{"id":20771,"date":"2023-06-10T02:16:12","date_gmt":"2023-06-10T06:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/investing\/why-some-broadway-shows-spend-up-to-1-million-to-campaign-for-a-tony-award\/"},"modified":"2023-06-10T02:16:16","modified_gmt":"2023-06-10T06:16:16","slug":"why-some-broadway-shows-spend-up-to-1-million-to-campaign-for-a-tony-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/?p=20771","title":{"rendered":"Why some Broadway shows spend up to $1 million to campaign for a Tony Award"},"content":{"rendered":"

In recent days, the folks behind the pun-filled, corn-themed Broadway musical \u201cShucked\u201d have been busy producing far more than just the show itself.<\/p>\n

They hosted a \u201cblock party\u201d celebration at the theater last weekend. They put on a Taco Tuesday post-show event earlier this week, replete with wunderkind celebrity chef Flynn McGarry. They even brought in Tariq, the young internet celebrity otherwise known as \u201cthe corn kid,\u201d for a press conference of sorts.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s all to celebrate the set-in-the-heartland, \u201cHee Haw\u201d-inspired show, which has a plot revolving around a farming community and its signature corn crop. But there\u2019s also a more serious purpose behind the promotional campaign: It\u2019s to drum up support among voters for this year\u2019s Tony Awards, set for Sunday evening (starting at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+). After all, \u201cShucked\u201d is up for nine awards, including the biggest one of the night \u2014 best musical.<\/p>\n

\u201cA Tony Award is a massive thing. We\u2019re going to keep going and keep doing things until they tell us to stop,\u201d \u201cShucked\u201d lead producer Mike Bosner told MarketWatch. <\/p>\n

\u201cShucked\u201d is hardly alone among the nominated shows, especially musicals, to launch various promotional efforts around Tony time and hopefully get the attention of the 700-plus voters for the awards.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome Like It Hot,\u201d also a contender for best musical, recently held a special event at Marie\u2019s Crisis Caf\u00e9, a popular New York City piano bar, that featured Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, the respective composer and lyricist behind the show. The musical is based on the classic 1959 film of the same name.<\/p>\n

And \u201c& Juliet,\u201d another contender, has gone the celebrity route, bringing in comedic actor Eugene Levy of \u201cSchitt\u2019s Creek\u201d fame to narrate a promotional video about the show. Levy has a connection to the musical because David West Read, who wrote the book for the Shakespeare-themed \u201c& Juliet,\u201d was an Emmy-winning writer and executive producer of \u201cSchitt\u2019s Creek.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why the big Tony push? The vast majority of Broadway shows lose money \u2014 and musicals can typically cost more than $10 million (and in some cases more than $20 million) to produce. Winning a best musical Tony can give a show a significant box-office boost and, in turn, can mean the difference between being in the black or red, industry professionals say. And that\u2019s not even factoring in how it can boost ticket sales if and when a show decides to tour the country.<\/p>\n

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Of course, campaigning for awards is hardly a new phenomenon in the entertainment world. The practice is commonly associated with the Oscars, especially after now-disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein made it something of his calling. In particular, Weinstein launched an ambitious campaign for \u201cShakespeare in Love,\u201d the 1998 film he produced that ended up nabbing Oscar best-picture honors over Steven Spielberg\u2019s much more prominent \u201cSaving Private Ryan.\u201d<\/p>\n

In several ways, Tony campaigns are a more understated affair, befitting the fact that Broadway is a much smaller business than Hollywood. Broadway shows took in $1.58 billion at the box office during the 2022-23 season; by contrast, Hollywood saw North American ticket sales of $7.5 billion. (Both industries are still recovering from the pandemic and have yet to reach to their pre-COVID sales levels.)<\/p>\n

Neil Meron, a veteran Broadway and film producer who\u2019s behind the Tony-nominated \u201cSome Like It Hot,\u201d says the difference between Tony and Oscar campaigning is particularly reflected in ad spending. The Oscars are frequently associated with the \u201cFor your consideration\u201d ads, often placed in trade publications, that make a direct appeal to nominators and voters. With the Tonys, there can be some targeted advertising, but campaigns are more about getting creative and playing into the show\u2019s theme and messaging.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything we do should be entertaining and informative,\u201d Meron says.<\/p>\n

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It could be argued that a Tony campaign is more critical than an Oscar campaign in one particular way: Oscar voters almost always have the opportunity to see a film well after it premieres and screening opportunities are often made available to them for such a purpose.<\/p>\n

By contrast, with Tony voters, it\u2019s all about seeing the production live in a Broadway theater \u2014 there\u2019s no video substitute or other way for them to acquaint or reacquaint themselves with a show. That makes it especially challenging for productions that opened in the fall and may now be a distant memory in the minds of voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t just send them a screener,\u201d says Ken Davenport, a veteran Broadway producer and Tony voter. And Davenport says that\u2019s where the creativity in Tony campaigning comes into play: A fun promotion can trigger memories \u2014 hopefully positive \u2014 of the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just want to be top of mind,\u201d adds \u201cShucked\u201d producer Bosner.<\/p>\n

None of this campaigning comes cheap, however. Beyond the cost of hosting events, placing advertising and sending promotional mailers to voters (another big part of the run-up to the Tonys), there\u2019s also the expense in some cases of staging a number from the show at the awards ceremony itself. Even if that comes after the voters have cast their ballots, it still can serve as a way to woo theatergoers to buy a ticket.<\/p>\n

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Add it up and industry professionals says shows spend anywhere from $100,000 to $1 million on a Tony campaign. A source close to \u201cShucked\u201d said the Tony tally for the musical is around $500,000, for example.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s not including the cost of providing each Tony voter with tickets to the show (and in some cases, inviting them back for a second visit). Given that voters are usually given prime seats, that can equate to easily more than $200,000 in lost ticket revenue, says Davenport.<\/p>\n

While Broadway producers may not be wild about what the Tonys cost them, the tally is generally seen as the cost of doing business. After all, they have already spent millions to mount the show, so why be cheap when it comes to positioning the production for the industry\u2019s biggest honor?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s in for a penny, in for a pound,\u201d says Mike Rafael, a veteran Broadway ticketing consultant.<\/p>\n

The American Theatre Wing and the Broadway League, the two organizations behind the Tonys, don\u2019t have a lot of restrictions when it comes to campaigning, with one notable exception \u2013 a \u201cno disparagement\u201d rule. That is, shows can promote themselves, but they can\u2019t cast \u201cany negative or derogatory light on a competing production.\u201d<\/p>\n

And what if all this Tony campaigning fails to result in a win? Producers say it may not be a waste, since the campaigns can create buzz for the shows that may spark interest from the broader theater-loving public.<\/p>\n

At least that\u2019s how Eva Price, the Tony Award-winning producer behind \u201c& Juliet,\u201d sees the situation when it comes to mounting an ambitious campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf at the end of the day your show doesn\u2019t win a Tony or Tonys, you have at least given to the world 50 reasons why you are special, worthy and an exciting offering in this year\u2019s Broadway season and that hopefully cements a new fan and sells a ticket,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd that\u2019s the name of the game after all, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In recent days, the folks behind the pun-filled, corn-themed Broadway musical \u201cShucked\u201d have been busy producing far more than just the show itself. They hosted a \u201cblock party\u201d celebration at the theater last weekend. They put on a Taco Tuesday post-show event earlier this week, replete with wunderkind celebrity chef Flynn McGarry. 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