Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly - S10E22 - The Show Must Go On: Broadway Marketing

Episode Date: June 3, 2021

This week, we head to Broadway. Every Broadway show is mounted with incredible risk and very few shows earn back their investments. But there are huge hits and the marketing behind these shows is often bold and outrageous. And sometimes, the marketing is just plain fun. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi, it's Terry O'Reilly. As you may know, we've been producing a lot of bonus episodes while under the influences on hiatus. They're called the Beatleology Interviews, where I talk to people who knew the Beatles, work with them, love them, and the authors who write about them. Well, the Beatleology Interviews have become a hit, so we are spinning it out to be a standalone podcast series. You've already heard conversations with people like actors Mark Hamill, Malcolm McDowell, and Beatles confidant Astrid Kershaw. But coming up, I talk to May Pang, who dated John Lennon in the mid-70s. I talk to double fantasy guitarist Earl Slick, Apple Records creative director John Kosh. I'll be talking to Jan Hayworth,

who designed the Sgt. Pepper album cover. Very cool. And I'll talk to singer Dion, who is one of only five people still alive who were on the Sgt. Pepper cover. And two of those people were Beatles. The stories they tell are amazing. So thank you for making this series such a success. And please, do me a favor, follow the Beatleology interviews on your podcast app. You don't even have to be a huge Beatles fan, you just have to love storytelling. Subscribe now and don't miss a single beat. We'll see you next time. new locations. What matters is that you have something there to adapt with you, whether you need a challenge or rest. And Peloton has everything you need, whenever you need it. Find your push. Find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton at onepeloton.ca. This is an apostrophe podcast production. You're not you when you're hungry.

You're in good hands with all the people. You're under the influence of Terry O'Reilly. Jane Little was appropriately named. She stood 4 feet 11 inches tall and weighed 98 pounds. Yet she played the double bass, the largest instrument in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. She joined the orchestra when she was 16 in 1945. In 1953, she married the orchestra's principal flautist.

He stood 6'2". He would carry his little flute to performances, and Jane would roll in her giant bass. The highlight of her career came decades later, on February 4th, 2016, two days after she celebrated her 87th birthday. Jane wasn't feeling well that night. She had been undergoing chemotherapy, but she was determined to play. When she stroked a D-chord that night at 8.04 p.m., Jane Little became holder

of the Guinness World Record as the musician with the longest professional tenure with one orchestra. That night was her 71st anniversary with the symphony. She received a five-minute standing ovation.

An absolutely remarkable record. But Jane Little loved playing, and her technique was still remarkable. A few months later, in May of that year, Jane was on stage for a Sunday afternoon concert. The theme of the performance was Broadway's Golden Age. During the encore, 30 seconds from the final notes, Jane suddenly stopped playing. Out of the corner of his eye,

the musician she shared a music stand with saw her fall. Two other musicians ran over and carried the tiny double bassist off the stage while the rest of the orchestra

pulled itself together to finish the number. bassist off the stage while the rest of the orchestra pulled itself together to finish the number. A doctor in the audience tried to revive her, but Jane Little never regained consciousness. The Atlanta Orchestra members were devastated. Jane Little was adored. One of her closest friends said when Jane played her last note,

she was doing what she loved, in a place she loved, at the end of a concert, during an encore, in a record-breaking year, playing a classic song from the golden age of Broadway. The song Jane Little was performing in that moment was There's No Business like show business. There is no business like show business, and there is no business quite like Broadway. Someone once said theater was invented to explain the mystery of life,

and those remarkable plays and musicals have attracted millions of people to Broadway over the years. It takes a Herculean effort to succeed. You need the right material, magical performances, the right amount of luck, and perfect timing. And sometimes, it comes down to the marketing. Broadway is often referred to as the Great White Way. That nickname came when the Theatre District of Broadway was one of the first streets in New York to be illuminated by white electric bulbs in the 1890s. And if you've been to a Broadway play,

you've held a playbill in your hand. Playbill is the name of the program you are given as you are shown to your seat. It's instantly recognizable, with its yellow masthead and the word playbill sitting front and center, with the name of the theater you're sitting in under that in smaller type. Beneath the yellow masthead is a large image from the play you are about to see. For several centuries, the word bill referred to a printed notice advertising a theatrical event. And for the last half of the 19th century, theater provided the only truly popular entertainment. And those theaters printed pamphlets for each performance. That's when a New York businessman named Frank

Vance Strauss saw an opportunity. In 1884, Strauss created the New York Theater Program Corporation. He approached the larger theaters and offered them, free of charge, magazine-style theatrical programs. Each theater would get its own customized version, complete with a special color cover photo from the play and pages with a cast list and information about the performance. The other pages would contain interesting articles about Broadway. But the programs would contain something else, too. Advertisements.

Strauss guaranteed advertisers a sizable circulation. Many were tourists ready to shop. He called it the Strauss Magazine Theater Program. The programs were of such high quality, theatergoers began keeping them as souvenirs of their visit.

It was a good deal for theaters. The programs were customized and free, while Strauss made his money from advertisers. He amassed a vast fortune. By 1918, the company was printing over 16 million programs for over 60 theaters. In the mid-30s, the program was renamed The Playbill. Then in 1957, there was a major redesign. The Playbill was simplified to just Playbill, and the famous yellow masthead was added. Today, Playbill offers biographies of the casts, directors, playwrights and production staff, as well as lists of scenes, songs and intermissions. On opening night official Broadway play,

it must be performed in a theater with 500 seats or more. Theaters with 499 seats or less are officially off-Broadway. Most theater marketing is aimed at women, as 66% of Broadway audiences are female, and the marketing is integral. Only 20% of Broadway shows earn back their initial investment, which means a staggering 80% never do. Broadway shows involve incredible risk.

It takes investors, a fantastic idea, a moving book, incredible songs, stellar casting, a director with vision, and a producer willing to create bold marketing. Like the legendary David Merrick. David Merrick was one of the most famous Broadway producers of all time. He produced over 85 shows, and his list of hits includes Fanny, Hello Dolly, Oliver, and 42nd Street. Merrick was a showman, capital S. He was a very colorful personality

who was married six times to five different women. His two favorite tactics were thunder and intimidation. Merrick was infamous for his marketing and publicity stunts, stopping at nothing to attract attention for his productions. Some thought he cheapened Broadway. Others thought he was a marketing genius. One of the first shows Merrick produced was a 1949 comedy called Clutterbuck. To generate ticket sales, he quietly went to every hotel lobby, upscale bar and private club in Manhattan during peak hours and had a Mr. Clutterbuck paged over and over again.

Soon, everyone was talking about this mysterious Mr. Clutterbuck. That stunt generated so much curiosity that the show ran for months longer than it should have.

For the production of Fanny, Merrick had stickers placed in men's rooms across the city asking the question, Have you seen Fanny? A risque line

in 1954. He petitioned to have the next hurricane to hit the East Coast to be named Fanny? A risque line in 1954. He petitioned to have the next hurricane to hit the East Coast to be named Fanny. He was informed all names have been predetermined by the U.S. Weather Bureau,

but he was invited to their next meeting, which he highly publicized. And when Princess Grace Kelly was married to Prince Rainier, a major media event, Merrick had an ad for Fanny written across the sky using skywriting. In 1962, David Merrick produced a musical called

Subways Are for Sleeping. It opened to disappointing reviews and ticket sales slowed to a dribble. Merrick had to figure out a way to save the show. So he put 3,800 stickers in the New York subway system that just said, Subways Are for Sleeping, with nothing to indicate it was a show poster. Soon, the transit authority ordered them removed

because the signs were encouraging people to sleep in the subway, which carried a fine and up to 30 days in jail. Then Merrick pulled off his boldest stunt. He scoured the country for seven people who had the same names as the top seven theatre critics in New York. He flew them out to the Big Apple, wined and dined them, gave them the best seats to the performance, and after, each happily gave Merrick a quote

gushing about the show. Then Merrick paid for full-page ads in New York newspapers claiming that, quote, seven out of seven are ecstatically unanimous about Subways Are for Sleeping. There was a quote from each of them saying the show was not only a hit, but was the best musical of the century. To protect himself against lawsuits,

Merrick put a postage-stamp-sized photo of each non-critic beside each quote, knowing full well most people didn't know what the New York theater critics looked like. Unfortunately, the New York newspapers did, and all but one refused to run the ad. The show's creative team hated the idea, but had to admit it kept the show alive. David Merrick was called the Abominable Showman, and for good reason. In 1960, he had 11 shows running on Broadway at the same time. 31 of his shows were nominated for Best Player Musical, 7 won the Top Tony Award, and Merrick himself won several Best Producer Tonys during his lifetime. A Broadway play can be staged by the most talented people in the world

and still be a flop. As the song says, the opening when your heart beats like a drum, the closing when the customers won't come. So many things can go wrong. When a new show titled Up appeared at the new Eurus Theatre, the producers suddenly panicked. When they looked up at the marquee, it said,

Up Eurus. The title was quickly changed. In another show, the male and female leads hated each other so much, one reviewer said their romantic scenes would be much more convincing if they didn't look like they were on the verge of homicide. In another play titled Rex, just as the cast was taking a curtain call, the lead male actor slapped one of the male dancers in front of a shocked audience. The dancer had said,

that's a wrap during the bows, but the lead thought he said, that was crap. In 1975, actor Yul Brynner and two other Broadway actors sued Trader Vic's restaurant for $7.5 million, where the three and Brynner's wife had dined out before a performance. They alleged the spare ribs they consumed that night were poisonous, causing them to fall ill, weak, and infirm, forcing Brinner and company to miss performances. Brinner's wife said she sustained, quote, an impaired and depreciated marital association with her husband as a result of the tainted ribs.

On the other hand, sometimes things can go magically right. When renowned Broadway director Hal Prince needed a new song to save the second act of a 1973 musical called A Little Night Music, composer Stephen Sondheim only had two days to come up with a new one. So Sondheim shut himself away for 48 hours in a hotel room and emerged with Send in the Clowns. That song has since become a classic, recorded by over 900 artists. And we'll be right back. You'll find it in our archives wherever you download your pods.

Back in the 1970s, Broadway advertising was very conservative. Then director Bob Fosse changed the game. He created the first television commercial for a Broadway show. The production was called Pippin. Here's a free minute from Pippin, Broadway's musical comedy sensation directed by Bob Fosse. Then the commercial showed a minute of dancing. You can see the other 119 minutes of Pippin live at the Imperial Theater without commercial interruption.

That television ad extended the life of the show by several years. A new way of selling shows had arrived. Since then, Broadway-specific advertising agencies have opened their doors. One is called Spotco. The company was named for a dog the landlord said they couldn't keep on the premises. So, they named their office as their pet. Like all Broadway marketing agencies, Spotco's task is formidable. They have to devise marketing campaigns that sell tickets before the show formally opens.

Because on Broadway, a show can die in three days. When Spotco was marketing the vagina monologues, newspapers wouldn't take the ads. The word vagina became an obstacle so the ad agency used clever design to obscure the word with a scribble a triangular scribble which said it all without saying it all when spot co was faced with marketing the drowsy chaperone they instantly realized it was the worst title in musical theater history but the word drowsy chaperone, they instantly realized it was the worst title in musical theater history.

But the word drowsy was integral to the show. So Spotko did humorous posters saying, Sometimes you can just tell by the title that a show is going to be amazing. This is not one of those times. When Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen were performing two plays on Broadway, they needed a way to promote the shows.

Stewart's wife suggested a Twitter campaign. They decided to focus on two characters from the play Waiting for Godot, Gogo and Didi. Then Stewart and McKellen came up with the notion to visit the most popular tourist spots in New York on their days off and take fun pictures wearing Gogo and Didi's signature bowler hats.

Their idea was to send a love letter to New York, telling everyone how much fun they were having together on Broadway, and intriguing people with the idea of these two well-known celebrities showing up around New York as tourists. The marketing department hated the idea. But Sir Patrick and Sir Ian did it anyway. It was a fun idea and it didn't cost anything but time. So on a day off, they tweeted a photo showing them munching hot dogs on Coney Island. Then they tweeted the photo with the hashtag GoGoDeeDeeDoNYC. Another showed the pair posing with Elmo in Times Square.

On another day off, they snapped a pic from the top of the Empire State Building. Then they took a funny photo of them jogging by the Hudson River. And right before the Super Bowl, the two British actors tweeted a photo with just the word football while holding a soccer ball. It was all just irreverent and fun. There is joy in their faces in every shot.

And it was a sensation. The posts were retweeted thousands of times. The campaign attracted press all over the country and online. That silly little idea the marketing team had originally dismissed The campaign attracted press all over the country and online. That silly little idea the marketing team had originally dismissed turned out to be a huge success. And there was another unseen benefit for Patrick Stewart. That Twitter campaign changed the way he was perceived in Hollywood. He was always pigeonholed as a serious actor.

He was fixed in people's minds as the stentorian Captain Picard from Star Trek The Next Generation and Professor Charles Xavier from X-Men. But he always had a fun, humorous side that no one saw. Now, he gets calls from The Daily Show, Stephen Colbert, Funny or Die, and Seth MacFarlane. That small, funny Twitter campaign, created to sell Broadway tickets, has opened up brand new comedic opportunities for Sir Patrick Stewart deep into his career. New year, new me. Season is here, and honestly, we're already over it. Enter Felix, the healthcare company helping Canadians take a different approach to weight loss this year.

Weight loss is more than just diet and exercise. It can be about tackling genetics, hormones, metabolism. Felix gets it. They connect you with licensed healthcare practitioners online who will create a personalized treatment plan that pairs your healthy lifestyle with a little help and a little extra support. Start your visit today at felix.ca. That's F-E-L-I-X dot C-A. Whether you're in your running era, Pilates era, or yoga era, dive into Peloton workouts that work with you. From meditating at your kid's game to mastering a strength program, they've got everything you need to keep knocking down your goals.

No pressure to be who you're not. Just workouts and classes to strengthen who you are. So no matter your era, make it your best with Peloton. Find your push. Find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton at onepeloton.ca Back in 2007, actor Lin-Manuel Miranda was on vacation in Mexico. He had picked up a book at the airport to read. It was titled Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. It was the story

of Hamilton's rise from orphan immigrant to one of the founding fathers of the United States and first secretary of the Treasury under George Washington. As he read it,

Miranda was amazed by Hamilton's story. He thought, this could be a hip-hop song. Then, this could be a mixtape. Then, this could be a hip-hop song. Then, this could be a mixtape. Then, this could be a show. So he started thinking about it. It took him one year

to write the first song, then another year to write the second song. Then he was invited to the White House to perform a song at a poetry event. I'm thrilled the White House

called me tonight because I'm thrilled the White House called me tonight because I'm actually working on a hip-hop album. It's a concept album about the life of someone I think embodies hip-hop, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. You laugh, but it's true. The Obamas were fascinated by the performance. The video went viral, and the rest is Broadway history.

Lin-Manuel Miranda created an entirely new type of musical, using a combination of hip-hop and rap songs to make a historical musical appealing to a younger audience and relevant. While all the main characters were white historically, Miranda put people of color in those roles. One of the lines that gets the most applause every night is, Immigrants, we get the job done. That became a marketing hashtag. When the show was still in previews, the producers held an influencer night and invited

people from Silicon Valley and digital experts to see the play and offer suggestions on how to market it on social media. Employing online buzz in 2015, Hamilton had pre-opening ticket sales of $27 million, smashing ticket sales records. But that also meant it became very hard to get a ticket. As the show settled into its run, it created a ticket lottery to give people a chance to get one of 46 orchestra seats at a reduced price, two and a half hours before each performance.

The lottery was called Ham for Ham, which meant that a $10 bill, which has Alexander Hamilton's face on it, was the price of the ticket instead of the usual hundreds of dollars. Ham for Ham created incredible marketing buzz. The cast even did sidewalk performances for the long lines of people hoping to win the daily ticket lottery because Miranda didn't want them to walk away with nothing. The show also distributed 100,000 tickets to high

schools where the majority of students came from low-income families, hoping to inspire the next generation of Broadway writers and performers. Miranda and the cast were highly active on social media, engaging with fans one-on-one. They even promoted other shows on Broadway, supporting the community. Fans dubbed themselves Faniltons. A Hamilton app was released that offered an augmented reality feature,

educational and historical information, and interactive karaoke tracks. And when Broadway shut down due to the pandemic, the cast did performances on Zoom for their fans. Hamilton was nominated for 16 Tony Awards and won an astounding 11. It has entered the billion-dollar club. Revenues from ticket sales, a Disney special, touring shows, merchandise, cast albums, etc. has now topped the $1 billion mark. The handful of other shows in that elite snack bracket

are more than 15 years old. Hamilton got it done in half the time. I've advertised a lot of plays and musicals in my career, everything from Hair to The Who's Tommy to The Shaw and Stratford. And I can tell you that marketing a stage production contains a special kind of urgency, because every empty seat can be counted. If the reviews aren't glowing, marketing has to take over the heavy lifting. David Merrick was a brash showman

who was willing to rattle cages to save a show. He didn't care what his contemporaries thought. He was only interested in a full house. In a different era, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and Lin-Manuel Miranda chose a different route. Their marketing doesn't feel like marketing. They connect with fans. They engage.

They make it fun and surprising. Above all, it's about creativity. The ham-for-ham lottery idea, by the way, not only created a marketing buzz, it created a monetary buzz. The U.S. Treasury was planning to remove Alexander Hamilton from the $10 bill. But the overwhelming success of the Broadway show and the incredible interest in Hamilton it set in motion

persuaded the Treasury to keep Hamilton on the bill. As the very first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton would be very happy to hear that. Broadway is slated to reopen in September. The show must go on when you're under the influence. I'm Terry O'Reilly. This episode was recorded in the Terrastream Mobile Recording Studio Producer, Debbie O'Reilly

Sound Engineer, Keith Ullman Theme music by Ari Posner and Ian Lefevre Special thanks to Gary Gray See you next week Sound engineer Keith Ullman. Theme music by Ari Posner and Ian Lefevre. Special thanks to Gary Gray. See you next week. Curtain rises at 8 p.m. sharp. Late patrons will not be admitted. Paging Mr. Clutterbuck.

Offer only valid in Gimli, Manitoba. New year, new me. Season is here and honestly, we're already over it. Enter Felix, the healthcare company helping Canadians take a different approach to weight loss this year. Weight loss is more than just diet and exercise. It can be about tackling genetics, hormones, metabolism. Felix gets it. They connect you with licensed healthcare practitioners online who will create a personalized treatment plan that pairs your healthy lifestyle with a little help and a little extra support.

Start your visit today at felix.ca. That's F-E-L-I-X dot C-A. Whether you're in your running era, Pilates era, or yoga era, dive into Peloton workouts that work with you. From meditating at your kid's game to mastering a strength program, they've got everything you need to keep knocking down your goals.

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