'Cyrano,' "Annie' Could Bring Potential Returns To Goodspeed

Two high-profile national entertainment events in December will put a spotlight on, and potentially give a financial bump to Goodspeed Musicals.

On Dec. 2, NBC will present “Annie Live!,” a televised musical production of “Annie,” which originated at the Goodspeed Opera House in 1976, before moving onto Broadway the following year where it became a box-office sensation, spinning off tours, films and television specials.

Goodspeed still collects royalty payments from “Annie,” and will receive a financial reward from the NBC production.

“Cyrano,” a new lavish movie musical starring “Game of Thrones” actor Peter Dinklage, was commissioned by Goodspeed and will be released at the end of the month. Early reviews from the Telluride Film Festival were positive, especially for four-time Emmy winner Dinklage, who is being mentioned in early Oscar talks.

Goodspeed invited “Cyrano” director-adapter Erica Schmidt to develop the production at its Mercer Grove artists’ winter retreat in 2016. The show then received a workshop production the following year at Goodspeed’s 200-seat Norma Terris Theatre in Chester. The musical moved off-Broadway in 2019, produced by the not-for-profit theater company, The New Group. Filming for the MGM movie began last fall in Sicily, directed by Joe Wright.

But Goodspeed will only benefit from “Cyrano” in bragging rights, not in dollars, according to David Byrd, the theater’s new managing director. Goodspeed will only receive a payday from future stage productions of that musical.

The “Annie” contract

Any dollars that might come back to Goodspeed from new stage productions of the “Cyrano”’ musical will pale in comparison to what the theater gained from its unique arrangement for its world premiere of “Annie” nearly 50 years ago.

That 1970s royalty deal — which became known in the industry as the “Annie” contract — came when it was still a rarity for regional theaters to develop pre-Broadway musicals. The theater received a much larger percentage of financial participation, and for a longer period of time over a variety of platforms, than what is common in the industry today.

Because of that unique contract, “Annie” has spun off royalties that created Goodspeed’s multimillion-dollar endowment, which supports new…|CONTINUED|