Despite those memories, Lewis willfinally make his Broadway debut this week, as the Devil in “Damn Yankees.” The 68-year-old comedian is joining a growing roster of nontheatrical performers – Brooke Shields, Helen Reddy and Vanessa Williams – who lend their often-sagging celebrity to struggling shows. They may make the Sondheim crowd gag, but some producers take their potential drawing power very seriously. Lewis will be the highest-paid Broadway actor ever, with a weekly salary said to be at least $40,000, plus a percentage of the box office (Glenn Close reportedly gets $30,000 plus points for “Sunset Boulevard”). Whether this is healthy for the theater is debatable. But there’s no doubt that it will continue. “If there isn’t crossover from other media to Broadway,” says casting agent Jay Binder, “the theater is not going to exist.”
Before “Hello, Dolly!” in the ’60s, when producer David Merrick hired Ginger Rogers, Betty Grable and – almost – Jack Benny in drag for the role originated by Carol Channing, stars almost never took over a part established by someone else. But with musicals in the ’90s costing an average of $7.5 million, producers pay top dollar for the insurance of a marquee name who could help recoup their hefty investments. Former TV idols David and Shaun Cassidy, playing the brothers in “Blood Brothers,” pumped up the $4 million musical, then passed it to Carole King and now Reddy, who took over the mother role. Williams turned the slumping “Kiss of the Spider Woman” into a sellout. Movie actress Maria Conchita Alonso, who the producers hope will bring Latino audiences, takes over the role next month. Never mind that most of these performers are past their prime. For $70, audiences want a familiar face, even one that hasn’t had a hit for decades. Before Lewis took over, “Damn Yankees” was doing so poorly it went on hiatus for two months. But his advance sale is a respectable $2.2 million worth of tickets.
Whether Lewis can draw enough “Nutty Professor” fans to actually make the show profitable is an open question, but it’s not as big a risk as it appears. All these celebrity-driven productions have satellites touring the country. Even if a show loses money in New York, the cachet of having a Broadway cousin sells tickets – frequently more than $500,000 worth a week – from Sacramento to Tampa. In fact, Lewis’s entire deal is structured around the road. He’ll play New York for six months before a yearlong national tour and possibly another year in London. “They probably started talking to him about the road first,” says “Tommy” producer Michael David. “New York is a bonus.”
But the star treatment is always a crapshoot. On the one hand, Reddy, last heard roaring “I Am Woman” in 1972, is drawing half-full houses in “Blood Brothers.” Onthe other, Shields, who hasn’t had a good review since she was 12, has kept the profits pouring in to “Grease!” Casting agents admit there is no formula for success, except to hire Tom Cruise or Barbra Streisand. “You take a shot when you put in a star no matter what,” says Fran Weissler of “Grease!”
Not everyone believes in keeping shows on life support. “It doesn’t promote the theater as we know it. It doesn’t create the Mary Martins,” says producer Roger Horchow, who refused to put a celebrity into “Crazy for You,” though his once successful show is barely breaking even. Shows inevitably play themselves out; recasting isn’t always worth the star’s salary and the new advertising and costume costs, which can run as high as $250,000. Trouble is, producers often won’t acknowledge the end is near. “You have to take a reasonable risk,” says one producer. “I don’t think Jerry Lewis is. Would you go see him?” Maybe “Damn Yankees” should extend its tour to France.
