“Let’s hear it for the Rainbow Tour” – Part Two

Post title: “Rainbow Tour” from Evita

When I first started my blog, I briefly mentioned Broadway tours.  Consider this post a more in-depth discussion on the subject.  For many of us (including me), national tours are our first glimpse of the world of Broadway.  I saw the national tour of The Lion King quite a while before I saw my first Broadway show – it was so long ago, in fact, that I only remember a couple of details about the trip, and nothing from the show itself.

Tonight, while taking on (another) a small personal project, I realized that I’ve seen over forty national tours – and I haven’t even completed my list.  I’m lucky enough that I live about an hour from The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford, Connecticut.  It’s a venue that hosts several touring companies a year, which they call “the Bushnell Broadway series.”  It’s a beautiful location, home to two stunning theaters.  It’s the Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s home, and also plays host to Ha Ha Hartford and a multitude of special guests throughout the year.  I’ve seen numerous shows at the Bushnell, and I absolutely love going there.  But what makes Broadway national tours so special?

1.  They’re closer to home.

For me, New York City’s Theatre District is only about a 4-hour bus or train ride, but for so many other theatre fans the distance between home and the city that never sleeps is staggering.  Traveling there might mean long hours in a car or on a bus, train, plane, or combination of transportation.  Traveling companies allow audience members to skip the travel fees and stress and opt for something closer to home.  Finding a venue near you is pretty simple.  One of the links at the bottom of this post is a great resource if you live in the U.S. 

2.  They’re less expensive.

This is a major selling point for national tours.  Not only do you get to skip outrageous traveling costs, but ticket prices are often less than you might pay to see a show in New York City.  Be careful, though, because sometimes cheaper tickets mean a production is Non-Equity (non-union), and that starts getting political.  (Aside: a discussion about Actors’ Equity is an idea for a future post!)  As a whole, though, purchasing tickets for tours can be less expensive than a trip to Broadway, which can be a major selling point.

3.  The casts are up-and-coming.

When you pay for your ticket to a national tour, you’re probably not paying to see Broadway’s biggest stars – with some exceptions.  Lucie Arnaz (daughter of I Love Lucy‘s Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz) recently did a stint in the national tour of Pippin, and Billy Porter from Broadway’s Kinky Boots will swap to the touring production during its performances in his hometown.  And once upon a time, I was amazed to see the Shirley Jones in The Music Man.  These opportunities, as fantastic as they may be, are exceptions. Traditionally, touring casts are actors with fewer credits than their Broadway counterparts, (unless the show has come directly from Broadway, i.e. Pippin or Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella).  The cool thing about seeing fresh faces is that you can follow them on their professional journey, and possibly even say that you saw one of their first credits.  That does not, however, take away from their talent!  Touring casts consist of professionals!

4.  The casts are so nice!

Many theatre fans take pleasure in greeting actors after the final curtain at Broadway shows at the Stage Door.  On tour, there are also opportunities to take part in this beloved ritual.  Be sure to ask at your local venue what the policies are (although may staff might not have an answer/understand what you’re talking about) and where the stage door is located.  I recently discovered that touring casts are so nice because I only started visiting them after shows within the last year.  So far, I’ve met the touring casts of Evita, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Pippin, and Nice Work If You Can Get It, to name a few.  Everyone has been incredibly kind and willing to not only sign playbills but also pose for pictures – even in the bitter winter of January and February in Connecticut!  Several people I’ve met have struck up conversations with me (during the warmer months) and its awesome to see their reactions to your thoughts about the show and hear about their experiences on the road.  Don’t feel like you have to skip visiting the stage door, because the casts appreciate the love!

5.  The shows are high quality.

Like, the highest quality.  These people perform their show around eight times a week, even though they might not have a traditional New York schedule – in fact, touring productions normally don’t.  The point is, the people working on Broadway shows are paid for what they do.  They may not have names you recognize, but they’re professionals.  The creative people behind the show have likely worked long hours taking a full-scale Broadway show and making it travel sized.  The show has been adapted for travel – set pieces might fold or be adapted to be loaded onto trucks every few weeks (or more often).  Some pieces, though, are just too large to carry around on the road.  For example, the golf cart in Legally Blonde the Musical did not travel with the touring company.  The same can be said for the boat in The Phantom of the Opera.  Most pieces, though, are adapted or created to be portable (or as portable as can be).  Examples include backdrops, large set pieces (think the barricade in Les Misérables), and props.  Everything travels with a company!  Often, tours launch after Broadway shows have closed.  This could mean that audiences around the country come face-to-face with the actual sets and/or props that were used in New York.  Every effort is made to create the highest quality production possible.

Bonus: Touring before Broadway!

A new trend has started as of late!  Instead of following the norm in terms of a show’s life: workshopping, out-of-town tryout, previews, Broadway, national tour… Shows are touring before Broadway!  Some examples include Flashdance the Musical and Miss Saigon (currently running in London’s West End).  Once upon a time, it was normal, if not expected, for shows to tour the country before opening on Broadway.  Now, the conventional expectation is completely the opposite.  But the few exceptions are exciting news for theatre fans across the country – they give audiences a chance to see a new show before everyone else!  So if a national tour is coming to a theater near you, but you’ve never heard of the show, consider buying a ticket because you could be one of the first people to see it – ever.  Because above all, isn’t that what theatre is about: creating new and unique experiences through art?  

For additional resources about Broadway tours, and to find one near you, check out Broadway.com’s Broadway Across America and Broadway.org’s list of touring productions.  Plus, be sure to check out episode number 44 of The Ensemblist, which is all about “Life on Tour.”  And just go ahead and listen to all of their episodes while you’re at it, because they are all fantastic.