Best touring production you have ever seen? — Page 3

Jarethan said: "Barbara Cook The new version of Les Miserables about 5-6 years ago, in Tampa. I loved the inclusion of drawings from the original book, and the staging of Javert's suicide in particular, and never noticed that there was no barricade.

Hello Dolly with Pearl Bailey, at the humungous, long since gone Arie Crown Theatre in Chicago. Bailey and Cab Calloway were as committed as they were right after they opened on Broadway. I never liked the Carol Channing version because it was so obvious that there were plants in the audience to generate standing ovations after the title song and So Long, Dearie. On the other hand,Channing was still great at 73 (I think), although she was so thin that she looked like a corpse.

Finally, what I believe was a B&T production of The King and I (it only ran 3 or 4 performances) a year or two ago in Sarasota. It was a proscenium version of the Bartlett Sher production at Lincoln Center, and worked extremely well. The womanwho played Anna was the second best Anna I have seen, after Donna Murphy. (I did also see Angela Lansbury, Faith Prince, Constance Towers, Mary Beth Peil, Hayley Mills (don't ask), and Kelli O'Hara.
Jarethan:

If you are referring to the Summer 1975 production of Dolly at the Arie Crown, you saw the late Billy Daniels; not Cab Calloway.

Bailey and Calloway DID play the Auditorium in Chicago together in 1971.

There was a touring production of Cinderella starring Eartha Kitt as the Fairy Godmother. It may not be the best touring production I ever saw but I certainly enjoyed it immensely and still often think of it. It's a shame the production did not get a cast album. I still prefer that adaptation over Douglas Carter Beane's Broadway version. It was a joy to see Eartha Kitt in person and she was delightfully droll as the Fairy Godmother.

I find the current touring production of JCS the most impressive version I've seen.

Ditto The Humans and Curious Incident mentioned above.

Updated On: 10/31/19 at 12:49 AM

I can't give a verdict on this yet, but I'll come back to this post after I see Mean Girls on tour next month with my verdict.

Magic, I still cannot send you a PM. Either when I reply or when I try to send a new one. Not sure what the issue is there.



I want to add the Once tour as well. Even though I admittedly didn't enjoy the show much, the cast was wonderful and top notch. They did an excellent job casting there. This was the original first national tour as well.

This is very fresh in my mind cause I just saw it a couple of days ago at the Pantages in LA, but Jesus Christ Superstar was beyond phenomenal. This was my introduction to the show so I had no expectations and was blown away by every aspect of this production. The Pippin tour was also incredible a few years ago.

Wow, after reading this thread I feel SO old. The first national tour I ever saw, which ties for the best, was the original national tour of My Fair Lady, which was a nearly complete reproduction of the original Broadway production. The only difference was that the Mark Hellinger had a large revolving turntable and Oliver Smith had to reproduce his original designs for a straight proscenium stage without a turntable. Small difference.

The tour was on its last leg and starred Gaylea Byrne and Ronald Drake. Spring 1962 in Greensboro, NC. (I was VERY young!) The tour had been famous for being the equal of the New York production. My grandmother basically forced my father to drive us to Greensboro from Winston-Salem to see it because she had seen it on Broadway and thought I would love it. I was enchanted and my father actually loved it too and was grateful he had given in to my grandmother. My grandmother thought it was better than what she had seen in New York.

Having seen the original Moss Hart staging exasperated my disappointment in Cukor's film version two years later, which I had eagerly anticipated and still find much more than lacking. Cukor is otherwise one of my favorite directors.

Was going to post much more but it's too late, I'm falling asleep. The tie was the second or third national tour of How to Succeed, starring Hal England and Jeff DeBenning, replete with the original visuals, staging and the Fosse choreography. Yes, I know he's credited with only musical staging and not the choreography but that's a very long story and he in fact did all the choreography except for the Treasure Hunt ballet. Such a smart, snarky, mean and hysterically funny show. All qualities missing from the two Broadway revivals.

Third best was the last Equity tour of Ragtime. I saw it at NJPAC and almost all the principals had been Broadway replacements I had seen before. The last tour had been physically scaled down at that point but I felt like I was going home. Afterwards, I went back and took my late partner and he said "Every time you take me to see Ragtime it gets smaller and better." Lovena Fox as Sarah was the weakest acted but by far the best sung I have ever heard. She was wonderful, as were they all.

Updated On: 11/5/19 at 01:59 AM

LRey95 said: "Lot666 said: "LRey95 said: "I was most impressed with Phantom - that set is HUGE and it was a wonder to me how they could fit it all on that stage! Everything about it was superb."

Just curious, have you seen the Broadway production?"

I have not. I’m sure it’s even greater. I can really only speak on 3 touring productions I’ve seen lol."

I had a lot of problems with the CamMac touring production of Phantom, not the least of which was the minimization of the iconic boat journey to the lair. This was not just a matter of preferring one visual approach over another, it was the fact that they literally made the boat journey encompass about 5-6 feet. In the original production, the boat appears upstage with the Phantom and Christine already in it, and it makes its way downstage as they sing the final verse of the title song. But in the touring production, they SHOW the Phantom and Christine step off the landing and into the boat, the boat then moves about 5-6 feet, and then they reach the second landing and disembark. Like the chandelier, this makes the boat virtually pointless.

The first national tour of CATS in Boston in the 1980s because....well, Laurie Beechman.

Also, the national tour of PETER PAN, which I had originally seen on Broadway (my first Broadway show). Again in Boston and because of ....well, Sandy Duncan.

Two theatrical events I will never ever forget due to the incredible performers who were in them.

Updated On: 11/5/19 at 07:48 AM