Broadway World: "On March 25, Barry Habib, an investor in Rock of Ages, made untrue statements on a Fox News business program regarding the cost structures of producing and running a Broadway show. Asked a series of leading questions, Mr. Habib displayed a complete lack of knowledge about the talented, skilled crafts people for whom the theatre is their life's calling.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
ROCK OF AGES Producers & IATSE Release Statement About Producer Habib 2011/04/14
Broadway World: "On March 25, Barry Habib, an investor in Rock of Ages, made untrue statements on a Fox News business program regarding the cost structures of producing and running a Broadway show. Asked a series of leading questions, Mr. Habib displayed a complete lack of knowledge about the talented, skilled crafts people for whom the theatre is their life's calling.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
FoxNews...
It definitely was not a good idea on Habib's part to speak against the Union, given how small the theatre community really is. However, given the fact that RoA made back its investment, he should feel rather happy about the situation. Say, even if the producing costs/weekly nut of a show decreases, I don't see any of the shows charging less than $120 for orchestra seats, unless it's produced by LCT/Roundabout/MTC. They know that they can get away with charging $300 premium seats, knowing that there is a demand for it. So although there maybe a point to be made about the union costs, I don't think that is the sole problem.
I watched this interview when it was released and followed the resulting conversation in the theatre sound mailing list. It was an obviously biased news report, where the numbers that Mr. Habib presented merely as equipment costs, if they were real at all, must have included associated costs over time from maintenance and operation, changes to infrastructure, etc. He seemed to have a major problem with division of labor to different people rather than having one person go complete a task, but in reality all industries and projects tend to call for this.
From this article I take it that Mr. Habib is not an 'above the title' producer; I am glad to see that the IA and the show's producers responded to this denying it and that it was a joint response indicative of a healthy relationship between the show and the union.
Post a Comment