<\/p>\n

It could happen to any of us.<\/h2>\n

It seems that the much-anticpated \u00a0production of\u00a0Rebecca<\/em>, based on the Daphne du Maurier novel has been cancelled. The reason? \u00a0The money fell through.<\/span><\/p>\n

It could happen to any of us, at any time. \u00a0Producing theatre is a complex alchemy, combining hundreds of elements to create magic. \u00a0But ultimately, it all depends on the availability of money to pay for the raw materials, the talent, and the place to make the magic happen.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Broadway producing veteran Ben Sprecher first announced that he'd try to stage a production of <\/span>Rebecca in 2011<\/em>, broadway onlookers<\/span>\u00a0were skeptical, but before long, it looked like it was going to happen. \u00a0Then, when \u00a0financing \u00a0didn't come together as planned, Sprecher delayed the production, and again began looking for investors. \u00a0Last spring, a man named Paul Abrams stepped up with \u00a0a pledge of $2 Million of his own funds and a promise to raise $2.5 Million more. \u00a0The trouble is, Abrams may not even exist. \u00a0Sprecher admits he's never met the man. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, in August, \u00a0with the show scheduled to open in late September, it was announced that Abrams had died, and his commitment of funds hadn't been finalized. \u00a0So, Sprecher again delayed things, scrambling to piece together the financing puzzle in the 11th hour.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Last week it seems, other investors were spooked and reportedly pulled their funding out of the project, \u00a0leaving Sprecher with little to do but cancel the production.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Over the weekend, a flurry of reports suggested that investors may have been recipients of a “poison pen” letter or\u00a0e-mail designed to discourage them from investing. \u00a0Sprecher and regulators are investigating. \u00a0But one thing's for sure \u00a0<\/span>Rebecca'<\/em>s debut will have to wait\u2026 and nobody knows for how long.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What's a producer to do?<\/h2>\n

So, how can producers avoid this kind of situation? \u00a0 \u00a0Get it in writing. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sure it seems simple, but in practice, it's anything but. \u00a0I have no doubt that Ben Sprecher, a seasoned veteran of Broadway had his lawyers, General Manager and others working feverishly to close the deal with Abrams, and I'm sure there are <\/span>some <\/em>\u00a0documents already in existence. \u00a0So, the bottom line is this: \u00a0Don't count your chickens until they've hatched. \u00a0That is, money isn't real until it's in <\/span>your<\/strong>\u00a0bank account. \u00a0Period.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The trouble is, \u00a0producing theatre isn't very forgiving of delays in finding the money. \u00a0 Everybody involved in a production goes on payroll months, or sometimes years, before the show opens, and that whole time, the producers are frantically “working the phones” to lock0in investors. \u00a0And, investors have changes of heart. \u00a0Or\u2026 they die, and their heirs have other priorities for the money. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, then, there's really no way to totally avoid what happened with Rebecca<\/em>. \u00a0Producing means taking risks\u2026 big risks. \u00a0Sometimes things go south. \u00a0So, we deal with it. \u00a0Fortunately, theatre folks are resilient.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A human face on the situation<\/h2>\n

By the way, Ken Davenport talks about the Rebecca situation today on his blog<\/a>, and I commend his piece to you. \u00a0It puts a human face on the situation. This cancellation means people (lots of them) are out of work. \u00a0That's not good for any of us. \u00a0Fortunately, theatre folks are resilient. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It could happen to any of us. It seems that the much-anticpated \u00a0production of\u00a0Rebecca, based on the Daphne du Maurier novel has been cancelled. The reason? \u00a0The money fell through. It could happen to any of us, at any time. \u00a0Producing theatre is a complex alchemy, combining hundreds of elements to create magic. \u00a0But ultimately, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,1],"tags":[136,127,126,165,99,87,152],"yoast_head":"\n