Thank you, Musical Theatre Review for sending me to the airiest, coolest, calmest spot in central London on one of the hottest days of the year, writes Susan Elkin.
I’m in the Theatrical Rights Worldwide office with a pigeon’s eye view of Regent’s Street five floors below, lots of white paint, theatre posters and an atmosphere of business-like tranquility.
This is the company, with a new base in the UK, which licenses – for example Grease, The Addams Family, Spamalot and Priscilla Queen of the Desert.
“And we very much want to find and license new British musicals,” says DREW BAKER, TRC vice-president crossing his spacious office to join me on the sofa.
Baker trained as a performer with London School of Musical Theatre and trod the boards, mostly in opera, for several years. And he took to directing.
“I was directing a production of Zanna Don’t which is a TRC show. CEO Steve Spiegel happened to be in London and came to see it,” recalls Baker.
“After the show we got talking and he said he wanted to open a London office to extend his company into Europe. He’d founded it in 2006 after 25 years of heading up Music Theatre International (MTI).”
The conversation developed into a tentative sounding out. Spiegel was looking for the right person to run a London operation.
The call came in April last year and Baker opened the London office in September 2017 – so the paint is barely dry.
“True, but we’ve already grown so much that we’ve moved to the larger top floor from where we started two floors down” he chuckles. Later he introduces me to the seven staff he now has working for him.
TRC now has main offices in New York City, New Jersey, California as well as its newbie in London. “And there are sub offices in every continent all over the world,” says Baker.
Because it’s now established in Britain, TRC has launched a new division called ‘The British Musicals Collection’ and is actively encouraging musical theatre writers to get in touch.
“Since we made the announcement 66 emails with proposals have arrived in my inbox,” says Baker, adding that he’s hungry for more.
“Of course I know as I work through them that some of those won’t be suitable for licensing,” says Baker. “But others will be. And some will be ripe for development. We want to work with authors and help them to create or complete good musicals.”
I query the word “author” which I associate mainly with words but Baker uses it as a generic. “For me it’s a general term which includes composers, orchestrators, song writers, librettists, book writers – anyone who is inventing a musical,” he says, adding that sometimes a musical is a solo effort and a single individual has done everything him or herself.
Some of the shows which TRW licenses are big West End musicals such as We Will Rock You of which, Baker predicts, there will be huge numbers of amateur performances in the next year or two.
Then there are the shows for young audiences such as Anne of Green Gables and Pinkalicious. Baker and I agree that it’s a pity that more big, thriving non-pro companies don’t do a young audience show as part of their annual cycle.
When Spiegel was with MTI (now part of Cameron Mackintosh’s business) he developed the idea of school and youth group versions of big shows – now quite an established resource.
Spiegel has carried the concept over to TRW whose school editions include All Shook Up, Memphis and Curtains. “They come complete with performance tracks, guide vocal tracks, a director’s guide and 30 student scripts,” observes Baker.
He wants to expand the “young@part” list as TRW calls it. “We make putting on a show as affordable as we can for schools,” Baker says. “Not every primary school has, or can afford, a live band.”
He adds: “We do everything we can to accommodate low budgets but on the other hand we also have to make sure that authors get their royalties.”
So how would Baker describe the crux of what TRW does? “We become the adoptive parent of the musical. It’s our job to grow it and nurture it,” he explains.
“Shows need as long a life as possible and there are some amazing writers out there creating amazing work but there is no investment in longevity.”
He adds: “I love new writing and I want to see and hear much more of it. I would even advise people to think about licensing and to get in touch while they’re still writing. We can often make a suggestion about cutting this bit here or adding another character there which could make a real difference to the show’s success.”
So if you have a musical in your bottom drawer or tucked away in a computer file – or even an idea and a few songs – contact Drew Baker without delay (drewb@theatricalrights.com, 122-124 Regent Street, London W1B 5SA, 020 7101 9596).
* Theatrical Rights Worldwide is also teaming up with West End venue Studio 88 and leading charity Make A Difference Trust (MAD) to launch a star-studded new weekly cabaret show.
Launching on Monday 3 September, The Show Goes On will feature new and established performers singing classic musical theatre songs and new work from emerging writers, back by a six-piece band.
Hosted by Christopher Biggins, the launch event is set to feature well-known West End stars including Sam Attwater, Adrian Bevan, Jessica Brady, Lauren Drew, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, Rob Houchen, Oliver Savile and Danielle Steers.
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