The Broadway and Vine Fund, a new venture designed to facilitate turning movies into Broadway musicals, has launched and optioned its first title, "The Flamingo Kid."
Broadway producer Jed Bernstein, movie producer Bob Israel and entertainment and media executive Rich Battista announced the partnership Thursday.
“We believe this is the first time that a 'mutual fund' concept has been applied to the raising of development money,” said Bernstein. “Front money is notoriously difficult to raise, especially for musicals for which the amounts needed are significant, the development arcs are lengthy and the risk high.”
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The fund is designed to attract investors by spreading that risk over three to five projects. The fund will be capped at $600,000 to $700,000, 75% of which is already in place, the partners said in a statement.
In addition to optioning movie titles and providing backing, the fund will aid in commissioning creative teams to develop scripts, and stage first readings and presentations.
"The Flamingo Kid" was a 1984 movie written by Neal and Garry Marshall and starring Matt Dillon and Richard Crenna. The casting and creative team will be announced shortly, the partners said.
"'The Flamingo Kid' beautifully evokes the wonder of the early 1960s while at the same time capturing a timeless, poignant and often funny coming of age story. That is exactly why we think it has great potential as a stage vehicle,” said Bernstein.