"You'll be swell, you'll be great.
Gonna have the whole world on a plate.
Startin' here, startin now',
Honey, everything's coming up roses."

Continue reading Everything's coming up roses for Broadway

Everything's coming up roses for Broadway originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 Nov 2007 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

First the bad news: Unless there's a sudden change in the negotiating stance by the League of American Theatres and Producers or the striking Local 1 of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the strike is not likely to be resolved for at least another two weeks, possibly three weeks, industry analysts estimate, and The Associated Press reported. (The strike has shut down more than 24 Broadway plays and musicals since November 10.)

The reason? Two weeks is the length of time it would probably take to exhaust both the owners'/producers' patience regarding losses and the unions' $4.1 million contingency fund. Of course, each strike/job action is unique, but if historical precedent is any indicator, labor and management begin to get serious about resolving a strike when each begins to incur unacceptable losses, Reuters reported.

Now the good news: Strike talks resumed Sunday, and with any luck the neon lights may be back on "On Broadway" in time for the pivotal Holiday/New Year's period. A settlement by that is pivotal because, historically, Broadway's biggest revenue week is December 26 - Jan. 6 -- the period from Christmas through just after New Year's Day, a vacation period when tourists from college students to senior citizens flock to the city. If the strike wipes out Christmas/New Year's week revenue, every Broadway show will suffer large losses, and some shows, including some with inadequate advance sales, may be forced to end their runs.

Continue reading Give your regrets to Broadway: Broadway musical strike continues

Give your regrets to Broadway: Broadway musical strike continues originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 26 Nov 2007 19:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Performances of Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas resumed today at 11 A.M. after a Manhattan judge ordered that the show must go on! The show is strictly a holiday affair, with performances set to end January 6. Producers cited a special contract between the show and Jujamcyn Theaters, and argued that the strike didn't effect their production.

But this is just a single victory for producers, who are still losing millions in revenue from the strike that centers on how many stagehands a show must hire. While the stagehands union is certainly not the blue collar, middle American union that most of us think of when we hear "organized labor," this is an interesting case. To some, the efforts by the union to require that producers hire more stagehands than they feel is necessary is indicative of how unions hinder business.

But to others, millionaire producers depriving stagehands of their jobs is Scrooge-like.

How a judge saved The Grinch originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 23 Nov 2007 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

That's right, yesterday, the Board of Directors of Time Warner declared that owners of Common Stock will receive $0.05 a share, in cash, on June 15, 2006.

Huzzah!

So, the big question is, how many shares of stock would I have to own (which I don't---I don't own any TWX) in order to take advantage of the following Warner entertainment options:

Continue reading Divvied up: TWX announces quarterly dividend

Divvied up: TWX announces quarterly dividend originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 Apr 2006 16:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Forget about taxi drivers, muggers, Christo installations, and/or Matt Lauer. There's a new reason to avoid New York: Broadway's newest vampire musical.

"Lestat" -- which has been uniformly savaged by the Washington Post, the New York Times and even the mighty Star-Ledger of Newark, New Jersey -- was supposed to be Warner Brothers' challenge to Disney's many successes in the Broadway musicals ("The Lion King," "Tarzan," "Aida" and others). 

Coming in on the heels of two other failed vampire musicals -- "Dance of the Vampires" (2002) and "Dracula, the Musical" (2004) -- "Lestat" is based on Anne Rice's vampire novels, and it boasts otherworldly powers that would make the undead blush: a reported bankroll of up to $12 million and songwriting by Elton John.

Unfortunately, neither deep pockets nor the powerhouse behind "Crocodile Rock" could help. Ben Brantley, in the New York Times, called it a "musical sleeping pill" ... and his review was charitable by comparison. 

"I vant to suck your blood" is a line for old-school vampires. "I vant to suck the life out of this production" is apparently how the new generation of vampires rolls.

Warner Brothers' vampire musical a bloody mess originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 26 Apr 2006 18:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.