This is the 2d or 3d time the Times have weighed in on this - I'm not sure why except that nothing much else is happening in the theatre in early August.
As the business has evolved, a carrot was needed to get the increasing number of investors and 'bundlers' to make Broadway shows happen.
When Mr Healey speaks of musicals that used to cost $1 million - thats $1-1.5 million tops in 2014 dollars. Music Man cost $1.2 million to produce in 2014 dollars. To actually produce it on the same scale in 2014 would cost $12-15 million.
So yes - if David Merrick had 4 investors who could put $250,000 into each of his shows - thats about all he ever would have needed.
Now its 50-150 individual investors per show.
So the above the title billing - which denotes Tony (and all award) eligibility - became the carrot to get the money. Especially from the new investors. It balances the unlikely event of your getting your money back.
Are some artists annoyed that investor/producers, in addition to lead producers, can win Tonys? Yes. Many great talents work on Broadway and never win a Tony.
And I have many colleagues who invest in 3-4 shows a season, always above the title. In 6 years, if they choose wisely, they can easily top Hal Prince's 12 Tony wins. (is 12 correct?)
I have young colleagues who already have 3 and 4 Tonys.
But this is how and why $3.5 million for a play and $8-26 million for a musical can be raised.
Its a fact of our business now, and hurts no one.
I know everyone mentioned in the Times article, and all of the investor/producers and bundlers are great people, who love theatre - it is important to them.
They all invest to make theatre happen - not to get rich.
They care about the shows, and the people who make them.
Oh - and those meetings that the investor/producers are allowed to go to are not real meetings.
They are staged, usually monthly, for the investors. a lot of information is given out, cheer-leading, back patting.
No decisions are made at these meetings, and they are rarely discussed. And if you ask an actual tough question, you are likely to be banned from future meetings - as a colleague of mine was on one show.
I guess the article is interesting to some. I guess they'll print a version of this every year now.
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