Backstage Pass To Broadway Read online

  Honor Contractual Agreements. Stars usually have clauses in their contract that spell out the size and placement of their billing, their photo approval, as well as approval of how their image is used in advertising and marketing materials, what they will and will not do regarding publicity and appearances, etc. It is important for press agents to get copies of these clauses from the general manager in advance so that we can meet all the contractual obligations.

  Figure Out How to Reach the Public. Producers used to purchase full page announcement ads in the New York Sunday Times to herald a new Broadway show. Today email blasts have replaced many print ads as well as direct mail campaigns as the method of choice to seduce audiences. Email blasts, Tweets and Facebook posts are used to supplement and support publicity and are a very cost and time-efficient way to reach your target audience.

  However, just as direct mail flyers required accurate mailing addresses, email blasts require accurate email addresses. If you are handling a play about a doctor or medicine, you probably want to let doctors know about it. But if you don’t happen to have a list of doctors in your area, what should you do? You could get a telephone book and start cold calling but a more efficient route would be to purchase a list of doctors from a list broker. You can classify mailing lists by a wide variety of demographics including zip code, age, occupation, income, special interests, ethnic/religious affiliation, political preferences, etc. List brokers charge per name, with a minimum number of names required to purchase a list. It is better to start with a larger pool of names than you actually need as some may turn out to be duds, unless the broker regularly ‘cleans’ the lists. Another way to get email addresses for your target audience is to reach out to an organization with similar interests. For example, if you have a play about AIDS, look for organizations that support AIDS-related projects. They might be interested in offering a discount to their members, or might buy out one performance as a benefit for their organization. Offer to do reciprocal email blasts.

  Approach other theatre companies that present productions similar to yours and offer to ‘swap’ mailing lists. That doesn’t mean you actually give each other your lists — you simply share info on the other company’s project to your audience, and vice versa. You can search online for egroups that share an interest with your target audience and post on their boards. If you don’t have good computer skills, companies like Patron Mail and Constant Contact provide boiler plates for creating professional-looking email blasts at a reasonable cost.

  Nothing Is Off The Record. Let me repeat, NOTHING IS OFF THE RECORD. Anything said in front of or near a reporter is fair game. Saying ‘please don’t use that’ after a client has blurted out news of her pregnancy does not work. If you don’t want to see it in print or on TMZ, make sure you and your client keep your mouths shut. When Paul Newman was asked something he considered too personal, he simply smiled and said, “I’m sorry, I just don’t feel comfortable talking about that.” And then he shut up.

  HOW HAS PR CHANGED

  When I began working as a press agent our tools were an electric typewriter, mimeograph machine, stencils, a mail order house that made metal plates for every name on our mailing lists, a Rolodex and a dial telephone. Those mailing lists of writers, critics, editors, which reflected our relationships with the media, were our most valuable assets. Releases and photos were ‘serviced’ via US Postal Service First Class mail or messengers. A lot of time was spent stuffing, sealing and stamping envelopes and, in some cases, hand delivering them to the editors and writers at the major newspapers.

  Today we use laptops, tablets, ipads, and everything is transmitted electronically, but our contacts and the relationships they represent are still our most valuable asset. Photos and releases are serviced via email and rarely is a press agent seen at a newspaper office schmoozing with writers as they personally deliver releases and photos. Phone calls have been replaced by emails and texts and the importance of daily newspapers and weekly magazines has been surpassed by blogs and electronic media.

  In the past, getting a ‘break’ on the Associated Press newswire meant that your feature or theatre review would appear in thousands of newspapers around the world within a few days. Now a feature on Playbill.com or Theatermania.com can be picked up on hundreds of other websites, get ‘shared’ on Facebook and re-tweeted, and may be read by millions of people within seconds. Where we would nurture relationships with reporters, meet for lunch or a drink, we now court unseen and, often unknown, bloggers who cover the entertainment field.

  Major announcements, previously timed to break on the evening news shows or in the morning newspaper, are now made on Twitter or Facebook in a 24-hour news cycle. Mark Zuckerberg called Facebook “the best personalized newspaper for users.” Focus groups have been replaced by Facebook friends and press conferences by Twitter chats. Both Michelle Bachmann and Anthony Weiner made major political announcements in carefully edited videos they posted online. In their self-produced mini-movies, neither Bachmann nor Weiner had to deal with pesky journalists shouting questions at them, and they could control both the message and the lighting. And Paula Deen posted two weepy, and ultimately ineffectual, mea culpa videos on line.

  Which is better — a two minute segment on a broadcast TV show or a YouTube video that goes viral and reaches millions of viewers instantly?

  Today we rarely email photos to journalists — we post them on Pinterest. We list feature ideas on industry egroup boards and on HARO and post links to podcasts we create ourselves. Complete press kits are posted on Dropbox or are downloadable from websites, and multi-city press tours have been replaced by satellite press conferences. Free Google Alerts have replaced traditional and costly clipping services.

  We no longer measure the success of a PR campaign by quantifying the size and number of impressions received in the print or electronic media. Influence is now measured by the saturation of social media and the number of hashtags. And theatre marquees, which used to have the show’s logo or artwork hand painted onto a back-lit sheet of plastic, are now multi-media billboards with animation, video and ever-changing messages.

  Is communication better, faster and more cost-efficient now? Absolutely! It is also a lot less personal, and much colder, out there in cyberspace.

  But maybe we need to consider how much is ‘too much information.’ I don’t believe that all publicity is good publicity. Sometimes NO is the right answer, whether in response to a request for a quote, an interview or an appearance.

  Occasionally we all just need to shut up.

  INDEX

  PLEASE NOTE: This index reflects the print edition of this title. Pages listed here are unlikely to correspond to the pagination of this e-book. However, entries and other terms listed below may be easily located by using the search feature of your e-book reader.

  A CHORUS LINE 59, 79, 128, 134

  A COCKTAIL PARTY 30

  A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM 34

  A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE 164, 189

  Abbott, George 75

  Actors Studio, The 17

  Adams, Don 11, 146

  Adams, Lee 20

  All About Eve 20, 22

  An American Family 143-146

  Anderson, Bibi 77

  Andrews, Dana 78

  Andrews, Julie 27, 59, 78, 134

  Angelescu, Jackie 80

  ANGELS IN AMERICA 141

  Ann-Margret 78

  ALL GOD’S CHILLUN GOT WINGS 108-110

  All That Jazz 130

  American Theatre Wing 94

  APPLAUSE 14, 20-28, 105, 135, 189

  Apple, Fiona 28

  Around the World in 80 Days 18

  Arrested Development 111

  Arts & Entertainment Network (A&E) 52, 189

  Associated Press 50, 51, 159, 165, 170

  ATPAM

  (Assn. of Theatrical Press Agents & Managers) 19, 90, 97, 99

  Bacall, Lauren 11, 14, 20-28, 135, 189

  By Myself .
.. and then some 23

  Bach 125

  Backstage Newspaper 18

  Bainter, Fay 78

  Baird, Bil 16

  Baker, Joe Don 17

  Bantry, Bryan 60

  Baldwin, Alec 11, 164, 189

  Baryshnikov, Mikhail 131

  BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 94

  BELLS ARE RINGING 157

  Bennett, Michael 59, 126, 128, 134

  Benson, Jodi 11, 45

  Bernstein, Leonard 21

  Berlind, Roger 29, 33

  Berman, Rob 80

  Berry, Chuck 136

  Bostwick, Barry 75

  Blaine, Vivian 54, 78

  BLITHE SPIRIT 135

  Bogart, Humphrey 20

  Bolger, Ray 11, 75-77

  Boone, Pat 78

  Bosley, Tom 54

  Boston Herald American 126

  Boston Globe 126

  Bowie, David 77

  Breakfast at Tiffanys 68, 69, 106

  Briggs, Tom 78

  Brioni Suits 69, 70

  Broadway League, The 95

  Brookes, Jacqueline 136

  Brooks, Mel 29

  Bryant, Mary 12, 116

  Bryggman, Larry 136

  Brynner, Yul 11, 16, 53-56

  BYE BYE BIRDIE 20

  CAA 135

  Cameron, Kay 91

  Capp, Al 32

  Cariou, Len 11, 23, 24

  CAROUSEL 78, 157

  Carter, Dixie 104 Celebrity Bulletin 112

  Chadman, Christopher 105, 128

  Chalfant, Kathleen 11, 12, 141

  Chamberlain, Richard 106

  Champion, Gower 103, 135

  Chaplin, Charlie 77

  Chase, Mike 147

  Chase Manhattan Bank 73

  Check It Out 146

  Chenoweth, Ellen 48

  Chenoweth, Kristin 134

  CHICKEN SOUP WITH BARLEY 41

  Childs, Julia 149

  CHIPS WITH EVERYTHING 41

  Cilento, Wayne 11, 59, 60-62

  Clements, Sir John 11, 29, 34, 39

  Close, Glenn 11, 136, 137, 189

  Circle in the Square Theatre 75, 77, 104, 105, 107, 108, 110, 135, 141, 159, 189

  Cohen, Alexander H. 11, 53

  Cohn, Sam 135

  Collins, Dorothy 11, 116, 117

  Collins, Glenn 89

  Columbia Artists 84

  Comden, Betty 20

  COMPANY 116

  Cook, Barbara 16, 117

  Copeland, Joan 106

  Corey, Irwin 16

  Cosby, Bill 11, 31

  Coward, Noel 11, 27, 135

  Craig, David 116

  Crain, Jeanne 78

  CRAZY FOR YOU 45

  Crosby, Bing 79, 80

  Crosby, Kathryn 11, 78, 80, 84

  Crosby, Mary Catherine 79

  Cruise, Tom 52

  Cue Magazine 35

  Dale, Jim 11, 141, 160, 189

  DAMN YANKEES 125, 130

  DANCIN’ 105, 125-131, 135, 189

  Dakota, The 25

  Davidson, John 1, 11, 78-83, 96, 99

  Davis, Bette 22

  Deacy, Jane 108

  DEAR WORLD 135

  DEATH AND THE MAIDEN 137, 189

  Debuskey, Merle 11, 12, 29, 36, 125, 159

  Dewhurst, Colleen 107

  Dexter, John 11, 29 - 44, 135

  Diamond, Neil 125

  DO YOU TURN SOMERSAULTS? 122, 124

  Doll, Bill 12, 18-22, 25, 138

  Dominic, Zoe 40

  Dorfman, Ariel 137

  Downton Abbey 141

  Drake, Alfred 54, 134

  Dramatists Guild 41

  Dreyfuss, Richard 11, 137, 189

  Dropbox 171

  Eikenberry, Jill 151

  Eisenhower Theatre 32, 40

  Elizondo, Hector 11, 108, 111

  EST 118

  EQUUS 30, 32

  Eugene Onegin 39

  Everett, Sonny 84

  Fabray, Nanette 54

  Farrell, Barry 21

  Farrentino, James 107

  FDR 46

  Field, Ron 27

  Fischer, Bobby 147

  Fisher, Jules 12, 128-130

  FLAHOOLEY 15, 16

  FIDDLER ON THE ROOF 29

  FOLLIES 116, 117

  Fonteyn, Dame Margot 74

  Forrest Theatre 32, 34, 37

  Forsyte Saga, The 141

  Fosse, Bob 11, 59, 105, 125-131, 135, 189

  Franklin, Bonnie 11, 14, 27

  Franz, Robert 79, 84, 90-95, 97, 157

  French, Arthur 107

  Frizzelle, Jack 18

  Frommer, Myra and Harvey

  It Happened On Broadway 56

  FULL CIRCLE 77

  Fuller, Penny 11, 14, 28

  Gardenia, Vincent 57

  Gardner, Ava 107

  Garfield, John 31

  Garfield, Julie 11, 12, 31, 37, 44

  Garfield, Matt 84

  Gelbart, Larry 108, 111

  Gershwin, George & Ira (‘The Gershwins’) 45, 75, 150, 157

  Get Smart 146

  Gifford, Gloria 11, 12, 30, 44

  Gilbert, Craig 143, 145

  Gilford, Jack 11, 108, 109

  Gilford, Madeline 109

  Gill, Bob 11, 12, 128, 129

  Glynn, Carlin 11, 12, 48, 49, 132

  Goddard, Paulette 77

  GO FLY A KITE 140

  Goodman, Frank 12, 19, 121

  Granier-Deferre, Christopher 142

  Granier-Deferre, Pierre 141

  Grant, Cary 27, 132

  Green, Adolph 20

  Grode, Eric 117

  Groener, Harry 45

  Guare, John 117

  Gussow, Mel 43

  Guthrie Theatre Company 23

  Haberman, Clyde 50

  Hackman, Gene 11, 137, 189

  Haefner, Susan 162

  Hagman, Larry 11, 124

  HAIR 18

  Halliday, Heller 120

  Halliday, Richard 120, 122

  Hammerstein, James (Jamie) 11, 81

  Hammerstein II, Oscar 78

  Hampshire, Susan 1, 11, 12, 30, 57, 141, 142

  Happy Days 152-4

  Harburg, Yip 15

  Hare, Will 17

  Harnick, Sheldon 117

  Harris, Julie 11, 17, 134

  Havoc, June 17

  Hayes, Helen 79, 157

  Haymes, Dick 78

  Henner, Marilu 104

  Hepburn, Audrey 69

  Hepburn, Katharine 79, 156-8

  Herbert, Jocelyn 37, 43

  Hingle, Pat 159

  Hoffman, Abbie 11, 48-51

  Holbrook, Hal 140

  HOW TO SUCCEED 135

  Human Factor, The 77

  Hunter College High School 18, 150

  Hurt, Mary Beth 151

  Iman 77

  Imperial Theatre 33, 43

  Jacobs, Bernard (Bernie) 131

  Julia, Raul 11, 75-77

  Jerry McGuire 52

  Joffrey, Robert 11, 112-114, 118

  Joffrey Ballet, The 112, 113

  Jones, Cherry 134

  Jones, Tommy Lee 137

  Joy, James Leonard 78

  Kael, Pauline 67

  Kander & Ebb (John Kander & Fred Ebb) 26

  Kasha, Larry 22

  Kaye, Danny 39, 106

  Keach, Stacy 157

  Keitel, Harvey 107

  Kelly, Kevin 126

  Kempson, Rachel 30

  Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The 32, 33, 39, 40, 43, 122

  Kennedy, Jackie 46

  Kennedy, Ray 63

  Kiley, Richard 54

  Kim, Willa 128

  King, Martin Luther 30

  Kline, Kevin 11, 75

  Kimmel, Sandi 112, 115

  Kipness, Joe 22

  Krebs, Albin 50

  Kidder, Margot 91, 92

  Kulukundis, Eddie 29, 30

  Kumin, Ron 84

  Kushner, Tony 141


  Lacombe, Brigitte 164

  Lady Caroline Lamb 106

  Lange, Jessica 11, 164, 189

  Langner, Philip 79, 84, 92, 157

  Larry Sanders Show, The 111

  Lawrence, Peter 137

  Lawson, Carol 50

  League of American Theatres & Producers, The 94

  Lennon, John 21

  Leon, Joseph 40

  Leonard, Sheldon 31

  Levene, Sam 29, 34, 38, 40

  Lloyd, Natalie 84-103

  Libin, Paul 105, 159

  Life Magazine 21, 80

  Li’L ABNER 32

  Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. 18, 112, 113, 189

  Loesser, Frank 75

  Loud Family, The 11, 143-146

  Bill Loud 143, 145

  Pat Loud 143-146

  Lance Loud 143-145

  A Woman’s Story 145

  LuPone, Patti 134

  Lyman, Shelby 11, 147-149

  Lunts, The (Alfred Lunt & Lynne Fontanne) 11, 27, 79, 119, 157

  Ma, YoYo 11, 52, 53

  M. BUTTERFLY 43

  MacLaine, Shirley 27

  Maggart, Brandon 28

  Maggart, Maude 28

  Mann, Theodore (Ted) 105

  Mark Hellinger Theatre 27

  MARK TWAIN TONIGHT 140

  Marks, Peter 12, 86, 98

  MARATHON ’33 17

  Marguerite and Armond 74

  Martin, Mary 11, 16, 119-124, 134, 157

  Masteroff, Joe 135

  Masterson, Peter 11, 17, 48, 138

  Matthau, Walter 27

  Mattioli, Louis 78

  Maxwell, Jan 117

  Maxwell, Roberta 11, 23, 29, 34, 37, 43

  McAfee, Diane 28

  McArdle, Andrea 11, 78-80

  McBurney School for Boys 150-151

  McDonald, Audra 134

  McHattie, Stephen 136

  McKechnie, Donna 11, 78-80, 134

  Mercer, Johnny 59, 68, 70, 71, 74, 189

  Meredith, Burgess 77

  Merman, Ethel 119, 134

  Merrick, David 10, 11, 78-103, 106

  Merrick Foundation, The David 103

  METROPOLITAN OPERA 33, 39, 112, 113

  Mike Douglas Show 106

  Miller, Arthur 106, 107

  Minnelli, Liza 131

  Mitchell, Jack 128

  Molaskey, Jessica 11, 62, 69

  Morrison, Patricia 54

  Mostel, Kate 38

  Mostel, Zero 11, 29-44, 135

  Munsel, Patrice 28

  Newman, Paul 132, 169

  Newark Star Ledger 149

  Newsweek 50, 141

  New York Daily News 137

  New York Post 63, 72, 149, 159

  New York Shakespeare Festival 75

  New York Times 43, 50, 86, 87, 89, 98, 117, 131, 145, 146, 149, 162, 166