The not-for-profit companies on the East Coast that have had the most success developing new works for Broadway are in New York City:
The Public -- Hair -- A Chorus Line -- Pirates of Penzance -- Caroline, or Change -- Topdog/Underdog -- Elaine Stritch At Liberty -- Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk -- Two Gentlemen of Verona -- Angels in America -- Well -- Take Me Out -- The Wild Party -- On The Town -- Plenty -- The Mystery of Edwin Drood -- For Colored Girls -- Streamers -- The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel -- Sticks and Bones
and several others
Playwrights Horizons -- Grey Gardens -- I Am My Own Wife -- The Dead -- Once on the is Island -- Assassins -- The Heidi Chronicles -- Sunday in the Park with George
Second Stage -- Spelling Bee -- The Little Dog Laughed
The Vineyard -- Avenue Q
Plus Roundabout, MTC and Lincoln Center have developed dozens of new works for Broadway that have played in their Tony-eligible Broadway spaces (American Airlines Theater, Studio 54, The Biltmore and the Vivian Beaumont).
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
Duke University in Durham, NC hosted LITTLE WOMEN before it came to Broadway.
North Carolina Theatre in Raleigh is hosting the pre-Broadway engagement of Frank Wildhorn's WAITING FOR THE MOON
Doesn't Pittsburgh CLO premiere touring productions of shows before they go out on the road?
"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle
Barrington began development of Spelling Bee as a non-musical play, but it wasn't until Second Stage that the composer William Finn and the director James Lapine were able to finish creating the full-fledged musical that then was able to move to Broadway.
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
Don't forget about the Atlantic Theater Company, and their two most recent Broadway offerings:
The Lieutenant of Inishmore and Spring Awakening
Drench yourself in words unspoken. Live your life with arms wide open. Today is where your book begins. The rest is still unwritten.
"Unwritten" Natasha Bedingfield
Couldn't resist putting in a plug for Actors Theatre of Louisville. "The Gin Game," "Crimes of the Heart," and "Agnes of God" started their road to Broadway there. As for Off-Broadway, "After Ashley," "Omnium-Gatherum," and "The Scene" were all showcased at ATL prior to their NYC runs.
I've read about Kiss of the Spiderwoman at SUNY Purchase on this board. Apparently, not a success. But Purchase (about 40 min. from the city) has wonderful theatres at its Performing Arts Center with a loyal following, not to mention a well-regarded acting conservatory. I feel like there are some untapped possibiltites there.
Margo- Wasn't I Am My Own Wife developed at the Playhouse, and then transferred for an off-broadway run? I don't think it was actually developed at Playwrights Horizon.
Playwrights did the world premiere production and funded at least one of the developmental workshops of I AM MY OWN WIFE (along with a couple of other theaters and a writers retreat Wright went on back in 2000 where he decided to put himself and his own experiences with von Mahlsdorf into the play), so it certainly deserves some of the credit.
From the IBDB entry:
"World premiere produced off-Broadway by and written with support from Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford: Artistic Director, Leslie Marcus: Managing Director); A workshop was presented by La Jolla Playhouse (Des McAnuff, Artistic Director & Terrence Dwyer, Managing Director); A workshop of this play was presented by About Face Theatre (Eric Rosen, Artistic Director)."
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
Atlanta's Alliance Theatre developed and premiered 'Aida', 'The Last Night of Ballyhoo', 'The Color Purple', and 'Blues for an Alabama Sky' amongst other shows.
No new shows or major revivals have moved from the Paper Mill to Broadway, though a couple of minor revivals (You Can't Take It With You and a failed production of I'm Not Rappaport) did make the transfer.
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney