MA bill proposal to offer producers a tax credit for pre-Broadway shows

[CapnHook]

http://bostonglobe.com/arts/theater-art/2013/02/03/theater-promoters-legislators-want-tax-credit-lure-broadway-bound-shows-boston/k7IJYg2DVMUHD5r22H5dfO/story.html

I had no idea two other states offered a similar tax credit.

They should perhaps add a stipulation to the credit that the show must open in New York within 2 years.

There are many shows that bill itself a "pre-Broadway" and probably have the intention of a transfer, but there are several reasons why they never make it in.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

That's the other question... how does one prove that the show will open on Broadway? Even with the "must open in New York within two years" stipulation, there's still the possibility that it doesn't get up for a variety of reasons -- too many variables are at play. Are the producers and investors in question then liable even if they are able to prove there were legitimate reasons for the show not making it to Broadway?

There are all kinds of good state grants like this throughout the U.S., but there are flaws in all of them (which can be determined from even limited research). Take Rhode Island, my home state, just over the border from Massachusetts, as an example. Under the R.I. law, production companies whose shows have been or will be on Broadway can apply for tax credits to offset the costs of developing and rehearsing their shows in this state. Great, right?

But they also have some stipulations: those companies must use a venue with seating for 1,500, and the venue must be a place where "live exclusive theatrical productions are, or are intended to be, exclusively presented." Of the dozen venues in the state, two meet that criteria: the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC), and the Veterans Memorial Auditorium, which PPAC manages through a subsidiary company. (Coincidence? Please.)

Not only are you restricted to your choice of two venues, but the tax credit also doesn't apply if you're trying for an environmental production. It overrules the possibility of starting at an unconventional venue like a club or a church, both of which are legitimate approaches that have been employed by commercial producers, and getting this tax credit. I'm sure an appeal can be filed, but...