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n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m | J u l y / A u g u s t 2 0 1 9 | n e w h a v e n B I Z 43 ARTS & CULTURE mates that the money spent in-state for that production was close to $4 million. "But even shorter runs can add $1 million to $2 million that we would not otherwise be spent here. is is not insignificant." Then They Stopped Coming But touring show set-ups of that magnitude have largely stopped coming to Shubert — or any other presenting house in Connecticut such as Hartford's Bushnell or Wa- terbury's Palace — in part because of tax credits being offered from other states. Connecticut had nothing to com- pete with the lures offered over the last five years by four other states — New York, Rhode Island, Illinois and Louisiana — with Massachu- setts' and Ohio's proposals presently waiting in the wings. New York's credit incentives were why weeks-long technical set-ups and performances started in Schenectady (A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder), Rochester (A Bronx Tale) and Syracuse (a Fiddler on the Roof revival). e Lion King tech period and launch for its latest tour in Syracuse, according to figures from the Broadway League (the national trade association for the musical-theater industry) listed an estimated economic impact in local spending to more than $14 million. "You can see how many more tours started in New York State aer the tax credits were put in place about five years ago," says commercial producer Orin Wolf, a 2001 graduate of the University of Hartford's Hartt School. Tax credits were given out to 18 start-up tours in the program's first four years for various upstate New York cities. Wolf says savings to the show could run from the tens of thou- sands to the hundreds of thousands — which can be a determining fac- tor in deciding where a touring pro- duction builds its sets, incorporates its lighting, sound, costumes and projections, rehearses its cast and musicians, fine-tunes its production and begins performances. Wolf says Connecticut could benefit from a similar program whereby productions — which can spend several million dollars locally — receive tax credits from 20 to 25 percent of money spent in the state for things such as local stagehand payroll, hotel stays for cast and crew, food services, and a host of businesses that provide services for theater productions. e Shubert is most likely for such productions for several rea- sons. It has a successful track record of launching shows such as Jersey Boys and Matilda, its geography, and the fact that one the theater's current challenges — a wide open calendar — could be seen as an asset by tour producers. David Fay, CEO and president of Hartford's 2,800-seat Bushnell, says that it would not be easy for his the- ater because of its many bookings to carve out the multiple open weeks needed by a touring set-up. The Band's Visit — to Providence One of Wolf 's shows — e Band's Visit, which won the Tony Award for outstanding musical last season — will prep its mid-sized Equity tour for two weeks and then begin performances this month in Providence, R.I. — a state, he says, that has been in the forefront of offering tax credits that regularly draws tour launches to the Provi- dence Performing Arts Center. "at credit is very meaningful for a show like e Band's Visit," Wolf explains — which can result in hundreds of thousands of dol- lars in savings for a production and its investors. (e Band's Visit will play for a standard week's run at the Bushnell next April. It didn't make the Shubert's 2019-20 Broadway series.) "If Connecticut were to do tax credits," says Wolf, "the effect would be substantial because, beyond the financial aspect, it's also nice to have cities that have proximity to New York. Clearly Connecticut would have an ad- vantage there." e Shubert isn't the only Con- necticut theater that is affected by the loss of start-up productions such as these. A tour of the musical e Addams Family in 2012 had eyed Hartford's Bushnell — which had invested in the Broadway show — but was drawn instead to $600,000 worth of tax credits available for a New Orleans stay. "at was 10 percent of the $6 million production budget, which is significant," explains Fay. Fisher says there are still a few productions that begin at the the- ater without the tax-credit lure — such as a new Dreamgirls, which will begin at the Shubert before going directly to tour Asia. But, he says, they're of much smaller scale and here for a shorter stay. And even these more modest mountings, he says, "are harder and harder to attract." ere were initial efforts about a dozen years ago, says Fay, to lobby for tax credits at the state level, but political infighting and regional theaters becoming involved in the proposal stalled that effort. Fay says the Shubert would be the theater more likely to attract such multi-week stays because it has a more open calendar than the Bushnell. Ditto for the Palace in Waterbury. Fisher says developing a tax-credit proposal now has be- come a priority for his theater. Wolf 's advice for any future legislation is, "Keep it simple. If the rules become too complicated or cumbersome, it really becomes a discouragement." Any proposal would face a legislature dealing with the harsh reality of the state's economic challenges. "I don't hold out much hope," admits Fay. But there's a flicker of hope from state officials. David Lehman, the former Goldman Sachs partner and newly appointed commissioner of the state's Department of Economic & Community Development under the Lamont administration, said in a recent interview he is focusing on incentives that are heavy on tax breaks, not upfront loans and guarantees. And that may be good news for the Shubert. n In 2015 the family-friendly hit Matilda spent nearly seven weeks at the Shubert — resulting in a nearly $4 million windfall for New Haven and the state.

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