This just in:
Fox Theatre joins fledgling partnership
By WENDELL BROCK
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/09/2007
For years, most of the nation's performing arts centers have let Broadway dictate the programming. Now Atlanta's Fox Theatre and Theater of the Stars have decided to get in on the development of new Broadway musicals.
The two Atlanta entities have invested in Elephant Eye Theatrical, a New York-based production company headed by former Disney Theatrical executive Stuart Oken. Backed by a consortium of 15 arts organizations from across the country, Elephant Eye is already at work on "The Addams Family," based on the quirky New Yorker cartoons by the late Charles Adams and expected to hit Broadway by the end of 2009.
"It's the first time in our history that we will have some direct control over the touring product," Fox general manager Allan C. Vella said. "It will allow us to be involved in the organization that will create theater productions for years to come."
According to Oken, the members of the $8 million initative will be involved in the creation of content. They will also own the material, lock in the rights to present the musicals and share in profits — should the initial investment be recouped.
Over time, Atlanta could potentially be the site of out-of-town tryouts for Elephant Eye's Broadway-bound shows. At 4,678 seats, the Fox is probably too big for the launch of unfamiliar new work, Oken said, but other partners, such as the Alliance Theatre, could be recruited. National tours could also start in Atlanta, Oken said.
With the world premiere of "Aida" (1998) and "The Color Purple" (2004) at the Alliance, Atlanta has caught the eye of national producers — although Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco remain the preferred cities for out-of-town tryouts. The Alliance — which last year launched the national tour of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" — won this year's Tony Award for regional excellence. Theater of the Stars, meanwhile, produced the world premiere of Disney's "High School Musical," which became the template for Disney's current national tour.
"I wanted to be involved in Atlanta," Oken said. "Atlanta is a thriving and exciting theater community." The CEO and producer of Elephant Eye, Oken worked for Disney Theatricals when "Aida" was born at the Alliance.
Two years ago, five non-profit arts organizations — the Bushnell Center of Hartford, Conn.; the Ordway Center of St. Paul, Minn.; the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust; Boston's Citi Performing Arts Center and Philadelphia's Kimmel Center — formed Five Cent Productions, now the core group of Elephant Eye.
Nine other arts entities, including the Fox and Theater of the Stars, recently joined Elephant Eye. Neither Vella nor Theater of the Stars' managing director Nicholas F. Manos would disclose the amount of the investment. "We and the Fox partnered together to make a modest investment," Manos said.
Elephant Eye's first project, a musical called "Saved," will get its world premiere next year at New York's Playwrights Horizons, the original producer of Broadway's "Grey Gardens." Gary Griffin ("The Color Purple") will direct. "The Addams Family" is expected to have its out-of-town tryout in Chicago in 2009, then move to Broadway by end of the year. A third musical, "Bruce Lee: Journey to the West," is in development for the 2010-11 Broadway season.
