Before we determined the fee structure, Leona and I did a little research. Here's an example we discovered recently for a similar type of dramatic musical from a choral music publishing company:
For 30 choral books, a Director's Guide, a Production Manual, a Demonstration Video and an Accompaniment CD the cost came to $438.35. Replace the Accompaniment CD with Orchestration, and the cost jumps to $698.35 Add another $7.95 for every additional book you'll need. This is all before you begin to consider set construction costs, possible lighting rentals, any promotional expenses, ticket and media royalties, etc. There's also all of the $15.00 "preview packs" that you need to purchase before you decide on the musical that works for you. (Although in fairness, many companies do provide audio clips of many of their musicals on their websites.)
Bleah. Here's what's different about doing "One Mad Christmas:"
It's fully downloadable. There's one reasonable license fee structure. Print all of the books you need. Charge for admission. Make Videos. Post clips on the web. Perform the musical as many times as you want in a calendar year. Our video demonstration is pretty bad, but you can see it for free if you ask really nicely. The production manual is included. All of the preparation "production materials" you need to perform the musical are included. The "preview pack," such as it is, is free.
I get all "Web 2.0-ish" just thinking about it. :)
Check it out. Download the file, "Licensing and Performing One Mad Christmas" now, and see if this is the musical for you this year. We'd love to hear from you!
Be sure to download all of the free "preview" files that are located in the sidebar of the main page of this blog, and start with the file, "1MadStarthere.pdf." If you have any additional questions, please feel free to drop me a line at: johnnyleckie [at] gmail.com