Spring Awakening to go non-eq?

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 12/12/09 at 1:26pm

In my program for the Wizard of Oz, NETworks mentioned how their future projects included Les Miz, Handel's Messiah Rocks, and Spring Awakening. NETworks does do equity tours, but usually when an already touring show goes NETworks... it is going non-eq. I'd scan my program, but my scanner is being a beyotch. Does anyone know about this?

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 12/12/09 at 1:30pm

I wouldn't be surprised.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 12/12/09 at 1:31pm

A relatively small physical production with a very young cast. I'm surprised it hasn't happened already.

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 12/12/09 at 1:41pm

My only concern is that the orchestrations will be SO dumbed down that the score won't shine like it should. While the Wizard of Oz tour wasn't completely awful (not amazing, either)... it was really hard for me to enjoy "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" without string instruments. Spring Awakening isn't exactly a large orchestra/ band show, so hopefully it won't be a problem. NON-eq tours are usually more effective when the show requires a young cast, which SA does... so casting quality does not worry me.

[BroadwayBen]

Posted: 12/12/09 at 1:49pm

The grosses for the tour have been pretty low, so they probably had no choice.

[mywonderwa11]

Posted: 12/12/09 at 1:52pm

Not surprising. And I agree with AllThatJazz...there's no need to worry about the casting quality. There are so many extremely talented young actors who are non-equity out there.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/12/09 at 2:09pm

Except that it wouldn't be the current cast...they are already under contract. I would expect that "future" means just that: sometime in the not to near future.

If they can't really sell something well on the Equity tour...how well can a non-eq sell?

I know in Boston, they didn't sell out any single night of a month long run.

[tourboi]

Posted: 12/12/09 at 2:27pm

Dramamama, non eq tour would allow them to do shorter runs, from half week, to one night, which are easier to sell out than a full week or two. And yes, it'd be a new cast, but that doesn't mean they'd definitely be less talented. I actually think that because of the age requirements, it could be just as good, if not better with a non eq casting pool.

As for the reducing the band, why? It's not a big band, and NETworks didn't reduce RENT when they took that on the road. I'd expect the band to stay the same.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/12/09 at 3:01pm

I didn't think the tour cast was all that talented to begin with...but I didn't mean to imply anything about the talent that could be found.

But I do see your point about scheduling....but just how much could they pay the actors if they are only going to perform so sporadically? (I know very little of non-eq shows...don't get too many of those tours in Boston area.)

[singtopher]

Posted: 12/12/09 at 3:14pm

They can pay them whatever they want. It's non-eq. There are no regulations.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 12/12/09 at 3:30pm

It's not that they are performing sporadically. They will actually be performing quite a bit. Non-Eq tours often do 5-7 different cities in one week.

[tourboi]

Posted: 12/12/09 at 3:59pm

They'll probably be booked as long as a normal tour (20-30 weeks or so), some split weeks, some full weeks here and there. NETworks is actually one of the better paying companies, so they won't be hurting in that respect. They get paid weekly, not per performance.

In regards to the cast not being good, I saw the show in NY and was miserable. I still don't care for the show, but I saw the tour in Costa Mesa, and found the cast MUCH better than the cast in NY, particularly Taylor Trensch as Moritz.

[jake6970]

Posted: 12/12/09 at 6:46pm

Most of the cast was non equity when they got the show anyway, so if the tour was non equity from the start, the majority of the cast would still probably have been the same.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/12/09 at 7:04pm

thanks for clearing up the multi stop per week idea...makes much more sense that way.


As far as the tour v b'way....I suppose it depends on WHO was in the cast when you saw it...I don't really want to go into particulars or re-hashing info.

[nikklis]

Posted: 12/13/09 at 5:31am

I hope Spring Awakening goes on a non-Equity tour. I'd love to audition and to see the show again in California.

[FeelingElectric2]

Posted: 12/18/09 at 1:54am

Ok, I'm not exactly sure about this, but I heard that the show will be extending, so it may not end on May ( is it May? I just know it's in Florida)

How do I know? I met someone that auditioned for the tour very recently and was offered a role for 8 months on tour. According to him, they would have given him his equity card, but he denied the offer.

[tourboi]

Posted: 12/18/09 at 2:06am

I hope he had a KILLER job lined up because 8 months on tour, with salary, and per deum, is (in this economy) foolish to turn down.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/18/09 at 6:23am

Seems a big foolish to turn down...but living on the road isn't for everyone. (And then the question is: why audition if you didn't want to do it?)

[erinrebecca]

Posted: 12/18/09 at 8:47am

FeelingElectric, I'd be very skeptical of that claim by the person you met. First of all, 8 months is not the normal length of any contract I've heard of, and, as tourboi so aptly points out, any actor who would turn down an offer to book a job like that, in this economy, is more than a little foolish. The number of available auditions is way down these days, and the number AT the auditions is probably at its highest in about ten years. An actor who wants to work just doesn't turn down a job like that.

[Tom1071]

Posted: 12/18/09 at 10:28am

"My only concern is that the orchestrations will be SO dumbed down that the score won't shine like it should."

As another poster already stated, it's a small band to begin with so there is really nothing to dumb down. Not only that, there were portions that were canned from the get-go, even in the Broadway production.

[FeelingElectric2]

Posted: 12/18/09 at 11:02am

Well, I'm just reporting what I heard. Maybe I'm wrong or right, who knows?
I don't exactly now why he turned it down, we didn't get into much detail. But he did say that in the end, he wanted to finish his education first ( he has a full ride) and it would be safe to assume that after thinking about it, it seemed that tour life was not for him.

[Tom1071]

Posted: 12/18/09 at 11:16am

That would certainly be understandable for him to turn it down if he was still in school. He probably just auditioned for the experience and didn't expect to actually get an offer.