Slew of New Tuners Planned for Tricky Off-Broadway Market
"The financial challenges of producing on or off-Broadway are difficult," producer Pam Pariseau, who is presenting the upcoming Slut with Dena Hammerstein one of the people behind the long-runner I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, said. "I think it comes down to the nature of the show. There is an intimacy that can be achieved in a small house that we felt would be just right to launch Slut. The musical showcases an original voice and the finances of off-Broadway will hopefully allow us to run long enough for the show to find its audience."
Here is a selection of the musicals that are planning to open off-Broadway in the coming months:
—The rock musical Once Around the Sun is the first of the crop. Starring Asa Somers, Maya Days and Caren Lyn Manuel and featuring a book by Kellie Overbey and a score by Robert Morris, Steven Morris and Joe Shane, the show centers on a year in the life of a singer Somers who leaves his family and friends behind for a shot at stardom. Performances begin at the Zipper Theatre on July 27.
—The Great American Trailer Park Musical, which ran at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2004, is aiming for a late August start at a 499-seat theater within Dodger Stages which already has two musicals, The Musical of Musicals: The Musical! and Altar Boyz. The plot focuses on what happens when a hot young stripper with an agenda moves into a North Florida trailer park and sets her sights on the married man next door. The musical features music and lyrics by David Nehls and a book by Betsy Kelso.
—Slut will begin performances at the American Theatre of Actors on September 13. The musical comedy centers on an ultra-charismatic ladies man named Adam, his shy best friend Dan and a pretty rock and roll singer who changes their lives. Featuring music by Stephen Sislen and book and lyrics by Ben A.H. Winters, Slut first played at the American Theatre of Actors in the fall of 2002 and at the New York International Fringe Festival in the summer of 2003. New director Gordon Greenberg best known for his work on the recent Baker's Wife revival at Paper Mill Playhouse will take the reins of the upcoming off-Broadway production.
—The Opposite of Sex, based on the 1998 film of the same name, tried out at San Francisco's Magic Theatre last fall in preparation for what was expected to be a Broadway bow. Now the production, being presented by Barry and Fran Weissler, is aiming a little lower and is eyeing a fall berth at Dodger Stages. The show, which centers on a 16-year-old tart played by Kerry Butler out-of-town who wrecks the life of her gay half-brother, features music and lyrics by Douglas J. Cohen and a book by Robert Jess Roth and Cohen based on Don Roos' screenplay.
—Still looking for a theater is American Duet, to be headlined by Darius Rucker of the chart-topping rock band Hootie and the Blowfish. American Duet, which is also expected to feature Jeremy Kushnier Footloose, Rent, was co-written by Marcus Hummon and Bill Feehely who will also helm the production and has been kicking around since 1998 when it premiered at Nashville's Actors Bridge Ensemble. The show contrasts the story of two musicians: a black artist who breaks down racial barriers at The Grand Ole Opry and a white singer with African roots.
—The Ark has been in development since 1996 and has been included in the ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre and as part of the 2002-2003 season at the Village Theatre in Issaquah, Washington. In the musical, audience members are treated like animals on Noah's Ark and the onstage characters must learn to get along as they are trapped on a ship they cannot escape. The tuner, to be directed by Ray Roderick, has music by Michael McLean and book and lyrics by Kevin Kelly and McLean and is aiming for an October New York start.
—Almost Heaven, a bio-musical utilizing the songs and stories of the late John Denver, is scheduled to arrive off-Broadway in October following a run at the Center Repertory Company in Walnut Creek, California. Featuring direction by Randall Myler and a book by Myler and Peter Glazer, the show first played at the Denver Center Theatre Company in both 2002 prior to Myler's involvement and 2003. Although Myler has received good notices for his past work on similar off-Broadway musicals using the catalogs of Janis Joplin Love, Janis, Hank Williams Hank Williams: Lost Highway and The Mamas and the Papas Dream a Little Dream, none of those shows managed to turn a profit.
—Dr. Sex had its world premiere at the Bailiwick Repertory Theatre in the fall of 2003 and was once reported for a Broadway run. Like the acclaimed film Kinsey, this musical comedy is based on the life story of Alfred Kinsey, who authored The Kinsey Report and revolutionized sex education. The tuner features a score by Larry Bortniker and book by Bortniker and Sally Deering. The Dr. Sex team is currently searching for a marquee-level star to play the title role and hoping to begin Gotham performances in September.
Also on the horizon are musicals being presented by non-profit theater companies. The Vineyard Theater has Kirsten Childs' The Miracle Brothers on its schedule for August, the same month that will see a Public Theater revival of the musical version of The Two Gentlemen of Verona at Central Park's Delacorte Theatre.
But the question remains—is there an audience for all these shows? Even the currently running Altar Boyz, which would seem to have wide appeal and received a good amount of acclaim including a positive notice in The New York Times complete with a large photo, has trouble finding an audience to fill its 360-seat theater eight times a week.
"On weekends we have a big crowd," Altar Boyz producer Ken Davenport told Broadway.com. "But some other performances are tough. We are in a wonderful position--we got raves and the word of mouth on the show is fantastic--but we face the same challenges any off-Broadway musical faces. Off-Broadway is the little brother of Broadway. We get hand me downs—trickle down audiences. Right now we're facing a supply and demand problem. The product has increased, but there aren't more people coming. When you can get week-of tickets for hit Broadway shows like Hairspray and The Producers, that is where the tourists are going to go first. And shows need tourists to last. So off-Broadway has to fight for the audience and our muscles aren't as big as our big brother's.”
In the past decade or so, only three of the many off-Broadway musicals that opened turned a substantial profit off-Broadway—the still-running trio of I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, Naked Boys Singing! and Menopause, the Musical. Compare that figure to Broadway—last year alone Avenue Q which transferred from off-Broadway to the Great White Way, The Boy from Oz and Wicked all wound up in the black despite multi-million dollar budgets. Still, even if an off-Broadway mounting is unsuccessful, a show's New York production could gain the attention needed for potentially profitable regional productions and/or tours. For instance, The Last Five Years faltered at the Minetta Lane, but the cast recording sold well and the property continues to be licensed to theaters throughout the country.
Of course the majority of producers maintain the belief that their productions will triumph in the Big Apple, despite the odds. “I always thought my show could buck the trend—I think it can be the next I Love You,” Davenport said, still confident that Altar Boyz which is also set to launch a tour in Detroit this fall will turn a hefty profit in New York. “People are now getting the sense that there are some positive things happening off-Broadway.”
Certainly every off-Broadway producer hopes that last bit is true.