December 22, 2002
Special Edition

Has it only been a week since the last report? What a difference a week can make. Some of you are already aware of this, but our final performance is today, two weeks sooner than we had planned to close. It was strictly a financial decision, as we are REALLY PROUD of the show itself and the work the cast has done! I had an inkling this might happen when I wrote last week's "New York report" , but Kurt and I still had hope then that we could find a way to keep the show open. After many hours on the phone with our co-producer, creditors and potential investors, and many hours online with Excel spreadsheets, it became clear we would have to close early.

Probably the single biggest factor was the threatened transit strike. Remember those "slow ticket sales" I mentioned in last week's report? Well, they went to zero, as people waited to hear whether or not they'd be able to get around the city. The threat of the strike also kept reviewers from making reservations. For someone who lives in a car-based environment like Dallas, this seems surreal to me, but NY is indeed a different world. And our co-producer's contingency fund wasn't deep enough to cover the kind of losses we experienced during the first two weeks of the run.

There is a small silver lining. We made the decision early enough in the week that our publicist had time to persuade more reviewers to come, with the leverage that these were the final performances. It looks like we'll have a total of seven reviews. This means we have more material we can use to promote the next project, presumably a money-MAKING one (like a tour or a regional production) as opposed to a money-DRAINING one (like a NY production). And the additional reviews give the actors more opportunity for recognition that they can use as well.

Speaking of the actors, what a privelige it has been to work with such a dedicated group of people. We couldn't have asked for better support from them, especially this past week. They give me hope for the future of theatre in New York. The production side of theatre in New York has become pretty soulless and mercenary, but the actors (whether from NY or Dallas) seem to remember why we're here in the first place. Many thanks to them for making this past week bearable.

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