A Billion Dollar Idea

I have a great idea. Let's organize a "Junior Broadway" program across the nation. Let's let college drama programs compete against each other for the right to perform on Broadway stages. If we like the touring Broadway productions now ("The Lion King" was sold out virtually its entire run here in Spokane), let's expand them, and have these productions run in cities across the nation.

For instance, if the USC drama program wins, they could start a touring company of "Oklahoma!", bringing it to theater-starved audiences across the nation. Heck, we could even sell TV or video rights. Think of all the money this could bring in for the organizers, for the colleges, and for the cities that host the productions.

I've got an even better idea. Let's not pay the performers anything. After all, they're amateurs. Under the guise of keeping college theater "pure," we can take all the money for ourselves.

Seem unfair? Something like this is going on right now. It's called big-time college athletics.