From concept to Broadway, is there a realistic time frame to get this accomplished if it does happen?
Oh God, years, many years. Especially a musical. You need to find the right composer and lyricist. Shows get written and rewritten. You do workshops. You tinker, you fix. Maybe you do another workshop. Maybe an out of town tryout. Maybe another workshop. Maybe you need to bring on another book writer. Musicals are so ridiculously expensive. They can cost $12-15 million. It takes time to raise all that money and then, of course, a theatre must be available.
Typically, how many people will invest in a play/musical on Broadway? Is it usually the same group?
Due to the enormous, insane expense of musicals, many people need to invest. That’s why now it is not uncommon to see 10 or more co-producers above title and they have many investors each. On a musical of 12 million, the minimum investment could be $25,000- $50,000. This adds up to many investors getting involved. On “Dear Evan Hansen”, there are at least 37 producers credited, and some of those are entities or groups of two or more producers. Now, that’s on the high side for the number of producers. But you get the idea of what is happening sometimes now on Broadway. Some producers split a credit and the levels for producing can start for as low as a split at $125,000. Actually, sometimes two or more become part of that $125,000 producing entity. It is lower, of course, for a play, when the budget need not exceed $3-4 million. The budget depends, of course, on the demands of the show and if there is star casting. Broadway is expensive and risky. But if you have a hit, the rewards can be great.
You won “Global Producer of the Year” in 2017. How did that feel?
I’m so honored to say I have won Broadway Global Producer for 2017.
It’s nice to be recognized, but more important, I’m just so grateful I’ve had the opportunity to work on such important, inspiring works.
I was also honored to have been nominated with so many great producers. I was so moved when the Founder of the Global Producer Award wrote this about me.
“Broadway Global has announced that Catherine Schreiber
has been selected as the 2017 Broadway Global Producer of the Year. Schreiber, the first woman ever honored as Producer of the Year and chosen unanimously by the Board of Directors, is the very definition of the Broadway Global mission statement.
Every past and present Broadway Global Producer of the Year is proof that art imitates life. We honor investors in live stage works who inspire and teach respect for cultures, embrace diversity and educate on issues in our now global society. 100 years from now, when global citizens look back at the live stage works created, we expect that our Broadway Global winners will be looked upon as global leaders “on and off the stage.” All Broadway Global Producers of the Year winners must be #1 – accessible on social media, #2 – leave a legacy for live stage works for the Broadway brand that inspires respect, embraces diversity, and brings nations together and #3 – give back to not-for-profits that make our global society a better world for all, sharing their time and efforts in charity work.”
Next up, I’m very excited to be working with Marianne Elliot, the brilliant director of “Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime”, “Warhorse”, and the National’s “Angels in America”. I’m going to be a producer with her new company, Elliot Harper Productions. I love that she is doing shows only directed by women and that she wants to give female playwrights an opportunity to have their works produced. It should be incredibly exciting. Marianne will be directing two pieces — one a play by Simon Stephens, and the other a newly imagined version of “Company” with a female Bobby. Sondheim will be writing new lyrics for it. I’m also co- producing with them a newly imagined “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe”, directed by another spectacular and innovative female director, Sally Cookson.
