On June 14, producers of Broadway鈥檚 Indecent announced the final two weeks of performances. Paula Vogel鈥檚 play, which had opened April 18 and won two Tony Awards, would close June 25. What happened next could not have been anticipated: the production saw an immediate and significant uptick in ticket sales, with more than a $100,000 difference from the previous week. This number then doubled the following week. After weeks of consistently low box office numbers, the now-closing Indecent was the hottest ticket around.
Daryl Roth, who is one of the show鈥檚 producers, says that the challenge of marketing Indecent鈥攁nd one of the reasons the show wasn鈥檛 an instant financial success on Broadway鈥攊s that the play deals with so many subjects and themes. Indecent is inspired by another play (Sholem Asch's God of Vengeance); it鈥檚 about immigration, history, homophobia, misogyny, censorship, art, theatre, love, and advocacy. It鈥檚 also a play with music. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very hard to describe 滨苍诲别肠别苍迟鈥�you can鈥檛 put it into a little soundbite,鈥� says Roth. 鈥淭he best thing that sells this show is word of mouth鈥攖he experience that people have when they come to the theatre and see this play.鈥� Despite positive reviews, the word of mouth was not 鈥渢ranslating into ticket sales鈥� fast enough, says Roth, and her partners had to make the 鈥渇inancially responsible鈥� decision to post a closing notice.
But the week it was scheduled to close, Indecent pulled in its highest ticket sales yet. 鈥淥nce that [closing] posting was up, you would not have believed it. We sold out like we were the biggest hit on Broadway,鈥� says Roth. She suddenly regretted the decision to close. 鈥淚 had been so unhappy since posting the notice and I just couldn鈥檛 really live with myself because I just wanted this play to be seen by more people,鈥� she explains. 鈥淚 felt it hadn鈥檛 lived its life.鈥� Roth approached her partners and pitched them her plan: give Indecent another six weeks on Broadway and close on August 6 instead. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to take the risk,鈥� she told them. 鈥淚 thought to myself: 鈥楨ven if I can鈥檛 fill the house for six weeks, I鈥檓 going to give it my best shot.鈥欌�
Since announcing the new closing date, Indecent has continued to attract audiences; . 鈥淧eople have said to me that it鈥檚 a gutsy move,鈥� says Roth, 鈥淏ut for me, it was an emotional decision鈥 am very instinctive about everything I do in the theatre.鈥� Despite coming into theatre producing late in her career鈥攊n her 40s鈥擱oth has over 60 Broadway credits to her name. This season alone, she was a producer on Hello, Dolly!, Sunset Boulevard, Groundhog Day, Present Laughter, The Front Page, and Indecent. She鈥檚 also been a strong supporter of new works, like the Tony-winning musical Kinky Boots, as well as new plays like The Humans, Fish in the Dark, and An Act of God.
鈥淪ome of my choices have been eclectic and strange, but I always go with my instinct,鈥� says Roth. 鈥淓verything in theatre is a risk, so there are no guarantees. You have to rely on your gut reaction to some things.鈥� Roth believed in Indecent from the moment she saw the show Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre. She had produced Vogel鈥檚 Pulitzer Prize-winning How I Learned to Drive more than 20 years prior, and was eager to see the playwright鈥檚 newest work. Indecent moved her and she fell in love with it immediately.
Roth is driven by theatre that is meaningful. While bringing a play to Broadway has long been a risk for commercial producers鈥攅specially without a star attached, which is, as Roth says, an 鈥渋nsurance policy鈥濃攕he refuses to shy away from work that she loves. 鈥�Indecent is clearly an ensemble piece but I would never have unraveled that tapestry by replacing any of those actors [and casting a celebrity],鈥� she says.
鈥淭heatre deals in a different currency鈥攖he currency being the quality of work,鈥� she continues. 鈥淚f the quality of work is something that people respond and relate to, then you鈥檒l have it. I don鈥檛 know that a businessman would tell you that, but I don鈥檛 think the rules are the same for theatre and art in general.鈥�
Indecent was awarded the 2017 Tony Awards for Best Direction (Rebecca Taichman) and Best Lighting Design of a Play (Christopher Akerlind), and was nominated for Best Play. The production is currently running at the Cort Theatre through August 6. For tickets, .
