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| When did Roundabout productions begin getting Broadway status? | |
| Posted by: aleck 08:55 am EDT 05/26/23 | |
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| I think the date was somewhere around 1995. I'm pretty certain it was before the move into what is now called the American Airlines Theatre. But what were the circumstances that allowed Roundabout to get that status changed from an off-Broadway producing company to Broadway -- including such high profile productions as Molly Sweeney (1995) which is considered off-Broadway, according to the Lortel Archives. But No Man's Land (1994) was considered Broadway, according to IBDB. I saw both, but my memory is that they were both in the same theatre -- Criterion on Broadway. But, while the addresses for both productions are the same (according to Lortel and IBDB) the theatres are listed as different -- Laura Pells or Critieron. What's the history here? |
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| re: When did Roundabout productions begin getting Broadway status? | |
| Posted by: FrenchDip 09:15 am EDT 05/26/23 | |
| In reply to: When did Roundabout productions begin getting Broadway status? - aleck 08:55 am EDT 05/26/23 | |
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| There were 2 theaters in the Criterion Center. Originally they were called Stage Right and Stage Left. Right was Broadway, left was Off-Broadway. Left was eventually re-named the Laura Pels. Roundabout moved in in 1991 and their first Broadway production there was The Homecoming in 1991. | |
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| re: When did Roundabout productions begin getting Broadway status? | |
| Posted by: standingO 09:32 am EDT 05/26/23 | |
| In reply to: re: When did Roundabout productions begin getting Broadway status? - FrenchDip 09:15 am EDT 05/26/23 | |
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| I remember a revival of 1776 in that venue. It was my only time there. I believe The Man Who Came to Dinner was the first Roundabout production at American Airlines Theater (is that the name when it opened?) This may be underinformed but it seems like Cabaret helped Roundabout establish its current footprint on Broadway. |
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| re: When did Roundabout productions begin getting Broadway status? | |
| Last Edit: MockingbirdGirl 09:38 am EDT 05/26/23 | |
| Posted by: MockingbirdGirl 09:35 am EDT 05/26/23 | |
| In reply to: re: When did Roundabout productions begin getting Broadway status? - standingO 09:32 am EDT 05/26/23 | |
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| I believe The Man Who Came to Dinner was the first Roundabout production at American Airlines Theater (is that the name when it opened?) This may be underinformed but it seems like Cabaret helped Roundabout establish its current footprint on Broadway. Yes and yes to Dinner at the AA... but this was 4 years after 1776, which itself transferred to the Gershwin in 1997, as did View from the Bridge to the Neil Simon the following year. So I think people knew that Roundabout had a Broadway 'footprint' well before either the Kit Kat Club or the AA. |
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| re: When did Roundabout productions begin getting Broadway status? | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 05:29 pm EDT 05/26/23 | |
| In reply to: re: When did Roundabout productions begin getting Broadway status? - MockingbirdGirl 09:35 am EDT 05/26/23 | |
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| And although it was not followed up for more than 20 years — unless I'm forgetting something — the Roundabout's first production of The Play's the Thing transferred to Broadway in May 1973. | |
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| re: When did Roundabout productions begin getting Broadway status? | |
| Posted by: dbdbdb 07:56 am EDT 05/27/23 | |
| In reply to: re: When did Roundabout productions begin getting Broadway status? - AlanScott 05:29 pm EDT 05/26/23 | |
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| Roundabout also transferred A Taste of Honey to the Century theatre in 1981. | |
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| re: When did Roundabout productions begin getting Broadway status? | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 04:08 pm EDT 05/28/23 | |
| In reply to: re: When did Roundabout productions begin getting Broadway status? - dbdbdb 07:56 am EDT 05/27/23 | |
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| Thanks! Forgot about that one. So it was rather less than 20 years before a second Roundbout production transferred to a Broadway theatre. | |
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| Was Roundabout the first "non-profit" to produce Broadway productions? | |
| Posted by: aleck 09:21 am EDT 05/26/23 | |
| In reply to: re: When did Roundabout productions begin getting Broadway status? - FrenchDip 09:15 am EDT 05/26/23 | |
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| I forget that history as well. And while "non profits" produce at Broadway-level for ticket prices and award edibility, they do not need to adhere to Broadway standards for pay scales or union rules as for-profit producers. Right? | |
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| We can go back at least to the early Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center productions in 1963-1964 | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 05:25 pm EDT 05/26/23 | |
| In reply to: Was Roundabout the first "non-profit" to produce Broadway productions? - aleck 09:21 am EDT 05/26/23 | |
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| The Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center and the APA-Phoenix both started producing on Broadway in the 1965-1966 season. The Tonys did not consider Repertory Theater productions eligible. After two seasons of allowing the APA-Phoenix productions, which played the Lyceum, to be eligible, the Tonys removed them from eligibility. When Papp took over at the Beaumont, he got the Tonys to consider Beaumont productions eligible. The season before that, the Phoenix, producing on its own, produced on Broadway, and those productions were considered eligible for the Tonys. But then we can go back to 1971-1972 to find NYSF productions on Broadway — Sticks and Bones, Two Gentlemen of Verona — that were also eligible for the Tonys, if we even consider eligibility for the Tonys to be a determinative factor here. But when the Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center produced two seasons before the Beaumont at the temporary downtown ANTA Washington Square (with a seating capacity of approximately 1,100), those were generally considered Broadway. It's a bit unclear whether the Tonys considered those productions eligible in 1963-1964 as none of the company's productions received any nominations, but the following season the company itself was nominated as best producer of a play for the company's Tartuffe. Circle in the Square first produced on Broadway in 1968-1969, before it had its own Broadway theatre, which started in 1972. That production of Circle in the Square's, Morning, Noon and Night, received two Tony nominations. The question of whether City Center productions, which did get nominated for Tonys, should be considered is at least somewhat complicated, including by the fact that it's not clear when City Center became a nonprofit. It may have always been one, but I'm not sure. I think nonprofit status for performing arts organizations may not have been an option when City Center started producing, but I'm not sure. Putting City Center to the side, we can go back to at least 1963-1964 with the first Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center productions. |
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| I think we can go back earlier | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 03:50 pm EDT 05/27/23 | |
| In reply to: We can go back at least to the early Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center productions in 1963-1964 - AlanScott 05:25 pm EDT 05/26/23 | |
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| To productions from the Federal Theatre Project of the WPA in the 1930s and to productions from ANTA in the late 1940s and early 1950s, although some of these may have been in an in-between area as far as Broadway and Off-Broadway are concerned, which brings up the question of when Off-Broadway officially existed in the sense of having separate contracts from Broadway. | |
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| re: We can go back at least to the early Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center productions in 1963-1964 | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 07:06 pm EDT 05/26/23 | |
| In reply to: We can go back at least to the early Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center productions in 1963-1964 - AlanScott 05:25 pm EDT 05/26/23 | |
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| “Man of La Mancha” couldn’t get a theater in the theater district, so they took the ANTA in order to have a Broadway house (and they literally had to dig an underground tunnel to create a crossover), and then went on to play for four or five years there until NYU you tore it down. | |
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| re: We can go back at least to the early Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center productions in 1963-1964 | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 07:14 pm EDT 05/26/23 | |
| In reply to: re: We can go back at least to the early Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center productions in 1963-1964 - Singapore/Fling 07:06 pm EDT 05/26/23 | |
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| And because of that there are still some sources that will say, incorrectly, that Man of La Mancha started Off-Broadway, even though it was eligible for the 1965-1966 Tonys (and won several). | |
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| re: We can go back at least to the early Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center productions in 1963-1964 | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 08:21 pm EDT 05/26/23 | |
| In reply to: re: We can go back at least to the early Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center productions in 1963-1964 - AlanScott 07:14 pm EDT 05/26/23 | |
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| I remember Johnny Carson saying that Man of La Mancha wasn't really a Broadway production on The Tonight Show. His guest did try to make Carson understand that he was mistaken. | |
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| re: We can go back at least to the early Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center productions in 1963-1964 | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 11:32 pm EDT 05/26/23 | |
| In reply to: re: We can go back at least to the early Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center productions in 1963-1964 - BroadwayTonyJ 08:21 pm EDT 05/26/23 | |
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| Carson’s confusion seems untenable. La Mancha played on Broadway, but it definitely wasn’t typical Broadway fare, and pulled much more on Off-Broadway and downtown theatrical influences than Broadway. Hair gets a lot of ink for being the counterculture experimental show that innovated modern musical, but Man of La Mancha was at least as important. | |
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| re: We can go back at least to the early Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center productions in 1963-1964 | |
| Last Edit: BroadwayTonyJ 04:38 am EDT 05/27/23 | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 04:36 am EDT 05/27/23 | |
| In reply to: re: We can go back at least to the early Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center productions in 1963-1964 - Singapore/Fling 11:32 pm EDT 05/26/23 | |
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| Carson didn't understand that ANTA was a Broadway theater, primarily because of its location. There were/are a number of well known celebrities who (years ago mostly) made some incredibly ignorant remarks about Broadway shows, which showed their stunning lack of knowledge. Barbara Walters comes to mind, who stated on more than one occasion that the original production of Chicago was a notorious flop. And then there's Isabelle Stevenson! |
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| re: Was Roundabout the first "non-profit" to produce Broadway productions? | |
| Posted by: FrenchDip 09:39 am EDT 05/26/23 | |
| In reply to: Was Roundabout the first "non-profit" to produce Broadway productions? - aleck 09:21 am EDT 05/26/23 | |
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| I'm not sure who the first was. Lincoln Center Theater was producing on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont in the 80s. And before them there was the Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center, and the Public also produced a few shows directly on Broadway (including at the Beaumont). As for pay scales, the Broadway non-profits are generally covered by the LORT (League of Resident Theaters) contract and are categorized as A+. Minimum weekly salary for actors through February 2022 was $1,778 per week compared to about $2,300 per week for actors on the Production contract (the standard Broadway contract). However, if a show is extended beyond its initial run (the exact length is defined in the contract and varies by company/theater) the prevailing Production Contract salaries will apply. I've linked the 2017-2022 LORT Rulebook below. The salary chart is on page 84 and then starting on 117 are addendums with specific provisions for each of the Broadway non-profits. |
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| Link | Actors Equity LORT Rulebook 2017-2022 |
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| On IBDB | |
| Posted by: aleck 01:05 pm EDT 05/27/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Was Roundabout the first "non-profit" to produce Broadway productions? - FrenchDip 09:39 am EDT 05/26/23 | |
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| I see that IBDB lists a 1965 Vivian Beaumont production of Danton's Death as its first acknowledged production. I was once in a group of actors (eating!) discussing all these various contracts and their acronyms, like LORT etc. The actor Richard Woods, who had just performed at Williamstown, said that at Williamstown they had an FTA contract. Others question what that was. Richard explained: "F*** the actors." |
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| re: Was Roundabout the first "non-profit" to produce Broadway productions? | |
| Posted by: Musicals54 09:32 am EDT 05/26/23 | |
| In reply to: Was Roundabout the first "non-profit" to produce Broadway productions? - aleck 09:21 am EDT 05/26/23 | |
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| non-profits have lower minima for a limited time, I believe it's 16 weeks. After that, they are bound by the general criteria. | |
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