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[0:00] Ken Davenport: Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the Producers Perspective Podcast.

[0:03] Ken Davenport: And today we are going to talk about an advantage that Broadway's has in its comeback.

[0:11] Ken Davenport: I know shocking to believe that anything can be in our favor as we open back up again, but I'm gonna tell you about what I believe is an advantage for Broadway's as we get our theaters open again.

[0:23] Ken Davenport: Coming up next.

[0:35] Ken Davenport: You're listening to the Producers Perspective Podcast with your host, Tony Award winner, Ken Davenport.

[0:43] Ken Davenport: One of the things I think we can all agree on is that this shutdown went on much longer than we ever could have anticipated.

[0:53] Ken Davenport: I mean, think about where you were on March 12th when Broadway's shut down.

[0:59] Ken Davenport: I mean, what'd you think? If you were like me, you thought it'd be down for uh three weeks, four weeks, maybe three months, well, a year and a half later, and we are still not up and running yet.

[1:12] Ken Davenport: We are getting there. We are getting there.

[1:14] Ken Davenport: And it seems like nothing could be in our favor as we get towards a full reopening again.

[1:21] Ken Davenport: But the fact is that I believe that there are two things that give Broadway's an advantage as we turn our lights back on, as we raise our curtains again.

[1:32] Ken Davenport: And the first of those things is very simply because we didn't try to come back too early, and I have to give a lot of credit for all of my producing peers and the leadership at the Broadway's League for holding back, right?

[1:47] Ken Davenport: Broadway producers, Broadway's personnel, theater makers in general, we are so passionate about getting our shows up and running.

[1:55] Ken Davenport: Everybody's been chomping at the bit, trying to figure out a way to come back.

[1:58] Ken Davenport: But the leadership, government, et cetera, really tried to get us to wait as long as possible to make sure that we could do this safely.

[2:10] Ken Davenport: And one of the real benefits of that is Broadway's was one of the first to get shut down, will be one of the last to reopen.

[2:19] Ken Davenport: But because of that, the huge advantage that we will have is that we will have been able to see all these other forms of live entertainment open in the meantime.

[2:32] Ken Davenport: Live entertainment theater actually started opening up over a year ago, right?

[2:37] Ken Davenport: There's a great documentary, The Show Must Go On by Dory Berenstein and Sammy Cannold, the Wonder Kid Director who will be directing my upcoming production of Joy.

[2:48] Ken Davenport: This talked about how Korea got their shows up and running just a few months after the pandemic began.

[2:54] Ken Davenport: So theater has been up and running at various places throughout the world, those places where they were dealing with it maybe a little bit better than some of our certain states.

[3:06] Ken Davenport: Or whether the case count wasn't as high.

[3:24] Ken Davenport: We've been able to sit back and watch the rest of the world figure this out.

[3:28] Ken Davenport: And not only in theater, right? From big weddings to concerts, stand up comedy, all of it.

[3:35] Ken Davenport: We've been able to learn from those and then apply them here.

[3:37] Ken Davenport: That's a huge advantage to us coming back later, right?

[3:42] Ken Davenport: The second advantage, and this goes to the marketing of it.

[3:47] Ken Davenport: By the time our Broadway's shows get back up and running, the majority of our people in them will have attended some group event.

[4:00] Ken Davenport: Think about that for a second, because we will be last, right?

[4:04] Ken Davenport: The majority of people out there, those vaccinated folks especially have done more than dip their toes back into gathering at this point.

[4:13] Ken Davenport: Weddings, travel, right? Travel has had a huge uptick.

[4:18] Ken Davenport: People are starting to do things again.

[4:21] Ken Davenport: So this is going to be advantage when we open up our theaters again, and as more and more seats get put on sale, is because we were worried, I think very early on, that there would be a real reticence because we're thinking about our theater goers in a vacuum.

[4:37] Ken Davenport: That, oh, that click of a purchase of ticket to that will be the first time they're doing something with a group.

[4:43] Ken Davenport: No, it may be the first time they attend a Broadway's show, but they may have been to a gathering before this production.

[4:53] Ken Davenport: So these are the two big advantages that Broadway's actually has right now because we've waited so long, as opposed to our sister country in theater making, England and London, of course, has had this start-stop.

[5:12] Ken Davenport: And while I so appreciate the strong desire to get back up and going again, the government there has been teasing both the audience and theater makers in, oh, you can go, oh, you can't go.

[5:25] Ken Davenport: Oh, oh you can go, oh, you can't go.

[5:27] Ken Davenport: And as I like to say, look, our audience, they these are our beloved fans.

[5:34] Ken Davenport: And to use a romantic analogy, if you break someone's heart once, okay, maybe they'll come back a second time.

[5:34] Ken Davenport: You break someone's heart a second, third, or fourth time, they may not come back to you again, which is one of the reasons I'm so thankful.

[5:49] Ken Davenport: We've waited. We haven't had that start and stop, and why we're taking every single precaution necessary, including mandating vaccines and mandating masks at theaters to make sure that everyone is safe.

[6:05] Ken Davenport: So there are always blessings to be found in any situation.

[6:11] Ken Davenport: And in the prolonged shutdown of Broadway's, there are actually two.

[6:15] Ken Davenport: Number one, we've learned from all the other different gatherings, including live events all over the world, so we can properly prepare for our theaters to be open in the safest way possible.

[6:28] Ken Davenport: And two, our audience is going to be more ready to get back in the theater than we think.

[6:36] Ken Davenport: Because most likely they've already done it.

[6:39] Ken Davenport: Thanks so much for listening to this week's episode of the Producers Perspective Podcast.

[6:43] Ken Davenport: And you can help get theaters back and running at their full potential again by just doing what I did and buying a ticket.

[6:53] Ken Davenport: I bought a ticket to see Passover last week, had a fantastic time at this very powerful play.

[7:00] Ken Davenport: I urge you all to go check it out.

[7:02] Ken Davenport: It's just here for a few weeks. Go check out Passover on Broadway's and experience theater going again.

[7:23] Ken Davenport: Thanks again for listening to the Producers Perspective Podcast.

[7:26] Ken Davenport: If you found this episode informative, educational, inspirational, or just entertaining, do me a favor and share this episode with another theater maker or two in your life.

[7:38] Ken Davenport: My mission is to amplify the conversation about theater because if we get more people talking about it, we'll get more people making it, we'll get more people seeing it.

[7:47] Ken Davenport: It will be great for the industry as a whole.

[7:49] Ken Davenport: If you want more of my daily perspectives on theater and Broadway's, check out my blog at the Producer's Perspective.com or check out my social media accounts at Ken Davenport Bway on Instagram and at Ken Davenport on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

[8:05] Ken Davenport: We'll see you for the next episode.