‘SPRING Awakening” – the rock musical about teenage sexual angst that seemed an iffy bet on Broadway – has recouped its $6 million investment after just 300 performances.
That makes it the only musical of the 2006-2007 season to put money in its producers’ pockets.
Since it has about 849 producers, the profits will be spread a little thin at first. But no matter: Everybody’s celebrating.
Ira Pittelman, who sits at the head of the giant conference table especially designed to accommodate all those producers, breathes a sigh of relief and says, simply, “I’m very happy.”
When “Spring Awakening” was in previews last fall, it lost $700,000. Savvy insiders were predicting that, despite rave reviews, the show was in for a tough haul. The commercial prospects for a show about teenage sexuality that featured a near-rape, masturbation and suicide seemed, well, nil.
But some unusual things happened on the way to the bank.
For one thing, “Spring Awakening” really did manage to tap into an audience that’s much younger than the typical Broadway crowd. And it did so largely through the Internet.
A clip of the show on YouTube, illegally swiped from the Tony Awards in June, has received more than 100,000 hits. And there are video and audio clips from the show all over MySpace.
MTV, which pays scant attention to Broadway, did a major piece on “Spring Awakening” that, says Pittelman, sent the box office soaring.
Walk by the stage door after any performance, and you’ll see hordes of kids waiting to meet the cast. Once upon a time, they would have thrust out their Playbills for an autograph. Now, they whip out their cellphones and take picture of themselves with the actors.
All summer long, “Spring Awakening” has been playing to nearly sold-out houses and grossing almost $800,000 a week.
Now that the show’s officially a hit, there are rumors that the price of premium seats is going to hit $200, up from $175. But Pittelman says the rumors are false.
“I am not changing one f – – – ing thing about the show,” he says. “I don’t want to take any chances. They showed me a new marquee. It looked beautiful. But I’m sticking with what we have.”
(I’m going to hold you to that promise, Ira. Given that “Young Frankenstein” is charging $450, $175 seems a bargain.)
Nearly all the actors have renewed their contracts with the show for another year – though as good as they are, some may be getting a little long in the tooth to play teenagers.
Pittelman concedes the point.
“I just wish I could freeze time,” he says. “But maybe we’ll have to do with the show what they did with Andy Hardy. You know, as Mickey Rooney got older, Andy Hardy went to college. Then he got married.”
Nice thought, but I’m sure nobody wants to see a Melchior with love handles.
Meantime, Pittelman & Co. continue to promote “Spring Awakening” aggressively on the ‘Net. They’ve posted videos of the cast singing a bunch of songs on the Web sites, which, Pittelman says, have drawn a million viewers.
But Pittelman remains grateful to ancient newspaper critics and reporters who championed “Spring Awakening” when nobody thought it had a chance.
“There’ll be a soft spot in my heart forever for the old media,” he jokes.
OVERHEARD at a swanky theater din ner party attended by Edward Albee and Jerry Stiller:
Stiller: So what is your new play about, Edward?
Albee: It’s about identical twins.
Stiller: Is there a part in it for me?
Albee: I’m afraid not. The twins are beautiful young men.
Stiller: That’s too bad. Because I hear there’s an orthodontist in Chicago who’s a dead ringer for me.