All stories by Ken on BroadwayStars

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Curtain Comes Down on Hurricane, But Broadway Still Dark on Sunday; Monday Shows Expected by Kenneth Jones and Adam Hetrick

Hurricane Irene was downgraded to Tropical Storm Irene on Aug. 28 as sun began to filter through thick clouds by noon. Mass transit remains shut down on Sunday, as do Broadway and many Off-B…

SOURCE: Playbill at 06:11PM

Much Ado? Curtain Comes Down on Hurricane Irene, But Broadway Still Dark on Sunday by Kenneth Jones and Adam Hetrick

Hurricane Irene was downgraded to Tropical Storm Irene on Aug. 28 as sun began to filter through thick clouds by noon. Mass transit remains shut down on Sunday, as do Broadway and many Off-B…

SOURCE: Playbill at 11:50AM
Saturday, August 27, 2011

47 Days ’til Godspell: Rescheduling this and rescheduling that. by Ken

I had a bunch of Godspell meetings set for today, including a financial update with my GM and a preview of our costume sketches with our Director,  but this very rude young lady named Irene…

SOURCE: Day By Day: The Producer’s Perspective at 09:00PM
Friday, August 26, 2011

48 Days ’til Godspell: A props meeting. by Ken

Danny Goldstein took a break from our last day of auditions (and we mean it this time – because we did find our last Godspell cast member today – look for an announcement next we…

SOURCE: Day By Day: The Producer’s Perspective at 09:00PM
Thursday, August 25, 2011

49 Days ’til Godspell: More cast members announced. by Ken

We released another set of cast members today, adding the uberly talented threesome of Lindsay Mendez, Celisse Henderson and Wallace Smith (our Judas!) to the company.  (It was tough keep …

SOURCE: Day By Day: The Producer’s Perspective at 09:00PM

Broadway's Godspell Will Feature Lindsay Mendez, Celisse Henderson and Wallace Smith by Kenneth Jones and Andrew Gans

Celisse Henderson of the Wicked national tour, Lindsay Mendez of Broadway's Everyday Rapture and Wallace Smith of Broadway's American Idiot have joined the cast of the new Broadway p…

SOURCE: Playbill at 07:06PM

Box Office for Broadway's Mountaintop Now Open by Andrew Gans and Kenneth Jones

The box office at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, which will be the home to the upcoming Broadway premiere of the new play The Mountaintop, opened for business Aug. 25.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:30PM

Producer Randall L. Wreghitt Will Be Remembered at Sept. 15 Memorial by Kenneth Jones and Robert Simonson

A celebration of the life and work of Broadway producer Randall L. Wreghitt will be held 1 PM Sept. 15 at Broadway's Shubert Theatre. Friends, colleagues and family will gather to rememb…

SOURCE: Playbill at 10:13AM
Wednesday, August 24, 2011

50 Days ’til Godspell: Identifying niches in our audiences. by Ken

If ever a Producer tells you their show is for “everyone” . . . run. An important part of a Producer’s job is to realize exactly who the audience is for their show, classif…

SOURCE: Day By Day: The Producer’s Perspective at 09:00PM

"You're The Top": Anything Goes Cast Album Hits Top of iTunes' Soundtrack Charts by Michael Gioia and Kenneth Jones

The Ghostlight Records cast album for the acclaimed Tony Award-winning new Broadway production of Cole Porter's Anything Goes hit No. 1 on iTunes' Soundtrack Chart Aug. 23, the same …

SOURCE: Playbill at 01:05PM
Tuesday, August 23, 2011

51 Days ’til Godspell: Planning a Box Office opening. by Ken

Before you could purchase tickets on your computer, iPhone, iPad, microwave, (ok, maybe not your microwave . . . yet), the opening of a Box Office was quite a big deal. It’ll never hav…

SOURCE: Day By Day: The Producer’s Perspective at 09:00PM

Off-Broadway's Tricks the Devil Taught Me Will Close Aug. 28 by Kenneth Jones and Andrew Gans

Tricks the Devil Taught Me, the new play written and directed by Tony Georges, will end its Off-Broadway run following the evening performance on Aug. 28 at the Minetta Lane. It opened Aug. …

SOURCE: Playbill at 11:00AM
Monday, August 22, 2011

52 Days ’til Godspell: The SYTA Conference by Ken

Remember that Group Sales event I talked about on day 70?  (If not, click here). It was today! We had a sound check this morning, followed by the luncheon for hundreds and hundreds of Stude…

SOURCE: Day By Day: The Producer’s Perspective at 09:00PM
Sunday, August 21, 2011

53 Days ’til Godspell: Looking for Production Assistants. by Ken

We’re 53 days away from the first preview, but only 22 days away from our first rehearsal. And that means, we’re going to need lots of hands on deck . . . and soon. I got my star…

SOURCE: Day By Day: The Producer’s Perspective at 09:00PM

"The Sun Comes Up": Follies Will Get a 2011 Cast Album by Kenneth Jones and Adam Hetrick

A cast album for the new Broadway revival of Follies is shaping up to be the Rialto's worst-keep secret this week. Cast members have leaked the news via Tweets and Facebook postings. The…

SOURCE: Playbill at 11:44AM
Saturday, August 20, 2011

54 Days ’til Godspell: Signing someone for special effects. by Ken

What’s great about working with incredibly creative people, is that every day by day in production, new and exciting ideas are born.  I call it these ideas “Wouldn’t it be…

SOURCE: Day By Day: The Producer’s Perspective at 09:00PM
Friday, August 19, 2011

55 Days ’til Godspell: Concierges are key. by Ken

Broadway demographic studies show that 65% of the Broadway audience is from “out-of-town”.  Those 65% can’t all stay with friends, right?  So they stay in hotels.  And w…

SOURCE: Day By Day: The Producer’s Perspective at 09:00PM
Thursday, August 18, 2011

56 Days ’til Godspell: A visit to the shop. by Ken

Our Set Design team and Technical Supervisors will make several trips to the scene shop during the build process to make sure that everything is proceeding according to the “plans.R…

SOURCE: Day By Day: The Producer’s Perspective at 09:00PM

James Barbour Departs Rocky Horror Show at the Old Globe by Adam Hetrick and Kenneth Jones

James Barbour, who was announced to star as Frank 'N' Furter in The Old Globe's new production of The Rocky Horror Show, has exited the cult favorite due to family matters, it wa…

SOURCE: Playbill at 05:16PM
Wednesday, August 17, 2011

57 Days ’til Godspell: A site visit about sight-lines. by Ken

After Monday’s production meeting, a “sight-line” sub-committee was formed.  Today, that group (including our TD team, Director Danny Goldstein, General Management, and ou…

SOURCE: Day By Day: The Producer’s Perspective at 09:00PM
Tuesday, August 16, 2011

58 Days ’til Godspell: More cast members announced. by Ken

We added four more cast members to the Godspell line-up today.  In addition to the previously announced Hunter Parrish, early this AM we issued a press release to all outlets announcing tha…

SOURCE: Day By Day: The Producer’s Perspective at 09:00PM
Monday, August 15, 2011

59 Days ’til Godspell: Our first Production Meeting. by Ken

There have been lots of Godspell meetings going on over the last several weeks, months, and even years (it was two years ago that Stephen Schwartz, Danny Goldstein and I first met) . . . but…

SOURCE: Day By Day: The Producer’s Perspective at 09:00PM
Sunday, August 14, 2011

60 Days ’til Godspell: Investor relations by Ken

Anyone that runs a business that depends on investors to fund that business needs to have a good plan of how to keep those important people up-to-date on the happenings of the company.  For…

SOURCE: Day By Day: The Producer’s Perspective at 09:00PM
Saturday, August 13, 2011

61 Days ’til Godspell: Other ways to get press. by Ken

There are all sorts of ways to get press and raise awareness for a Broadway show like Godspell.  The most typical methods are through releasing big news items about your production, (e.g y…

SOURCE: Day By Day: The Producer’s Perspective at 09:00PM
Friday, August 12, 2011

62 Day ’til Godspell: Putting the rental puzzle pieces together. by Ken

Today we got a second round of rates on the Godspell sound and light rental packages.  (I often wonder why Broadway houses don’t have some “rep” lighting plots built in li…

SOURCE: Day By Day: The Producer’s Perspective at 09:00PM
Thursday, August 11, 2011

63 Days ’til Godspell: Ticket trend analysis by Ken

Even though it’s early in our sales cycle, and we’ve yet to start our primary advertising push (that’ll start post-Labor Day), I spent time today looking at all the tickets…

SOURCE: Day By Day: The Producer’s Perspective at 09:00PM
Wednesday, August 10, 2011

64 Days ’til Godspell: Monitoring the press activity. by Ken

Remember the press release I was talking about yesterday?  Well, it hit the wires early this morning. In case you missed it, today we announced that Hunter Parrish, star of the Showtime ser…

SOURCE: Day By Day: The Producer’s Perspective at 09:00PM

Will Stratford Festival's Jesus Christ Superstar Play Broadway's Neil Simon Theatre? by Andrew Gans and Kenneth Jones

The Stratford Shakespeare Festival's popular Des McAnuff-directed revival of Jesus Christ Superstar, which will move to La Jolla Playhouse in southern California starting in November, ma…

SOURCE: Playbill at 09:10AM
Tuesday, August 9, 2011

65 Days ’til Godspell: Finalizing a casting press release. by Ken

We’re just a few hours away from starting to release information about the cast of Godspell. Deals have been done, and now it’s time to start getting the word out. Jeremy Shaffer…

SOURCE: Day By Day: The Producer’s Perspective at 09:00PM
Monday, August 8, 2011

66 Days ’til Godspell: First comes set, second comes lighting. by Ken

We had a mini-production meeting early this morning, which began with the Set Designer and Director talking through issues, changes, and updates, and then segued to the Lighting Designer, Mr…

SOURCE: Day By Day: The Producer’s Perspective at 09:00PM
Sunday, August 7, 2011

67 Days’ til Godspell: Starting the opening night list by Ken

It may be further than 67 days away, but today I started a rough list of who will be invited to our opening night performance and party.  With only just over 700 seats and with a lot of inv…

SOURCE: Day By Day: The Producer’s Perspective at 09:00PM