UPDATES FOR READERS OF "THE BUSINESS OF BROADWAY"
March/April 2022
CHAPTER 4: UNIONS / CHAPTER 17: DIRECTORS/CHOREOGRAPHERS
Associate directors and choreographers on Broadway and on tour are nearing an agreement for employer-backed healthcare and other protections for the first time. The development comes after associates asked the Broadway League for voluntary recognition of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society as their union. Associate choreographers and directors have been one of the rare non-unionized groups on Broadway. SDC says voluntary union recognition has been granted.
CHAPTER 10: PRODUCERS
It may not be on Broadway, but London’s West End is often a mirror of Broadway successes and losses. From UK’s The Stage blog: "Commercial theatre companies report Covid revenue losses of up to 90%. As more companies post their annual accounts, the extent of the devastation caused by the pandemic on the commercial sector is made plain, tallying with warnings from producers including Sonia Friedman (who also produces on Broadway) that the sector was not being supported by the government and would be impacted significantly by the closure of theatres.
CHAPTER 10: PRODUCERS
"The vaccine mandate for Broadway performers and other crew members will remain in place until April 30, 2022. NYC Mayor Adams said that New York City-based performers and professional athletes would no longer have to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to perform or participate in sporting events. But the Broadway League chose to keep industry mandates in place… for now.
CHAPTER 10: PRODUCERS
The Broadway League (the association of Broadway producers) and Broadway Podcast Network have launched “The Black Business of Broadway,” a bi-monthly podcast focused on Black Broadway professionals. Host Gennean Scott, director of equity, diversity, and inclusion at The Broadway League, will speak with Black administrators, producers, directors, managers, creatives, and artists to highlight their stories, methods and successes. Guests will also provide insights into where the industry is headed and will offer advice fort the next generation. Initially-scheduled guests include producer Brian Moreland (Thoughts of a Colored Man), SpotCo COO Aaliytha Stevens, stage manager/producer Cody Renard Richard (Freestyle Love Supreme), general manager Nzinga Williams, League Road Vice-Chair Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, and Tony Award-honored press agent/producer Irene Gandy.
CHAPTER 10: PRODUCERS / CHAPTER 11: UNIQUE FINANCIALS
Typically, half of a Broadway show’s adjusted net profit is shared among the lead producers. The other half goes to investors, who also qualify for some lead producer profits by raising or investing large sums. On MJ, however, “the entire 50% share of Adjusted Net Profits [due the lead producers] will be paid to the Estate,” according to an investor operating agreement obtained by Broadway Journal.
MJ grossed $1.3 million in the seven days ended Feb. 13, its first full week after opening. At that rate, it should recoup its roughly $20 million of production costs in a little over a year. The maximum anticipated capitalization was $22.5 million.
Once the company recoups plus 10 percent, 13 percent of net profits are to be paid out. That allocation of net profits “off the top” — to the estate, Nottage, Wheeldon, general manager Bespoke Theatricals and Executive Producer Michael David — is relatively high for a Broadway musical and dilutes the adjusted net profits left for investors. Moreover, the estate didn’t offer any of its adjusted net profits to co-producers as an inducement for raising money. They include Sony (an original lead producer that provided early development funds), theater owner James Nederlander, the John Gore Organization and former investment bankers Roy Furman and Sandy Robertson.
The estate and Vollack are entitled to a $3,500 weekly office charge and a minimum $3,000 a week in producer royalties. The Jackson estate, whose primary beneficiaries are the pop star's three children, also earns royalties for licensing his songs to MJ.
CHAPTER 11: UNIQUE FINANCIALS - PANDEMIC
Broadway Journal: "Thanks to a resurgent but fickle stock market, insurance payouts, cost-cutting and emergency grants from the federal government and foundations in response to Covid-19, Lincoln Center Theater and Roundabout Theatre Co. emerged from the 18-month industry shutdown wealthier than when they entered it. Both LCT and Roundabout are regular producers of Broadway shows and continually raise tax-deductible donations from subscribers and donors. LCT’s net assets soared by 19 percent, or $31 million, to a record $192 million in the year ending in June 2021, according to an audited financial statement posted on its website. The Roundabout’s net assets rose by 17 percent, or $19 million, to a record $132 million during roughly the same period."
CHAPTER 15: ACTORS
"The actors and stage managers union says in its third annual Diversity and Inclusion Hiring Bias Report that statistics for the year 2020 indicate that the percentage of contracts going to members of color increased only marginally from the 2016-2019 period, rising from 21.5% to 24.8%. The union’s members of color nationally earned an average of 91.8% of what white members made per week."
CHAPTER 17: WRITERS - PANDEMIC
From London’s The Stage: “50% of playwrights expect to quit theatre in the next two years due to the impact of the pandemic on their livelihoods.”
CHAPTER 22: THEATRE OWNERS
The Shubert Organization recently announced that it had acquired the GalaPro App, the software that delivers automated multilingual subtitles, closed captioning, dubbing, audio description, and amplification to the user's own mobile device, allowing the arts to be more inclusive.
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