All stories by Ken Davenport on BroadwayStars

Monday, July 8, 2013

5 Shows that Stand Out at the NYMF – 2013 by Ken Davenport

The 10th Anniversary of the New York Theatre Musical Festival is upon us!  Boy, it seems like just yesterday I was attending an orientation meeting for Season #1 when Altar Boyz made itR…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Friday, July 5, 2013

What I learned about raising money from a car salesman. by Ken Davenport

I helped a friend by a car yesterday. Thanks to the world-wide-interwebs, buying a vehicle ain’t like what it used to be.  Thanks to websites like Truecar.com, buyers can walk into de…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Thursday, July 4, 2013

Happy (Producer) Independence Day. by Ken Davenport

As we all take a moment today to celebrate the independence of our wonderful (even though at times dysfunctional) nation, I thought we should also take a moment to celebrate the Independence…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Saying goodbye is even more important than saying hello. by Ken Davenport

I recently found myself at a vacation destination . . . where the local economy is fueled almost entirely by tourists who fly in from places around the world. When I arrived, I was welcomed …

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Is there a tax break in Broadway’s future . . . finally? by Ken Davenport

Well, looks-a-daisy what we have here. Gordon Cox at Variety, who thankfully still gets to write about theater even though his publishers have slashed legit coverage like it was a rain fores…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Monday, July 1, 2013

How to cure Producer Paralysis: a lesson from the Non-Profits. by Ken Davenport

For the record, non-profit producing ain’t for me. I’ve got a lot of respect for those that can do it well, because just the thought of asking for money from folks with no possib…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM

The most popular posts of the month: June by Ken Davenport

Time for that monthly summary of what got your attention last month here at The Producer’s Perspective The most read post of the month: My Top 6 Favorite Things about the 2013 Tony Aw…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 10:45AM
Friday, June 28, 2013

Fun on a Friday: Not everyone watches the Tony Awards. by Ken Davenport

The only party game more fun that YouTubing “people falling down” is watching polished and poised News Anchors f*@# up.  They’ve got perfect hair, perfect skin, and speak …

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Thursday, June 27, 2013

And the winners of the 2013 Broadway Marketing Awards are . . . by Ken Davenport

Da-da-da-da!  (That’s supposed to be a trumpet sound, btw.) The e-envelopes please, because it is time to announce the winners of the 2013 Broadway Marketing Awards, as chosen by you!…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Wednesday, June 26, 2013

17 Tips and Tricks for Managing “Creatives”. by Ken Davenport

It’s the battle of the business publications! In this corner, we have the Harvard Business Review, who in April published “7 Rules for Managing Creative-But-Difficult People.R…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Tuesday, June 25, 2013

I hope you all work with someone like Richard Matheson. by Ken Davenport

I met Richard Matheson in 2001. I was 28 years old.  And I hadn’t produced a dang thing. But I had a lot of ideas, and one of them was turning his novel and screenplay, Somewhere in …

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Monday, June 24, 2013

We’re surrounded by Studios. by Ken Davenport

I popped a rights request off to a major movie studio last week . . . for a semi-popular but mostly-forgotten flick that I think has tuner potential. The response I got from the studio inclu…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Friday, June 21, 2013

Fun on a Friday: A departed friend reminds us about the strength of Show Biz. by Ken Davenport

We’ll get to the “fun” part of this Friday post in a paragraph or two, but this first bit ain’t so fun. The world tragically lost the big boss, Mr. James Gandolfini, …

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Thursday, June 20, 2013

Picking a title for an album is easy for a pop artist. by Ken Davenport

I’ve been stewing about titles a lot lately.  In fact, the show that I announced on this blog as Garage Band a few months ago, that opens at George Street Playhouse in the fall,  is…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Wednesday, June 19, 2013

What Broadway has in common with crossword puzzles. by Ken Davenport

I did something crazy the other day. I read a newspaper. Not a kindle version.  Not the .com version.  No.  I picked up and read an actual, ink comes off on your fingers, NY Times.  (I d…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Tuesday, June 18, 2013

What did you think about this year’s Tony Awards? Survey says . . . by Ken Davenport

The survey results are in, and here’s your report card on this year’s Tony Awards telecast. 98. 66% of Producer’s Perspective readers watched the Awards On a scale of 1 to …

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Monday, June 17, 2013

Spielberg thinks Hollywood is going to implode. Will Broadway too? by Ken Davenport

Here’s my rule of three: Whenever I hear the same comment from three or more people, whether that’s “Ken, I don’t like that actor’s costume,” or “Ke…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Friday, June 14, 2013

The Nominees for the 2013 Broadway Marketing Awards are . . . by Ken Davenport

It’s that time again! Just when you think Award Season is over, here comes the biggest and baddest . . . and what arguably could be the most important! It’s the 2013 Broadway Mar…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Thursday, June 13, 2013

Mayor Bloomberg, How About An Ad About Broadway? by Ken Davenport

First, let me say this . . . I love me some Bloomberg.  There’s not much that he’s done in his reign over this city that I’ve disagreed with.  Shoot, I’m a Coca-Col…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Wednesday, June 12, 2013

What I do the day after the Tony Awards. by Ken Davenport

For everyone in the biz, the day after the Tonys is a busy one, especially if you have a new show running.  Wraps are analyzed, new ads are placed, closing notices are prepped . . . and all…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Monday, June 10, 2013

My Top 6 Favorite Things about the 2013 Tony Awards. by Ken Davenport

And just like that, the night that so many of us look forward to more than Christmas and our birthdays,  is over. Another Tony Awards is in the books.  The speeches are done.  The parties…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Friday, June 7, 2013

Who will win the 2012-13 Tony Awards? My predictions, yours, and a Psychic’s . . . revealed! by Ken Davenport

Oh man, it’s so dang exciting!  Just 48 hours until Broadway’s big day, when a whole bunch of artists’ dreams will come true, and salary quotes will go up. But who will be tak…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Thursday, June 6, 2013

Caution: This Blog could contain large amounts of cheese. by Ken Davenport

I write a lot of blogs with statistics and strategies . . . and this ain’t one of them. See, I’m writing this blog from the lobby of Portland Center Stage (it’s an amazing …

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Google changes their business and changes ours. by Ken Davenport

Fact:  60% of consumers use Gmail as their primary email account. So, you can bet your bippy that when the G-Man makes a change to how it delivers that email, it has an effect on businesses…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Why writing a Broadway musical is like going on a road trip to Disney World. by Ken Davenport

As you all know, I’m out in Portland right now for the very first production of Somewhere in Time.  Audiences are loving the show and we even got nominated for a bunch of the local Po…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Monday, June 3, 2013

How to make your shows and theaters more efficient. by Ken Davenport

Long running shows, like any long running business, sometimes stray from the boot-strapping way that they got up in the first place. People fall into routines, settle into grooves, and often…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Saturday, June 1, 2013

The most popular posts of the month: May by Ken Davenport

Time for that monthly summary of what got your attention last month here at The Producer’s Perspective The most read post of the month: Play my Tony Pool! Win an iPad Mini! The most c…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 10:45AM
Friday, May 31, 2013

How many Tony Voters does it take to pick a winner? by Ken Davenport

Sounds like the beginning of a joke, right? Well, it’s not.  Tony winners are a serious matter because of the impact they can have on people’s lives, economic and otherwise.  A…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Thursday, May 30, 2013

Shaiman smashes Smash: A love story. by Ken Davenport

Here are my Top 2 reasons why I love Marc Shaiman: He’s ferociously talented. He’s ferocious about speaking his mind. Maestro Marc has been involved with a few online public deba…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Broadway’s 2012-13 Q4 and Final Season Results. by Ken Davenport

Put it in the history books, another Broadway season has come and gone.  Dreams came true.  Hopes were crushed.  And that was just on Smash! Canceled TV show jokes aside, one of the chall…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM
Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Just $X for this and $Y for this and I’m not listening, are you? by Ken Davenport

I’m a subscriber to every Broadway discount site there is, and I recommend you sign up for ‘em all as well.  Get on that Telecharge list, the Playbill List, the Theatermania lis…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:00AM