# The Speakeasy

Critically-acclaimed San Francisco theater; over $2M in tickets already sold

## Elevator pitch
We’ve created a totally unique immersive theatre experience that’s part nightclub, part stage show, and part time-machine inside our authentically recreated Prohibition-era saloon. Grab a drink and follow the actors as they move through the many rooms of The Speakeasy, playing out 35 interlocking storylines. It’s a real-life “choose your own adventure” with surprises around every corner.

- Canonical URL: https://wefunder.com/the.speakeasy
- Entity ID: wefunder:company:9651
- Last updated: 2026-06-10T05:00:04Z
- Generated at: 2026-06-10T22:25:31Z

## Quick facts
- Profitable within four months of opening in September 2016
- Over $2 million in tickets sold, more than 20,000 people have already seen the show
- Featured more than 30 times in regional and national media, including radio, TV, online, and print
- Awarded highest rating by San Francisco Chronicle theatre critic, the equivalent of a 5-star review

## Active fundraises
- wefunder:fundraise:8217: 4(a)(6) successful (USD)
- wefunder:fundraise:5643: 4(a)(6) successful (USD)

## FAQ
1. **How long will the production last?**
   - If I knew the answer to that, I'd already be sitting on a beach in Tahiti sipping Mai Tais. Theatre productions are impossible to forecast. I've produced more than 30 shows in my career, and the truth is you just never know. Our goal for this production is a minimum of five years. Our lease on the venue is for twenty-five years (including multiple option periods). The audience will determine how long the show runs.
2. **If you can reach the same level of success as your first "test" show in the new space, what is the expected annual return for investors and if profitable how often do you plan to distribute profits?**
   - Profit distributions only take place after recoupment (read more about this in my long note in response to Nick Steffey's question). After that, if we reached the same level of success as the first production, I would estimate Series B unitholders to earn 15-20% returns annually. But I have to put a disclaimer in here: proforma financial projections are not part of our SEC filing and cannot be relied upon for your investing decision. This estimate is pure speculation! Profits are required to ...
3. **When is the funding deadline?**
   - There is no strict deadline, but in practical terms, once tickets go on sale June 9, our need for capital will diminish. If tickets sell like gangbusters, we are going to evaluate our liquidity, and ask ourselves whether we need to keep selling equity. I'd say we should know by June 30 what the real target for this offering is, i.e., $400K or $700K or $1 million. When we hit our goal, we'll close.
4. **What was your total investment and revenue for the test show?**
   - We spent $275,000 to build, rehearse, and perform the first production for 10 weeks. The plan was to raise $200K in investment and the rest from grants and contributions. We were only able to raise $60K, through a Reg D private placement. We bootstrapped the rest of it through aggressive cash flow management and by using advance ticket sales as a source of liquidity. With our proof-of-concept behind us, we were much more successful with our Reg D offering this time, raising $945,000. That fir...
5. **Hi David, Congratulations on getting this far! Very impressive! $2,000 is the minimum? For the Tour of the venue, do we just show up or reserve?**
   - Hi John, thanks for the kudos. Please email me at investor@thespeakeasysf.com to reserve a spot in one of the tours.

## Team
- David Gluck (Producer & General Manager)
- Nick Olivero (Producer & Creative Director)
- Geoffrey Libby (Producer & Operations Director)

## Recent posts
- The Speakeasy Hits 100th Performance & Strives to Hit Its Tipping Point (2017-07-07T17:38:47Z)

## Q&A
- Q: Greetings David, I never received any distribution checks, please let me know how I can go about contacting you
- Q: Hi David, what will the latest news about the run closing mean for the rest of our investment payback? And has there been more than one payment so far? I think I only received one. Thanks.
  - A: Hi Alan, at this point I have emailed all Wefunder investors directly, but I'm happy to repeat the essential information here. We are transitioning the show from a year-round schedule to a seasonal producing model, to better meet demand and control costs. The company is not going out of business. In our public announcements, we are positioning this as an indefinite closure, as a tactic to drive ticket sales for the remaining 2019 dates. The 2019 season will close on August 4, and the 2020 season will open on September 3. We are maintaining our lease on the venue; during the 13-month hiatus, our producing partner, Boxcar Theatre, will be responsible for all occupancy costs and will operate the venue primarily for private events. The impact on Wefunder investors will differ for equity and debt investors, and I've discussed that a bit more in my direct emails to each group. The key take-away from this should be the fact that we are responsive to market conditions and reinventing our business model to continue rewarding the leap of faith that our investors made.
- Q: Were there any distribution checks sent out recently to loan holders? I didn't receive one if they did. thanks
- Q: I have committed to a $2,000 investment. If you consider changing the terms I would up my commitment. For example, consider capping the round at $200,000, the minimum, to ensure a very healthy 30% Plus return if the target sales are met. I believe you will have a much better chance of reaching the $200,000 minimum if you cap it to target the much higher potential return to investors.
- Q: Hello, hoping you can help me with the math here. Based on your monthly revenue chart that you posted above, let's say you earn $150K/mo, so $1.8M for the year. 2% of that gross revenue figure, or just $36K gets distributed to investors, correct? Thanks, and congratulations on your success.
  - A: Hi Eric, the chart above shows the revenue for the first production of "The Speakeasy," which took place during 2014 at a much smaller venue. The current production is in a venue almost three times the square footage that holds an audience at least twice as large. Our current revenue projections are in the range of $3 million to $3.5 million per year, which means the annual payment on the revenue share debt would be $60,000 to $70,000. Your ROI will depend on how much money we actually raise. The minimum offering amount is $200K, and the max is $550K. The 2% revenue share is distributed pro-rata regardless of the amount raised by the offering. So ... if we hit these revenue projections, the ROI at the minimum offering amount of $200K would be 30-35%; the ROI at the maximum offering amount of $550K would be 11-13%. Finally, please keep in mind that our revenue projections are only guesses and you should not rely on them when you make your investment decision. We have no experience running this show in this venue and have no historical basis for projecting revenue and profitability. If we fall short of these revenue goals, the ROI could be substantially less than the figures I mentioned above.
- Q: Now that the production is one of only 3 things in the all of NorCal that are on the equity do not work list, is there any plan to ever return to doing productions?https://www.actorsequity.org/resources/DoNotWork/
- Q: How are things looking for the holiday party season?
- Q: What is the current status of The Speakeasy? Have you shuttered for good or are you still a viable business? Is there any hope investors will recoup their investments?
- Q: As an investor I am more wondering if my "investments" were more of a donation or if there is a chance to eventually get paid out hopefully. What are the different options ranging from worst case to best case scenarios? (to realistic) Worst case, it was a donation, best case big bucks will be seen in a few months? years? decades? (and why would a payout even be given under what circumstances?) The realistic scenario? I also see an email saying you guys are closed forever?! Does that mean no more income and we lost our investment?
  - A: Hi Joseph, thanks for your questions. For the sake of clarity -- for you and everyone else reading this post -- we made two very different offerings on Wefunder, resulting in two groups of investors. The circumstances are different for each group. You invested in our "revenue share promissory notes," and like all the investors in that offering, you have already received two payments totaling almost 30% of your original investment. The other group received a standard equity interest in the company, and there have been no distributions to those investors.During 2019, we decided that it was in the best interest of the company and its investors to move from a year-round performance schedule to a seasonal model. The 2019 season closed on August 4. In our final marketing push, we simply stated that the show was closing, to more strongly motivate purchase. We didn't mention a shift to a seasonal model.Since the last performance on August 4, our venue partner Boxcar Theatre has been operating the venue for private parties and special events such as Halloween and New Years Eve parties. A portion of the revenue from all those activities continues to accrue to the benefit of investors in The Speakeasy. The company you invested in continues to exist but has no current operations and very little expenses, and so is earning a small net profit from events at the venue.Our intention is to resume performances of The Speakeasy later this year. At this point, the date and schedule has not been set, but our current thinking is for a 12-13 week run of performances, beginning after Labor Day.What does this mean for the profitability of the company, and your investment? It's impossible to say exactly. But we are still fighting hard to make money for you and all the investors. We haven't given up yet, and neither should you!
- Q: I also did not receive a check last year. The email went out and I replied with info about an address change and never got any further contact. How do we go about addressing that?
- Q: Will there be any return on my investment? I have never received any money, but the tax return shows a profit.
  - A: As most investors already know, in May we made the decision to switch from a year-round performance schedule to a seasonal model. The intent is to consolidate demand in a way that will increase overall profitability. The 2019 season ended in early August, and the 2020 season will run from Sep-Dec. We are optimistic that this change will generate enough profit that we will be able to distribute some return to our investors.
- Q: Thanks David. As always you are responsive and forthcoming when it comes to investor relations, and I appreciate that!
- Q: Hi David! I went to the Speakeasy this past weekend and loved the experience! The acting and story lines seemed more fleshed out and I loved interacting with the actors. However, I had a few complaints about the cocktail list from the guests who accompanied me. The black manhattan was particularly unpopular and the russian mistress didn't seem to have real ginger beer (my guess was that you used a ginger infused vodka). Can I ask what went into that black manhattan? It tasted like incense or something. Two of my friends independently ordered, but couldn't finish that cocktail, which I've honestly never seen. I have no problem with odd or interesting cocktails, but when there are only a handful of choices, it'd be nice have more crowd pleasers - or an accurate explanation of their flavors.
  - A: Hi Reid, I'm glad you enjoyed the show. Audiences are really responding well to the new script. Our post-show surveys are averaging 9 out of 10 for the quality of the production. It's interesting that your friends didn't care for the Black Manhattan. Over our 300+ performances, the Black Manhattan is the best selling cocktail on the menu by a wide margin. And currently, the second best-selling cocktail is the Russian Mistress. Last weekend, audience members ordered the Black Manhattan 175 times and the Russian Mistress 153 times. The third place cocktail was the Doctor's Orders with 106 ordered. The key ingredient in the Black Manhattan is Averna, which replaces the vermouth in the classic version. Averna is an Italian bitter liqueur (classified as an amaro, in the same family with Fernet), concocted from a secret, centuries-old recipe. We use Four Roses bourbon, add a dash of Angostura bitters, and finish the cocktail with a flamed orange peel. The Russian Mistress is indeed made with real ginger beer, not infused vodka: Fentiman's ginger beer and New Amsterdam vodka, garnished with a healthy squeeze of fresh lime. I guess it all comes down to a question of taste. You advise that we offer crowd-pleasing cocktails, and that is exactly why we keep the Black Manhattan and the Russian Mistress on the menu. Our bartenders are also capable of making any other cocktail you might request, regardless of whether it's on the menu, and provided that we stock the ingredients (and we stock a lot of ingredients). There's a note at the bottom of every menu inviting guests to order off the menu if they're not inspired by what they see there. And of course we will replace any cocktail that a guest finds unpalatable, at no cost. I saw at least one instance of a bartender doing this on Saturday night. Maybe it was for one of your friends, who ended up with something more to their own particular taste.
- Q: Hi David, I no longer have access to the email address I used when I invested. I have updated my WeFunder account with my current email. When I tried to email you at investors@thespeakeasysf.com with my current email address, I received notification that I did not have permission. Can my current email be added or is there another email address I can reach you at? Thanks for your help and I wish WeFunder had private messaging.
  - A: Hi Scott, sorry for the inconvenience. We think we've got investors@ fixed, so please try it again, but if that doesn't work, you can use my email: david.gluck@thespeakeasysf.com​
- Q: Hi David, I never received a check. Is there an email address I can reach out to you? Thanks.
  - A: Hi Scott, I tried to reach out directly with the email address we have on file for you, but my message bounced. Please contact me via investors@thespeakeasysf.com with an updated email address, and I will send you the payment information you've requested.​