I have a secret desire hiding deep in my soul
It sets my heart afire to see me in this role
I wanna be a producer with a hit show on Broadway
I wanna be a producer, lunch at Sardi’s every day
—Leo Bloom, from “The Producers”
I don’t hope for the outcomes that got Leo Bloom and Max Bialystock in such trouble in Mel Brooks’ comedy masterstroke about an absurdist fictional musical called “Springtime for Hitler,” which becomes an unexpected hit. But I’ve recently dabbled in the world of Broadway investing, and I’m honestly a little worried.
Worried I might get addicted to this.
I’ve always been a theater fan. Though I’m quite happy with my chosen profession, I’ve long thought that if I had gone down a different path, I would have enjoyed being a playwright or lyricist. So when my friend Jef Pollock — founding partner and president of Global Strategy Group, a polling firm we work with regularly — called me at 6 p.m. one night to inquire if I wanted to invest in a Broadway show, I didn’t ask for the name of the show or how much money I had to invest. I had only one question:
Is it a show I’ll be proud to put my name on?
“I guarantee it,” he said.
By 10 a.m. the next day, I was onboard as a (minor) investor in the new Broadway revival of “Parade.”
Similar to political bundlers, producers raise money from friends and connections — people they know. Jef was an early investor in “Hamilton”; he got involved because he shared an office with a political consultant named Luis Miranda, whose son Lin-Manuel was writing the show.
Since then, I’ve regularly pressed Jef for an opportunity to get in on something great.
Though I didn’t see the original 1998 Broadway production of “Parade,” I was familiar with the real-life story it told: Leo Frank was a Jewish factory owner living in Georgia just before World War I.
When a white teenage girl who worked in his factory was killed, Leo was framed for her murder. The sensational trial and conviction were weighted with racism and antisemitism, and (slight spoiler alert) Leo met an especially grisly end.
At a time when antisemitism is on the rise, I can’t think of a more important story to tell.
I was similarly drawn to a very different show—comedian Alex Edelman’s one-man show “Just for Us”—which soon became my second Broadway investment. Edelman is an Orthodox Jew with a searing self-deprecating wit, who one day decided to attend a meeting of white nationalists in Queens, N.Y.
“Just for Us” is Edelman’s hilarious, poignant recounting of that episode, and when co-producer Alex Levy, whom Jef introduced me to, invited me to invest in the show, I again jumped at the opportunity.
Where “Parade” is heart-wrenching, “Just for Us” is gut-busting — but both tell painfully relevant stories about the world we live in now.
Fortunately, the shows are getting noticed: Last month, “Parade” won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical and Best Direction of a Musical, along with nominations for stars Ben Platt (“Dear Evan Hansen”) and Micaela Diamond (“The Cher Show”). “Just for Us” opened just a few weeks ago, and critics and audiences have raved.
That doesn’t mean they’re “safe” investments. Anyone who reads the New York Times theater section knows that most Broadway shows lose money. I don’t know if that will be the case with “Parade” or “Just for Us,” but most of the investors I’ve met don’t do this for the money.
They do it because they believe in the work. The show speaks to them.
I’m not drawn to shows around any one particular topic or theme — they just have to have an important message, and be works of art that need to be seen and heard.
It’s important to support the arts not just on Broadway stages, but locally too. Philadelphia has a tremendous theater community with a wealth of talent, from community theaters to professional stages like the Arden, Philadelphia Theatre Company, InterAct Theatre Company and Lantern Theater Company.
These cultural organizations are important, and it will take them a long time to recover from covid. In Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University is a theatrical juggernaut that has produced countless Broadway stars.
From buying a ticket to telling your friends about a great show you saw to taking the leap — as I have — to investing in shows, there are myriad ways to support theater. Doing so is rewarding, and a lot of fun.
Even if the show is something like “Springtime for Hitler,” you never know when you might find yourself with a hit.
“Parade” runs through Aug. 6 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 W. 45th St., New York). paradebroadway.com.
“Just for Us” runs through Aug. 19 at the Hudson Theatre (141 W. 44th St., New York). justforusshow.com.
Larry Ceisler is the founder of Ceisler Media & Issue Advocacy.
