If I may briefly self-promote... I think I have two posts up about this whole thing that I'd love Arena's readers to weigh in on... the first is here: http://parabasis.typepad.com/blog/2010/01/a-clearer-picture-2.html In which I run all of the playwrights mentioned in Terry's article through TCG's database of past productions for the decade and come up with some very different numbers. And: http://parabasis.typepad.com/blog/2010/01/our-shakespeare-problem.html where I have a somewhat provocative post on what those numbers might indicate. Those of you who like a good debate might note that the comments include the editor of TIme Out's theater section, Terry Teachout himself and the associate editor of American Theatre. Anyway... I'm glad you posted about this. It's been an interesting conversation thus far, and I think the more people who talk about it, the more we can figure out what the hey is really going on in the American Theatre.

Thanks, guys! I appreciate it. There's so much material already generated, we could spin off into months of conversations, something I hope others will take on!

It's not a paraphrase when you say the exact opposite of the line. A paraphrase is when you say something similar but not word-perfect. The line is "something bad is happening" it's about AIDS. I think you mean "To say the exact opposite of the line in Falsettos"

David, Thanks so much for the clarification!

Hey David, First off, it was lovely to meet you at the TCG conference and put a face to a name. I really, really appreciate the work you and Todd are doing on these issues (and i've been blogging about it over at my place and will continue to if you're so interested). Could I get clarification on something? What does this paragraph mean?: "Arena started the season with Resurrection, which we structured as a three-city co-premiere. Three stops for the same production. We followed with the second production of Next to Normal, which then found its third in the Tony nominated run at the Booth. We're now producing Looped, in its third production (it premiered at Pasadena Playhouse a year ago). And the recently completed run of 33 Variations on Broadway was the third production, following it's launch at Arena and a second production at La Jolla Playhouse. And yes, I know that three of these four found commercial supporters along the way. That's just what happened, not how it happened." Since i know enhancement was talked about at the conference... were these productions enhanced? If so, when in their process of getting along this chain of productions did the producers come on? Did enhancers approach Arena about these shows or the other way around? I just ask not because i want to accuse you guys or anything, I just don't know what the sentence "that's just what happened, not how it happened" means in this context. (For the record, I have mixed feelings about enhancement. I think it can at some points be a force for good but can frequently be problematic. I wrote about it some time ago at this URL: http://parabasis.typepad.com/blog/2008/01/enhancement.html thanks for your time and hard work! isaac

Ken, Would you say airlines have done a good job of "making the patron happy" through their fee-addled process of providing customer service? I'd say "no", and that would give me pause before adopting any of their policies. People already think theatre is too expensive, tacking on extra fees isn't going to change that, the customer won't think "ah, you see, before they didn't allow any exchanges at all! oy, so inconvenient! now, they allow me to change tickets and charge me a little bit. totally worth it". They'll think, "This greedy schmuck is nickel-and-diming me *again*". I doubt someone who paid $120.00 a pop for Schreck, already fuming at the ridiculous "service charges" and "venue fees" and other hidden bullcrap the Shuberts tack on wants to turn around and be charged $5.00. Frankly, with all of the service fees that come with tickets, you should be providing your patrons the opportunity to exchange for free. Also, your $50.00 at Continental was very cheap indeed. The last time I wantedto change to an earlier flight they tried to charge me almost $600.00 to do it (a cancellation fee plus buying brand new tickets at full price).