Let the Producer Produce
I think I’ve talked about this before, but it keeps happening so I’m going to talk about it some more. It is a major irritant.
Too many times my desire to produce a play or a musical has been crushed by the playwright insisting on something that
- is none of their business, or
- something that, if done, would guarantee that I lose my money and my investors money.
Playwrights own their plays, but they don’t own the production of their plays.
Playwrights Don’t Own Their Productions?
For a play to be done on Broadway, a producer needs to raise and spend millions of dollars. In order to do that they hire someone to handle the business side of the production – things like negotiating contracts, or setting up the payroll. This person is called a General Manager.
I once didn’t produce a play because a playwright insisted on a veto over my choice of general manager. Why? I didn’t ask, because who the general manager was was none of the playwright’s business. I just passed on the show.
The producer raises the money for the production, and steers the ship. Not the playwright – unless the playwright also wants to be the producer.
No producer can guarantee that a production won’t lose money. But they can take steps that reduce the risk. Some of these steps are quasi-artistic, like who the actors will be.
Now I believe that playwrights should have a voice in casting, but they should not have the final say. As the producer, if I think an “A” list movie star who will sell tons of tickets would be good in a role and the playwright thinks an unknown actor friend would be even better artistically, the playwright might be correct. But if they insist on their choice over my choice, the only person that they will need to find is another producer.
So Many Playwrights Miss Out
These are only two examples. I’ve got a books worth of them, and if I ever finish writing the book you’ll be able to hear about all of them.
Meanwhile, you have a producer who wants to do your show. That’s what matters.
Everything else? Let it go.
And keep the producer.