Avenue Gary

What does it say about me that the first thing I thought of when I heard Gary Coleman died was, "What will Avenue Q do?" Obviously I'm not the only one.

Quote for the Day

Ah, but are they happy?
You'd be surprised
Between the bed and the booze and shoes
They suffer least who suffer what they choose

David Ackles, "American Gothic"

StageGrade's first Tony poll

A reader suggested it; we did it. I was gratified at how many of our regular critics chose to vote, and surprised by how clear the consensus seems to be: Basically, this is the year of Red, Fences, Memphis, and La Cage aux Folles. That's not the whole story, of course--you'll just have to RTWT.

Back With a Dynamic Post

Albeit one I'm lifting wholesale from yesterday's Thomas Cott. It's 2 AM Theatre's Rebecca Mead on "dynamic pricing" and how it worked to raise the earned income and ticket prices at her theater--while still serving bargain hunters and less affluent theatergoers. The key:

Choose an audience you want to be “accessible” to, and make them an offer they can’t refuse if they buy their tickets early. This helps get your houses looking full early in the game.

“But,” you say, “If I sell a bunch of tickets at a deep discount early on, aren’t I leaving money on the table? Wouldn’t some of those people have paid more?”

Possibly, yes. But...you’ve just rewarded the people who are willing to commit early- before reviews, before rumors of sellouts, and most DEFINITELY before closing weekend. This is a pretty self-selecting bunch of deal hunters. So don’t worry about that.

How you’ll make your money is on the next round of patrons. The ones who call once a show starts to get good buzz or get full...And that perpetually sold out closing weekend full of people who waited till the last minute? That becomes your most profitable weekend. The people who complain? They get told that the earlier they buy the cheaper their tickets would be. The next show, some of them won’t wait.

RTWT.

Talent News

Three releases that landed in my inbox today and intrigued:

• Suzanne Vega's first play: a solo show starring herself as Carson McCullers.
  
• The King of L.A. Theater, Bart DeLorenzo, directs Lear with rotating crowned heads: Sunnydale's mayor and the prince of the Old Globe.
  
• DeLorenzo pal and recent Roundabout villain Megan Mullally returns to Gotham for a Loesser tribute. Maybe now Sherie Rene Scott can buy her that drink...
  

I'm off grid for about a week...Catch you on the flip side.

Friday Lifehacks

Apropos of nothing, a few things that have improved my life:

• Making my own seltzer at home.
  
• Chopping stuff with the mezzaluna.
  
• Keepvid, which allows me to download YouTube videos in iPod-ready form (in practical terms, this mean MST3K anywhere I go).
  
• Browser shortcuts ctrl+k, ctrl+f, ctrl+l.
  
• Google docs & calendar.
  
• Netvibes (for StageGrade review collecting, dont'cha know).
  
• Coffee Bean Direct.
  
• Manhattan Inn.
  

Ring a Ding

The L.A. Opera is having some problems with its current $32 Million Ring cycle--like two of its star singers dissing it on the record in today's LA Times, calling the conception of German director Achim Freyer unsafe and dubious. This is probably not the best defense I've heard, from an L.A. Opera spokesperson:

"The psychological dimension is outsourced to other forms of expression, like the lighting."

The singing and acting are apparently handling the "music" and "motion" requirements.