Utah Performing Arts

WHAT IS THE WEST END’S HOT TICKET?

jwballard — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 00:52:00 +0000

What is hot in London this season? I spent five days in London last week and enjoyed a broad range of new musicals and straight plays. Aside from the blockbuster musicals that are also big on Broadway (Wicked, Lion King, Jersey Boys, Mamma Mia) the shows that are playing to full houses are an odd bunch.

Matilda is a Hit

The Royal Shakespeare Company production of MATILDA THE MUSICAL transferred to the West End in November and has been selling out ever since. I could not even get one ticket. MATILDA is based on Roald Dahl’s story about a girl with extraordinary powers. JERUSALEM with Mark Rylance has already had a successful run in New York and has few tickets available through the end of its run in January. At the 300-seat Cottlesloe in the National Theatre, COLLABORATORS stars Simon Russell Beale as Stalin and Alex Jennings as the playwright Mikhail Bulgakov. This SRO production will soon be moved to the 1100-seat Olivier and will run through April.

Ghost isn't scary, but it is a lovely production

GHOST THE MUSICAL isn’t selling out, but had a full house when I saw it on a Saturday night and has been getting much attention from the press. This theater version of the 1990 movie will open on Broadway in March. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new WIZARD OF OZ has been running since March, stars the most famous Phantom of the Opera Michael Crawford and delighted the young audience I sat with for a Sunday matinee. Dorothy is played by first-time actress Danielle Hope, winner of the BBC smash hit talent show Over The Rainbow.

Flying witches & monkeys and Michael Crawford as the Wizard

My favorite show was a Beatles play with music, based on a 1994 movie, BACKBEAT. It tells the story of the five-man group that did not include Ringo and had its first success in the seedy red light district of Hamburg, Germany. BACKBEAT has posted an early closing notice and will end in February, but a Canada production is rumored for Toronto in the summer of 2012. THREE DAYS IN MAY is political drama at its British best.

Backbeat - the young Beatles

In May 1940, Winston Churchill, Neville Chamberlain and Lord Halifax debate the bleak future of Britain, losing the war to Nazi Germany without the help of pacifist America.

DREAMBOATS AND PETTICOATS is a nostalgic jukebox musical based on music of the 50’s and 60’s, with songs from artists like Roy Orbison, Everly Brothers, Chuck Berry, Cliff Richard and Del Shannon. It is based on a series of successful CD compilations and has toured the UK. And OFFICE PARTY is the TV show “the Office” transformed into a Tony & Tina’s Wedding interactive theater piece. If you want to drink a lot, dance to bad disco, listen to bad jokes and meet strangers, it is the perfect show.

Nostalgia and Oldies

Which of these shows will Broadway in Utah audiences get to see? Maybe GHOST, if it is a big hit on Broadway. Maybe Matilda, if it gets to Broadway. I did hear that the long-running We Will Rock You may tour the US in a year or so. This musical, based on the music of Queen, has run in London for nine years, but has never played New York or toured the US.

I guess the next blockbuster musical hit won’t come from the West End this season. Maybe next year…..

Picadilly Circus

MAYOR BECKER SCORES – COUNCIL FUNDS NEW THEATER

jwballard — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:32:18 +0000

This week the Salt Lake City Council voted to approve spending $18 million to plan and design a new theater for Utah. After fifteen years of meetings, planning, forums and debate, the vote was 5 to 2 to build the Utah Performing Arts Center which will probably cost over $100 million.
The Salt Lake Tribune said BECKER’S BROADWAY THEATER GETS COUNCIL BOOST
and the Deseret news ran a story under the headline SALT LAKE CITY COUNCIL VOTES TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THEATER.

Main Street Site of Utah Performing Arts Center

The outcome of the council meeting was no surprise, after the Council held a public hearing last week. The testimony from citizens was overwhelmingly in favor of building a new home for the performing arts. The Tribune reported THEATER LOVERS, BUSINESS GROUPS CRAVE BROADWAY LIGHTS IN SALT LAKE CITY

Salt Lake City has taken a big step towards establishing a twenty-first century home for the performing arts, towards making a major anchor for the downtown cultural district and towards adding a crucial piece in the process of reawakening Main Street. Congratulations to Mayor Becker and everyone who has worked so hard on this project for many years.

IS IT BETTER TO PAY OR TO RECEIVE ZAP TAX?

jwballard — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 02:50:02 +0000

The Salt Lake Tribune ran a story recently about the County ZAP tax and its support of the arts in our community.

ARTS GROUPS TO GET RAISES, THANKS TO ZAP TAX BOOST

It is wonderful that the County has been able to increase the funding they give to groups such as Ballet West and the Utah Symphony and Opera. Arts organizations have been particularly hard-hit by the recession we are going through.

Utah Performing Arts Center Proposed Design

Many people don’t realize that Broadway in Utah gets no subsidies from the government and even pays taxes. The twenty-five-year-old organization that brings PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, WICKED and THE LION KING to the Capitol Theater gets almost 100% of its revenues from ticket sales, compared to non-profit arts groups that get 60-70% of their revenue from subsidies and contributions.

Broadway in Utah pays sales tax, pays income tax, does not receive ZAP tax subsidy, does not receive grants from public and private organizations and pays much higher theater rent. By paying higher rental rates and taxes, touring Broadway helps subsidize and support non-profit performing arts organizations.

In the new theater, Broadway in Utah will bring more shows for longer runs and as a result will pay more taxes and rent. This is another example of how the arts community and the community as a whole will benefit from the new Utah Performing Arts Center.

DO NEW PAC’S PRESAGE THE END OF THE ARTS BUILDING BOOM?

jwballard — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 21:12:27 +0000

With the opening this month of the $326 million Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, the press has run a number of interesting stories about new performing arts centers, their viability and the possibility of more new construction in the future.

Kauffman Center, Kansas City

The New York Times ran a news item about the 1800- and 1600- seat venues that opened in Kansas City last week and will be homes for the symphony, opera and ballet companies. The complex was paid for with private donations and was designed by architect Moshe Safdie, who is part of the team that is working on the proposed Utah Performance Center on Main St.

The Kansas City Star featured a story entitled New Facilities Aren’t Always An Unqualified Success, which discussed problems with new performance venues in Dallas, Miami and Philadelphia. It asked many good questions:
Will that big glass-ceilinged lobby be a heating and cooling nightmare? Will acoustics in the two halls prove supportive for orchestral and operatic performances, not to mention musicals, plays, even the occasional recital and lecture? Will patrons find entrances and passageways spacious and free of bottlenecks? Will rental costs be affordable for the city’s arts organizations? Will the center attract management savvy with placating resident companies, booking its own acts and raising money?
The story also details successes in Seattle, Omaha and Los Angeles.

Smith Center, Las Vegas

The Wall Street Journal took a different point of view in its article Cultural Construction Slowdown. It discusses a $300 million hall for the Atlanta Symphony that was scrapped and $383 million Phillips Center in Orlando that has been delayed by the financial realities of the current recession. Cost overruns on new buildings and bankruptcies of arts organizations have forced communities to look HARDER at the viability of new arts venues.

In spite of the recession, a new venue will open soon in Las Vegas, and the Maison Symphonique of the Montreal Symphony and the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana opened earlier this year.

Maison Symphonique

Salt Lake City should look at these new arts centers and learn from the failures, and from the successes, when it makes plans for the Utah Performance Center.

NEWS NEWS NEWS – MAIN STREET THEATERS GET BIG COVERAGE IN SL TRIBUNE

jwballard — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:36:35 +0000

On Sunday, the Salt Lake Tribune ran a story about the proposed Utah Performance Center that took up two-thirds of the front page. There were three more stories about new theaters, including one about the Utah Theater and another looking at the success of a new theater in Durham, NC.
The main story had the usual quotes from the usual naysayers. Chris Lino, director of the Pioneer Theatre which sees itself as a competitor with touring Broadway shows, said, “Really, what is the need for this?” And Greg Geilmann, director of Kingsbury Hall worried that, “Kingsbury Hall could lose as much as $400,000 annually…” Both men operate on the University of Utah campus and probably have priorities other than downtown economic health and development.

Utah Theater Lobby

The story made no mention of the fact that the Capitol Theatre is technologically far behind theaters in almost every city in the US and Canada of 200,000 population or more. It has so few restrooms that the lines to get in start as soon as the doors open, thirty minutes before the performance. And it doesn’t even have a loading dock for the trucks that bring lights, sound, sets and costumes for the Opera, Ballet and touring shows.
Besides that main story, there was a good explanation of the likely funding mechanism for the Utah Performance Center. Another story about the Durham Performing Arts Center explain that the 2008 building with 2712 seats made a $400,000 profit in its first year of operations. Wow. This theater was developed by some of the same people who are planning our new theater on Main Street. And a story about the uncertain future of the Utah Theater, which the city bought recently.

Here are links to the individual stories:

Salt Lake City’s mega-theater: boon or boondoggle?

Salt Lake City plan, funding could begin for Main Street theater

Future for Utah Theatre remains a mystery

MAYOR BECKER SAYS WE’LL HAVE A NEW THEATER IN THREE YEARS!

jwballard — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 19:29:27 +0000

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker was interviewed on KCPW’s Politics Up Close last week. He spoke about the proposed Utah Performance Center on Main and the likelihood that the design and construction phase will start soon.

Site of Proposed Utah Performance Center

Among the points he made are:
• The latest study found that a new theater is needed, it is financially feasible, and will financially benefit the community as a whole as well as the arts community.
• It will bring bring tremendous benefits to the city and to the entire region. It will catalyze what is happening downtown with City Creek Center and will create opportunities for increased activity levels and a more vibrant downtown.
• The are a number of proposed financing packages and in a couple of months the city council will decide to go ahead with the three-year design and construction phase.

If you want to hear the interview here is a link.
MAYOR BECKER ON KCPW
The mayor’s discussion of the Utah Performance Center starts at minute 13 of the recording.

Hooray. The mayor has worked hard throughout his first term to bring a 21st century performance venue to Main Street. We should have have a new theater by the end of his second term if he gets the expected support from the city council.

BROADWAY HAS ANOTHER RECORD YEAR

jwballard — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:19:16 +0000

The 2010-11 season on Broadway has set a new record for ticket sales and beat the previous season in both ticket sales and attendance.

Season Gross Gross Total Attendance
2010-2011 $1.08 billion 12.53 million
2009-2010 $1.02 billion 11.89 million

The season in 10-11 had 53 weeks (an adjustment made every seven years) compared to the 52 weeks in the 09-10 season, but 10-11 was still ahead even if its first 52 weeks are compared.

Broadway Billboards

42 new shows opened during the season, close to the highest number in the last twenty years of 43 openings in 08-09.

The long-running successes of Wicked and Lion King were joined by Spiderman and Book of Mormon, which are both selling more than $1 million per week. Another of the spring’s strong sellers, War Horse, became one of the rare non-musicals selling more than $900,000 per week.

VARIETY ran a story with more numbers and details.

BOOK OF MORMON, WILL IT PLAY IN PEORIA – OR SALT LAKE CITY?

jwballard — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 22:44:15 +0000

The biggest hit on Broadway this season is “The Book of Mormon”, written by Matt Parker and Trey Stone of South Park fame. “Mormon” won the most Tony Awards (nine), has the highest ticket price of any Broadway show ($487.25) and is sold out for months. Not surprisingly, much has been written about the show in our local press. I thought it would be fun too look through what is being said in the Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News. I even had the opportunity to be quoted in two of the stories.

Book of Mormon on Broadway

Here is a selection of what appeared in our two dailies.

From the Deseret News:
Is the ‘Book of Mormon’ musical accurate satire? 6/12/11
While theater experts and media pundits have praised the musical, others have pointed out the play is not only profane and inaccurate, but actually an attack on faith … broadly.
‘Book of Mormon’ musical: Humorous Hazing or Modern Minstrel Show? National faith leaders consider impact 6/16/11
In Wednesday’s “On Faith” forum in the Washington Post, the question “Is Faith Funny?” was explored by nine respondents from different religious and philosophical backgrounds. Several of the writers seem to espouse the view that “The Book of Mormon” provides people of faith with a healthy opportunity to laugh at themselves.
Controversial Mormon Newsweek sold out 6/17/11

Newsweek Cover

‘Mormon’ musical: Pride in prejudice? 6/18/11
As the week progressed, however, a number of pundits stepped forward to voice their concerns about the musical’s philosophical underpinnings, and what its meteoric popularity says about the state of religious tolerance in contemporary society.

From the Salt Lake Tribune:
Waiting for ‘The Book of Mormon’ musical in SLC 5/3/11
The creators would love to bring the show to Salt Lake City. “It will play there in some form at some point,” Parker wrote in an online chat in March. “Maybe even just a high school performance.”
John Ballard, president of MagicSpace Entertainment, “The answer to if it will come is ‘yes.’ As to when – who knows?”
‘The Book of Mormon’ wins nine Tonys 6/12/11
Also playing on Broadway: new Mormon ad 6/14/11
‘Book of Mormon’ perfect for Salt Lake City stage 6/16/11
Ballard knows Utahns will go see “The Book of Mormon” musical because they already have. “If it doesn’t come here, people will fly to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Denver to see it, because they’ve already gone to New York,” Ballard said. Jerry Rapier, producing director of Plan-B Theatre Company, said Utahns would go “in droves.”

O'Neill Theatre Marquee

“Book of Mormon” breaks record: Most expensive Broadway ticket 6/17/11
‘Book of Mormon’ musical can inspire doubters to stay 6/17/11
After “The Book of Mormon” opened on Broadway, The New York Times quoted me as calling the musical “inspired,” said Adam Ford, local attorney.
There certainly is a lot being said here about this controversial, profane new hit on the Great White Way. It will be fun to see how it is received when/if it ever gets to its source city.

The Season – Broadway 2011

jwballard — Sun, 15 May 2011 21:43:17 +0000

I made my annual pilgrimage to New York for the Spring Road Conference of the Broadway League. Presenters of touring Broadway shows in the US and Canada get together with agents, producers and press agents to see and talk about the season’s new shows and debate which will get a Tony Award. The meeting is a rare and inspiring opportunity to see America’s best new theater and to meet the directors and actors who create the magical experiences that keep crowds coming to Times Square night after night.

War Horse at Lincoln Center

I saw seven shows in five days and enjoyed each production. I started with one of the two big hits of this year, War Horse, a play imported to Lincoln Center from the National Theatre in London and nominated for four Tony awards. It is a big, powerful, dark and challenging story of a boy and his horse who are inseparable – and are sent off separately to fight in World War I. The horses are life-size puppets that breathe, gallop and neigh as if they are alive. They are the stars of the show and add a new dimension to an emotional and wrenching experience.

Priscilla at the Palace

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is another show from London, based on the Australian film of a few years ago. The story, a gay father trying to connect with his son that he has never known, is overshadowed by a disco-themed, technicolor, non-stop drag show. But, nevertheless, it is a fun and high-energy experience.

House of Blue Leaves, a revival of the black comedy, theater-of-the-absurd play by John Guare, had big guns in its cast, with Ben Stiller, Edie Falco and Jennifer Jason Leigh in the leads. It was great fun until it explodes in violence in the second act.

Wonderland had this season's shortest run

Wonderland, a sweet musical re-telling of the fairy tale, cast Alice as a single mom trying to cope with today’s frenetic world, complicated by all the usual suspects, from the off-with-her-head Queen of Roses to the “I’m tardy” Mad Hatter. With music by Frank Wildhorne (Jekyll & Hyde, Civil War), the show was savaged by critics and announced its closing the day I was in the audience. This reminded me that seven out of ten Broadway shows lose money for their investors. I invested in Wonderland.

Times Square Billboard

Catch Me If You Can is the story of one of the greatest living con-men, Frank Abignale. He was caught by the FBI at age 21, served five years in prison, went to work for the FBI, wrote a book about his escapades, which was then made into a successful film. This musical was created by many of the same team that made the hit musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (which just happens to be about con-men too) and the Hairspray team. After enjoying the show immensely, I was treated to hearing Abignale speak at lunch about trust, deception, turning one’s life around and making amends to people you have hurt. Being inspired by this con-man was the emotional high-point of the conference for me. And the musical is top quality and very enjoyable.

Harry Potter on Broadway Again

Another talked-about show this season is the revival of How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, starring John Larroquette and Harry Potter, er, Daniel Radcliffe. Sure enough, the audience was full of screaming teenage girls who were not there to see a slightly creaky old musical from the early sixties. I almost considered leaving at intermission due to the young woman next to me who was texting to girlfriends every time Radcliffe left the stage – but I am glad I stuck it out. By the end of the show, the two stars had me smiling and totally involved in the formulaic plot. Radcliffe might not be the best singer or dancer on Broadway, but his big smile and earnestness were irresistible. I even think the method and tricks Radcliffe’s character used to climb the corporate ladder are very relevant to anyone in business today.

Spidie is Back

And, of course, the 800-pound gorilla this season is Spiderman, which is about to reopen after firing director Julie Taymor and reconfiguring the $60 million production. Will it succeed? I’m not the person to answer that question.

The biggest hit of the season is the Book of Mormon, a musical written by the creators of South Park and the creator of Avenue Q. The show opened a month ago and is already sold out months into the summer. It has been nominated for fourteen Tony Awards, more than any other show. Audiences scream and howl with delight when they are not weeping from laughter. I have never seen a show with more f-bombs and sexual references – or more laughs. It left me with my head spinning, wondering if we can bring it to Utah without alienating the LDS portion of our subscriber base. The show is full of redeeming messages and sweet characters, and after meeting with the producers and chatting with creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, I am convinced there must be a way to bring it here. I’ve always enjoyed a challenge and Book of Mormon will be a big one. Here is a link to the story the Salt Lake Tribune ran about Book of Mormon recently.

the Hit of the Season

So which shows from the 2011 season will we see in Utah? War Horse, Book of Mormon and maybe Sister Act, another movie-based show which I wasn’t able to see this trip. And which will be the big Tony winner? Unquestionably – Book of Mormon.

Tough Times for Symphonies

jwballard — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 23:53:20 +0000

The recession of 2009 continues to batter non-profit arts organizations in 2011, notices of recovery and improved employment notwithstanding. Opera and ballet companies are having similar troubles, but aren’t in the news as often as troubled orchestras. Once in a while, one does hear good news, as is the case with a report about the Minnesota Orchestra.

Honda Robot conducts Detroit Symphony

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has been in negotiations with its musicians for most of 2010. The musicians went out on strike in October which resulted in cancellation of the first half of the season. In February, banks called for a $54 million loan to be repaid. Banks want DSO’s loan repaid, Detroit News
and musicians rejected a “final” offer from management. DSO musicians turn down latest offer, Detroit Free Press.

Detroit Musicians on Picket Line

In Louisville, Kentucky the Louisville Orchestra declared bankruptcy in December. The orchestra tried to annul its contract with musicians, but federal court said it must honor the contract and pay the musicians. So the orchestra is tapping its $10 million endowment to make its payroll while management tries to map out a future with a smaller orchestra and smaller season.

In December, musicians of the Charleston (SC) Symphony Orchestra accepted a new contract that reduces the size of the orchestra and cuts the operating deficit of $2.3 million almost in half. Symphony members agree to new contract, Charleston Post & Courier. Base salary for a musician is $14,000 plus health benefits.

Aida - San Francisco Opera

The San Francisco Opera posted a deficit of $1.5 million for the fiscal year ending in 2010. Ticket sales in 2010 were $18 million, down from $24 million in 2009. SF Opera goes boldly into next season under a cloud, Sacramento Bee

But let’s end this post on a high note, in Minneapolis, a city renowned for its support of the arts. Frugality pays off for Minnesota Orchestra, Mpls Star Tribune For the fiscal year ending 2010 the orchestra had a budget SURPLUS of $8000. Its budget was cut 5% while attendance was down 7%. In the midst of the depression, the orchestra raised $43 million to refurbish its 35-year-old-home. Yay Minnesota!

We should be happy that none of our Utah arts groups have suffered such severe problems as organizations in much of the rest of the country have.