Are Try Outs Really Worth It?

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 8/29/13 at 6:51pm

With Aladdin confirmed today to play Broadway (worst kept secret on the White Way), but before then it is going to have a try out in Toronto, Broadway bound If/Only is also having a try out in Washington D.C. and the newly arriving Big Fish also had a try out in Chicago. Also a play is having a try out bizarrely in Berkeley with Waiting for Godot/No Man's Land

Some of the most successfully Broadway musicals in recent history have had try outs such as Spamalot, pippin, Matilda, Kinky Boots, The Lion King, Wicked and The Producers etc, but some musicals have been successfully and come to Broadway such as Motown and Book of Mormon.

So are try Outs worth the hassle?

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/29/13 at 6:51pm

Yes.

[dshnookie]

Posted: 8/29/13 at 6:59pm

I think you answered your own question with your list of successful shows that had out-of-town try outs, however it's not a perfect formula.

Two shows that spring to mind, Mermaid and Addams Family both had try outs and weren't successful on Broadway - not sure how Addams fared during its tour, though.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/29/13 at 7:02pm

There will NEVER be a way to guarantee the success of a show. Ever. Going "out of town" to "Try out" a show does however, give the creators a chance to look at the thing and make changes and hopefully improvements.

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 8/29/13 at 7:13pm

^Or kill the thing and realize it isn't worth it to take it to Broadway.

While it's always nice and exciting when shows go straight to Broadway, it usually makes far more sense for them to try out out of town where the costs are far lower, there's plenty of time to make major changes before transferring, the stakes aren't as high and the critics are (in all likelihood) more forgiving.

[gleek4114]

Posted: 8/29/13 at 7:17pm

While The Addams Family was not favored by critics it was a commercial success. It did run for almost 2 years. Same with Motown, critics hate it people love it.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 8/29/13 at 7:31pm

Try-outs allow the producers and creative team an opportunity to see their work on stage, and how it plays to an audience. OOTs are also MUCH less expensive to run than in a Broadway theatre. It makes sense to prepare a show OOT and then bring it to New York. You have to have time and money to accomplish this.

Regardless of whether you play OOT first or not, your show may or may not be successful, but the above advantages can increase your chances to be a hit.

[HenryTDobson]

Posted: 8/29/13 at 7:34pm

Having an out of town try out gives the creators a little more time to tweak their work. As Ms. Ripley so kindly yelled at us, musical theater is a form of artwork. It never hurts to have a rough draft before giving us the final product. Every show is different and has different needs, of course, but I would say that out of town try outs are necessary for most shows.

Women on a Verge is a good example of a show that would have excelled if it had a try out period. It had a great cast, score, even script - it just needed more time to mold the director's vision (or lack of one) together.

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 8/29/13 at 9:34pm

In the case of Big Fish, the out of town tryout gave the writers lots of feedback from audiences and critics alike about what needs to be done to the show. Had it opened cold on Broadway like that, it probably wouldn't be very well received, but there was enough potential in it that given the whole summer to rewrite the show, it could (and should) be absolutely fantastic.

[Dave13]

Posted: 8/29/13 at 9:43pm

Wicked supposedly had several changes during the three months it closed in San Francisco and its opening on Broadway. I believe a few scenes were taken out completely while in San Francisco. It seemed to workout just fine.

[Kad]

Posted: 8/29/13 at 9:44pm

It is pretty uncommon for shows to open cold on Broadway. Book of Mormon is certainly an exception- and that did have extensive workshopping.

Whether it's off-Broadway or in another city, try outs are invaluable.

[Amalia3]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 1:01pm

OOT's are useful and expensive. They can add around 2 million to the budget of a show. I think it really depends on the show itself. Let's face it. If the bones of the show are really good, it won't really matter if you go out of town or stay -- as long as you have a sufficient preview period. The risk of OOT's these days is that there is no privacy to work anymore, and you run the risk of getting stranded out there if your reviews are not good enough. But yes, if you can go OOT, it's probably a good idea.

[Hank]

Posted: 8/31/13 at 12:20pm

I was thinking the same thing when I saw the first preview of Book of Mormon, but that was an exception. These guys knew what they had, and sure enough they got it right.

[blaxx]

Posted: 9/1/13 at 4:17am

While The Addams Family was not favored by critics it was a commercial success

LOL!

[blaxx]

Posted: 9/1/13 at 4:19am

Broadway bound If/Only is also having a try out in Washington D.C.

You should try out looking up the show's actual name. Then you'll know if try outs are worth it.

[binau]

Posted: 9/1/13 at 4:48am

"While The Addams Family was not favored by critics it was a commercial success. It did run for almost 2 years."

I don't believe THE ADDAMS FAMILY recouped its investment, so it seems to be a critical and commercial failure. On Broadway, anyway.