Stage Writes
The Official Stage Rights Blog
Theater Successes Exist Far Beyond New York City Limits
You don’t need New York to succeed in the theater world.
People forget that fact on Broadway, where the theater industry is centered on a dozen blocks in midtown Manhattan. But a handful of mold-breaking artists and projects are reminding New Yorkers that their small world is fueled, bolstered, enriched — and sometimes bypassed entirely — by successes outside the city limits.
CREDIT: COURTESY OF MARIN THEATER
Take Doug Wright, who won a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award for his 2003 play I Am My Own Wife and wrote the book to the musicals Grey Gardens and War Paint. His biggest personal moneymaker? The Little Mermaid. That’s right, the Broadway disappointment that petered out after two lackluster years.
The show went on to become popular around the country and around the world, starting with new stagings at theaters such as St. Louis’ Muny Theater in 2011.
“It’s infinitely the most money I’ve made on something I’ve done, without question,” Wright readily admits. “It’s keeping the cats well fed.”
Click here for the full article published on Variety.com by Gordon Cox on October 24, 2017.