Profile for ErmengardeStopSniveling

It doesn't matter what is "usually" done.

There are no rules.

While it's not as common for a show to downscale for Broadway, every show has a budget and every show has to make compromises. (See also: the PARADE and MATTRESS transfers, which decreased the orchestra)

I'd be shocked if they don't trim the orchestra from what was in Chicago, even if it's just losing 2-4 players. 18 would be the largest orchestra for a proper musical to play the Broadhurst since a pair of Garth Drabinsky musicals in the 1990s: FOSSE (20) and SPIDER WOMAN (22). And Garth was not known for his budget-consciousness.

ANDY KARL!

It’s a little silly for shows to celebrate anniversaries seeing as they were closed for a year and a half…focus only on the milestone number of performances.

or, as a friend who shares in this complaint quipped yesterday, “if the actors & crew weren’t on payroll for 5 years straight, it’s not an anniversary” :)

Hey you said it more nicely than I did!

LED lights are usually the budget-friendly choice, but sometimes the more oldschool LDs prefer to use gels and other types of lighting instruments because it offers a softer look. So it's a creative consideration, a budgetary consideration, and an environmental consideration.

Sorta like seeing Titanique or Disaster! downtown, or even "the corn musical" Shucked.

You walk in with low-ish expectations, and then come out saying "sh*t, that was way better than expected!"

Owen22 said: "I think the problem with doing the show at the Menier is that the ONLY marvelous number (stolen from the film) is the Springtime For Hitler number, which needs to be lavish. That's the joke. And that won't happen at the Chocolate Factory."

SFH can be effective without being opulent, it just needs to be rethought from the Stroman mold. There can be humor in an endearing scrappiness. But the number also needs a great Roger to land it.

Dolly80 said: "You can all stop stop speculating… they’ve already cast Max- Andy Nyman."

Andy Nyman is becoming the new Henry Goodman!

Broadway Flash said: "Do we know how much upcycling of sceneryand costumes is going on? Why don’t they build a cleaner place in midtown. Wouldn't that be easier for everybody? And much less gas."

There's no straight answer to this. It's going to vary show to show. Cost, appearance, and practicality are the sole major factors when building a show. Unless there's government legislation or extreme tax incentives, "upcycling" is never going to happen on a massive scale.

Sometimes entire packages of scenery/props and costumes get saved and rented out or purchased after a show closes, if an agreement between the producer, the union designer, and others can be made. There's your upcycling.

Theatre people are meticulous on Broadway. Designers and directors have extremely specific ideas about how things should look. That's their job.

Regional theatres do a lot of repurposing for budgetary reasons (repainting lumber, saving hardware and using it until the screws are stripped, reusing costume assets that they own, having a Props Storage). They can do that because they own these things and have a place to store them. A Broadway show is a startup and a musical is being built to last many years.

I don't know what you mean by "build a cleaner place" or who "they," is but drycleaning occurs primarily 10 miles away in the Bronx via Winzer Cleaners, which offers the best rates & level of expertise. Anything occurring in walking distance from the theatres is going to skyrocket because of rent costs. And large/heavy things would still probably have to be trucked.

Looks like there's only 3 offstage covers? That's REALLY over-optimistic for Covid times + a show this physically demanding + some performers who aren't of the musical theatre world and 8x a week is a beast.

RW3 said: "Is it bad that one of the first things I thought when the announcement came out was "So, is Shaina even involved with Devil Wears Prada anymore?"?"

Per another user on here, she's not actively involved and another individual (whose name escapes me) is credited with "additional lyrics" in the program for London.