Trademarks of Certain Producers

[chrishuyen]

With the Scott Rudin/Mockingbird rights issue, it seems like people aren't all that surprised at this kind of move being pulled by Scott Rudin. But I was wondering, what are other specific trademarks of a particular producer? Like if I'm going into a show produced by X, are there any expectations I should have because of that?

I've read some of the other threads on Ken Davenport and Scott Rudin as well, but I was wondering if there was a more general feel that a production gets from a particular producer. Admittedly, the only names I know are Scott Rudin and Ken Davenport (and I suppose Roundabout?), but are there any producers that people in general actually like, since both of those seem to have a large share of criticism.

[SomethingPeculiar]

I think people weren't surprised because Rudin is known for having a temper and marches to the beat of his own drum.

On the subject of "trademarks," I would say many (not all) Rudin shows have these characteristics:
– Playbill title page design
– He usually produces 2-5 QUALITY star-driven plays and "prestige" projects each season
– Frequent collaborators (people like Sam Gold, Denzel Washington, David Hare, costume designer Ann Roth)
– Long preview period
– Some advertising similarities

If you were to closely analyze other producers, you'll notice patterns in who they work with, the titles they choose, how they advertise, success rate, etc. But Rudin is sort of a unique situation because he's the most prolific commercial producer on Broadway, and he's the driving force behind his shows. (Other shows may have a few lead producers who make decisions together.)

It's easier to see patterns with Non-profits, because they're catering to their subscribers with multi-show seasons. Most of them also have a "corporate identity" in their advertising (LCT and the McMullan posters, Roundabout and the blocky font, Second Stage and the color orange, etc). Every non-profit also has "their guys" (MTC = Terrence McNally, Daniel Sullivan, Doug Hughes, Richard Greenberg. Roundabout likes older plays, British directors, and musical comedy revivals directed by Scott Ellis. LCT on Broadway does lavishly-designed revivals of plays and musicals. etc...)