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Welcome New Faces
Join the Team taking
Dancer Off-Broadway!
An Off-Broadway Production of Dancer (A Musical In Ten Furlongs) will be produced in 2025 by The York Theatre Company (an NYC Not-For-Profit) in association with Oh What A Ride! Productions (Jim Betts & Kate Barris, Lead Producers) and Sing Out Louise! Productions (Joey Monda, Executive Producer).
This short Sizzle Video will give you a taste of what the Show is like!
Oh What A Ride!
Oh What A Ride! Productions Inc
is inviting Investment in
Dancer (A Musical In Ten Furlongs)
to raise Development Funds
in support of the upcoming
York Theatre Company
2025 Off-Broadway Production,
and further, to help support
any future transfers, remounts
or new developmental productions
of the show.
You Can Be A Part Of This!
What You Need To Know
Our current Off-Broadway schedule
calls for a 5-week run in NYC at
The York Theatre Company
March 18 to April 20, 2025.
Oh What A Ride! Productions Inc.
is committed to raising between
$750,000 and $1,000,000 CAN$
to support this production,
and to support Dancer’s
continuing development.
**All investment in this Development Funds offer
will automatically be converted into an equity investment
– and at a preferred rate of return –
in a future Commercial Production.
(See “2” In The Documents Below)**
Supporters have the Option to:
1 – invest in the show’s development in CAN$ through this formal Agreement;
2 – invest in the show’s development in US$ through a similar Agreement registered in New York City [details available upon request];
3 – make a Tax-Deductible Donation to The York Theatre Company in NYC [*Note* – The York Theatre is a US Not-For-Profit. Donations from Canadians may or may not be tax-deductible depending on the Donor’s US Tax status; we recommend that you get advice from your accountant or legal counsel on this point]; or
4 – make a Tax-Deductible Donation to a Canadian Not-For-Profit partner, should we reach an agreement with such a partner [this Option is currently not available].
Important Things To Be Aware Of:
This is a High Risk investment, and it is highly unlikely that there will be any return on this investment until a Commercial Production results from this Development phase. No one should invest unless they are fully prepared to receive no return on this investment.
[See “4” In The Documents Below]There are “Canadian Securities Laws” that govern who is eligible to invest in this Offering.
[See “3” In The Documents Below]We anticipate that most of our investors will fall under “Schedule B – “family, friends and business associates”. [See “Schedule B” In The Documents Below]
Investors should consult their own Accountants or Legal Counsel about any resulting Tax Consequences. [See “6” In The Documents Below]
Your Investment & Return
Subscription Price
$25,000 per Unit
Every $25,000 invested in this Development Fund will be converted into an equity investment in a future Commercial Production of The Show, plus it will earn an additional 20% bonus from the profits of that Commercial Production. (In Broadway Commercial Theatre lingo, this is referred to as a “1-for-5” deal. [See “2.(b)” In The Documents Below]. That is – for every $100 of future profits you would earn from your share of the Investor Pool, you would earn an additional $20 from the Producer’s Share.
Every $25,000 unit purchased before Sept. 15, 2024 will earn an additional 5% over units purchased after Sept. 15, 2024 – for a total Bonus of 25% (or a “1-for-4” deal).
Any single purchase of 4 Units ($100,000) before Sept. 15, 2024 will earn a 33% bonus from the profits of a future Commercial Production (or a “1-for-3” deal).
The General Partner may help facilitate the Collective Purchase of 1 Unit among a pool of interested purchasers.
PLEASE NOTE: We plan to offer 4 Units to be divided among the donors who contributed $100,000 to fund the 2023 Toronto Fringe Production that led to this Off-Broadway production.
For More Information
or
To Become A Dancer Investor
Contact
Jim Betts (416 529-5910)
jimbetts@dancerthemusical.ca
or
Kate Barris (416 712-0241)
katebarris@dancerthemusical.ca
More Background
The Show
Dancer (A Musical In Ten Furlongs) was the winner of the 2023 Adams Prize For Musical Theatre, and this unique, quintessentially Canadian story, had its World Premiere at The Al Green Theatre, as part of the 2023 Toronto Fringe Festival, July 5-16.
Dancer (A Musical In Ten Furlongs) tells the classic story of “the little guy who defies all expectations”, and who overcomes all obstacles to become perhaps the most influential Canadian in history. But this is not just any ordinary human Canadian, this is Northern Dancer, the “horse no one believed in” – the too-small, too-ungainly, too-willful thoroughbred who overcame doubt, injury and history to become the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby.
Dancer won that Derby in 1964, setting a track record, and capturing the imagination and excitement of Canadians across the country.
The Dancer then went on to become the most successful sire in thoroughbred racing history. In fact, in 2020, 77% of all the world’s thoroughbreds were descendants of Northern Dancer.
Not only does Dancer tell a unique Canadian story, it tells that story with a unique theatricality. There literally has never been a musical like this one – where the lead character never speaks or sings, communicating only through movement and dance.
Taking inspiration from his name, Northern Dancer, and all the other horses in his story, are played by dancers, as dancers. Unlike Equus or War Horse, our dancers simply become horses, using their natural grace and athleticism, and without the use of special headdresses, puppetry or costuming.
The Development Path
2010 – Marek Norman and Jim Betts begin researching and writing
2011 – First Workshop/Showcase (at the National Ballet Rehearsal Hall)
2011-15 – a series of new script drafts explored at table readings & workshops
2016 – Invited Audience Showcase at Elgin/Winter Garden
2016-23 – yet another series of new drafts of the script
2023 – the script wins 2023 Adams Prize For Musical Theatre
2023 – Sold-Out run at the 2023 Toronto Fringe Festival
2023 – Critics’ Pick of the Toronto Fringe Festival
2023 – Nominated for 9 Broadway World Toronto Awards, winner Best Choreography for a Play or Musical
2024 – The York Theatre schedules the show 2025 Off-Broadway run
2024 – Joey Monda, Sing Out Louise! Productions, joins as Executive Producer
– Derrick Chua joins the team as Canadian Counsel
– Dan Haley of Haley Law Group joins the team as Production Counsel
2025 – Off-Broadway run at the York Theatre Company – March 18-April 20.
Where Are We Going?
If our 2025 Off-Broadway run at The York Theatre Company is successful – which we have every reason to believe it will be – any or all of the following next steps will be possible…
A Transfer to a larger, Commercial, Off-Broadway or Broadway Theatre, 2025
A Transfer to a Canadian Not-For-Profit Theatre, 2025
A Transfer to Louisville Kentucky to be performed in conjunction with the 2025 Kentucky Derby
A Remount at one or more Canadian Regional Theatres 2025-2027
(We already have serious interest from at least 3 Canadian Regionals)A Transfer to a Mirvish Productions Season from a Canadian Regional Tour
A West End Production
And then – the World?!
What Does Success Look Like?
The immediate success of our 2025 Off-Broadway run at The York Theatre Company will be measured not in financial profit (although there might well be some modest return on this initial investment) but in
1) a positive response from the audience and/or the critics, and
2) in any serious interest from other producers and theatres in continuing to develop the show on other stages in Canada, US Regionals, or NYC Commercial Off-Broadway and Broadway Producers.
Ultimately, financial success will result from future transfers, remounts or additional productions of the show.
Modest financial returns could result from runs at both Canadian and US Regional Theatres, and significant financial returns could result from Commercial Off-Broadway or Broadway runs in NYC, or Commercial runs at a Mirvish or other Canadian commercial theatres.
Our Producing Team
Our Creative Team
Marek Norman - Music
Jim Betts - Book & Lyrics
Stacey Tookey - Director/Choreographer
Mark Camilleri - Musical Director
Astrid Janson - Designer
Keanu Uchida - DANCER
Sterling Jarvis - BREVARD
Gene Gabriel - THE GRAND SÉNOR
Sam Rosenthal - DARYL
Barbara Barsky - WINNIE
Artem Tikhonenko - Dance Company
Louise Camilleri - Hoofbeat
Anna Marchisello - Associate Choreographer/Director
Jonathan Cullen - Hoofbeat
Emily Masurkevitch - Hoofbeat
Kate Barris - Lead Producer
Tom Diamond - Director Mentor
Nona Macdonald Heaslip - Supporter Emerita
Joe Rosenthal - Inspiration Emeritus
...and more to come...
The Official Document
Oh What A Ride!
Front Money Development Agreement
June 15, 2024
LISTEN TO SONGS FROM DANCER
Have a listen to tracks from Dancer the Musical at the Toronto Fringe 2023
Thanks to Marek Norman & David Bradstreet