Blockbuster & Comedy needed
Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Producing Theater
Forum Name: Play Suggestions
Forum Discription: Need help finding a show that's right for your theater? Ask here.
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2804
Printed Date: 10/31/25 at 3:51pm
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Topic: Blockbuster & Comedy needed
Posted By: bamisk
Subject: Blockbuster & Comedy needed
Date Posted: 11/12/07 at 12:04pm
| My theater company needs a Blockbuster (aka money maker) for this coming season. We also need a comedy that could guarantee sales. The other 2 plays we will do can then be lesser known, high quality works. (Not that the Blockbuster and comedy can be low quality). |
Replies:
Posted By: Topper
Date Posted: 11/12/07 at 4:15pm
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I don't know what part of the country you're in, but here in the Upper Midwest there has been great success with a show called "Don't Hug Me!"
http://www.donthugme.com/ It's an original musical-comedy with a cast of 5 (three men, 2 women) and one set. Audiences here have been packing in to watch. It ain't high art -- heck, it's not even LOW art -- but I saw it and laughed my fool head off. It even inspired a sequel (What hasn't?) titled "A 'Don't Hug Me' Christmas Carol." I haven't seen that one, but the humor and songs are similar, I understand. ------------- "None of us really grow up. All we ever do is learn how to behave in public." -- Keith Johnstone |
Posted By: tristanrobin
Date Posted: 11/13/07 at 9:49am
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I hate to say it - but - I've never heard of a theatre not making a gazillion dollars by mounting one of the early Neil Simon plays - The Odd Couple, Plaza Suite, etc. The funniest plays I've ever seen were The Nerd, Noises Off, Moon Over Buffalo, and I Hate Hamlet. Not the best plays I've ever seen, mind you, but the ones that I laughed almost nonstop during. |
Posted By: lmar12
Date Posted: 11/19/07 at 5:50pm
| We just did Rumors by Neil Simon and the audience just loved it. Terrific buzz from it. 5 men and 5 men--but you must have really strong men! |
Posted By: AleCelA
Date Posted: 11/28/07 at 2:34pm
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We did Clue the Musical at my theatre just last year and even though our singing wasn't that great it packed the house just on sheer hillarity and audience curiousity. Clue was also a relatively cheap show set wise. Good money maker over all. ------------- How many directors does it take to change a lightbulb? 3...no, make it 4... on second thought 3... make it 5 just to be safe. |
Posted By: AleCelA
Date Posted: 11/28/07 at 2:39pm
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A great comedy would be A Good Man (samuel french owns the rights) a great show that takes place in a funeral home that gets going right away when the family discovers that it is not there father in the casket. I saw it at a theatre in the area and couldn't stop laughing the entire time. Another good show, if content isn't too much of an issue, would be Polish Joke (Dramatists) a hillarious comedy about Polish man who has been taught not to be polish and his attempts to do so. ------------- How many directors does it take to change a lightbulb? 3...no, make it 4... on second thought 3... make it 5 just to be safe. |
Posted By: B-M-D
Date Posted: 11/29/07 at 12:28pm
OMG this is such a no brainer. Go with The Odd Couple. Even a bad production will make a million bucks and a good production two million. It as close to a sure thing as you're ever going to get in community theatre. And almost any Neil Simon is practically money in the bank (for you and Neil). ------------- BD 
"Dying is easy, comedy is hard." |
Posted By: teridtiger
Date Posted: 12/03/07 at 2:06pm
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Just a heads-up for any theatre considering Neil Simon - *ALL* of his shows now cost $125.00 per performance for the rights.
VERY cost-prohibitive for our 60 seat non-profit theatre company. :(
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Posted By: Topper
Date Posted: 12/03/07 at 2:23pm
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Some publishers are willing to negotiate smaller royalties for smaller theaters. They don't always advertise this policy, but it's been known to happen. ------------- "None of us really grow up. All we ever do is learn how to behave in public." -- Keith Johnstone |
Posted By: teridtiger
Date Posted: 12/03/07 at 2:26pm
| Neil Simon will not negotiate anything. We tried. |
Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 12/03/07 at 2:31pm
Thanks for the heads up. We recently did Odd Couple (at the old rate) and I would say this crosses the rest of his catalogue of the list for us. |
Posted By: vickifrank
Date Posted: 12/03/07 at 3:44pm
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Sorry to hear that you can't get a small house discount on Neil Simon--I think years back you used to be able to(I did Odd Couple several years ago in a small house).
Noises Off (as mentioned before) is a great laugh yourself silly choice. Seems to draw a pretty good crowd too.
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Posted By: Topper
Date Posted: 12/03/07 at 5:50pm
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Actually, according to his book "Rewrites," Neil Simon no longer owns the stage rights to "Barefoot in the Park." Very early in his career, he sold those along with another property, namely "The Odd Couple" (which is why both were later made into TV shows).
Although he still owns the stage rights to "The Odd Couple", he never made a single dime off the TV series. That's probably why he charges so much for his stuff now. ------------- "None of us really grow up. All we ever do is learn how to behave in public." -- Keith Johnstone |
Posted By: teridtiger
Date Posted: 12/03/07 at 6:12pm
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Samuel French holds the rights for all Neil Simon shows.
And they are all$125.00 per performance.
My apologies if I used the incorrect phrasing. It still boils down to the fact that *ALL* of Simon's shows are $125.00 per performance.
|
Posted By: SDstoryteller
Date Posted: 12/03/07 at 8:29pm
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So what does a typical show run these days in royalties? Around $60? That makes the question, "Is Neil good for an extra 5 butts per performance?" Most would not say "Yes." They'd say "YES!"
It's all in how you look at it. ------------- Watching someone struggle to maintain control is far more fascinating than watching them lose it. |
Posted By: B-M-D
Date Posted: 12/04/07 at 4:11pm
What are you charging for ticket prices and what's the length of your run? Even at $125 per performance it could still turn out to be profitable for you.
We have a 75 seat theater and generally do better than 80% capacity for any Neil Simon. Our ticket prices vary by what day you see the performance. A little cheaper for opeming night and thursday performances and we run for 10 perfomances over three weekends. ticket prices are on average about $17. ------------- BD
"Dying is easy, comedy is hard." |
Posted By: trutter
Date Posted: 12/07/07 at 9:57am
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Id have to second the suggestion of Don't Hug me or A Don't Hug Me Christmas Carol (although probably too late for the latter). Phil just licensed the musicals to Samuel French, so the prices went up, but you will pack them in every night. here are some photos from our production of DHM http://www.actorsinc.org/gallery/DontHugMe - http://www.actorsinc.org/gallery/DontHugMe And we are currently producing the Christmas Carol version. Other blockbusters? Well, most shows that make $$$ are kids shows, Bye Bye Birdie or High School Musical come to mind easily. Drama - you might get a good crowd with A Few Good Men, or if you want to be real controversial, Doubt. ------------- ------ Troy A. Rutter Author, "Kids in the Biz: A Hollywood Handbook for Parents" http://www.kidsinthebiz.com/ - http://www.kidsinthebiz.com/ A Heinemann Drama Publication |
Posted By: pdavis69
Date Posted: 12/13/07 at 10:37am
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I'd have to agree that Neil Simon is always a big seller. For the other good shows I'd like to suggest any of the Ray Cooney shows. They are british farces. Very fast paced and very funny. Ray was a regular writer and troupe member of the old Benny Hill show and lots of his work reflect that baudy ,irreverant, pee your pants funny humor. I am particularly fon of Run For Your Wife, Funny Money and Not Now Darling.
http://www.raycooneyplays.plus.com/plays.htm#cmc - ------------- Patrick L. Davis Fort Findlay Playhouse |
Posted By: JaneGwen
Date Posted: 1/08/08 at 1:58pm
| The most successful musical we ever did was "Chicago" followed closely by "Beauty and the Beast", my favorites though are "Lucky Stiff" and "Suds" which is a cute retrospective of 60's music. As for plays if you don't mind a little controversy "Dark Of the Moon" was so successful, we are remounting it this season. You have to get past the dialect, but after you read through it once, read it again, it always gives me shivers! |
Posted By: stgdirector4
Date Posted: 1/13/08 at 2:14pm
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Neil Simon, Ken Ludwig, and Ray Cooney plays are all staple community theatre comedies. If you don't mind strong sexual innuendo, you might try WHAT THE BUTLER SAW by Joe Orton. I directed it three years ago, and it was the surprise hit of the season.
There's no a word of profanity, but here's an example of the sex jokes, "My wife is harder to get into than the reading room at the London Library." It's truly an hysterical comedy. |
Posted By: ACT4JC
Date Posted: 2/18/08 at 3:17pm
| I recommend Love of a Pig by Leslie Caveny. It has a required cast of 4 male/4 female but is expandable. The lead is a female and must be the Carol Burnett of your department or similar. Caveny wrote for "Everybody Loves Raymond." Very witty and fast-paced! |
Posted By: stockhamlj
Date Posted: 2/19/08 at 11:11am
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TITLE: Divorce Sale
WRITER: Linda Stockham GENRE: Contemporary Comedy. LOGLINE: Neighbors hold a séance to contact the deceased husband of one’s ditsy mother-in-law. CAST OF CHARACTERS: 10 (6f,4m) SCENIC REQUIREMENT: Double-car garage. TIME: Spring, early 1990s. APPROXIMATE RUNNING TIME: 80 minutes. PRODUCTION HISTORY (KNOWN TO PLAYWRIGHT): Perry Stagecoach Community Theatre, Perry, Oklahoma. Opened November 3, 2007. Directed by Kandi Gibson. Freeport Players, Regency Theatre, Freeport, Bahamas. Opened October 25, 2007. Directed by Tiffany Dennison. Solomon Islands premiere produced by The Honiara Amateur Musical Society, Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. Opened on October 1, 2005. The Dalby Players Little Theatre, Inc., Dalby, Queensland, Australia. Opened August 8, 2003. Directed by Adele Jasper; produced by Nancy Evans. (Australian premiere.) The Manhattan Players, The Duality Playhouse, New York City, New York. Opened on June 11, 1993. Directed by Matthew FitzSimmons. (World premiere.) NOTE: "Divorce Sale" is a comedy suitable for community and dinner theatres. A fun play, it is about a group of neighbors that are holding a yard sale for one who is going through a divorce and also holding a séance to contact the deceased husband of one’s ditsy mother-in-law. If interested, it is available online at: <www:singlelane.com/proplay/divorcesale.html>. ROYALTIES: Contact playwright for performance rights at <lindastockham@yahoo.com>. ------------- Linda Stockham |
Posted By: JoyExcellence
Date Posted: 2/21/08 at 11:06pm
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I love you, You're Perfect, Now Change.
Our little theatre is doing this now and the buzz and response has been outstanding! ------------- |
Posted By: Ogreking4
Date Posted: 2/25/08 at 12:08am
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I would also recommend "Squirrel Lake". It's howlingly funny, but not well known: You can read a preview: http://www.hitplays.com/default.aspx?pg=sd&st=SQUIRREL+LAKE |
Posted By: John Luzaich
Date Posted: 2/25/08 at 11:56am
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Some of our highest attended plays have been M*A*S*H, Rumors, Wizard of Oz, Something's Afoot, Singin' in the Rain, Joseph, She Loves Me, I Do! I Do!, Harvey, Cheaper By The Dozen, Man of La Mancha, The Homecoming, A Christmas Carol, Death of a Salesman, It's a Wonderful Life, Sanders Family Christmas and Pippin (with the newer ending). ------------- John cfct@cfu.net http://www.osterregent.org http://www.facebook.com/osterregent |
Posted By: John Luzaich
Date Posted: 2/25/08 at 12:07pm
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You could also produce Forever Plaid or Plaid Tidings. You need four good singers and great pianist. It's a fairly simple set. ------------- John cfct@cfu.net http://www.osterregent.org http://www.facebook.com/osterregent |