It was a miserable year for Hollywood at the box office, but Broadway ticket sales have never been higher. Tony-winning producer Ken Davenport joins Cheddar to discuss his innovative marketing tactics that have led to consistently high profits. His latest move is introducing Broadway's first ever best-price guarantee.
Davenport reveals why he decided to deploy the tactic on his new production, a revival of the musical "Once on This Island." He speaks to why it's taken the theater world so long to implement the strategy. Davenport is known for thinking outside the box; he once offered free tickets to virgins for a show called "The First Time."
Davenport says it's a particularly good time to invest in Broadway. He points to Hollywood taking cues from the world of musicals on both the big and small screens. The producer says the success of "La La Land" and "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" prove theater is "cool again."
Grace Harry, a former entertainment executive and author of "The Joy Strategist," joined Cheddar News to discuss her goal of helping people redefine the meaning of joy and happiness.
The chief suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway has admitted he beat the young Alabama woman to death on a beach in Aruba after she refused his advances. New details in the killing emerged Wednesday as Joran Van der Sloot pleaded guilty to extorting Holloway's mother, resolving a case that has captivated the public’s attention for nearly 20 years.
The trial of a Fugees rapper, who was convicted this year in multimillion-dollar political conspiracies, stretched across the worlds of politics and entertainment — and now the case is touching on the tech world with arguments that his defense attorney bungled the case, in part, by using an artificial intelligence program to write his closing arguments.
Israel said Wednesday that it will allow Egypt to deliver limited quantities of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, the first crack in a 10-day siege on the territory. Palestinians reeled from a massive blast at a Gaza City hospital that killed hundreds the day before and grew increasingly desperate as food and water supplies ran out.
