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Hayden
Howdy, howdy ho, and welcome to Fantasy Fan Fellas. I'm Hayden, producer of the Fantasy Fangirls podcast and your resident lover of all things Sanderson.
Stephen
And I'm Stephen, your bookish Internet goofball. But you can call me the Smash Daddy.
Hayden
And we are currently deep diving Brandon Sanderson's fantasy epic Mistborn. But here's the catch. Steven here has not read Mistborn before.
Stephen
That's right. Hey hey. So each week you'll get my unfiltered raw reactions to every single chapter.
Hayden
And along the way we'll do character deep dives, magic explainers, and Steven will even try to guess what's next. Spoiler alert. He'll be wrong.
Stephen
News flash. I'm never wrong. Episodes come out every Wednesday and you can find Fantasy Fanfellas wherever you get your podcasts.
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Nikayla Matthews
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Mickey Jo
Now listen, when I got an email a couple of weeks ago, the subject line of which read criminal justice reform advocate Kim Kardashian to join the producing team of the fear of 13 on Broadway, I just about lost my entire mind. And while technically none of those details are incorrect, I do think the sheer force of will that it took for somebody to both compose and then send that email is utterly remarkable. Best thing that's arrived in my inbox in months. And yet, like I said, none of it is untrue. So how exactly has Kim Kardashian become the latest Broadway producer? And more to the point, why would a serious play like the fear of 13 want her to be. We're going to talk about the intriguing answer to that question today. But before we do, a quick introduction to me for those of you meeting me for the very first time. Oh my God. Hey, welcome to my theatre themed YouTube channel. Or hello to those of you listening to this on podcast platforms. My name is Mickey Jo. I'm obsessed with all things theatre and I'm currently sat with my feet in a bowl of ice. Oh, the sacrifices that I make to bring this level of theatre punditry to the Internet. The UK where I live is currently enjoying something of a heat wave. At least I assume others are enjoying it. And since this is the land that air conditioning forgot, I In order to be able to sit here and talk to you for an extended period as I am about to have to suffer through such indignities and the temperature is set to drop over the coming days. But I could wait no longer because I have been so fascinated by this and so desperate to unpack the concept of celebrity producers on Broadway. It seems statistically to be something that we are seeing more and more of, and there are a whole bunch of angles from which we can look at this. There's not much of a conversation to be had necessarily about whether this is a good or a bad thing. You know, anything bringing attention to Broadway is ultimately positive. Certainly it is necessary right now in the current economic climate for New York theater, but it's worth considering this both as a marketing and a branding opportunity for a show to tell an audience about its identity before they have the chance to see it certainly plays who can't get a cast recording out there. It's also an opportunity for social media traction for greater news coverage in instances like this. It's perhaps even a way of making headlines. It's a prestige career move for many of these celebrities. It's also the opportunity to win a coveted Tony Award. All of these and more are some of the reasons why your favorite stars may have become Broadway producers. I'm going to tell you about the others who Kim Kardashian is joining this very Broadway season, as well as those who have previously become EGOT winners through their producing work. And together we're going to discover a little bit more about this particular phenomenon and whether we anticipate it continuing. Now, as always, I will be sharing all of my thoughts and insights with you, but I would also love to know about yours. Let me know your thoughts on this in the comments section down below. And you know what? If you really want to have fun. Pitch me the next celebrity who is going to become the most unexpected Broadway producer and the wild imaginary production that they're going to be attached to. Let's play some Mad Libs in the comments down here. In the meantime, if you enjoy listening to my thoughts, then feel free to subscribe to my theatre themed YouTube channel or follow me on podcast platforms. You can also sign up to my free weekly email substack newsletter at the Link in this Description to stay up to date with everything that I am sharing online about all of the shows that I am seeing. In the meantime, let's talk about Kim Kardashian and the celebrity producers of Broadway Foreign. So we're going to circle back to Kim, I promise. But let's first consider how these celebrities become Broadway producers in the first place and what exactly that requires of them. Because generally speaking, when it comes to the producers of a Broadway play or musical, and this is, as you may have noticed from recent Tony Awards broadcasts, a small army of individuals. You have your lead producers who are the primary custodians of the show and its journey to the stage stage, who are coordinating a great many things. You also have co producers and there is a financial requirement in order to attain the title of co producer. In most instances, this is done by consolidating multiple investments from their investors as co producers and bringing them to the production as one small element of its overall budget and capitalization. And there is a certain financial threshold that you need to attain and bring to the table in order to join the party and join the producing team. There is an addition threshold you need to surpass to gain the title of co producer. And I mentioned investors. It is possible, though comparatively rare, for somebody to become a co producer and reach that threshold and attain that title by providing an investment purely from their own finances, in spite of the advice given by Max Bialystok in the Producers. Do you remember the number one rule of being a Broadway producer? Well, it's this. Never put your own money into the show. Do you remember the number two rule? It's this. Never put your own money into the show. And while juggernauts like Wicked and Rent and Hamilton have proved that there can be an awful lot of gold in them their hills, for the most part, the majority of Broadway shows are not recouping their investments, are not making money, are not repaying their investors. Therefore, the majority of Broadway play and musical investments are never seen again are not profitable ones. And a lot of those people are in it for a handful of reasons, be it A level of access to the arts, a guaranteed opening night ticket and party invitation, proximity to the stars, bragging rights attacks. Write off, perhaps. And even if we're being just a little less cynical, belief in the show itself and the art form and the love of the game. Now, we only really need to have this conversation when it comes to Broadway shows because this is not a phenomenon that has really emerged in the West End as a result of shows taking far less money to be put on in the first place. But so much of that culture has been creeping its way across the Atlantic. Who knows if this is something that we're going to see now? I'm not the only one who has been intrigued by this phenomenon of late. A couple of weeks ago, the New York Times ran a piece written by Michael Paulson. It began, it sounds like the setup for a joke. A former president, a reality TV personality and a Saturday Night Live alumnus walk into a theatre. But this is no joke. Barack Obama, Kim Kardashian and Bowen Yang have all signed on this spring as co producers of Broadway shows. Don't worry, I will tell you which in just a moment. The practice of famous people deploying their reputational currency to bolster new productions is not new. Pay attention to that. But it is growing in frequency as the declining influence of traditional media and the rising importance of social media. Hello to you all, have forced producers to look for new ways to market their material, which is an interesting way of looking at it, to really do the social media spin. And we will investigate how true that is in just a moment. Remind me if I forget, but the important thing that was said there was deploying their reputational currency to bolster new productions rather than their actual currency. Because it goes on to tell us a little bit more about how this practice actually works. Co producers are expected to raise money, often at least $175,000 for a play and $250,000 for a musical to help finance the production. In exchange, their names appear in the show's billing. They can usually attend the opening night performance and party, and if the show does well, they have the chance of winning a Tony Award for celebrities. And this fascinated me. The expectations can be different often, although not always, no money is involved. Instead, the celebrity co producers harness their fame, attracting media attention, charming, invest, hopefully influencing followers. Again, we're making a lot of implications there about social media, but that fascinated me when I read that, because I'd been assuming this entire time, you know, we think of these people, certainly the Obamas and the Kim Kardashians of this world as being extraordinarily wealthy and for that being perhaps a small drop in the ocean in the larger scheme of their finances. So when they join the roster of producers on Broadway and perhaps one or both of them have contributed financially, I don't actually know. I don't know that it's necessarily made public public, but I just assumed that it would go without saying that they were also paying their way. It hadn't occurred to me that they may be enlisted and afforded a title of co producer without actually needing to pay for one, essentially because what they bring to the table is in many ways just as or sometimes even more valuable. And so what is it that they bring to the table? And there was a vague outline about it there, but really there are multiple different benefits for a show to having a celebrity name among its producing team. Not only could it potentially attract other investors and producers who want to hobnob with them at said opening night party and the Tony Awards, etc. But it also provides them access to media opportunities that may not necessarily be available to them if they don't have a starry cast. Or sometimes they may be exclusively available to them because of who it is. Jennifer Hudson has been a celebrity producer of a Broadway show before. Jennifer Hudson also has her own talk show. It goes without saying she is going to talk about this production on her show. And for the most part, because we're living in a real time of celebrity culture and because Broadway has become increasingly ever more reliant on celebrity names in the cast on stage, most productions have somebody that they can send to go do TV media appearances. There's someone they can send out onto the late night circuit. And just occasionally those late night programs make space for someone who is a rising star, like a Cola Scola, who isn't necessarily like an Adrien Brody or a John Lithgow. Adrien Brody I bring into the conversation because he is starring alongside Tessa Thompson in the Fear of Thirteen, now jointly produced by Kim Kardashian. And so, you know, they're not short of names that could do this, but certainly Kim Kardashian gives them another opportunity for the show to be talked about. And yet the New York Times keeps referring to social media influence specifically for Kardashian. So let's take a little look here at what that actually looks like, because Kim Kardashian has an Instagram account with 345 million followers followers. And has she posted about the fear of 13 on Broadway? Why, yes, she has. There are two grid posts from what I can tell, this one here with her taking photos with not only the stars Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson, but also Nick Yarris, who I believe it is the actual true story of this was a documentary first and then a London and Broadway play. This was posted on 8th May and she wrote a little about the show as well, or at least her account posted a little bit about the show. Storytelling has the power to change minds and open hearts. That belief is what brought fear of 13 to life, and nothing could have prepared me for what it felt like sitting in that audience this past week watching an extraordinary cast starring Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson bring Nick Yaris's story to the stage. Nick was at the show. His story has been read about, fought for, but looking him in the eyes made it undeniable. He is living proof of the resilience of the human spirit. Criminal justice reform is never abstract. It is about people, real people. And there are so many whose stories have never been told. For the remainder of the fear of 13 Broadway run, I will spotlight incarcerated cases that deserve a closer look. Those stories must not be forgotten. If you haven't seen the fear of 13 yet, please go. It will move you. And the other post was seemingly a series of photos of the outfit that she wore, but with no reference to the show. So they both seem to have been posted from the same night, but only really one dedicated post to the fear of 13, but a very dedicated post. Did she take a playbill photo? Did she? No, she did not. Kim Kardashians. She's not taking the little playbill photo. She's got photo ops, she's got photographer, she's better than us. And her account has the number of likes turned off, but it does have just over 1300 comments and 871 shares. Top Comment from the Fear of 13 Broadway account. This is why stories matter. Thank you Kim. And a lot of other positive response. Many people commenting that they are seeing it today heard good things. So it would seem that that has been very positive for the show. Meanwh. Well, let's take a look at Barack Obama's 42.2 million follower Instagram account. And wow, this posts often. I don't believe that. Oh my gosh, no, he has. Okay, so this is Barack and Michelle, who I believe are both producers on the new production of the play Proof on Broadway at the Booth Theater. They are collaboratively posting an image of them backstage. I think this is from the night I was sat in Junior's restaurant and there was a circus of enthusiasm around Shubert Alley about the fact that the Obamas was said to be leaving the theater and getting into their car. Here they are backstage with the cast including IO Adebri and Don Cheadle and Kari Young, Barack and I can't wait for you to see Proof Broadway, making it clear which of the two of them wrote it. It's a play that asks profound questions about what we inherit from the people we love most. Brilliance, grief, doubt and Hope. Directed by Thomas Kale, IO Edibri, Don Cheadle, Jin Ha and Kara Young give incredible performances that will stay with you long after you see it. We couldn't be more proud that Higher Ground Media played a part in this production and hope you'll check and Higher Ground has also shared clips from a podcast conversation between Michelle Obama and Don Cheadle in which they talk about storytelling and theater and what that means, and again, bringing it back to some promotion for Proof on Broadway. So yes, the answer is yes. These individuals are using social media, among other tools at their disposal, as well as their own status in order to bring attention to these shows.
Hayden
Howdy, howdy ho, and welcome to Fantasy Fan fellas. I'm Hayden, producer of the Fantasy Fangirls podcast and your resident lover of all things Sanderson.
Stephen
And I'm Stephen, your bookish Internet goofball. But you can call me the Smash Daddy.
Hayden
And we are currently deep diving Brandon Sanderson's fantasy epic Mistborn. But here's the catch. Stephen here has not read Mistborn before.
Stephen
That's right. Hey hey. So each week you'll get my unfiltered raw reactions to every single chapter.
Hayden
And along the way we'll do character deep dives, magic explainers, and Steven will eat even try to guess what's next. Spoiler alert. He'll be wrong.
Stephen
News flash, I'm never wrong. Episodes come out every Wednesday, and you can find Fantasy fanfellas wherever you get your podcasts.
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Mickey Jo
The other thing that I think is important to think about here is what you tell an audience. And this is becoming more important than ever on Broadway. It is hard to sell these shows and they have to sell them quickly, particularly because of the phenomenon in which so many shows open almost simultaneously in the early spring. On Broadway, the majority of the season's openings will take place in the space of about five weeks. You have all these shows competing for audience attention and it behoves them to communicate their identity to an audience through their marketing as quickly as possible. Sometimes a show comes along and it's easy to do that. You know exactly what it is. Death becomes her. The musical. You get what that is. Sometimes something comes along like a Titanique and you've got to try and figure out a way of telling a non theater crowd the nature of what this show is, that it's like a Titanic parody, it's based on the film, it's using the Celine Dion songbook. How do you find your core audience, your demographic, and get in touch with them about the vibes of this thing? Well, one way in which you can do that is to recruit celebrity co producers who are well placed to to speak to that particular demographic. And Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, who host the Las Culturistas podcast, are members of the co producing team of Titanique. I believe they've also been fans of the show for some time. They join a bunch of other celebrity names, including Scott and Mark Hoying, including cast member Deborah Cox. We'll talk about that in a moment as well. Joey Fatone, bunch of people on the Titanique team. And I'm reminded of a show a few years ago on Broadway, a brilliant new musical that struggled to necessarily communicate its identity or effect market itself to a broad audience. But what it did in recruiting celebrity co producers I think was one of its better decisions. That musical was Suffs, written by Shayna Taub, and among its producing team were Malala Yousafzi and Hillary Clinton. And what that does is lends a certain prestige and a seal of approval to a production because these are both individuals who would not sign their name to something that didn't earn it. It also immediately tells you about the themes of that production because, you know, you could infer it just Malala or just Hillary, but the two of them together, that tells you that this is something meaningful about feminism and the ongoing conversation about equality. Another great example of a seal of approval is when Oprah Winfrey was among the producers of the musical adaptation of The Colour Purple, Oprah, having also appeared in the celebrated film adaptation Whoopi Goldberg, likewise with Sister act the Musical. And that's a quick and easy way of signaling to fans of a particular film that they ought to enjoy the Broadway musical as well. Notably Bette Midler. Not on the producing team for Beaches. And we could almost make a game out of this where I tell you, a cohort of celebrity co producers and you try and figure out what they're trying to say about the show. A strange loop counted among its co producers RuPaul and Alan Cumming, as well as Billy Porter, trying to market themselves and meaningfully include the queer community. And, you know, audacious as that email subject line may have been, Kim Kardashian has become very vocal about criminal justice reform. And so her being participatory in this current moment of theatrical storytelling does make sense. It doesn't necessarily brand it in a way that would be indicative of the themes of the play, but it does a different thing, which is allow her to bring its conversation to a different demographic than the one which presumably may already know about it. Likewise, Tyler Perry, I think, does that a little bit for Joe Turner's Come and Gone. He's a co producer on that this season as well. And it just kind of broadens the lens a little bit because there's not necessarily the closest cultural overlap between Tyler Perry's own work and that of August Wilson, but it perhaps more widely and effectively includes the black community in the show's reach and further diversifies the audience of Broadway, which is a good thing. Who else have we got this season? I have myself a little list here. Cynthia Erivo, John Legend lachance, Jeremy Pope, Law Roach, all co producers on Cat's the Jellicle Ball as well. Rachel Weisz. Rachel Weisz is a co producer on Cats. The Jellicle Ball. Could not have told you that. Gun to my head. Wow, Fun for her. And what a grizzly group. Titanique, like we mentioned, has its own boatload of co producers. And the Lost Boys is a slightly different situation because the makeup of the producing team of this new musical is pretty unique. The lead producers being a trio of actors producing for the very first time. Patrick Wilson, Marcus Chait and James Carpinella. They have also enlisted other celebrity co producers, actors including Kiefer Sutherland. Again, it's the thing of the person who starred in the iconic film, but also Neil Patrick Harris, I believe, a first time producer in this season in which he also starred in another play, a revival of the play Art Slash is a co producer on the Lost Boys. Stark Sands, Benj Pasek, interestingly enough, the actress Orfe. Very intriguing, actually, to take a look through some of these lists and see who turns up. But that was less of a celebrity producer thing and more of these actors actually being inspired at this point in their career to help bring this story to the stage. And I think it was Patrick Wilson who has spoken about, you know, the chance that, that he had because of his relationship to the film studios to get the rights for the Lost Boys and do it as a stage musical in the first place. So sometimes doors are only open to celebrity producers, and that's going to be interesting to watch. What I'm curious about is whether there are now so many celebrities across almost every show on Broadway that it becomes saturated and that's no longer enough to sell your show. And we have seen stunt car situations that don't work as well as others. But we have also seen celebrity names not necessarily delivering at the box office in the way that you might expect. And maybe it's because that's not the most important thing to all audiences. Maybe it's because Megan Thee stallion is down the street wearing a top hat at the Al Hirschfeld in Moulin Rouge. And certain celebrities are more newly exciting than others. One of the fears that I have is that we're now reaching a point where there is so much celebrity on stage that they're trying to layer on top of this and also have celebrity producers as well so as to further reach, like the New York Times said, social media landscapes, but also more TV opportunities and just kind of more attention for the show so that their marquee bulbs can shine a little more brightly amongst all of this. One of the interesting things that's happening is on many occasions a celebrity who is starring in a Broadway play or musical will also be among that show's producing team. Marla Mindel and Constantine Rasooli, as well as apparently Deborah Cox are co producers on Titanique. Mahler recently became a triple Tony Awards nominee. I think the first woman to gain three nominations in a single season at the Tony Awards as the show's leading actress, but also as its book writer and as a producer. Darren Criss won two Tony Awards last season in a single evening as the leading actor and a co producer of maybe Happy Ending. And both of those examples seem to speak to individuals who so utterly believe in the show. I'm wondering if in courting a celebrity to especially open a new production, often when we see celebs on Broadway they are replacing in a long running show to kind of of keep it alive. But when it's a new thing, whether that's a way of like sweetening the deal for them, like you can come and sign on to this show, this is going to be the salary situation, but you can also get a co producer title and maybe you'll win a Tony that way. Heck, maybe you'll win too. And you know, since the egot list is not actually that long, it is possible for us to take a look at the individuals who became EGOT recipients via celebrity producing and not by creating work on stage in the same way way EGOT being, if you don't know an acronym for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony, and it being this essentially made up thing that people now care about just because it gets talked about a lot, which is honestly a good thing for Broadway because it made people care about winning a Tony a whole lot more. And a lot of people would suggest that, you know, winning an egot for just being a celebrity co producer, especially one who hasn't even given any money but just talks about the show on social media is a bit of a cheating way to do it. Like I also talk about shows on social media a heck a of a lot. Where are my Tony Awards? At the same time, it's a good thing if we're finding new ways to promote Broadway, even if it's among a desperate financial landscape. But also, an EGOT is not a real thing. It is still a made up concept. That being said, Steven Spielberg in 2022 won Tony Award as a producer of a strange Loop. It wasn't a hugely publicized co producing moment, but that apparently is how he has become an EGOT recipient. Jennifer Hudson on the same production. I think in 2022. A lot of celebrity co producers there were on a strange loop. John Legend in 2017 won a Tony Award for best revival of a play for Jitney, another August Wilson play. It's actually fairly easy to pick out because it's the ones who aren't composers or actors who have been on stage in Broadway shows. And I don't think we have anyone on standby to become an EGOT recipient as a result of this particular Broadway season. But perhaps if I've missed any, you can let me know in the the com. Acast powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend.
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Mickey Jo
Visit your nearby Lowe's. Fence. Now we're not quite done with Kim Kardashian because we do have another little anecdote here and it was the second email that the press team were in able to distribute this one on the 4th of May when Kim went to go see the Fear of Thirteen and addressed a sold out house afterwards and there was a photo opportunity with the cast backstage. Her curtain call speech was subsequently shared via photo and video. What's interesting is that was May 3rd and on May 5th she went back to see the show again. But rather than going through the laborious process of arranging tickets or house seats or whatever it may have been, she I believe publicly stated that she booked tickets through Today Tix. Great ad for the Today Tix app. Sure they were thrilled in the office when that one came through so that she could take her boyfriend Lewis Hamilton. And thank goodness for Broadway news letting me know that that relationship was happening because honestly I had no idea. He's the other Hamilton, the one that you won't find at the Richard Rogers. But yes, she was so eager for him to see the show that she bought tickets for the two of them to see it two nights after she had just seen it herself itself. And I don't know about you but whenever I hear of anyone going back so quickly to a production, I'm always very intrigued about it. But what does all of this actually mean for Broadway? To what extent do audiences buy into these testimonials from celebrities, especially once they have a financial stake in the show, if indeed they do? And in a social media landscape that is increasingly filled with ad content and a lot of positivity, is this the next thing that's going to be saturated? You know you're scrolling Kim Kardashian's telling you to go see fear of 13 because it's important. There's a clip of Michelle Palmer on her podcast talking about proof. Are there going to be diminishing returns if we see more and more celebrity producers arriving on the Great White Way? And you know, culturally speaking, over the last couple of years though, it's been more so about aesthetic enhancements than anything else. Where Kim Kardashian has gone, a great many others have tended to follow. So we will see who the next Broadway co producers are who are lining up behind her. And I have a bigger curiosity here and stay with me because when it comes to to the brand of a show, we have seen productions being tarnished as a result of the behavior of the actors on stage, or should I say the reputation of the actors on stage. The Queen of Versailles, a recent Broadway misfire, was dealt a decent amount of damage after the reputation of its leading lady, Kristin Chenoweth, soured online. Months prior to this, the revival of Sunset Boulevard at the same theatre, the St James, had to do a little bit of damage control after social media activity from its Tony Award winning leading lady, Nicole Scherzinger, seemed to point towards Max megapolitics. And I bring this up specifically because in both of those examples, I spoke about how there are countless other individuals who are tied to that particular political cause who are very much financially involved in Broadway, who are profiting more from Broadway than the people who you are seeing on stage. And to substantiate that just a little bit, here is one example. We've spoken about celebrity co producers whose faces you may know from their time on screen or on social media or or in the presidency of the United States. Here is somebody you may not know. One of the lead producers of the musical Schmigadoon at the Nederlander Theatre is Christine Schwarzman, whose husband is the CEO of Blackstone and has been, I believe, like a top 10 financial donor to the Trump campaign in both of his elections. And the implications of this, as well as the impact of Trump's second presidency already, I believe, goes without saying. In fact, I only really bring it up because I believe that knowledge is power and audiences both online and in the theatre theatre deserve to know exactly how this is all working. And it's a nuanced issue, because even if they happen to be lifelong friends of Donald Trump and perhaps his seventh biggest donors, chasing all of the Republican money out of New York and out of Broadway is ultimately going to be bad for its business. And it's admittedly preferable if Republican billionaires are investing in Broadway rather than anything else. At the same time, it's also completely understandable to look at this as a matter of principle. I've said similar things about J.K. rowling profiting from Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway Broadway and the signal of support that that is she is much more known as being financially linked to Harry Potter. Not a lot of people know about Christine Schwarzman's connection to Schmigadoon or the various other Broadway shows that she's been producing over the last few years, including, perhaps unsurprisingly, the Queen of Versailles, including, perhaps more surprisingly, Bad Cinderella. And yes, I appear still to be talking about it in 2026. And I'm not saying this to instigate any kind of a boycott, nor to impact the Tony Awards. I do think it's important that we know know who these people are and where they are. It's easier, for example, for people to make informed decisions about whether or not they want to go and support Scott Rudin's work on Broadway now that they know exactly who he is. And so people may be surprised, even irritated, to see so many celebrities joining the world of Broadway as co producers. I may even have made my own little joke about Kim Kardashian at the beginning of this video. But you know, we come to find out there are worse things that they could be. On which note, I think that is everything that I have to say about this particular topic. But if you have any additional questions about specific shows, specific producing teams, or the wider world of producing and celebrity producers on Broadway, let me know in the comments section down below. Don't forget as well to share all of your thoughts, and I hope you enjoyed listening to mine. If you did, you can subscribe right here on YouTube or follow me on podcast platforms. You can also sign up for my free weekly email substack newsletter, which covers all of the shows that I've seen and all of the content that I've shared about them. And when I become a celebrity co producer on Broadway. Broadway. That's where I'll tell you what you need to buy tickets to in the decades before then. I hope that everyone is staying safe and that you have a stagey day. For 10 more seconds, I'm Mickey Jo Theatre. Oh my God. Hey, thanks for watching. Have a stagey day.
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Podcast: MickeyJoTheatre
Host: Mickey Jo
Episode Date: May 27, 2026
In this insightful solo episode, Mickey Jo dives into the increasingly prevalent phenomenon of celebrity producers on Broadway, focusing on Kim Kardashian’s attention-grabbing move to co-produce The Fear of 13. Using examples from the current Broadway season and beyond, Mickey Jo explores how and why celebrities like Kardashian, Barack and Michelle Obama, and others become producers, what it means for the theatre industry, and whether this trend is a positive or complicated development for Broadway's future.
“I just about lost my entire mind... Best thing that's arrived in my inbox in months.”
— Mickey Jo (01:43)
“Never put your own money into the show.”
— Reference to The Producers (07:00)
“For celebrities... often, although not always, no money is involved. Instead, the celebrity co producers harness their fame, attracting media attention, charming, invest, hopefully influencing followers.”
— Mickey Jo (09:50)
Case Study: Kim Kardashian's Influence
“Storytelling has the power to change minds and open hearts. That belief is what brought fear of 13 to life... For the remainder of the fear of 13 Broadway run, I will spotlight incarcerated cases that deserve a closer look. Those stories must not be forgotten.”
— Kim Kardashian (paraphrased by Mickey Jo, 13:00)
Comparative Example: Barack & Michelle Obama
Demographic Signaling
Producing as a Prestige Career Move
Titanique: Bowen Yang, Matt Rogers, Deborah Cox, Joey Fatone, and more.
Cats: The Jellicle Ball: Cynthia Erivo, John Legend, Rachel Weisz.
The Lost Boys: Produced by Patrick Wilson, Marcus Chait, Kiefer Sutherland, and Neil Patrick Harris (21:00–22:30).
Are We Nearing Saturation?
“What I'm curious about is whether there are now so many celebrities across almost every show on Broadway that it becomes saturated and that's no longer enough to sell your show.”
“An EGOT is not a real thing. It is still a made-up concept. That being said, Steven Spielberg in 2022 won Tony Award as a producer of A Strange Loop... and that's how he became an EGOT recipient.”
Kim Kardashian attended the show twice within days, once buying tickets “the regular way,” demonstrating interest beyond a superficial association (27:08–27:50).
Considers whether audiences trust celebrity testimonials given potential private interests.
Warns of less visible, potentially controversial producers like Christine Schwarzman (wife of Blackstone's CEO, a major political donor) quietly influencing Broadway behind the scenes (28:00–29:30).
“It’s... important that we know who these people are and where they are... knowledge is power and audiences both online and in the theatre deserve to know exactly how this is all working.”
Suggests that while celebrity producers can be a positive force, there are more opaque and troubling ways theatre is financially supported (“there are worse things they could be,” 31:45).
On Celebrity Producers’ True Contributions:
“Deploying their reputational currency to bolster new productions rather than their actual currency.”
— Mickey Jo quoting Michael Paulson, New York Times (09:00)
On the accelerating trend:
“You have all these shows competing for audience attention and it behoves them to communicate their identity to an audience through their marketing as quickly as possible.”
— Mickey Jo (16:35)
On the limits of star power:
“We have also seen celebrity names not necessarily delivering at the box office in the way that you might expect. And maybe it's because that's not the most important thing to all audiences.”
— Mickey Jo (22:55)
On ethical considerations in Broadway money:
“Chasing all of the Republican money out of New York and out of Broadway is ultimately going to be bad for its business... but it's also completely understandable to look at this as a matter of principle.”
— Mickey Jo (29:30)
Mickey Jo presents a nuanced, entertaining, and industry-savvy analysis of the rise of celebrity producers on Broadway, suggesting it's both a necessity and a sign of creativity in theatre marketing amid economic challenges. While the phenomenon may have downsides—like over-saturation or ethical concerns about financial backers—it's also breathing new attention into Broadway in ways traditional advertising cannot. As the landscape evolves, so too do the questions about whose influence shapes the stage and what it means for audiences and the artform itself.
For Further Discussion:
Share your thoughts and celebrity producer predictions in the comments section below the podcast or on Mickey Jo’s YouTube channel/substack newsletter.