Industry Insight - by Cara Joy David

In all of Broadway’s efforts to promote accessible tickets, there is little talk of “papering.” There is good reason for this – if people capable of buying full-price tickets know that others are going to see a show for free, they won’t want to pay full price for that same show. What is papering and how does it work? We've got the scoop!

We hear a lot about making Broadway accessible. Broadway ticket prices have outpaced inflation over the decades (by a lot) and cheap preview tickets were abandoned years ago, all leading to the impression that Broadway was not accessible for those with average, or below average, incomes. There have at least been attempts to combat that impression in recent years. But something that is still largely seen as an older rich people game is investing in Broadway. However, a bunch of people have been trying to change that in the last decade, with attempts heating up more recently.

Much publicity was given to the Broadway League’s decision to cease requiring vaccinations to enter a Broadway theater, but less attention was given to the behind-the-scenes changes that were implemented around that same time. They do not include changes to the vaccination requirement – Broadway union members still must show proof of vaccination. But there are some other changes that impact the lives of your favorites.

Everyone knows it is tough times for the theater industry. Broadway’s indeed thankfully back, but amid rising Covid cases wreaking havoc on casts and keeping audiences away, the return has not been smooth. And now the theater industry has entered the cold winter months, traditionally tough times at the box office. So when the producers of MRS. DOUBTFIRE announced the show was taking a “hiatus” – as the press release read – from January 10 through March 14, theater insiders could understand why. But nothing is as simple as it seems. The decision shines a spotlight on the tense relationship between Broadway producers and Broadway’s 14 unions in these difficult times.

It is 2021, but some in the Spanish speaking community still feel like they are not properly represented by Actors’ Equity Association (AEA). And they’ve been fighting for years. Strides were made at the delegate convention in late April, but there is still a distance to travel.

We investigate what the plan is for the return of Broadway, with insight from the Broadway League, Broadway producers, industry insiders, and more!

The theater shutdown has been hard on everyone in the industry. That is true even of actors. While the average naïve reader might think of acting as a lucrative profession, many theater actors, especially New York-based ensemble members, dona??t typically have a lot of extra cash. Yes, even the lowest tier Broadway contract pays fairly well, but it is not as if the work is consistent. So what do those folks do now?

As readers know by now, the 2020 Tony Awards are going ahead based on a severely abbreviated season. Many were hoping there would be elimination and/or combination of categories to make them more competitive, but that announcement did not come as of the season’s final Tony Awards Administration Committee meeting. The existence of one category in particular has puzzled many: Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre.

One thing you want in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic is health insurance. But many theater actors are in danger of losing theirs because of the theater shut down.

This week, I asked representatives from ten theatrical nonprofits in New York to speak with me. Most said yes, but many asked to speak off-the-record because the situation is changing so rapidly they didn't want to be quoted on something that would be incorrect by the time the piece ran. Unlike my usual in the weeds piece, this is purposely a more reflective one.

This fall, I began looking into the overt sale of Broadway bootlegs. There were a couple of well-known sites selling them and I contacted the owners of those sites. They both pointed me to the website of an alleged 'international acclaimed non-profit' known as Iconic Arts. They had bought their bootlegs off of this site and simply resold them.

A producer cannot just license any property s/he wants. Yes, MAME is available for licensing on the Concord Theatricals website, but if I wanted to mount it on Broadway it would be a little more complicated than shelling out cash. Hurdles for non-professional productions are not substantial, but many professional productions require levels of permission. Jerry Herman, who passed away on December 26, 2019, was a man unlikely to give permission for professional productions of his shows unless he thought they would be good.

The discussion about how to get more diverse audiences--in terms of age, race, pretty much everything--in the theater has been going on for decades. Recently, this has led to a movement toward dedicated nights for members of a certain race or ethnicity.

Years ago, when the popularity of cell phones started exploding, theaters in other countries started experimenting with the idea of using signal jammers to prevent cell phone use in the theater. It never took off. And more and more people started using cell phones in the theater. There is the photo before, the texting during, the random cell phone ring and sometimes the recording of the performance. Most of it is not supposed to occur. We've all heard stories about performers stopping the show until phones are put away. But some wonder what can be done to stop it or even if it should be stopped.

It used to be young Broadway performers rarely did their own shows, at least not in NYC. Some of them found a place-and there are examples to be cited for sure-but it wasn't all that common. The Laurie Beechman Theatre, downstairs at the West Bank, likely hosted the most. The more established music venues, such as Birdland, were for more established performers. While Joe's Pub was established for 'young artists' in 1998, it often didn't recruit from the Broadway stable. Some theater companies would host a pop-up night or series, but it usually wasn't more than that unless the performer would automatically attract a big crowd.

Last week, many fans who couldn't fit in the theater got to enjoy part of the final performance of THE PROM courtesy of Beth Leavel's personal publicist. Lisa Goldberg, founder of her own LSG Public Relations, put up on her social media pages two-minutes-20-seconds of Leavel singing the song 'The Lady's Improving' with a note that said she recorded six minutes ('including 1.5 minutes of entrance applause') and 'received full permission to post.' The shaky video was clearly shot from a seat in the theater, which would generally be forbidden if there was no permission. So what kind of permission do you need to do this in a Broadway show? Well, it is more than a 'sure' from a producer.

Of course, everyone has been freaking out about the amount of closings announced in recent months. From the acclaimed musical THE PROM to the cult show BE MORE CHILL to the big-budget musicals KING KONG, PRETTY WOMAN and THE CHER SHOW, it's a rough time to be a producer of tuners. But rather than wondering why so much is closing, my first thought was: a?oeWhy mid-August?a?? After all, Labor Day weekend (or slightly after) used to be the preferred time of slaughter. Producers would ring every last bit of summer tourism buck before shuttering. This year the shows are going out this month, August 11 and 18. That is because sales are dropping off after that point. But why? Most say it is the shifting of school start dates earlier.

Last year many families were disappointed by the lack of TheaterWorksUSA free summer theater, which had become someone of a New York City institution. This year it is back, sort of. During the week community partner groups will be able to see DOG MAN: THE MUSICAL for free (or almost free); average weekend theatergoers will pay.

The theater community spans across the world, but it is famously small. So when you don't pay people who works for you, it tends to get out, especially if those folks have Broadway connections. Such is the pickle that former performer and casting director David Petro seems to have found himself in. He allegedly hasn't paid various people who worked for him teaching master classes and word is now spreading.

For a while, it seemed like we might only have one musical revival, the Roundabout Theatre Company production of KISS ME, KATE. Then a transfer of critical darling OKLAHOMA! was announced for the Circle in the Square, adding some excitement to the Tony race. This excitement is not just over which of these revivals will win, but rather whether there will be a Best Revival of a Musical award at all. All signs point to yes, though it is not a definite.

We have a lot of new plays on Broadway this season. Thirteen are currently set. There are also seven play revivals. Two of the new plays were written by women--both produced by non-profits and both already closed. Not one revival is of a play written by a woman.

Ten years ago, Jujamcyn Theaters founded Givenik, a service that enabled ticket buyers to give a little back to charity when buying tickets to a show.

It was around 3pm on November 1, 2018. The members of the company of BAT OUT OF HELL, which was in the midst of an engagement at Toronto's Mirvish Theatre, received a text saying there would be a company meeting at 7pm. Nothing good ever comes of those; veterans knew there was something up. Once gathered, the Company Manager told them the bad news: the tour was ending where it began, in Toronto. The final performance there was to take place, as scheduled, two days later. The rest of the stops had been cancelled. Their futures were now uncertain. The night they were told that news, one actor broke his hand during the performance, another his foot.

The Tony Awards policy has always been that in order to vote in a certain category, you needed to have seen all the shows nominated in that category. If, for example, you missed one show that was nominated in eight categories, those eight categories were off limits to you. Makes sense and seems a simple enough rule to remember. Except folks have constantly complained that people violate the policy and just vote regardless.

Theater folks are not necessarily the first to embrace change or technology. So it's not surprising when you walk into a rehearsal room and see creatives sitting with giant binders of paper. But certain companies are trying to change that.