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A TONY NOMINATION FOR
THE KANSAS CITY REP. THE FIRST TIME IN THE THEATER'S 49-YEAR HISTORY.
YOU'RE WATCHING KANSAS CITY WEEK IN REVIEW.
CHRISTMAS ARRIVED EARLY THIS YEAR FOR KANSAS CITY'S REPERTORY THEATER.
A CHRISTMAS STORY, THE MUSICAL, WHICH HAD ITS WORLD PREMIER AT THE REP IN 2009 THIS WEEK WAS
NOMINATED FOR THREE TONY AWARDS, INCLUDING BEST MUSICAL. IT'S THE FIRST TIME THE REP HAS
EVER BEEN NOMINATED FOR A TONY IN THE THEATER'S 49 YEARS OF EXISTENCE.
WITH US IS THE REP'S PRODUCING DIRECTOR JERRY GENOCHIO. WHAT WAS THE SCENE AT THE REP
WHEN THE ANNOUNCEMENT WAS MADE, JERRY? JUST SHORT OF PANDEMONIUM.
IT WAS VERY EXCITING. WE KNEW THAT THERE WERE RUMBLINGS THAT THERE MIGHT BE A
NOD TO THE SHOW, BUT NO ONE WAS EXPECTING IT. YOU JUST DON'T EXPECT THAT.
AND WHEN IT CAME OUT WITH THREE AWARDS, JUST SHEER JOY THROUGHOUT THE COMPANY.
NOW, WHAT I'M AMAZED OF, BECAUSE I WAS ONE OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS OUTRAGED IN 2009
WHEN YOU REMOVED THE CHRISTMAS CAROL FROM THE OFFERINGS AT THE REP TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THIS SHOW
WORK. THAT'S RIGHT, THAT'S RIGHT. SO THAT HAD TO HAPPEN AS A
COMPROMISE TO ALLOW A CHRISTMAS STORY, AND YET IT WAS THE HIGHEST GROSSING SHOW IN THE
THEATER'S HISTORY, REALLY? THAT'S RIGHT. THAT IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
31,000 TICKETS, AND JUST SHORT OF $900,000 IN GROSS REVENUE, WHICH PUTS IT FIRMLY IN FIRST
PLACE, HAD 36 OF THE 48 PERFORMANCES SOLD OUT. 3,000 STUDENTS CAME TO THE
STUDENT MAT -- MATINEES. IT WAS JUST AN UNBELIEVABLE EXPERIENCE THE WAY THAT IT WAS
RECEIVED. EVERYBODY LOVED THE MUSIC -- THE MOVIE AND HAD SUCH FOND MEMORIES
OF THE MOVIE, AND IT WAS A VERY TRUE TRANSLATION TO THE MOVIE, AND PEOPLE JUST REALLY EMBRACED
IT, AND IT WAS A HUGE HIT. HOW WAS THE SHOW DIFFERENT FROM THE SHOW THE PEOPLE SAW IN
KANSAS CITY TO THE SHOW THAT PEOPLE WENT TO SEE THEN IN NEW YORK ON BROADWAY?
I THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IMPRESSED ME THE MOST, SEEING IT OPENING NIGHT IN
NEW YORK WAS THERE WAS 70% OF THAT SHOW THAT DIRECTLY TRANSLATED FROM OUR ORIGINAL
PRODUCTION, OF THE PHYSICAL PRODUCTION. OUR COSTUME SHOP BUILD COSTUMES
FOR THE SHOW. OUR WORK WAS ON THAT STAGE. AFTER IT LEFT HERE, THEY DID
CHANGE COMPOSERS, SO THE MUSIC WAS REWRITTEN, BUT ALL THE BOOK SCENES WERE EXACTLY THE SAME.
OF COURSE, IT WAS NOMINATED FOR ITS BOOK AND ORIGINAL SCORE, AS WELL.
ONE BIG DIFFERENCE, I'M ASSUMING, THOUGH, WAS THE PRICE. IT PROBABLY COST THREE TIMES AS
MUCH IN NEW YORK. THAT'S RIGHT. THEY ACTUALLY TALKED ABOUT US
ABOUT BUILDING THE SET, AND WE LOOKED AT BIDS, AND THEIR BIDS WERE -- IT WAS AT LEAST 10 TIMES
MORE THAN WHAT WE SPENT ON THE PRODUCTION HERE FOR ALMOST THE SAME THING, BUT THAT'S SHOW
BUSINESS. NOW, 49 YEARS, WHAT TOOK SO LONG?
I THINK IT'S JUST A MATTER OF TIMING. IT WAS THE RIGHT TIME AND THE
RIGHT PROJECT. THERE WAS A PRODUCER THAT CAME TO US WITH A DREAM.
HE GOT THE RIGHTS TO DO THIS AS A MUSICAL AND KNEW THAT IT WOULD BE ATTRACTIVE AND LOOKING FOR A
THEATER TO TAKE THIS RISK WITH HIM, AND HE APPRECIATE ERIC ROSEN, AND ERIC AND I TALKED AND
THE COMPANY TALKED, AND WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A FANTASTIC IDEA, AND IT HAD THE SUPPORT.
THE THEATER WAS READY TO CREATE A MAJOR PROJECT LIKE THAT THAT HAD OUTSIDE INTERESTS AND
OUTSIDE PRODUCERS WHO COULD DRAW ATTENTION TO KANSAS CITY AND TO THE REP AND TO THIS PRODUCTION,
AND IT DID, AND IT WORKED MARVELOUSLY. NOW, A THEATER IS BUILT ON
MORE THAN ONE SHOW. HOW IS THE REP DOING? YOU'VE GOT TWO THEATERS NOW
BASICALLY GOING, TWO STAGES. SIX YEARS AGO, YOU OPENED A DOWNTOWN STAGE.
SOME PEOPLE THOUGHT, WOW, THAT'S RISKY. HOW ARE YOU DOING IN TERMS OF
ATTENDANCE? WE'RE DOING REALLY WELL IN TERMS OF ATTENDANCE.
EVERYBODY WAS HIT A LITTLE HARD IN THE FINANCIAL MELTDOWN OF 2008.
BUT THE ATTENDANCE IS PICKING UP. WE HAD A LITTLE SLUMP AND THE
ATTENDANCE IS PICKING UP, WHICH IS VERY POSITIVE, BUT ARTISTICALLY, WE'RE GETTING
FANTASTIC RESPONSES TO THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING FROM OUR REGULAR SUBSCRIBERS AND NEW
PEOPLE WHO ARE NEW TICKET BUYERS COMING TO SEE OUR PLAYS, SO WE'RE DOING PRETTY WELL.
NOW, YOU WON'T KNOW UNTIL JUNE 9th WHETHER YOU'VE ACTUALLY WON THE TONY.
THAT'S RIGHT. HOWEVER, A TONY NOMINATION IS A HUGE DEAL.
BUT WHAT DOES THAT ACTUALLY MEAN NOW TO THE KANSAS CITY REP? CERTAINLY A HUGE PAY RAISE FOR
YOU, JERRY? THAT'S HOW I CAN AFFORD THESE LUXURY SUITS NOW, THE PAY RAISE.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE REP IS EVERYONE WATCHES THE THEATER COMMUNITY NOW UNTIL JUNE 9th.
, AND EVERY TIME THE CHRISTMAS STORY IS MENTIONED, KANSAS CITY REPERTORY THEATER IS RIGHT THERE
WITH IT. SO IT'S DRAWING A LOT OF OUTSIDE ATTENTION TO KANSAS CITY FOR ALL
THE RIGHT REASONS. WHEN THE HIGHEST QUALITY BEST WORK IS DONE, THAT ATTENTION IS
NOW BEING PAID TO KANSAS CITY FOR THE THEATER COMMUNITY, WHICH, AS YOU KNOW, IS
INCREDIBLY VIBRANT AND GROWING STRONGER EVER DAY HERE. CURRENTLY AT THE REP IS DAVID
MAMET'S TALE OF THREE SMALL TIME CROOKS, AMERICAN BUFFALO, DIRECTED BY AN EXTRAORDINARILY
TALENTED MAN. OH, IT'S YOU JERRY. IT'S ME.
THAT RUNS THROUGH MAY 19th. THAT'S CORRECT. JERRY GENOCHIO, PRODUCING
DIRECTOR AT THE REP, THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING WITH US ON KANSAS CITY WEEK IN REVIEW.
NICK, THANK YOU. I'M NICK HAINES. THAT IS IT FOR THIS WEEK'S
PROGRAM. FROM ALL OF US HERE AT KCPT, THANKS FOR SPENDING PART OF YOUR
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