Last Night I Dreamt I Went To Broadway Again....
November 10, 2021 7:56 PM Subscribe
In 2012, a musical adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's book Rebecca was poised to begin is Broadway production. The show seemed a sure bet - not only was it based on a famous novel which itself inspired an Oscar-winning film, the Broadway production was itself a translation of an already-popular German original adaptation. However - producers were having such a hard time finding the funding that they ultimately had to call things off the day of the very first rehearsal. And the reason why....is a tale itself.
Youtube channel Wait In the Wings recently told the whole story in a two-part video series - a story involving anonymous investors, jealous directors, novice producers, cybercrime, and fraud (from multiple directions) in a story so complex it took investigations from the New York Times, New York Post, the FBI, and the SEC to get to the bottom of just what the hell happened.
Part 1 - The Musical That Closed Before Rehearsals
Part 2 - Broadway's Phantom Investor
Youtube channel Wait In the Wings recently told the whole story in a two-part video series - a story involving anonymous investors, jealous directors, novice producers, cybercrime, and fraud (from multiple directions) in a story so complex it took investigations from the New York Times, New York Post, the FBI, and the SEC to get to the bottom of just what the hell happened.
Part 1 - The Musical That Closed Before Rehearsals
Part 2 - Broadway's Phantom Investor
Rebecca Alfred Hitchcock's first US film, streaming on youtube in Full HD -- Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, Judith Anderson -- Wikipedia
posted by dancestoblue at 9:28 PM on November 10, 2021
posted by dancestoblue at 9:28 PM on November 10, 2021
Wish that was available somewhere in text form, because I'm not watching an hour and a half of videolog even if they lure me with a still of Pia Douwes. FWIW, the musical was first produced in Vienna, and it was gorgeous - very good weaving a coherent plotline with a limited cast, best use of projections I'd seen to date and you can't forget the bit where they set the stage and a stunt actress on fire *hearteyes*
posted by I claim sanctuary at 11:48 PM on November 10, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by I claim sanctuary at 11:48 PM on November 10, 2021 [7 favorites]
I claim sanctuary - I will give you enough of the story so that you can skip straight to the second video. I would have given the whole story, but - honestly, there's a twist in there that made me exclaim out loud in shock and my roommate actually hollered "you okay in there?" when he heard me.
* The producer was a bit of a newbie with several Off-Broadway credits to his name; he was looking for the big break that would make him Broadway calibre. He saw the Vienna production and thought "this is perfect" and got the rights to do the English translation OF that Vienna production.
* The budget for the English production was pretty hefty, though - the special effects being one reason, with a huge curved-stairs setpiece that "caught fire" and "collapsed" at the end of the show, through the use of actual fire effects and a trap door. So part of getting the rights hinged on lining up the funding.
* One of the things they did to line up the funding might have pissed off the original director. She was set to direct the English production as well, but the production staff brought in a different guy as a "co-director" because he was more of a bankable name. So the original director was a bit miffed.
* Most of the funding was meant to come from these four English dudes, none of whom the producers had ever met - they worked with this Wall Street dude who was their business rep. But they'd pledged $4 million - which seemed to be taking an awful long time to materialize. The producer kept asking about the hold up and was finally told that one of the four - the guy putting up the most money - was unexpectedly in the hospital on life support. Then, a few days later, the dude's secretary emailed the team that he'd died. Three more emails came from the other 3 English dudes saying they were pulling out in that case as well.
* The New York Times theater column started talking about the show's funding woes, and the columnist hinted that "I wonder if those four dudes even existed." That got the FBI interested and they started investing the producer himself as a possible fraud suspect.
* Another investor stepped forward, and this time he was real - he met with the producer in secrecy, promising to put up the money as well; and he seemed way more legit. However, he required anonymity so that he didn't get a gabillion other directors hounding him for money. But then the week before rehearsals started, this investor started getting some email threats, warning him away from the production and suggesting that the producer was a fraud. Even though the wire transfer was REALLY in the process of going through this time, this producer pulled the plug and cancelled his donation TWO DAYS before rehearsals started - not only because of the threats, but also because they had come to his personal email, so somehow his name got attached to this in violation of his anonymity request.
So the big questions which that second video answers are:
1. Did those original 4 producers even exist? Or if they were fake, did the producer make them up? Or if HE didn't make them up, who did, and why?
2. Those emails to the other investor were sent to him personally, so they must have come from someone on the inside. Was it the producer? Or the "business contact" for the other 4 dudes? Or the jilted original director? Or someone else?
It's BONKERS, yo.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:10 AM on November 11, 2021 [6 favorites]
* The producer was a bit of a newbie with several Off-Broadway credits to his name; he was looking for the big break that would make him Broadway calibre. He saw the Vienna production and thought "this is perfect" and got the rights to do the English translation OF that Vienna production.
* The budget for the English production was pretty hefty, though - the special effects being one reason, with a huge curved-stairs setpiece that "caught fire" and "collapsed" at the end of the show, through the use of actual fire effects and a trap door. So part of getting the rights hinged on lining up the funding.
* One of the things they did to line up the funding might have pissed off the original director. She was set to direct the English production as well, but the production staff brought in a different guy as a "co-director" because he was more of a bankable name. So the original director was a bit miffed.
* Most of the funding was meant to come from these four English dudes, none of whom the producers had ever met - they worked with this Wall Street dude who was their business rep. But they'd pledged $4 million - which seemed to be taking an awful long time to materialize. The producer kept asking about the hold up and was finally told that one of the four - the guy putting up the most money - was unexpectedly in the hospital on life support. Then, a few days later, the dude's secretary emailed the team that he'd died. Three more emails came from the other 3 English dudes saying they were pulling out in that case as well.
* The New York Times theater column started talking about the show's funding woes, and the columnist hinted that "I wonder if those four dudes even existed." That got the FBI interested and they started investing the producer himself as a possible fraud suspect.
* Another investor stepped forward, and this time he was real - he met with the producer in secrecy, promising to put up the money as well; and he seemed way more legit. However, he required anonymity so that he didn't get a gabillion other directors hounding him for money. But then the week before rehearsals started, this investor started getting some email threats, warning him away from the production and suggesting that the producer was a fraud. Even though the wire transfer was REALLY in the process of going through this time, this producer pulled the plug and cancelled his donation TWO DAYS before rehearsals started - not only because of the threats, but also because they had come to his personal email, so somehow his name got attached to this in violation of his anonymity request.
So the big questions which that second video answers are:
1. Did those original 4 producers even exist? Or if they were fake, did the producer make them up? Or if HE didn't make them up, who did, and why?
2. Those emails to the other investor were sent to him personally, so they must have come from someone on the inside. Was it the producer? Or the "business contact" for the other 4 dudes? Or the jilted original director? Or someone else?
It's BONKERS, yo.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:10 AM on November 11, 2021 [6 favorites]
Good grief, it's as suspenseful as the novel itself!
posted by mittens at 5:50 AM on November 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by mittens at 5:50 AM on November 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
Empress, great summary. The fact the original director, Zambello, is a very experienced intl opera director makes me suspect her as a leak for news stories. She knew years ago that something was off. She has likely heard creative bullshiit in different languages.
1. I love the fact that the older production members didnt google their anonymous investors based on any little details they may have overheard. You can learn alot hearing one investor is a NJ real estate investor who used to work at X, just died at X hospital, married 3 times., etc.
These fantasy investors were rich people who could perfectly hide basic facts and never associated with anyone else in the small NYC entertainment world? OK!
2. Healy, the reporter, did great work.
3. Virtually every show lists their producers and companies that can hide investors names. I dont recall seeing Anonymous Benefactor in any website or Playbill, regardless of budget .
4. Anonymous email accounts are a godsend. Ive used them for minor work issues.
posted by Freecola at 6:27 AM on November 11, 2021
1. I love the fact that the older production members didnt google their anonymous investors based on any little details they may have overheard. You can learn alot hearing one investor is a NJ real estate investor who used to work at X, just died at X hospital, married 3 times., etc.
These fantasy investors were rich people who could perfectly hide basic facts and never associated with anyone else in the small NYC entertainment world? OK!
2. Healy, the reporter, did great work.
3. Virtually every show lists their producers and companies that can hide investors names. I dont recall seeing Anonymous Benefactor in any website or Playbill, regardless of budget .
4. Anonymous email accounts are a godsend. Ive used them for minor work issues.
posted by Freecola at 6:27 AM on November 11, 2021
Freecola - seriously, go watch those videos now that you've started trying to puzzle it out. There is stuff that I did not see coming in the slightest.
My summary also leaves out a random detail which had nothing to do with the "mystery" in question, but was too fantastic a cosmic warning not to share:
* The producers were originally thinking of doing this in London in like 2010 or so, and had even lined up a theater for it, and construction had even begun on the theater to start digging the hole for the trap door that would let them do the "collapsing stairs" effect. But the construction work uncovered an ancient underground stream, one which had been running underground for centuries - and the crew had to halt construction because a) there was a risk of flooding the whole theater if they dug further, and b) if they happened to also uncover any prehistoric artifacts, the entire theater as a whole would have had to shut down so archeologists could come take over.
So the production was already out however many hundred grand it cost to pay off those workers and those investors before they decided to try again on Broadway.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:05 AM on November 11, 2021
My summary also leaves out a random detail which had nothing to do with the "mystery" in question, but was too fantastic a cosmic warning not to share:
* The producers were originally thinking of doing this in London in like 2010 or so, and had even lined up a theater for it, and construction had even begun on the theater to start digging the hole for the trap door that would let them do the "collapsing stairs" effect. But the construction work uncovered an ancient underground stream, one which had been running underground for centuries - and the crew had to halt construction because a) there was a risk of flooding the whole theater if they dug further, and b) if they happened to also uncover any prehistoric artifacts, the entire theater as a whole would have had to shut down so archeologists could come take over.
So the production was already out however many hundred grand it cost to pay off those workers and those investors before they decided to try again on Broadway.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:05 AM on November 11, 2021
What it takes to be listed as an above-title producer differs from production to production. I know of at least one Broadway production where people were listed as producers for writing a $35000 check, and I know of others where people who invested $1 million didn't get credit.
So you're not going to see "Anonymous Benefactor", there will just be a name missing from the credits.
posted by grae at 8:53 AM on November 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
So you're not going to see "Anonymous Benefactor", there will just be a name missing from the credits.
posted by grae at 8:53 AM on November 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
...okay, EmpressCallipygos, you've convinced me - am totally going to watch it once I start my next knitting project!
Mind you, Michael Kunze musicals are absolutely cursed in English, so the underground stream story doesn't surprise me. I don't think anyone ever seriously attempted an English Elisabeth (about Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as Sisi, falling in love with Death-who-might-be-a-metaphor) or Mozart!, for all that both were wildly successful in Europe and Asia, and Elisabeth at least has several songs in English demo floating around. Dance of the Vampires suffered a perfect storm of Polanski being unable to safeguard the Broadway production and Michael Crawford using his star power for oh-so-bad - and he only got to star in it because of Steve Barton's untimely death. Meanwhile, the original Tanz der Vampire has played successfully all over Europe and Japan - I don't think it's been off German stages for more than a year in the last 24. Honestly, the man should get an exorcist.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 9:55 AM on November 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
Mind you, Michael Kunze musicals are absolutely cursed in English, so the underground stream story doesn't surprise me. I don't think anyone ever seriously attempted an English Elisabeth (about Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as Sisi, falling in love with Death-who-might-be-a-metaphor) or Mozart!, for all that both were wildly successful in Europe and Asia, and Elisabeth at least has several songs in English demo floating around. Dance of the Vampires suffered a perfect storm of Polanski being unable to safeguard the Broadway production and Michael Crawford using his star power for oh-so-bad - and he only got to star in it because of Steve Barton's untimely death. Meanwhile, the original Tanz der Vampire has played successfully all over Europe and Japan - I don't think it's been off German stages for more than a year in the last 24. Honestly, the man should get an exorcist.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 9:55 AM on November 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
If you can at all stomach watching both videos, it's genuinely worth it. There is all sorts of random additional color throughout, and the creator tells this story incredibly well throughout.
One of my favorite bits is that the producer had a lawyer friend who specialized in white-collar financial crime; so when the first of those 4 English investors died and the other three then dropped out, the producer reached out to see if he could somehow sue them for breach of contract or something. The lawyer friend said unfortunately not, it didn't quite work that way. Then he joked that "the only time you'd call me is if the FBI ever comes after you because someone thought there was fraud going on and they're checking you out."
And seriously, ONLY TWO WEEKS LATER, the producer called him back - "Uh....you know what you said about how I should call you if the FBI was checking me out because they thought there was a fraud case? Well...uh, they're standing in my office asking about that very thing right now."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:30 AM on November 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
One of my favorite bits is that the producer had a lawyer friend who specialized in white-collar financial crime; so when the first of those 4 English investors died and the other three then dropped out, the producer reached out to see if he could somehow sue them for breach of contract or something. The lawyer friend said unfortunately not, it didn't quite work that way. Then he joked that "the only time you'd call me is if the FBI ever comes after you because someone thought there was fraud going on and they're checking you out."
And seriously, ONLY TWO WEEKS LATER, the producer called him back - "Uh....you know what you said about how I should call you if the FBI was checking me out because they thought there was a fraud case? Well...uh, they're standing in my office asking about that very thing right now."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:30 AM on November 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
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posted by Naberius at 8:14 PM on November 10, 2021