Clash of the PR Titans
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The multimillion-dollar Beauty, based on the popular animated movie, is still pulling in cash like gangbusters after nearly three years on Broadway. It’s already spawned two successful national touring companies and a number of international productions. But the Disney folks have delayed bringing the musical here while they negotiated to take over the Chicago Theatre under a three-year lease with an option to extend for an additional year. Rumors have been circulating that Disney might end up buying the Chicago Theatre as a permanent home for future theatrical productions, just as the company purchased the historic New Amsterdam theater on 42nd Street in New York City. Disney intends to make the New Amsterdam a launching pad for its planned versions of Aida and The Lion King.
Of the two agencies vying for the Disney business, Korshak is the more experienced at big-budget theater. The Korshak agency has been doing theater PR for 27 years and has worked on the vast majority of touring productions hitting town, as well as some of the bigger off-Loop accounts. The Korshak agency was behind the media blitz that preceded the recent opening of Show Boat at the Auditorium Theatre, the rewards of which may just be starting now that the show has settled in for an extended run. A good PR firm will continue to prime the pump, trying to drum up positive press and keep the show on the public’s mind. Only last week, for instance, the Tribune ran a feature following Show Boat star Marilyn McCoo on a shopping expedition at Filene’s Basement. The piece was a publicist’s dream because it also managed to include information about the show.
Both Iltis and Korshak clearly are eager to work for Disney, but they’re wary of speculating on the final outcome. Korshak says, “Disney has talked to me, but I don’t want to say anything at this time.” And Iltis has the final word: “I certainly wouldn’t turn down the business.”
