Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

How to Choose Which Play to Tour?

(One of my brother's many creative hats: he does freelance development for a TV production company in Minneapolis. He's proposing a non-fiction series that will follow a touring Broadway show around the country. He asked for my input).

Michael:

I did a feature, miles ago, about a touring company of The Rocky Horror Show. Wanted to know if cities responded differently, and how people interrupted, and how the actors had to adjust.

Among other things I learned that fans, often dressed as one of the characters, waited by the stage door after, some convinced that the real Brad or Janet or Frank N. Furter would come out.

That feature made me wonder:

How does a production company like the Niederlanders choose which play or musical to tour? Name recognition? Do they pre-test markets? Why do shows miss the cut?

Obviously the cost of moving from city to city's a factor, but how much? And how do they travel - literally trucks and buses? How many trucks?

How much of the original design can they transport? How do they account for the differing sizes of stages. Can one set fit all? Same with sound and lighting (they must know a theater's capabilities well in advance - have them on computer, no?).

Wear and tear: costumes and props take a pounding. How big is the support crew (seamstresses, etc.)? I wonder if period plays would be an unpopular choice, given the details, like wigs, they require (though period musicals flourish).

Casting: a star vehicle or ensemble? Where does the star stay? Where the ensemble?

How do they keep the show in shape? Does the director make occasional house calls? Or does the Stage Manager conduct rehearsals on the road?

Speaking of whom - you could probably do a whole segment on the Stage Manager of a touring production. I can't even imagine an SM's responsibilities (do they burn out?).

Another segment: understudies and replacements.

A Week in the Life: most tours spend seven days in each city. What's that process: load in on Monday (or Sunday night?)? Tech. , Monday or Tuesday? Run the show. Strike the set Sunday. Caravan to the next stop. Must feel like relocating a village.

Just curious: do they change a show, in any way, for a specific city or region of the country. Some demographic editing here or there? Or do certain shows avoid certain regions altogether?

In other words, what might a production touring the country tell us about the country?

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Best Sports Betting Sites - 10 Online Sportsbooks Ranked for 2024

Best Sports Betting Sites (2024) - Reviews of TOP Online Sportsbooks
Next Article

2024 continues to impress with yellowfin much closer to San Diego than they should be

New rockfish regulations coming this week as opener approaches

(One of my brother's many creative hats: he does freelance development for a TV production company in Minneapolis. He's proposing a non-fiction series that will follow a touring Broadway show around the country. He asked for my input).

Michael:

I did a feature, miles ago, about a touring company of The Rocky Horror Show. Wanted to know if cities responded differently, and how people interrupted, and how the actors had to adjust.

Among other things I learned that fans, often dressed as one of the characters, waited by the stage door after, some convinced that the real Brad or Janet or Frank N. Furter would come out.

That feature made me wonder:

How does a production company like the Niederlanders choose which play or musical to tour? Name recognition? Do they pre-test markets? Why do shows miss the cut?

Obviously the cost of moving from city to city's a factor, but how much? And how do they travel - literally trucks and buses? How many trucks?

How much of the original design can they transport? How do they account for the differing sizes of stages. Can one set fit all? Same with sound and lighting (they must know a theater's capabilities well in advance - have them on computer, no?).

Wear and tear: costumes and props take a pounding. How big is the support crew (seamstresses, etc.)? I wonder if period plays would be an unpopular choice, given the details, like wigs, they require (though period musicals flourish).

Casting: a star vehicle or ensemble? Where does the star stay? Where the ensemble?

How do they keep the show in shape? Does the director make occasional house calls? Or does the Stage Manager conduct rehearsals on the road?

Speaking of whom - you could probably do a whole segment on the Stage Manager of a touring production. I can't even imagine an SM's responsibilities (do they burn out?).

Another segment: understudies and replacements.

A Week in the Life: most tours spend seven days in each city. What's that process: load in on Monday (or Sunday night?)? Tech. , Monday or Tuesday? Run the show. Strike the set Sunday. Caravan to the next stop. Must feel like relocating a village.

Just curious: do they change a show, in any way, for a specific city or region of the country. Some demographic editing here or there? Or do certain shows avoid certain regions altogether?

In other words, what might a production touring the country tell us about the country?

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.