Good Broadway Producers..Bad Broadway Producers

[goldenboy]

Posted: 12/31/14 at 10:10pm

In many posts, people have posted..." Those are savvy smart producers. They know what they are doing."

With regard to that.. Who would you say are smart savvy producers and who are not.

What are opinions of people in the know of Jeff Richards, Fran and Barry Weissler, Ken Davenport, Darryl Roth, Roger Berland, Scott Rudin,
Broadway Across America, Roy Gabay, Hal Luftig. Which ones are savvy? Which one are not? Who have I left out.

[JohnyBroadway]

Posted: 12/31/14 at 10:21pm

I think one of the savviest producers is Robyn Goodman. She's had a few hits, and has made some pretty strategic moves most recently with Cinderella.

[barcelona20]

Posted: 12/31/14 at 10:29pm

This is the best post of 2014.

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 12/31/14 at 11:21pm

Ken Davenports an idiot, even when he produces a hit like Only A Play he still manages to run it into the ground.

Jeff Richard and Scott Rudin know what they are doing 99% of the time, those guys should just team up and destroy everyone else lol

[averagebwaynut]

Posted: 1/1/15 at 12:01am

Agreed re Rudin. It's been said he overspends when he's a lead producer -- so his shows don't make as much as they might (apart from Mormon, some of his greatest artistic successes reportedly didn't make all that much profit) -- but there are few, if any, savvier, smarter, with better taste and instincts.

Richards produces a lot, but his track record of successes is spotty at best. Probably better than the average, but mostly because of the volume. If you had invested the same amount money in each of his shows over the last decade, you'd still be out a LOT of money. He's also as responsible as anyone for what has become the (outrageous) norm in star salaries for limited run plays.

David Stone is also very sharp. Doesn't produce that much, and not everything works (it never does for anyone), but you're (or I'm) always keenly aware that an extremely smart and savvy person is piloting the ship on any of his shows.

[SomethingPeculiar]

Posted: 1/1/15 at 1:26am

If you're talking about prolific and successful, Rudin and Richards both produce multiple shows each season, and at least a few usually recoup.

Nobody has had more success nationally AND internationally than Cameron Mackintosh, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Disney.

[ARTc3]

Posted: 1/1/15 at 10:43am

I am truly baffled by the Ken Davenport hate found throughout this board. I don't know Mr. Davenport other than an avid reader of his blog and on occasion I have run across him in the theater district and have started up a conversation.

He has truly taken a different path by making the Broadway Producer extremely accessible. I love his blog and find his insights often very helpful. When I have approached him, he has always been open to engage in a conversation and comes off as a rather nice guy.

I once wrote him and asked a favor - tickets to a show he was working on - and he came through.

I did not like his 13, but found several of his other projects rather worthwhile. I know there was issue about how he ultimately backed Godspell. Bottom line, he got it up and although it wasn't a financial success, it was a fun production from the audience member perspective. (And, isn't that ultimate what theater is about.)

I just don't understand the hate. Personally, I go on record as being a fan of Mr. Davenport. I think his Producer's Perspective blog is excellent and his efforts at making the business of Broadway transparent extremely admirable.

Updated On: 1/2/15 at 10:43 AM

[Princeton Returns]

Posted: 1/1/15 at 11:23am

I'd argue that ALW and RUG are not great producers. He hasn't had a hit since parting with Cameron and shows like Sound of Music, Oz and Bombay Dreams all were poorly managed. There are too many 'yes' men around him

[Fantod]

Posted: 1/1/15 at 1:41pm

David Stone. I mean, he produced Wicked, which was a huge risk that paid of big time. Since then he did Spelling Bee and Next to Normal, which were both gambles that paid off, and Three Days of Rain, which of course was a hit. If/Then will flop, but it won't be a disaster.

[Jonwo]

Posted: 1/1/15 at 4:39pm

^David Stone was one of five producers of Wicked and also had a major film studio as one of them but I agree, he has produced risky shows which have paid off and I think producers should mix it up rather than produce shows that are sure bets on paper.

Sonia Friedman would be the example of a great producer with shows like The River, Richard III/Twelfth Night, Book of Mormon etc all recouping and while some of her shows do have pricey tickets, she always has tickets at a low price e.g. $25 for the balcony for Richard III/Twelfth Night, the bank seats for the River.

Tom Schumacher is another one I like and he's not afraid to admit when a show has failed like Tarzan and Mermaid alongside the hits like Beauty, Lion King, Newsies, Aladdin, Mary Poppins etc and it would have been easy just to produce stage adaptations of the hit films but in the last few years, they've produced plays like Peter and the Starcatcher on Broadway and Shakespeare in Love in the West End so it's clear he wants to diversify Disney Theatrical.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 1/1/15 at 5:40pm

^And Aida.

[1000songs]

Posted: 1/2/15 at 1:59am

The producers of Rent

[gleek4114]

Posted: 1/2/15 at 2:18am

Fran and Barry Weissler are great at getting a show up and running, and finding very good original casts. But after the OBC leaves it turns into "What B, C, or D list celebrities can we get in the show?" I don't necessarily have a problem with star/stunt casting as long as it is GOOD casting. They have had some good calls (Molly Shannon in Promises, Brooke Sheilds in Wonderful Town, etc.) and some not so good calls (Wendy Williams in Chicago, Billy Ray Cyrus in Chicago, etc.).

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 1/2/15 at 9:32am

"The producers of Rent"

That would be Jeffrey Seller & Kevin McCollum. I agree.

I'm also a fan of the work of David Stone, Daryl Roth, Tom Hulce & Ira Pittelman, to name a few.

In terms of "bad" producers, it's usually first time producers who screw up. I'm thinking of the guys on Glory Days, and Eric Gold on Holler If Ya Hear Me.

[Jonwo]

Posted: 1/2/15 at 9:59am

Michael Cohl and the other producers of Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark would be the best example of bad producers. That should be textbook on how not to produce a stage musical.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 1/2/15 at 10:44am

^ Although, to be fair, Cohl never had a great track record. As per IBDb, his Broadway efforts have been:

* Bombay Dreams -- FLOP
* La Cage aux Folles ('04/'05) -- FLOP
* Spamalot -- HIT
* November -- FLOP
* Rock of Ages -- HIT (but his role is not clearly defined)
* Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark -- DISASTER
* A Night with Janis Joplin -- FLOP

So if nothing else, he's consistent.

[Jonwo]

Posted: 1/2/15 at 12:07pm

Cohl should stick to concert promotion as it's clear he's not a good theatre producer, some like Scott Rudin and Harvey Weinstein have managed to have success both as film producers and theatre producers but some choose their projects poorly.

[Theater'sBestFriend]

Posted: 1/2/15 at 1:05pm

Hits are great, but good producers take worthwhile risks too. Like artists, all great ones have some flops. I think the more relevant question is whether they are honorable ones, and balanced by sufficient successes over a career.

And there are many other qualities that count: integrity, intelligence, courage, loyalty, taste, fairness, kindness, etc. The creative process in theater is so powerful and sometimes difficult that it needs those.

[Melissa25]

Posted: 1/28/15 at 9:00pm

Here's an intersting article on Kevin McCollum. "Hand to God" and "Something Rotten" are definitely two of this season's shows that I am really looking forward to.
Avenue Q producer lends hand to B'way newbies

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 1/28/15 at 9:38pm

Thank you, BestFriend that making money isn't the only measure of a good producer.

American culture would be a much poorer place if Hal Prince hadn't made a lot of money for investors in FIDDLER, and then called on them to finance COMPANY, FOLLIES, ALNM, PACIFIC OVERTURES, ON THE 20TH CENTURY, etc. and so forth.

It was only when those early investors began to die off that Prince closed his office and started directing for other producers.

[ErinDillyFan]

Posted: 1/29/15 at 11:26am

Someone put Jeffrey Seller in the mix.

Rent
Avenue Q
In The Heights
The Wild Party (Lippa)
La Boheme (Puccini)(Baz Luhrmann)
High Fidelity
[title of show]
West Side Story (revival)

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 1/29/15 at 7:14pm

I assume he is retired or nearly so, but Manny Azenberg was one of the sharpest producers I ever worked with. His interview with the NYT begins "I am not a deep thinker." In my experience, that was not true.

[jo]

Posted: 1/29/15 at 7:20pm

>>>Sonia Friedman would be the example of a great producer with shows like The River, Richard III/Twelfth Night, Book of Mormon etc all recouping and while some of her shows do have pricey tickets, she always has tickets at a low price e.g. $25 for the balcony for Richard III/Twelfth Night, the bank seats for the River.<<<

And she has had great success on both sides of the pond!

[hachot]

Posted: 1/29/15 at 9:30pm

Would also add the Richards/Frankel team-- last year they did Lady Day, Glass Menagerie and All the Way...three straight plays that recouped as well as Blithe Spirit in London which was a success. Realistic Joneses didn't work financially but it had its enthusiasts and detractors. Their only out and out bomb was the sad Bridges of Madison County.

[Robbie2]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 12:00am

Smart & Savy Producers (starting with the smartest...)

Sonia Friedman
David Binder
David Stone
Kevin McCollum
Scott Rudin
Robin Goodman
Roger Berlind
Jeffrey Richards
Daryl Roth
Barry & Fran Weissler
Hal Luftig

*** I left off the Shuberts, Disney, Nederlanders & Jujamcyn ***