Dave Pittman, Cirque du Soleil; Glenn Walinski, Tyson Events Center, Sioux City, Iowa; and Jeff Meyer, Feld Entertainment, following their panel on new content for arenas. (VT Photo)
REPORTING FROM LONG BEACH — From the debut of Tyler Oakley’s Slumber Party in arenas this fall to an update on the launch of a successful — but very heavy — Marvel Universe Live tour, attendees at the Arena Management Conference here learned about the upcoming moneymakers featuring “heroes, acrobats and elephants” during their Sept. 14-16 meeting.
The most unique offerings were revealed by Mike Mills, president of Mills Entertainment, who described the growing success of YouTube stars on tour live. “We know from postshow surveys that we bring in first-time customers. We self-finance all our tours. It’s a win/win or lose/lose … together,” Mills said.
Mills Entertainment promoted and produced 600 shows last year, 40-50 of those in arenas. “That is an area of growth for our company,” Mills said. “One third we self-promote, one third we co-promote, one third we sell off. We are flexible in how to bring our shows to market.”
They have had ongoing success with Theresa Caputo, the Long Island Medium, whose average attendance is 4,000-5,000, Mills said. She will do another 70 engagements in 2015 in primary, secondary and tertiary markets.
Buddy Valastro, The Cake Boss, is back playing 20 cities on a fall tour, Mills continued. His show has an exposition component and is a collaboration with WME. “It’s an immersive experience.”
Interactive and immersive would also describe Tyler Oakley’s Slumber Party. The YouTube star’s demographic is 12- 18-year-old girls. He has 5 million subscribers. Described online by Oakley as a unique sleepover format, which will appeal to young fans, he further says, “That means that we are going to play pranks, that means that I am going to gossip with you, and we are going to tell stories, and I’m going to get you guys on stage, and I’m going to meet tons of you in my own way, and it’s going to be so much fun and we’re going to take selfies.” Tyler Oakley sold out two 2,000-seaters in minutes. He is underplaying markets, Mills said.
Mills Entertainment is also bringing Fanatica, a series created to bring YouTube stars to the live stage. There will be one multigenre show and one that is all about beauty tips on fashion, hair and makeup.
“I assure you it is real. They fill arenas with fashion tips,” Mills said.
A PORTFOLIO COMPANY
Jeff Meyer, SVP, Feld Entertainment, brought good news to arena managers with updates on Marvel Universe Live, which is now on tour, and Disney on Ice Frozen, which is hot.
“A lot has happened in 12 months,” Meyer said, including Feld Entertainment’s move to Ellenton, Fla., where they have opened a production studio and brought everyone under one roof.
“We are in a deep-dive investment, research and development stage, with Arenacross,” he continued. “We are going to solidify its connection with the stadium Supercross show. It will be the minor league of Supercross. The only way to get to Supercross now is through Arenacross. There will be brand equity.” Arenacross will play 40-plus events.
Disney Live is also enjoying a tremendous amount of success, Meyer said, as is Disney Jr., both of which will have new product in the summer of 2015. Feld research shows they can explore doing more than one show per marketplace with Disney Live and Disney Jr.
Monster Jam will have an arenas-only tour playing 10 markets in 2015 to test a new format, using the same athletes and same vehicles in each city. “The format and judging is going to change. If it’s successful, we will roll out in 2016 in every arena. We think fans will love it,” Meyer added.
But the big news from Feld is Marvel Universe Live, which is averaging grosses north of $1 million a week since its launch. The show is 29 trucks and “a lot of weight,” he added. “Those of you who have had the dates already and those working for a future date, I thank you, because it is one big show. It will evolve into something a little smaller.. “
“This is the start of a new franchise, like Disney on Ice,” Meyer declared.
Disney on Ice presents Frozen is “High School Musical and Beauty & the Beast on steroids,” Meyer said. “Prior to launching, we had 1.2 million tickets sold in advance in 33 cities. In Auburn Hills, Mich., advance sales were up 70 percent over the year prior. It is absolutely on fire.” Feld is adding performances and adding cities and will play the U.S. for at least the next two years and has longterm plans to bring Frozen into live stage productions as well.
“Nothing has changed in our deal structures for Frozen,” Meyer said. “With few exceptions, there are going to be some great windfalls for folks. We will celebrate that with you all. We’re in it for the long haul; ours is a portfolio business. Some years are better than others and we ride that wave with you all. Thank you for your partnership.”
HELLO KITTY
VEE Corporation, which is celebrating 35 years of Sesame Street Live, also has some new product on the road.
“We’re working with San Rio on a new production, Hello Kitty Super Cute Friendship Festival, which will play on the arena floor or convention center space,” said VEE’s Kevin Kulas. It is an interactive, festival show with activities revolving around Hello Kitty’s world. The festival is playing 40 cities beginning May 2015. Hello Kitty is a huge Facebook and retail brand and the show will be “something different in arenas,” Kulas said.
VEE’s latest Sesame Street Live is themed Let’s Dance and is all about character interaction with the audience, he added. “We’re focused on bringing the characters into the crowd.” Let’s Dance is playing 160 cities.
Jeff Apregan, Apregan Entertainment Group, said Nitro Circus Live will play 40 North American cities in 2015. It has sold 1.6 million tickets in four years on five continents, a very small percentage of that in North America.
With 150 cast and crew, 14 semis and 10 buses, the fourth season starts in October and will be back in the U.S. playing 14 cities in May 2015. “They are very, very focused on building this brand. In the next couple years, you’ll be seeing branding and licensing initiatives and the possibility of new digital web series and new TV series,” Apregan said.
Ryan Jones, William Morris Entertainment, brought news of a new Oprah — The Life You Want touring eight cities this fall and possibly eight more next fall, pending her schedule. The show carries a “$1,000 top ticket that gets you dinner with Oprah, down to $99.” It’s a 1.5-days booking, a girls night out, on Friday night and all day Saturday.
Now WME is working with author Arianna Huffington on rolling out another arena concept like Oprah’s.
And since WME purchased IMG action sports, including its ice show division, “you’ll hear more from me there. We now have a lot of new resources and great new avenues,” Jones said.
Spider-Man will be playing arenas in the spring of 2016, just coming off Broadway, he added. Tickets will be $70-$80 ticket price. “We are creating a universal fly track so it will fit every arena”.
The Illusionists, seven magicians from all over the world, is another new arena offering. It will play November-December on Broadway and then tour theaters and arenas after that over the next couple of years.
“And we’re working with S2BN on Alvin The Chipmunk Live for theaters and cut down arenas,” Ryan said.
David Pittman, Cirque du Soleil, noted the production company is celebrating 30 years of live shows. It has only just begun retiring some early shows, including Saltimbanco and Alegria. Two weeks ago, Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour retired. When Dralion comes back from Spain, it will play 16 more weeks in North America and then it will retire in January 2015 after playing Fairbanks and Anchorage in Alaska. Verikai will tour until September of next year.
But there are new shows on tap, including Ovo, currently under the Big Top, which will play arenas beginning in 2015, touring for 19 months, through September 2017 in North America, then touring overseas.
And Avatar wil be live in arenas starting in 2015. That show is not a re-creation of the movie, Pittman said. It is a prequel to the first film.
Interviewed for this story: Kevin Kulas, (612) 852-2329; Ryan Jones, (310) 285-9000; Michael Mills, (518) 884-2960; Jeff Meyer, (703) 448-4000; Jeff Apregan, (805) 494-0020; David Pitman, (703) 898-5015