The Making of From My Hometown — Part 2: The First Investor
The Making of From My Hometown — Part 2: The First Investor
(Andre Garner / Kevin R / Rodney Hicks)
I never intended to become the lead producer of an Off-Broadway show.
After we created From My Hometown, we spent years meeting with people who believed in the show. Many expressed enthusiasm. Many said they loved the idea. But we could never quite find the person who would actually commit to raising the money and producing it.
During that journey I met my dear friend Peter Martin, who owns the historic Triad Theater on 72nd Street.
I first met Peter when his mother, the wonderful Sue Martin, was still alive. Around that time his stepfather had recently passed away, and Sue had inherited the building that houses the Triad Theater. The Triad had its own theatrical legacy — most notably as the place where Forever Plaid began its life.
Peter himself had been the original company manager for Forever Plaid, so he had already seen what could happen when a small, focused musical found its audience. Because of that experience, the family was naturally interested in looking more closely at theatrical investments.
Around this time I was also talking frequently with a young aspiring producer named Ben Blake.
One day Ben asked me a question that would change everything.
“You’re going to raise money for your show?” he said.
“Yes,” I replied.
“How much money do you think you would need?”
I thought for a moment and said, “To get started? Probably around $50,000. Just front money. Seed money to get the process moving.”
Ben looked at me and said, very calmly, “I can do that.”
I said, “You can do what?”
“I can put up $50,000.”
I stared at him.
“You have $50,000?”
“Yeah,” he said.
“You have $50,000 that you can put into a show?”
“I do.”
I knew that Ben was also interested in becoming an actor, so my first instinct was to talk him out of it.
I said, “If you want to be an actor, you should put that money in the bank. Save it. Let it support you while you build your career. You do not need to put that money into theater.”
Ben shook his head.
“No, you don’t understand,” he said. “My parents raised me to take risks and follow my instincts. They’ve positioned me so that I can do something like this if I believe in it.”
“You’re telling me your parents want you to invest $50,000 in my show?”
“Well,” he said with a smile, “they want me to invest in whatever I believe in. And I believe in what you’re doing.”
Not long after that conversation, the two of us found ourselves sitting in a small office on 43rd Street, staring at each other across the desk, realizing that something very real might actually be starting.
From My Hometown is now licensed through Concord Theatricals and available for productions throughout the United States and Canada.
