Risky Business at the Royal-George
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Perkins and Freydberg have made some daring choices in positioning and marketing their first production. The show opened here long after reaching certifiable hit status in New York, where it has been playing off-Broadway to standing-room-only houses for months with no major star to move tickets. After much deliberation, say Perkins and Freydberg, they chose to open in Chicago without a star either, opting instead for a troupe of seasoned local talent and one New York-based actress. That decision goes against the current conventional wisdom, at least as it’s defined by the city’s most successful and visible commercial producers, the veteran team of Michael Cullen, Sheila Henaghan, and Howard Platt, who say they have learned over the past decade that a star is essential for a commercial show in Chicago unless it has extraordinary pre-opening recognition. In marketing, Perkins and Freydberg have taken a more conventional tack. The New York Other People’s Money has profited from pulling in that city’s large business community; here, to stimulate word-of-mouth (which Perkins says has been “sensational”) the producers invited the CEOs of major Chicago companies to an Other People’s Money preview, and approximately 130 of them showed up. The producers also have solicited group business from most of the larger companies in town, according to Perkins Productions marketing chief Jennifer Nack. But the producers think hit status for their show will come from tapping into the broader base of the Chicago theatergoing market. “We believe the show has mass appeal,” says Nack. The producers have reserved a significant portion of their $450,000-plus capitalization for a major advertising campaign to promote the favorable notices and buttress word-of-mouth. Interestingly, they are prominently playing up a rave quote from WGN TV and radio critic Roy Leonard, who called Other People’s Money “the first legitimate hit of the new theatrical season,” a comment that has grave implications given the season’s end is rapidly approaching. Leonard’s audience, though large, tends to be dominated by an older, conservative crowd that favors comedies and musicals. If Leonard wants to catapult Other People’s Money into the winner’s circle, he may have to rave some more. In its first full week the play grossed $43,471 out of a potential $90,000 at capacity. “We’ve still got some work to do,” says Perkins.
Grape Receipts
