Coin plays different roles for 'Ui,' 'Town'
Legiters have opposing break-even expectations
"Our Town," which is being produced by the Westport Country Playhouse, the theater where it originated, is designed to break even during its nine-week Broadway run. "Arturo Ui," an Off Broadway production from the nonprofit National Actors Theater, isn't designed to make a dime.
Alison Harris, exec director of the Westport Country Playhouse, put capitalization of "Our Town" at $1 million, about $500,000 less than the average play on Broadway, with break-even at $200,000 minus royalties. As for that low $1 million, "There isn't much more than some ladders and chairs onstage," Harris said of the work's traditional high-concept minimalism.
Running up tab
But Wilder's play carries the expense of a huge cast (23 plus understudies); at Westport, they're all working for Equity scale ($1,302 per week) plus profits, if there are any.
According to Harris, "Our Town" breaks even at 90% capacity in seven weeks. "At 80%, we don't recoup in 7," she added. Which is why Newman agreed to a 9½-week run on Broadway, ending Jan. 26. (The show will begin previews Nov. 22, with its preem set for Dec. 4.)
The exec director squelched rumors that a recent $5 million grant to the Westport from the state of Connecticut is helping to pay for the show. "That money is earmarked for bricks and mortar," she said. "The money for 'Our Town' was raised by our board and friends of the board."
Calling the Westport board of directors very conservative, Harris insisted, "The show is designed to break even."
If it doesn't, there's always the safety net of the show's closing-day gala, Jan. 26, details and ticket prices to be announced shortly. Although Harris remained doubtful about a possible extension, she did allow, "You never know."
Call him 'Resistible'
"Arturo Ui" is also a large-cast production and has a similar pricetag.
Manny Kladitis, the exec director of the National Actors Theater, put the cost at over $1 million to stage the Brecht classic.
But, he said, "you don't look to recoup when you have this size company rehearsing for eight weeks and performing before an audience for five weeks." The average professional rehearsal period usually clocks in at four weeks.
Billy Crudup, Steve Buscemi, Charles Durning, Chazz Palminteri, Tony Randall and 22 other actors join Al Pacino in the National Actors Theater production at Pace University this month. Simon McBurney directs.
"If we sell every ticket," Kladitis speculated, "the show would fall short of breaking even by $100,000 to $200,000. This is not a commercial run."
"Arturo Ui" will perform at Pace U.'s 750-seat theater under a Lort B contract, which guarantees thesps a minimum of $693.
The production gave its first perf on Thursday, and a final one Nov. 3, with a benefit skedded for Oct. 27.
Gala tickets are $1,000 a head. On other dates, they go for $100. Or, a $115 package provides a $65 ticket plus the $50 NAT membership fee. Student tickets are $25.
NAT had originally announced that complementary tickets would not be made available to critics. However, since some scribes immediately purchased their own tickets for perfs early in the run, the company recently offered them tickets for later in the performance sked. Refunds are available for critics stuck holding tickets.
Kladitis did not rule out a much speculated Broadway transfer, but called it highly unlikely due to the actors' availability, among other issues.
