At this point, the budget has grown from about $14 million, including a reserve fund, to as much as $16 million, Sprecher said in an interview.
He needs to raise about $7 million more, he said, if it’s to open this year.
“Restarting a musical isn’t free,” he said, citing storage costs for sets, repeatedly loading them into the theater and forfeiting bonds to Actors’ Equity and other unions, among other expenses.
The SEC investigation adds to Sprecher’s woes, which escalated when he hired Mark Hotton, a former Oppenheimer & Co. broker, to raise money. Hotton strung him along with invented investors and was later charged in federal court with wire fraud. (He has pleaded not guilty.)
Kevin Callahan, an SEC spokesman, declined to comment. Runsdorf didn’t return calls.
Personal Investment
Sprecher remains intent on producing the show. The Rebecca Broadway LP company has raised $5.7 million, according to a Feb. 26 filing with the SEC. An additional $2 million is in escrow, he said, available as long as he raises enough to open. He and Forlenza are prepared to invest a total of about $1 million of their own.
They continue beating the bushes for angels. Barbara and Philip Sellinger, both lawyers, hosted a March 11 backers’ audition at their home in Convent Station, New Jersey, 33 miles west of Manhattan. About 100 people attended, Barbara Sellinger said. Four originally cast members sang a short medley from the show.
Barbara Sellinger is investing in it, as she did in “A Tale of Two Cities,” a $16 million flop that closed after 60 regular performances in 2008.
“You have to look at each thing individually,” she said. “Just because you’re involved with one show that didn’t have a long life on Broadway, it doesn’t mean you can’t be involved with another show.”