| Page 2 of 2 < |
Naomi Jacobson, Changing With the Roles
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
"We probably erred more toward a commercial title, if there was a choice between something that was new and something that was proven," Cullom says. Only one of the shows he picked, "pluck -- the Titanic Show," in which a string trio cuts up on the subject of the musicians who played on the deck of the sinking Titanic, was something Cullom admits he booked "for my soul." He fell in love with the piece at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and expects it will do well here with the right marketing. The rest are shows that experience has shown him will work in the Bethesda venue, he says.
Ever since the 1930s art deco movie house reopened as a legit theater in October 2007 (operated by Cullom on behalf of Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment), Cullom has made clear his intention to mount or bring in touring productions of the sort of middlebrow off-Broadway fare rarely done by nonprofit regional theaters such as Arena Stage, or his own neighbor, Round House Theatre.
The Bethesda Theatre's remounting of the musical "Altar Boyz" has done well, for example, and has been extended to Jan. 3. Steve Solomon's "My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish & I'm in Therapy" brought in audiences this year, and Solomon will return in 2009 with a new angle.
"The shows that really went through the roof for us last year were these smaller, quirkier . . . broader-appeal shows like 'Italian/Therapy,' " says Cullom. "That's our sweet spot."
Cullom says he's also responding to the economy with more tickets in lower price ranges. He says the average price last year at Bethesda Theatre was about $50. This year, it's about $42.
Follow Spots
· Arena Stage reports that its 24-hour New Deal ticket sale Nov. 14 sold 6,661 tickets at $25 apiece, and took in "almost $200,000," including handling fees. One woman in line at the box office at midnight when the sale began was even in a sleeping bag.
· Backstage announced it back in September, so here's a reminder that the memorial celebration of the life of Washington Stage Guild's John MacDonald, who died July 6, will take place 7 p.m. Monday at Catholic University's Hartke Theatre.
