productions that are limited engagements or as a way to preserve the original casts of certain shows. Limited engagement shows like Laugh Whore or 700 Sundays would do relatively well. I think the original cast of Spamalot, regardless of what one thinks of the show itself, would sell quite well on DVD. Personally I would be willing to pay around the equivalent of a full-price ticket for a DVD of certain productions. I would be overjoyed if the current revival of Sweeney Todd would be made available on DVD.

EDIT- And another thought. What if the non-profit organizations like the Roundabout, LCT and MTC issued recordings of previous productions are a way to entice new subscribers and raise funds in general.

Updated On: 6/25/06 at 05:11 PM

Oh and ALlofMyLife, Shiska and Thom.....excellent contributions to the debate. This will run and run

---

Foatani...it was pound sign which turned into a dollar but I don't want to play my budget is bigger than yours with you.

---

Hehe....nice one....

---

I think Broadway will have a different set of rules to Off-Broadway, regional and fringe due to the investment and uncertainty about this new emerging market. This therefore leaves it to the smaller productions to make the most of it until the giants wake up. Sshhh, don't tell them and we'll sneak up on them.

US Theater TV

---

Sure. I've been working with Equity in the UK and I have all their details. As an actor myself I've experienced the exploitation that takes place in some areas of an actors career and I'm keen to avoid that as well. Its just down to putting together a business plan that works for everyone.

---