Season of Simon
Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Producing Theater
Forum Name: Play Suggestions
Forum Discription: Need help finding a show that's right for your theater? Ask here.
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2165
Printed Date: 11/22/24 at 4:54pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 8.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Season of Simon
Posted By: Mike Polo
Subject: Season of Simon
Date Posted: 12/10/06 at 9:27am
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Anyone ever done a full season of Neil Simon plays? I've been hearing that a number of our directors are considering Simon plays for our next season. Considering how well Simon sells, I started thinking that a full season might do extremely well at the box office. Any thoughts? ------------- Mike Polo Community Theater Green Room http://www.communitytheater.org http://www.twitter.com/CTGreenRoom"> 
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Replies:
Posted By: DWolfman
Date Posted: 12/10/06 at 10:53am
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I've thought that a Simon Season would be a great marketing approach and (for good or bad) an audience pleaser. Have not heard of anyone doing such however.
It would also be a good chance to do some of his not-so-oft-repeated plays that are delights, like:
Come Blow Your Horn
Jake's Women
Prisoner of Second Avenue
God's Favorite ------------- Even a man who is pure of heart... |
Posted By: teridtiger
Date Posted: 12/10/06 at 2:05pm
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We recently did "Come Blow Your Horn", and the audiences loved it! We played up the advertising/marketing campaign that it was Neil Simon's first Broadway show. It's also interesting to read it and see the parallels between that show (about two brothers - loosely based on Simon and his own brother) and his older "Brighton Beach" trilogy. One thing that really worked was playing up the period of the show. Our design team knocked themselves out by using the movie "Down with Love" as inspiration. It's a perfect modern movie that is a love letter to the early 60's bachelor scene.
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Posted By: B-M-D
Date Posted: 12/10/06 at 2:49pm
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We've talked about it at my ct but usually nothing serious ever comes of it. Would be difficult to do because of the manner in which we select our season. However, I would think if you wanted to financially jump start your ct that "sacrificing" a season to Simon would go a long way to doing that. Depending on how many shows a season your ct does you could do the Brighton Beach Trilogy, the entire repertoire of "Suite" plays. Any of the Simon musicals, Sweet Charity, Promises, Promises (personally an Ugh for me) and Little Me just to name a few. ------------- BD 
"Dying is easy, comedy is hard." |
Posted By: POB14
Date Posted: 12/11/06 at 9:34am
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Wouldn't you burn your actors out? Does the acting membership want to do a full season of Doc?
Although I could see doing the three Brighton Beach plays more-or-less in rep . . . now you're pissing off the people who don't get cast in all of them, though. ------------- POB Old Bugger, Curmudgeon, and Antisocial B**tard |
Posted By: red diva
Date Posted: 12/11/06 at 5:41pm
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Personally, as an actor and audience member, I couldn't imagine anything worse. But that's me.
You know your audiences....would they be able to tolerate a full season of Neil Simon? Wouldn't it get a bit tedious after about the second or third one? Isn't variety important to them? In our case, I think the audience response would be great at first, but that the size of the houses would begin to dwindle as the season went on. Even if your patrons are comedy freaks, perhaps a little Simon would go a longer way than a lot. Leave 'em asking for more!!
But, as I said....you know your audiences! ------------- "I've worked long and hard to earn the right to be called Diva!" |
Posted By: Kathy S
Date Posted: 12/11/06 at 9:34pm
| I didn't want to blaspheme, but I've got to agree with Red Diva. To me, it would become very tiresome in a hurry. |
Posted By: Mike Polo
Date Posted: 12/11/06 at 10:01pm
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Truthfully, I'd be more worried about the actors getting bored than the audiences. Neil Simon is one of those names that sells tickets for our theater. Generally speaking, our comedies do significantly better than our dramas, somewhat better than our mysteries.
I'm just trying the idea on for size... Chris hates it, which makes me question my sanity for even thinking about it, but I'm trying to play through the angles. We're not hurting for money, but a solid season is a solid season. ------------- Mike Polo Community Theater Green Room http://www.communitytheater.org http://www.twitter.com/CTGreenRoom">
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Posted By: teridtiger
Date Posted: 12/12/06 at 11:19am
| If you want a "theme" or something to tie together a season of plays, a local theatre here did a "Stage to Screen" season. Plays that had been made into movies. If I recall correctly, they did "Star Spangled Girl", "Sabrina Fair", "Dial M for Murder", "Crimes of the Heart", "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "The Children's Hour". They also recently did a season of Pulitzer Prize winners. |
Posted By: Shanahan
Date Posted: 12/14/06 at 3:25pm
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No offense, but my first response to this was a shudder and uncontrollable nausea.
------------- Laughter guaranteed. Plays by John Shanahan http://www.johnshanahan.net Dinner for Several One Before Forty Bob's Date Brushstroke Worst Possible Time for Writer's Block & more! |
Posted By: bernster74
Date Posted: 12/24/06 at 1:47am
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A very good question indeed.
I wouldn't worry so much about your actors and directors. Actors will show up because they want to act and directors will show up because they want to direct.
So your real - and only important - question here is what do your patrons want?
I think if you did a season of Simon, it would be important to vary the type of show. You don't want to put Odd Couple back-to-back with Barefoot in the Park back-to-back with The Sunshine Boys. All of these shows are of a similar type of Simon.
Open with a strong comedy (ie: Barefoot, Female Odd Couple, Rumors), then do something more dramatic (ie: Gingerbread Lady or Prisoner of 2nd Ave), then give them something not so well known (The Dinner Party, Fools or God's Favorite), and then end with something nostalgic (ie: Brighton Beach or Lost in Yonkers) and I think you could end up with a very financially successful season that will have wonderful parts for a variety of actors and will give directors a wide variety of creative opportunities.
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