Imagine you are seated in the front row of the theatre and the show is going on with Ms. Fisher relating her hysterical remembrances of life with Debbie and Eddie and Liz and Paul and Yoda and the rest of all the “A-list” celebs in her family tree and your phone starts to ring. Now imagine that you’ve come back after intermission and the tongue lashing you received from the stage and you are sitting watching the start of Act Two and–wait for it–your phone rings AGAIN.

Well it did happen and it was not a particularly positive experience for the hapless phone owner. Ms. Fisher was NOT impressed. In fact she was pretty angry and started to engage the patron:“Is your wife having a baby?” “Is your mother dying?” You get the picture.  And as the owner of said phone is trying to walk up the aisle during Act Two, Ms. Fisher is jumping off the stage and taunting him with language that is not particularly family oriented as he tries and leave the theatre.

Two lessons to learn here:

1. We don’t make these announcements for our health–we don’t want the artists on stage or your fellow patrons who paid good money to see a show, have that show disturbed by an unrelenting ring.
2. If you don’t comply, you might become part of the show and a featured player in both this blog and other social media reports– none of which really put you in a very favorable light.

I really liked JERSEY BOYS when I first saw it in New York just after it opened. I wasn’t working for the VTA then and I had a show that I was an original producer with opening on Broadway about a month later that was potential competition with JERSEY BOYS (it was a short lived musical based on the songs of Johnny Cash called RING OF FIRE). So, I bought a ticket and on a Sunday afternoon saw “the competition!”

The show hit me like a ton of bricks. It was fast paced, slickly produced, it had those songs, and a really great story. It was the story that surprised me. It was so cleverly and seamlessly interwoven into the songs in a way you could either get involved with that story, or just let the songs stir up all those memories that we of a certain age all have. And the show had such incredible energy that I remember a vibration that went through the audience that just kept coming. I should have known it would be terrific and have a long life as I am quite familiar with Des McAnuff, the show’s director. In fact, I actually worked as a house manager on a show he acted in very early in both our careers.

I also remember that there was some authentic “New Jersey” interaction amongst my fellow audience members. A group of ladies arrived about five minutes after the show had begun and climbed over the people in our row to get to their seats. Some other ladies beside me did not take kindly to the interruption and a few words (“authentic New Jersey language”) were exchanged. At intermission they started up again and the ushers actually had to escort one of the ladies out of the theatre! It added a bit of drama to an already exciting performance.

I know you will like JERSEY BOYS. It is a real crowd pleaser, a terrific tale about a group of guys who, for the most part, overcame a lot of adversity, rose to be music icons, and gave us some totally memorable songs that live on today. Oh, and I hope you get to the show on time—I wouldn’t want any authentic “New Jersey” interactions happening at the Schuster Center.

This is very different than Cirque du Soleil or Cirque Dreams–no fantasy costumes, or wild futuristic settings. It all takes place in a pretty normal looking loft like space in an anonymous urban location. Its seven actors–six men and one woman–are young, attractive, and dressed in plain clothing that wouldn’t be out of place at a concert or bar. The other difference is we get to know them as “people” who inhabit this space. Where did they come from, where were they born, what are their personal traits? There is a story, of sorts. A bit of a love story, some competitive horse-play, some songs, and it’s funny, touching, and, above all, thrilling.

I think we’ve all seen the standard type Cirque juggling, trapeze, tumbling, etc. It’s all in TRACES, but it is so close, and immediate, and organically comes out of the characters that I found it a lot more engaging than the normal “death defying balancing acts.” There are some amazing tricks–a basketball routine, pole climbing, skateboarding, acrobatics, and physical contact that is mind altering.

The opening night audience was ecstatic in their reaction to the show. And I kept thinking throughout the 90 minute performance: Man, are they going to love this in Dayton!

There is no mistaking Disney’s The Lion King for anything but a certified, award-winning, mega-musical. It has it all–unbelievable sets and costumes; memorable songs; a fine story with great values; and comedy, drama,  and spectacle. It is a treat for audiences of all ages.

I have seen it a few times and I will be seeing it a few more before the end of its run in Dayton. I think the thing that always impresses me about the show is how really basic and simple it is, but simplicity taken to the utmost end of perfection. The stage effects are very basic –really, the Greeks invented a lot of the techniques 2,000 years ago– but they are done so effectively and dramatically that it all just works. The show typifies what great theatre is all about.

And with the show being of a certain size (GIGANTIC), it is a real financial force and that force reverberates throughout the community. I was talking to one of the people who handle merchandise sales for the show. He is here for four weeks and will stay in a hotel out by the Dayton Mall for all that time. And he’ll buy groceries and eat in restaurants, and he’s renting a car while he is here, and he will probably find a nice place to hang out after the show some nights, and he will spend some dollars in the community. Now, multiply that by about 100 people who are here with the show and pretty soon that is 3,500 hotel nights and over 9,000 meals, and who knows how many cocktails, trips to the dry cleaners, or rides around town in a taxi.

The standard multiplier for economic impact on shows like The Lion King is about 3 to 1. That means for every $1 spent on tickets, audiences will spend another $3 on ancillary purchases like parking, souvenirs,  restaurants, baby sitters, etc. With an expected audience of 70,000 people and approximately $5 million in ticket sales, the economic impact is around $15,000,000 on the show–not a bad shot in the arm for the Miami Valley.

Joey, the beloved "horse" of War Horse

WAR HORSE.  Stunning.

I have been going to the theatre for the past 40 years of my life and I think I saw maybe the best show I have ever seen in those 40 years–WAR HORSE. Based on a 1982 children’s novel by Michael Morpurgo, this National Theatre of Great Britain/Lincoln Center production is staggering in its visual staging, sound, puppetry, design, and the sheer beauty of its story.

A deceptively simple tale of a relationship between a horse and a boy, WAR HORSE is set during the early days of World War I where over 1 million horses from Great Britain were “enlisted” to fight in a war that put tanks, machine guns, chemical warfare, and barbed wire up against the traditional fighting strategy of men on horses charging through the country side–not an effective match up with only a scant 60,000 horses returning from the war.

The power of the production really stems from the horses–amazingly life-like and crafted by the South African theatre company Handspring Puppet Company. They range from a young foal to full-size working horses that are so real that despite being able to see the puppeteers manipulating them, they become “alive” through the script and staging.

I could go on and on–but all I will say is that you must see this show if you love theatre. It really is a once in a lifetime experience. Now, how do I get it to come to Dayton?

And that, my friends, is why you need to come and see The Soundtrack of Your Life on Saturday, April 23, 2011 at the Victoria Theatre. The three songwriters featured on this program (Jimmy Webb, Barry Mann and Paul Williams) have created more memories per brain of anyone who grew up listening to music in the 60s, 70s and 80s than any other three people on the planet.

Jimmy Webb, in case you didn’t know, wrote “MacArthur Park,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Galveston,” and a whole host of great songs. Barry Mann (with his wife and writing partner Cynthia Weil) wrote “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling,”  “Under the Boardwalk,” “On Broadway” and many more. And Paul Williams brought us “We’ve Only Just Begun,”  “Evergreen” and “Rainbow Connection.” Anyone out there who doesn’t instantly recognize any of those songs?

So, times up—go online to www.ticketcenterstage.org/ or call the box office at (937) 228-3630 and buy tickets. You won’t be disappointed!

Well, if you were looking in the Dayton Daily News the answer would be no, you didn’t. The reason is the Dayton Daily News no longer
reviews theatre.

I talked with Alexis Larsen, Arts and Entertainment Editor for the Dayton Daily News, last week because I had people asking me where the review was for our recent presentation of The Drowsy Chaperone (which was produced for us by The Human Race Theatre Company).  It was a terrific production, and yet sales were anemic. One of the things missing in the whole mix was a review in the major daily newspaper, and while I can’t say that was the only reason the show didn’t sell (and it’s certainly not the job of the Dayton Daily News to sell tickets to our shows), I do believe a review would have helped because good or bad, reviews can get people talking about a show and talk is a good thing.

Alexis said the reason they don’t review shows anymore is according to their research, not enough people read reviews and people prefer to read preview articles and then make up their own mind about seeing a show. She said the Dayton Daily News had a very few number of calls from people asking them to re-instate the reviews, but it was really not enough to have any influence over the new policy. It’s about giving readers what they want and balancing resources. She did say the paper was investigating types of “alternate” reviews and something like a “Chatter Box” for theatre might be instituted. We will see.

Maybe we “show-folk” just obsess about reviews and maybe they are passé in today’s world. But I miss the critical response to the work that either frustrates or elates me for just a few minutes. My favorite review–although not at the time it came out– was when a critic said a production of A Streetcar Named Desire I had just produced was well acted, but the play needed a re-write!

So, loyal readers:  I’d like to know if you think reviews in the Dayton Daily News are helpful when making entertainment buying decisions. If the
Dayton Daily News isn’t going to review shows, will you look for on-line reviews in weekly papers like the Dayton City Paper or websites such as DaytonMostMetro.com? Or will you look for them on our website or Facebook pages? How can we help to fill that void?

You don’t really think about arts organizations as being in the same league with big business. I mean some arts organizations have really big budgets like the Metropolitan Opera or the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, or some of the big museums–but most arts organizations aren’t really what you would call BIG. And even the big ones are small compared to most medium-sized businesses. But sometimes it all depends on how you look at the numbers.

Take Victoria Theatre Association for instance: We have an annual operating budget of about $15,000,000 and we have 65 full-time employees and 75 part-timers. Reasonably sized for what we do and completely in line with other performing arts centers in similar communities. However, where the numbers really start to climb is when we calculate the economic impact of our operation and how that extends out into the community. Using a calculator provided by Americans for the Arts, our $15,000,000 in base budget increases by almost $10,000,000 to $25,000,000 when calculating the spending our audiences do on associated activities like going to a restaurant before a show, parking their cars, or hiring babysitters.

The point here is not only do we as an arts organization in the Miami Valley provide jobs, benefits, and great arts experiences, what we do also benefits a large segment of our population. And I think that’s a pretty big deal!

When I first suggested to the staff that we host a season announcement celebration for the 2011-2012 Season, everyone was generally enthused about the idea. The strategy I wanted to employ was to try and get some initial “buzz” going around the Season–especially given that the Season includes some really buzz worthy shows.

The feedback from those in attendance was great. People generally liked the format of the presentation, they liked being on the “inside” and being amongst the first to be told about the season, and they thought the event was suitably theatrical!

The best part for me though was listening to the crowd’s response to the shows as they were announced–particularly the Star Attractions and the Miami Valley & Good Samaritan Hospitals Broadway Series. I guess the most interesting response was for the world premiere of TENDERLY,
THE ROSEMARY CLOONEY MUSICAL–there were audible gasps and expressions of real interest and excitement. We take that as a really good sign that there will be interest in that show. And, of course JERSEY BOYS, WICKED, and our Star Attraction presentation of LES MIZ all got big crowd response.

So, I think we accomplished our goals with this event –we launched in a new, theatrical manner, we got some of our best supporters and sponsors and donors together and gave them insider access, and we even did some non-quantifiable market research on the new season at the same time.

Overall, it really was a great night!

It was a Saturday night in December and The Wonder Bread Years was playing at the Victoria, the Human Race Theatre Company’s Soundtrack of the ‘70’s was playing in the Loft, Dayton Ballet’s The Nutcracker was in the Mead Theatre, Citilites Restaurant was full to capacity with pre-show diners, there was a corporate holiday party in the Mathile Theatre, and – as if we weren’t busy enough, a couple was holding their wedding reception in the NCR Donor Lounges. Wow, what a night.

I got to thinking that this is more the norm than the exception – we are a really busy place. But more importantly over 3,500 people were downtown in Dayton and they were having a great evening. People were socializing, committing to their futures, enjoying great music and theatre, and becoming part of a community: a community of people who are active, engaged, and interested in new and live experiences. And we at the Victoria Theatre Association were seamlessly making it all happen.

And I started to think that we are part of a bigger experience here in downtown Dayton and it really is amazing that at 8 p.m. (give or take a few
hours for time zones) millions of people in Dayton, New York City, Hong Kong, Tucson, Arizona and all over the world settle down into a seat at a theatre to have a unique artistic experience that maybe in some small way makes them more in tune with the world by the end of the show. Or to steal the final line in the Muse Machine production of Into the Woods: “I wish.”