Gary Solomon Jr. didn’t imagine returning to New Orleans to launch his live entertainment production firm—other cities were wired better for the theater industry. But earlier this year, he decided to roll the dice on his hometown and opened the Solomon Group. In short order, he says, he was marveling at the quality of projects that had landed on his desk.
One, a play called White Noise, A Cautionary Musical, was a provocative show about racism that opened in July at Le Petit Theatre, the historic community theater in the French Quarter which the Solomon Group manages. It told the story of a young singing duo—white separatist sisters—whose Top 40 sound hides incendiary lyrics from a gullible public. Another project was the National World War II Museum’s new Stage Door Canteen, a live show Solomon designed to resemble shows for war-bound troops in the forties. The theater opened in early November, part of the museum’s $17 million expansion.
“To be working on two performances of that caliber at the same time, was incredible,” says Solomon, 23. “In terms of live theater productions, there’s more going on in New Orleans now than we’ve ever seen in the city.”
After three and half years of mostly dark stages, New Orleans made real progress in 2009, starting with the return of the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts in January. The facility restores performance space to both local arts organizations and national tours like Broadway Across America, which kicked off with Cats in October.
Also in January, the City of New Orleans announced it would take over ownership of the Saenger Theater on Canal Street to speed up its languishing overhaul. It, along with the Orpheum nearby, is expected to open in 2011. In addition, the Carver Theater in the Treme is currently undergoing a $7 million renovation and has announced it will open by Jazz Fest 2010.
Much of the activity has been buoyed by the state’s live performance tax credit, the first such incentive in the country. The act was passed by the Legislature in 2007 and offers post-project tax breaks for production and infrastructure improvements. It was put to use for the first time in 2009 with White Noise, helping to defray costs of the $2.2 million performance by 25%.
Solomon says it was the carrot producers needed to open the show in a small community theater, itself struggling financially, Solomon says. He says the play’s energetic reception and its strong chance of ending up on Broadway this season, gave Le Petit—and New Orleans—fresh credibility in the world of serious theater.
“When a show is successful, everyone wants to know where it started,” he says.
Serving as a show’s first stop before it goes on tour is one of the major objectives of the tax credit, says Philip Mann, a former producer and agent hired to direct the Live Performance division of Louisiana Economic Development, which administers the credit.
“The idea is to get performances to originate here that wouldn’t be here otherwise,” Mann says. “It’s a gigantic industry.”
Originating cities are where acts rehearse and work out technical kinks over several weeks before touring, Mann says. It means substantial economic impact, but it also requires a fitting infrastructure must be in place. Mann is convinced the live performance tax credit’s application to infrastructure projects will help New Orleans build up its rehearsal space, sound studios, set design warehouses and theaters. In fact, bricks and mortar projects dominate the tax credit’s current field of applicants.
“Right now, it’s about three-to-one, infrastructure to performance,” he says.
The concept of revving up New Orleans’ live theater industry has been referred to as “Broadway South,” a name coined by hometown actor Roger Wilson, who returned post-Katrina to push the concept and helped advocate for the tax credit. Largely centered on the reopening the downtown theaters, the Saenger, Joy, Orpheum and State Palace, Wilson’s campaign pushed for a mini-Broadway adjacent to the French Quarter. The term “Broadway South” is still owned by Wilson, who is no longer active in the project. Mann says the state’s current effort is more strategic than opening four theaters.
“Slow, controlled growth is the best strategy in the entertainment world,” he says. “Things can get bloated very quickly.”
Mann adds that the tax credit, applicable statewide, will help Louisiana build upon its existing entertainment reputation, and will draw new patrons.
“It increases the family aspect. Eighty percent of [theater] ticket buyers are women,” he says.
This season’s Broadway Across America at the Mahalia Jackson Theater should demonstrate the strong level of regional interest, says David Skinner, General Manager for Arts Center Enterprises, which manages the theater. Ticket sales have been “fantastic,” he says.
“We are thrilled. We have well exceeded where we were before the storm,” Skinner says. “I anticipate that virtually every performance will be sold out.”
More than 100,000 patrons are expected to attend the series, which includes Cats, The Color Purple, Mamma Mia!, Wicked and Avenue Q—familiar shows selected on the basis of their broad appeal and ability to sell well in the New Orleans market, a geographic area that spans from Lafayette, to Jackson, Mississippi and nearly to Mobile, Skinner says.
“We felt if we put a big product out there—if you give them good entertainment—they will come,” he says.
Meanwhile, the National World War II Museum is set to draw substantial new crowds in part because of the Stage Door Canteen—the site’s feel-good antidote to the real-life experiences shown next door in the new 4-D Victory Theater.
Mann calls the project “a wonderful model for what we want to accomplish with the live performance tax credit,” because of its comprehensive effect. The Canteen itself created 34 full-time equivalent positions. The original eight-cast member show, produced by the Solomon Group, relied on local talent and technical support throughout its evolution. The project was also part of the equation that lured Solomon, known for his business savvy and production chops, back home.?“We see this as having the potential to reverse the brain drain,” Mann says.
Solomon says the tax credit sent a signal that Louisiana was serious about the live performance industry and convinced him to get in on the ground floor. Colleagues from around the country are watching the progress in New Orleans—and the tax credit—closely.
“They think this is incredibly progressive,” Solomon says, “and they want to know more about it.”
