All stories by Ken Davenport on BroadwayStars

Monday, July 27, 2015

Podcast Episode #30: Kurt Deutsch from Sh-K-Boom tells all on the 'record.' by Ken Davenport

What do Tower Records, Colony Records and Footlight Records all have in common? They were all some of my favorite places to shop for cast albums in the 90s. And now they’re all gone…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 01:10PM[SHARE]
Friday, July 24, 2015

Fun on a Friday: Laura Benanti and The Skivvies teach you Theater Etiquette by Ken Davenport

Everyone is talking theater etiquette these days, thanks to our Theater Etiquette Ambassador . . . or should I say Theater Etiquette Dictator . . . Patti LuPone, and her latest from-the-stag…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 12:40PM[SHARE]

Why selling tickets may not be what you want to push first on your website. by Ken Davenport

Simple web marketing will tell you to make your “Buy Now” button big and easy to find so a consumer feels drawn to clicking it and making that purchase. The right button shoul…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 07:16AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, July 21, 2015

It's the Spring Awakening Associate Producer Scholarship! You can be an AP! by Ken Davenport

I’ve done a bunch of fun things on this blog, from Will It Recoup?, my fantasy Broadway game (this year’s results coming soon) to crowdfunding Godspell, and a lot more. …

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 03:51PM[SHARE]
Monday, July 20, 2015

Podcast Episode #29: A guy on the front lines " Broadway Usher John Raymond Barker by Ken Davenport

I’ve been lucky enough to have some pretty influential people from Broadway on this podcast, from Tim Rice to Ben Brantley to Kevin McCollum and a bunch more. But like any industry,…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 12:59PM[SHARE]
Friday, July 17, 2015

Do Broadway shows need bigger reserves? Part II by Ken Davenport

Ok, now we get to the good stuff. Yesterday, we talked all about the all-important reserve in Broadway Budgets, and how they are used and when they are used (and how we all dream of doing sh…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 10:35PM[SHARE]
Thursday, July 16, 2015

Do Broadway shows need bigger reserves? Part I by Ken Davenport

Before we decide if Broadway shows need bigger reserves, we should probably define what a reserve actually is. As I described in Breakin’ Down a Broadway Budget, a reserve is a chun…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 09:19PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, July 15, 2015

So you want to work in the entertainment industry? by Ken Davenport

Based on the emails I get, I know that a lot of you are looking to work in this sexy biatch of an industry.  I know, I know, it seems so cool, and fun and mysterious. It’s a very cl…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 01:20PM[SHARE]
Monday, July 13, 2015

Broadway Grosses* w/e 7/12/2015 by Ken Davenport

The following are the Broadway grosses for the week ending July 12th, 2015. The Broadway grosses are courtesy of The Broadway League Read more here:

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 10:35PM[SHARE]

Podcast Episode #28: She runs the TKTS booth! Victoria "Tory" Bailey, the Executive Director of TDF by Ken Davenport

It’s quite symbolic that the TKTS booth is in the center of Times Square.  Because TDF, the company that runs the booth, is a core part of our industry. What started out as a sim…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:46AM[SHARE]
Friday, July 10, 2015

What I learned about business from a homeless guy. by Ken Davenport

I must confess.  I read the NY Post. It all started because I was reading Broadway gossip columnist (and former podcast guest), Michael Riedel.  But then, well, I got sucked into their…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 05:23PM[SHARE]
Thursday, July 9, 2015

50 Years of Pulitzer Prize for Drama Winners: A By The Numbers Infographic by Ken Davenport

My staff and I got into a conversation at our last Fun Food Friday (every so often, we order pizza on Fridays and shoot the sausage and peppers) all about the Pulitzer. What kind of shows…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 09:49PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, July 8, 2015

And the winners of the 2014-2015 Broadway Marketing Awards are . . . by Ken Davenport

You guys love you some marketing. I don’t know what it was, but we had a record number of votes for this year’s Broadway Marketing Awards . . . and I’m not talking about ju…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 08:31PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Why I'm producing Deaf West's Spring Awakening on Broadway. by Ken Davenport

You know me . . . I’m an analysis guy. Before I make a decision, I do research, study charts, and conduct focus groups.  Heck, I even dial test. And despite my innate desire for cop…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 01:47PM[SHARE]
Monday, July 6, 2015

Broadway Grosses* w/e 7/05/2015 by Ken Davenport

The following are the Broadway grosses for the week ending July 5th, 2015. The Broadway grosses are courtesy of The Broadway League Read more here:

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 05:01PM[SHARE]

Podcast Episode #27: An American in Paris Producer, Stuart Oken. by Ken Davenport

This season put a lot of new hits on the boards, but none of them bigger than An American in Paris, which grossed a whopping $1.4mm last week (and I expect that number will get bigger as …

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 12:11PM[SHARE]
Friday, July 3, 2015

An email that reminded me of why we're lucky to be independent. by Ken Davenport

There’s a lot of things to whine about in this one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The health care system is still a mess.  We disagree about things …

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 04:51PM[SHARE]
Thursday, July 2, 2015

Here's the thing about adapting movies . . . by Ken Davenport

I’ve been thinking a lot about adapting movies into musicals these days.  Maybe it’s because we’ve got a couple movie-turned-musicals coming up this season.  Or maybe…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 08:13PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, July 1, 2015

What will happen to Broadway when the Millennials take over. by Ken Davenport

Every day there seems to be another article crackin’ on the work ethic of the millennial.  They jump from job to job, they check their Facebook more than they check their work email…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 10:54PM[SHARE]
Monday, June 29, 2015

Podcast Episode #26: Chief Drama Critic of the New York Times, Ben Brantley. by Ken Davenport

I bet you think you know exactly who Ben Brantley is, don’t you? You’ve read him for years, and in your mind, you’ve come up with some character to go along with his all…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 07:18PM[SHARE]
Thursday, June 25, 2015

The Nominees for the 2014-2015 Broadway Marketing Awards are . . . by Ken Davenport

And you thought Award Season was over. Bahahahahaha! It’s that time, people and publicists.  Time for the 2014-2015 Broadway Marketing Awards. Advertisers & Marketers are some o…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 12:45PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Producer's Perspective PREDICTION: Here's who will be above the title in ten years. by Ken Davenport

A very influential individual who is about to make an appearance on my podcast said to me recently, “Don’t make predictions, because if you’re wrong, you get fired.̶…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 09:15PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, June 23, 2015

It's like Tinder but for writers " it's our Annual Speed Date!!! by Ken Davenport

Get ready to swipe right, y’all . . . cuz if you’re a writer, you’re gonna wanna get hooked up with this.  It’s our Annual Davenport Theatrical Collaborator Speed …

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 07:39PM[SHARE]
Monday, June 22, 2015

Podcast Episode #25: Literary & Talent Agent Jack Tantleff on how to make it on Broadway by Ken Davenport

"What I really need is an agent." I've heard so many people say this over the years, including myself when I was acting back in the Clinton Era (the Bill Clinton era that is). For so many ac…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 07:01PM[SHARE]
Friday, June 19, 2015

Would you pay to have your show reviewed? by Ken Davenport

As if people weren’t talking about the future of theatrical criticism and reviewers enough . . . In today’s Yelp-ian society, legitimate theatrical criticism has waned, with a…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 02:24PM[SHARE]
Thursday, June 18, 2015

Setting a goal for yourself or your business? Make sure it follows the Three As. by Ken Davenport

I’m a big time goal setter. I set little goals, medium sized goals, and giant Moby Dick–like whoppers.  And I go after all of ’em like Ahab. More often than not, I hit &…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 01:23PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, June 17, 2015

What Producers should do when they are NOT raising money. by Ken Davenport

I was asked to speak about how I raise money for shows a couple of weeks ago, and I was reminded about a simple tip that I’ve been using for years. See, during the Q&A portion o…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 03:45PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, June 16, 2015

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

Before I get to the results of my Tony Awards Telecast Satisfaction Survey, let’s start with a little data about the survey itself.  I’ve been doing these surveys for five yea…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 06:52PM[SHARE]
Monday, June 15, 2015

Podcast Episode #24 " Broadway powerhouse attorney, John Breglio. by Ken Davenport

If you have ever produced a workshop, been in a workshop, or just considered using the Actors’ Equity Association workshop contract, you should send you a thank you note to John Bregli…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 07:47PM[SHARE]
Saturday, June 13, 2015

Fun on a Friday: It was only a matter of time . . . by Ken Davenport

. . . until someone made a musical out of Game of Thrones. Luckily that someone was Coldplay. I had a super heady blog to write for today, but man, it seems like everyone is still a little h…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 11:17AM[SHARE]
Thursday, June 11, 2015

Five reasons why Fun Home winning the Tony for Best Musical is great for Broadway and Beyond. by Ken Davenport

Now that the champagne bottles have been recycled, and those “Rent the Runway” dresses have been returned, it’s time to look at what happened on Sunday with an objective ey…

SOURCE: The Producer's Perspective at 05:10PM[SHARE]

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