GLOBE TO REAP HUGE ‘WOODS’ HARVEST

The Old Globe Theatre stands to profit from the future life of the new Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine musical that opened last week.

Globe Managing Director Tom Hall negotiated a contract that gives the theater a percentage of the gross of future productions plus film and television rights to the property for 18 years.

At a public discussion Monday night, Hall also revealed a surprise. The show, which is virtually assured of a Broadway date, will not go into a large theater. Any New York production will be steered toward a theater no larger than the Globe, Hall said. That means a smaller New York house such as the Helen Hayes Theater. The reason is that Sondheim and Lapine conceived “Into the Woods,” a fairy tale fantasy with adult overtones, as an intimate show, and they intend to keep it on that level.

Now that “Into the Woods,” which is at the Globe through Jan. 11, is up and on its way into theatrical history, Hall has some much-needed time to breathe.

Eleven days before opening this $600,000 musical, the Globe suddenly lost the services of a critical supervisor, production manager Erica Young, who suffered a severe concussion in an auto accident.

It was the first day of technical rehearsals. “Losing Erica couldn’t have come at a worse time,” technical director Loren Schreiber said. “During technical rehearsals, the production manager is sort of the hub around which the theater rotates.”

Young was too ill even to talk to others. Hall, who had a career in technical theater before becoming the Globe’s chief administrator, was pressed into the job of temporary production manager. He suddenly had two full-time jobs.

Hall’s days began at 6 a.m. and ended at 2 a.m. As production manager, his duties took precedence over his managing director assignments, which were mostly relegated to a quick hour and a half between 6:30 and 8 a.m.

“Fortunately, Erica is the finest production manager I’ve ever come across,” Hall said. “She had everything organized well and had an excellent assistant.” Department heads took on other tasks to fill the gaps.

The day after the opening, Hall had a brief respite--three days before Sondheim and Lapine, who also directed, began to make changes in the show. The changes will include some sharp tailoring of the baggy second act. Part of it will be converted from dialogue to music, Hall said, with the addition of a quartet.

Officially, “Into the Woods” is not a sellout. A few tickets and standing room are available most nights. But according to one Globe official, “It is the toughest ticket we’ve ever had.”

That’s due in part to Sondheim’s reputation. As with any show by the acknowledged reigning king of the American musical, “Into the Woods,” attracted its share of Sondheim fanatics. Ticket requests have flowed in not only from the San Diego area for this musical criss-crossing of Brothers Grimm fairy tales, but also from Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.

On opening night, four major New York producers were in the audience, Hall said. However, none has put any money into the show--yet. But “Into the Woods” is also attracting its share of Sondheim fans such as William Cunningham, a New York City photographer and self-proclaimed Sondheim nut.

Cunningham subscribed to the entire season, just to be sure he would get a ticket to “Into the Woods.” Cunningham, 42, then bought two more tickets so he can attend the final three performances, when he flies out in January, on a trip that will combine work with pleasure.

San Diegan Ann Salinas has never seen a Sondheim musical. But to ensure that she could get a ticket, Salinas arrived at the theater 20 hours before tickets went on sale and spent the night in Balboa Park.

The tickets she eventually bought were for herself and her 29-year-old son, Michael, a New York City talent agent and budding musical author and composer. Her son has known and maintained a correspondence with Sondheim since he was 14 years old.

“Mr. Sondheim once sent (Michael) a ticket and an airplane ticket to see a show in San Francisco,” Salinas said. Tickets to “Into the Woods” are “the one thing Michael wanted for Christmas.”

“I’ve heard a lot from my son about Mr. Sondheim’s plays. But this is the first one I’ll see,” she said. “And I get to meet Mr. Sondheim . . . at least I’m looking forward to meeting him after the performance.”