Annoying Little Show Turns Big Profits
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The silly little show that Annoyance produced for the piddling sum of $1,000 has suddenly become big business for both Delsener and the theater company, which will collect $3,000 a month in combined royalties from the LA and New York productions. The original Chicago production opened in June 1990 in the 110-seat Annoyance space at 31M N. Broadway and ran for 18 sold-out months. The Village Gate production, which opened in September 1991 and is set to run at least through May 31, has paid back its investment and is turning a profit. Its been playing to around 75 percent of capacity at the 375-seat Village Gate and attracting a crowd that averages between 23 and 32 years old–mostly young professionals, Delsener says.
Delsener thinks the Los Angeles-area Brady Bunch could lead to a lucrative television or even movie deal for the material. So far he hasn’t found anyone willing to buy such an idea, but he hasn’t given up. “I think a deal with Paramount is a possibility.”
Sertich brings to his new position credentials that may help in dealing with the League’s problems, including experience in both the commercial and not-for-profit sectors of the business. He handled a number of tasks for the Nederlander Organization in Detroit, and subsequently served as director of touring for four years at the not-for-profit Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis (the nation’s largest children’s theater). He played a key role in rebuilding that organization, which was floundering in the wake of criminal sexual misconduct charges brought against one of its executives. Sertich put together an international tour for the company that drew attention away from the scandal and helped pull in new funding as well. He left the children’s theater to become executive director of the National Theatre of the Deaf in Chester, Connecticut, where he stayed for 18 months before opting to move back to the midwest.
But not every California dealer was anxious to participate in this year’s Art Expo. San Franciscobased John Berggruen, one of the largest dealers outside New York and a major presence at past Art Expos, decided to sit out the 1992 event. “I’m a bit of a contrarian,” says Berggruen, “but I think arts fairs have grown too exhausting and too competitive.” Berggruen also didn’t think it financially prudent to spend $50,000 or so to set up shop at Art Expo. “We’re trying to be more conservative.”
