Show Boat’s Tax-Free Ride
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The arrangement with the Auditorium has allowed Drabinsky to save a considerable chunk of change. Show Boat has been pulling in around $1 million a week, so the city’s share would come to about $70,000 a week, or $3.5 million a year. Tickets for the production are currently on sale through January 1997.
On the other hand, the city stands to collect a considerable amount of money when Drabinsky’s restored Oriental Theater opens in early 1998. An arrangement between Drabinsky and the city calls for the producer to pay $35 million in taxes over a ten-year period in exchange for the city’s financial assistance in purchasing and restoring the Oriental and adjacent property.
Edinburgh on a Shoestring
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/Nathan Mandell.
