Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Stage

Mahaffey Theater sets Broadway series

By JOHN FLEMING
Published October 25, 2006

ADVERTISEMENT [Handout photo] Patti Lupone, left, plays Mrs. Lovett and Michael Cerveris is the title character in Sweeney Todd showing in Spring 2008.

ST. PETERSBURG - The critically acclaimed revival of Stephen Sondheim's dark musical Sweeney Todd tops the 2007-08 Broadway subscription season announced Tuesday by Live Nation at Mahaffey Theater at the Progress Energy Center. Also on the schedule are The Wedding Singer, a musical comedy now on Broadway, a revival of Camelot with Michael York as King Arthur and a show by Australia's Ten Tenors.

Each production will have eight performances over a week in the city-owned theater, which recently underwent a $20-million renovation.

Live Nation, the leading promoter of touring Broadway with series in 51 North American markets, is switching from its longtime home at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, where the current season is its last at the downtown Tampa complex. TBPAC will begin presenting its own Broadway series next season.

"This St. Petersburg market is exploding," said David Anderson, president of Live Nation's theatrical division. "We think it's the perfect time to come back."

In the 1970s and '80s, a forerunner of Live Nation presented a Broadway series at St. Petersburg's Bayfront Center before moving to TBPAC.

With Live Nation at the Mahaffey, four performing arts centers within less than 100 miles of each other will be offering Broadway shows. They include Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater and Van Wezel Hall in Sarasota.

"We believe all . . . will be successful," Anderson said, adding that he did not consider Van Wezel part of the Tampa Bay area market.

Live Nation, which also has a large concert division, was spun off from Clear Channel Communications last year. The company also presents Broadway seasons in Jacksonville, Orlando, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

"Florida is critical to us," Anderson said. "We have from 45,000 to 46,000 subscribers in Florida and sold $50-million of tickets in Florida last year."

Live Nation may receive up to $250,000 a year from the city to bring Broadway to the Mahaffey, under the terms of a 10-year contract the City Council approved last week. Tuesday, Mayor Rick Baker said the subsidy would come from Progress Energy as part of the utility's $6,284,958, 20-year naming rights agreement for the theater.

"It was what we needed to attract (Live Nation) here," Baker said. The city also plans to make improvements to the theater's lighting, sound, backstage and loading dock.

Anderson acknowledged that the subsidy essentially amounted to the difference in potential ticket revenue between the 2,030-seat Mahaffey and the market leader, TBPAC's Morsani Hall, with 2,500 seats.

Live Nation is a major investor in Broadway shows, giving it rights to present them on the road. Anderson mentioned several shows the company has invested in that could play the Mahaffey in the future, such as High Fidelity, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, a revival of Fiddler on The Roof and The Pirate Queen.

The Wedding Singer opens the season, followed by the Ten Tenors, Camelot and Sweeney Todd. The theater will hold an open house Nov. 4 for prospective subscribers.

During October, Mahaffey's new management, SMG, has booked several shows that reflect the sort of programming envisioned for the post-renovation theater. Attendance figures have been as follows: Aaron Neville,1,551; Betty Buckley, 1,379; and Asleep at the Wheel, 1,074.

John Fleming can be reached at fleming@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8716.

[Last modified October 25, 2006, 05:34:32]