[78-L] Upcoming shows on PBS for Pledge Drives in March^

[Jeff Sultanof]

As someone who once had a similar job (ironically, with the same company,
but this was some years ago), I certainly agree with your assessment. But I
have to say that the problem goes deeper. The entire nature of live theatre
throughout the world has changed. The problem started several years ago,
with such musicals as "Miss Saigon," "Phantom," and the like. If audiences
are going to shell out a lot of money, they want 'production values.' Now
that tickets are over $100.00, audiences have a real dilemma. What do they
see, a modest, fun show, or a gargantuan production where you can see every
nickle on the stage? Let's not even discuss plays; the only really
successful ones are revivals, it seems. And yes, there is nothing wrong with
going to the theatre to laugh and have a good time over something
forgettable ("The Producers," "Thoroughly Modern Millie," "Spamalot") if the
evening is gonna cost me $500-$600 after theatre tickets, dinner and
parking. The Broadway musical's foundation is this type of show. Back in the
sixties and seventies, you could spend a wonderful evening on Broadway for
about $50.00 for everything. People would take a chance on shows. I know; I
was there as a fan and as a student.

So, yes, I have no real interest in Broadway because I don't get tickets for
nothing anymore, and the gamble is not worth it when money is tighter than
ever. I have not seen "A Tale of Two Cities," and I'm sure that there is
much good in it (and one hopes that the KCET production can soon be found on
DVD), and hopefully it will be discovered via Tams-Witmark or Music Theatre
International where High Schools and Colleges can consider it for
performance. I just read an article stating that "Seussical" has become one
of the most performed shows in schools, and that was a major failure on
Broadway that also was not a critical success.

There is another reason as well, and I call it the "Fantasia" syndrome.
Frankly, everyone I talked to simply had no interest in seeing "Ragtime" for
one reason or another, while they acknowledged that it was a good show that
many saw when it was originally on Broadway. No one really wanted to see
"Fantasia" either back in 1940. "Ragtime" is a show that one really can't
warm up to in many ways, although the new production was more intimate than
the original. Many of Sondheim's shows fall into this category, especially
"Assassins," a theatre piece that is one of the most depressing evenings one
can imagine. I prepared the vocal score of this with my boss, and we were
very upset when we saw a videotape of the workshop production up at the
theatre archive at Lincoln Center, thanks to Mr. Sondheim's permission.

In this particular point in time, with so much going wrong in the world, if
I'm going to spend a lot of money on a show, I want to see something
familiar or something fun. Of course I'll see anything if I can see it for
nothing.

Sorry for this being way off-topic.

Jeff Sultanof

On Thu, Jan 21, 2010 at 10:08 PM, Cary Ginell <soundthink at live.com> wrote:

>
> Thanks, Steve. Some really interesting stuff. I wish, however, that they
> had programmed the concert version of the Broadway show "A Tale of Two
> Cities" for KCET, the L.A. outlet. Did anyone see it? The author, Jill
> Santoriello, is a friend of mine and I produced the piano/vocal songbook of
> the show. The show opened on Broadway in the fall of 2008 and got savaged by
> the critics as being a "Les Miserables" pretender. Nothing of the kind. The
> only problems with the show that I saw were that it was too intelligent and
> was about two decades too late. As a semi-frequent visitor to Broadway for
> my job, I've discovered that the New York theater scene is now catering to
> casual tourists rather than aficionados. I refer to it as the
> "Shrekification" of Broadway. People want a thrill ride; they don't want to
> think. This is why a superlative production of "Ragtime" closed last week
> after less than 100 performances.
>
> But I digress.
>
> Cary Ginell
>
>