www.forbes.com: Broadway has become more like Wall Street.
Similar to how Ford Motor Company invested in Rivian Automotive, the upcoming musical Chimney Town has invested in the Broadway musical Cats: The Jellicle Ball. As a co-producer of the Broadway show, the future show is billed alongside other producers above the title and a few sentences about it are printed in the programs distributed at each performance.
6 comments:
I loveeeeee how this is basically self-sufficiency in the arts. Interdependence of shows means that everyone is sort of in it together and theaters/shows are not in direct competition with each other, but rather want the entire market to do well. Its also marketing genius - when you finance another broadway show and put that in your playbill, you have a 100% guarantee that you’re reaching your target audience by ensuring that whoever sees that ad is a person interested in seeing theater. I wonder if this also opens the doors for productions sharing more resources and how that could maybe impact sustainability initiatives as well. That said, I worry about the “market” becoming super consolidated and the possibilities that brings as well. This is definitely an interesting development though, especially as federal funding gets cut every day. I don’t know much about large scale economic systems, but this gave me a new perspective.
I honestly try to avoid reading articles like this because the business side of theatre brings me dread, however, the “karma” that Rasmussen mentioned, actually made me optimistic about this current situation. It’s bringing the idea to the industry that art thrives when they are all working together; which is a mentality I can’t imagine previously existed among broadway producers. The way Rasmussen speaks about this strategy, is in the light of seeing her job and what she produces as strictly art, rather than just a business.
I do have to point out that the people who are reading this article are probably theater people, and she knows that this is exactly what they want to hear, but either way, it’s good marketing and I can respect that. Broadway – musicals in particular are not doing well right now, so because the money the shows are competing for is dwindling, Broadway is in a time of desperation. When/if they get out of this, I assume this “artists supporting artists’ mentality will go away, and come back again in the next wave of struggle.
I think this is really interesting because I feel like Broadway is such a commercial business, and each show is focused on promoting its own show rather than working together with other shows and supporting each other. Which is pretty much what this article is explaining is happening and starting to occur. The idea that if Cats wins an award, then the other show being produced by it will also have a sense of an award, I feel, is a way of cheating and almost again apart of that commercialism. I think it is interesting that we are reaching this point because of increasing production costs occurring pretty much everywhere. This is definitely a concept to look into when it comes to producing, but I wonder how much it will happen in the following year, or if shows will stay to themselves. This seems like it will be beneficial not only to cats, but to the other show as well.
From my perspective, the financial side of theater has genuinely changed so dramatically. I have always been so interested in learning about how Broadway supports itself financially and the administrative aspects involved, so it is incredible that companies like Chimney Town Inc. are stepping up to invest like a venture capital firm in the Cats: The Jellicle Ball production. They provide such a great example of how to build a brand before trying to secure a theatre!
I am really inspired by the "supporting the ecosystem" mentality of Megan Ann Rasmussen and what is happening at Chimney Town. In my experience working at various high-pressure collaborative environments, I have found that the idea of karma exists and an important premise to that philosophy is that you must give support to receive support. While it is a bold move for this company as a start-up, backing productions such as Othello with Washington/Gyllenhaal helps in proving that they understand how the industry works.
Especially given the current political climate and sentiment towards the arts, it is so inspiring to see how productions are coming together to invest in one another. We see this happening more and more to a smaller degree as well. Back in high school, my theatre department would always advertise the middle school shows and the local acting camps. Not only does this show support for your fellow artists, it also makes people more aware of additional opportunities to see or participate in shows, or simply to support the arts. I am happy to say that this process is very present in my collegiate experience as well. For example, Scotch’n’Soda’s Carnival slot production, Come From Away, will feature advertisements for School of Drama’s productions in the playbill as well. In turn, our production will have advertisements up in Purnell. By nature, theatre is a very collaborative field, and it is so great that people are openly supporting and encouraging other productions as well.
I’d never heard of this concept in Broadway production before, but it’s so interesting! The idea that money doesn’t have to simply go in and out of one company for the duration of a production sounds so promising. Funding can flow between productions, allowing for profit and sustainability. I know running companies and producing, especially on Broadway, is much more complex than I understand, but it sounds like Broadway has been able to keep itself afloat as of late. An executive is cited in the article describing advertising as money that’s gone just as it’s spent, but financing a Broadway show, especially a good show, can be much more fruitful. I hope these people keep holding this sentiment, because everyone should understand how valuable beautiful art can be. I hope this trend of investment in theatre continues. If that happens, the outlook of the arts might be less concerning than I originally thought.
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