Mark S A Smith: There’s so much competition on Vegas, there’s more than 100 opportunities per night to be entertained between the shows and the musical acts, and everything else that you can do in Vegas. It’s just hard, people don’t want to pay that much money, they want to get crazy, they want to get wild. Mark S A Smith: Well, versus soft tickets, were tickets that are comped or given away. But Jersey Boys also had a massive advertising budget, so they were better known than we were, but even at selling 750 tickets per night, hard tickets, they still couldn’t make it. Our theater only holds 150 people, so that’d be great. I heard that Jersey Boys was selling about 700 tickets per night, well, if Caveman was selling 700 tickets per night, we’d be swimming in bathtubs of money. I was like, “Oh, you got me.” I think it’s the giant operating costs, you have a bunch of union musicians, you have a bunch of union actors, you have a ton of union stage hands, lighting guys, the army that you need to run a Broadway show like those is enormous. You have a show like Jersey Boys, Jersey Boys is fantastic, there are three points during the show that I cried in Jersey Boys, and I saw this show three times, but each time they got me again. The reason, I think, is because they’re so expensive to produce. Kevin Burke: I think we counted 11 or 12 Broadway plays have come and gone since Caveman came here in 2007. There’s not anyone left but yours, why has that happened in Vegas? What has caused this disruption? Mark S A Smith: All of the Broadway plays in Vegas have closed. For a play to be called a Broadway play, it must have played in one of these 24 theaters for at least one night. Kevin Burke: It’s not something that most people know. Mark S A Smith: Thank you for bringing me up to speed on that. What defines a Broadway play is did it play in one of the 24 designated Broadway theaters in New York City? Again, I have to make a minor correction, it’s not a Broadway style play, it’s a Broadway play. You’re the last Broadway style play in Vegas, all of them have closed. But, yes, disruption of business cycles, disruption of entertainment changes. I’ve been through three of these business cycles and managed to survive, and so have you, you’ve just been doing it in slightly different ways. Kevin Burke: When you say entertainment disruption, do you mean the great recession? Is that fancy business speak for the recession? The reason why I invited you on the show today, Kevin, is because you have survived entertainment disruption through the years that you’ve been involved in the world of entertainment, and I want to apply some of the things that you learned to our audience who listened for business disruption and surviving business disruption, and creating disruption. I’ve seen you do your work, it’s a fantastic show and so much fun. Mark S A Smith: That level of authenticity really makes for an extraordinary play. There would be times when I’m improvising when the audience, and I’ll completely forget the point where I left off, but I have a script onstage, it’s in my little laundry basket that sits next to my big stone couch, and I’ll pull it out and flip through the pages and tell the audience, “just go ahead and talk to your neighbors for a moment” until I find the place, and they’re like, “okay.” Then, I put the script back and I stand up and I begin right where I broke off. From the time we came to Las Vegas until now, I think it’s about 3,700. Since 2003, when I first started doing the show, all the way up to today, the number is around 4,400. The PR department must have sent you an old release. One little revision there, I’ve done over 4,000 shows, not 3,000. I met him at Darren LaCroix’s Stage Time University Humor Bootcamp where he was part of the faculty, and he delivered some of the best coaching I have ever experienced in my life. He’s a former Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey’s Clown. Defending the Caveman is the longest running Broadway play, as well as the longest running Broadway show in Las Vegas. He has been performing this one-man show for more than 10 years, more than 3,000 performances, he has the longest running one-man show in all history. Mark S A Smith: My guest today is Kevin Burke, who performs the Broadway play, Defending the Caveman in Las Vegas. Back in the cave times, men were hunters, women were gatherers, and because of that we evolved with different sets of strengths, and that’s what we’re going to be talking about. It’s a comedy about men and women in relationships, how we miscommunicate and how those miscommunications cause us to misunderstand each other. I’m going to be talking to Mark in a few moments about Defending the Caveman. Stay Ahead of the Competition: Disruptive Ideas from a Master Showman Kevin Burke Click here to download the transcript PDF now.
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