And the awards for most self-indulgent project at the NYMF goes to...

Anthony Rapp, who is still desperately trying to stay relevant by reminding us of his work on a show that hasn't been relevant in at least 5 years. "Without Out" is Rapp's one-man show about his trials and tribulations around the time that he was cast in a little show called Rent.

You know, the show that he was still touring with up until last year, despite the fact that he is now a decade too old to play Mark Cohen??

I hate to be cynical about it. Rapp, in his prime, was a capable stage performer. But if you want people to see you as a performer with more depth than the guy who sang "La Vie Boheme", then stop milking the Rent train already.

And really, shouldn't one-person, autobiographical shows be reserved for huge stars? Billy Crystal did it, Liza Minelli did it. Even Carrie fisher got away with it, but at least she had some crazy drunken, cocaine infused stories to tell. Rapp isn't a star. How many people are going to pay $75 to see him rehash the story of Jonathan Larson's death in an off-Broadway theater??

On a bright note, there does seem to be some interesting entries at the NYMF this year. I'm hoping to check out a couple while visiting the city next week. anyone have a suggestion??

In the meantime, enjoy the video from NY1, of Rapp promoting his new project.

http://www.ny1.com/content/ny1_living/on_stage/126037/nymf-prepares-for-annual-celebration

Rent- As Explained by a 5 Year Old

My girlfriend recently choreographed a student production of Rent here in Sacramento. During the tech week, she had to bring her 5 year old daughter to the rehearsals. Surely, little Juliette would not be able to grasp the adult concepts of the show, right? Well, watch this video and judge for yourself.

Have a great weekend. And try not to catch an "AIDS cold"

2011- A Big Year for Jesus on Broadway.

While discussing Ken Davenport's much publicized Godspell revival this week, I asked if it made sense to try to market a show directly to Christian America, a group that certainly has used their money to buy political clout, but is rarely marketed to by Broadway. I even suggested that it might make sense to stunt cast a Christian recording artist in the show to get more publicity within those circles. However, it occurred to me this morning that the gospel lane might be a little more congested than normal in the upcoming Broadway season with Sister Act and Leap of Faith both aiming to open to 2011.

Sister Act certainly has the most name recognition of the three shows, thanks to a successful franchise of films starring Whoopi Goldberg, who also served as an executive producer for the musical version that has been playing at the West End for the last year. However, as proven by last year's flop 9 to 5, that doesn't guarantee a long New York run. that particular show had everything you would want from a new musical; familiar source material, a great cast, a prime location for tourists at the Marquis, and a score by the beloved Dolly Parton. As it turned out, Dolly's score wasn't that memorable, country music fans weren't flocking to Broadway, and the reported $15 million budget featuring Joe Mantello's "put more set pieces on the stage" approach sunk the show.

To make things more challenging, this version of Sister Act will resemble the movie in name only. Alan Menken eliminated the audience friendly Motown-inspired score in favor of disco music. Unlike the movie, the musical will be set in 1978, and as of this moment, there is no star attached to the production, which seems almost like a necessity for the New York run. How much would it cost to get Jennifer Hudson to star in the show? Wouldn't that be a slam dunk???

Leap of Faith, currently in previews in Los Angeles, does have the star power. The always reliable Raul Esparza might not be familiar to tourists, but Brooke Shields certainly is. Like Sister Act, the show features an Alan Menken score, little of which we know about aside from the teasers that are popping up on Youtube.

Sidebar- why is the choir in the back unable to clap on the downbeat?? Am I Missing something.

With no reviews printed at the moment, it's hard to get a sense on what will happen with Leap of Faith, the story if a flim flam revival tent preacher who sees the light. The Steve Martin movie was never a big hit at the box office, and has largely faded into obscurity with casual fans. If the production gets good reviews, it could squeeze into a Broadway theater next season, although I hope the producers follow the example of Catch Me If You Can, who went into rewrites after tepid response from the Seattle tryouts. If The Addams Family and Shrek musical adaptations have taught us anything, it's not to rush a show to New York before it's ready.

That leaves, Godspell, who is counting on a social networking community to do part of the marketing legwork. Capitalized at what I can only imagine will be a much smaller amount than the other two shows ($5 million according to Davenport), their road to recoupment will theoretically be easier, even if the track record for revivals of dated musicals hasn't been good. Finian's Rainbow was loved by the critics, but sure didn't fill the St James, which is why I am hopeful that Davenport mounts this in a much smaller, more intimate theater.

What do you think? Is Broadway ready for three religious themed musicals next year? Which one, if any, will recoup? Your feedback is always welcome.

Why I Joined "The People of Godspell"

In his new book, "Micromarketing", author Greg Verdino presents a case for the death of mass marketing. According to Verdino, it's more important to matter a lot to a select few than to matter just a little to everyone. His book lays out social media marketing's biggest hits, and demonstrates that "the next big thing" is actually a series of small things.

A couple of examples:

-Paramount Pictures opted against traditional advertising when releasing the film Paranormal Activity. Instead, they made it easy for moviegoers to sell the experience to one another, enabling moviegoers to become active partners and willing participants in the movie's success. Million of raving fans became credible micromessage bearers.

-The Ford corporation garnered more than 10 million impressions for the soon to be relaunched Ford Fiesta, without spending a single dollar of advertising. Instead, they loaned 100 vehicles to people they identified as the 100 most powerful young bloggers in America. They gave those bloggers a list of assignments (including video and photo content) to complete in exchange for a free car. As a result, the Fiesta got 6 million YouTube impressions, more than 3.7 million twitter impressions, and 740,000 Flickr photo views. The 6 month campaign resulted in 60 percent brand awareness for their product before the 2011 vehicles even hit the lots, the equivalent of 2-3 years of far more expensive TV spots.

The lesson here is that people want to be part of something bigger than themselves.

Ken Davenport may understand that concept better than anyone on Broadway.

By now, you are aware that his revival of Godspell is being billed as the first ever "community funded Broadway show". Davenport is opening up the investment gates to everyday people. While the minimum investment level for the South Park inspired Book of Mormon is reportedly 1 million dollars, Godspell investors can get in for as little as $1000. In return, they will get their name on the marquee. Ok, not exactly the marquee. The name will appear (in presumably very tiny print) on a large poster that will live outside the yet to be determined theater. They will also get their photo and social networking links on peopleofgodspell.com. Most importantly for those who choose to join this endeavor, they are buying into the dream that Greg Verdino talks about. A chance, in the smallest of ways, to become part of the larger Broadway community.

I've been thinking about becoming a Broadway investor for some time. I always told myself that I would never put my money into a musical revival. Typically, they are too tough of a putt to recoup. I've always maintained that there are only two reasons to mount a revival in New York.

1) You are able to reinvent the material to make it relevant to the current times (Diane Paulus' all too relevant version of Hair)

2) You are casting a major star (Catherine Zeta Jones and Angela Landsbury in A Little Night Music)

My guess is that Godspell will fit neither of these criteria. The show is so dated, that I can't imagine how anyone will make it fresh, and a 5 millon dollar budget doesn't leave room for an A-list celebrity.

All that being said, I still jumped in and invested $2000 of my money anyways. Why? Because I've spent most of this year writing about how Broadway needs to evolve and do business differently. While I don't necessarily believe in the Godspell franchise, I believe in what Davenport is doing. It's a bold move and I wanted to be part of it.

I'm curious to see what the next move with this show is. As an official owner of 20 units of the production, I feel entitled to share a few ideas (yes, that was said with sarcasm)

Hopefully, they don't try to shoot the moon and play too big of a space. I'm not convinced that the audience will be there to sell a 1200 seat theater 8 shows a week. If A Little Night Music closes at the end of the year, the Walter Kerr would be an ideal house. I wouldn't even mind seeing them go smaller and do a space like American Airlines Theater.

Secondly, I wonder if it makes sense to target the marketing plan to Christian America? . Is there a contemporary christian recording artist who would make sense to book? I'll be honest, I don't know a thing about that world of music, other than the fact Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W Smith are too old for the show. Then again, perhaps those christian artists don't want to share a stage with a bunch of godless, liberal, homosexuals (again, said with more than a little sarcasm).

Davenport has achieved the first hurdle, there will be huge awareness for this show. The community of investors will do much of the marketing work for him, social networking the crap out of it. However, now the production needs to stand on it's own.

I'm cheering for it. Because I own a piece of it.

As always, I'd love to hear your feedback. Leave a comment.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Well, it's certainly been awhile. It's amazing how easy it is to get out of the habit of writing everyday. In my defense, it's not like I was sitting around on my butt all summer. Things have been busy in the radio world, and I got back onstage this summer to play Aaron Fox in the Sacramento regional premiere of Kander and Ebb's "Curtains"at Runaway Stage. The show was met with great reviews and I got to work with a lot of wonderful performers. Below is a clip of me performing the show's beautiful ballad, "I Miss The Music". I realize I am no Jason Danieley, so try not to judge me too hard, will you?

I am happy to say that I will be flying back to New York the week of October 4th to check out some shows. I'm very curious to see "Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson" which I have been intrigued by since I read the reviews from the Public Theater production. Also on tap for the trip are "Memphis" (a little late to the party on this, or wise to have stayed away depend on who you talk to), "Next to Normal" (interested to see this with the new cast), and a few more to be decided.

Anyone have suggestions? And if you are a reader of the blog, maybe we can meet for coffee while I'm in town and talk about the art that we all love so dearly.

Glad to be back in the saddle,

Dan