Biggest Showtowns Outside NY- Page 2

[justme2]

Posted: 8/17/05 at 3:40pm

As much as I love SF, I wouldn't consider it a theater town. We are only recently getting pre-broadway shows (Wicked, White Christmas, etc), and when a tour comes through here, 9 times out of 10 it's only here for 4 weeks.

I remember when Beauty and the Beast came to town, and I wanted to get tickets for the 8 year old....the show was here for two weeks only. 2 weeks??? Why even show up!!

Also many theaters are "dark"....A LOT..the old "under restoration" excuse is getting old, as we KNOW it was just dark the year before for the same thing!!

I can't remember the last time the Curran, Golden Gate, Post and Orpheum had shows running concurrently.

[gavrochegirl]

Posted: 8/17/05 at 3:41pm

Eh, L.A. isn't that big of a showtown. (Unless something like Wicked or Spamalot comes)

[erinrebecca]

Posted: 8/17/05 at 3:42pm

Toronto is definitely second after NYC in North America.

Justice, St. Paul may be great but Mamma Mia didn't debut there. If I'm not mistaken, its North American debut was in Toronto, after it had achieved success in London.

[TennesseeTwang]

Posted: 8/17/05 at 3:46pm

I've seen the same ranking that touchmeinthemorning from more than one source and I tend to agree with it. Of course, these type lists always depend on who's making them.
Updated On: 8/17/05 at 03:46 PM

[aegeusrocks]

Posted: 8/17/05 at 9:02pm

After looking through this, I'm not entirely sure why Sydney is on touchme's list. What goes on there? I know BFO started there, but other than that, no one seems to hear about musicals/plays happening there. It's probably 'cuz most don't come to NY or the US, but still, I didn't gather much about theater from WOSQ's explanation.

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 8/17/05 at 9:24pm

If we're talking within the US, I definitely say Chicago, second to New York.

Internationally, London, obviously, followed by Toronto and Sydney.

How about Hong Kong, Beijing and Tokyo? Where do they rank?

Also, how is Philly compared to most of these places? (within the US)

[VonTussleGirl]

Posted: 8/17/05 at 9:25pm

Buttonwillow, California is big.



Okay, so they got nothin'.

[Menken Fan]

Posted: 8/17/05 at 11:08pm

Absolutely Chicago. We have a lot of every kind of theatre here - I can't even keep up with all the shows I'd like to see. We also get many pre-Broadway runs. I must have seen a couple dozen big shows here before NYC.

[HeyYeah1988@comcast.]

Posted: 8/17/05 at 11:33pm

Chicago is a Big Theater town. there are alot of smaller theaters in the city y for improv houses anad hold other locall productions. As for Tryouts Chicago has Had- Aida, The Producers, Movin'Out, Mamma Mia. 5 of those 6 are still running on broadway. Wicked in Chic. is still selling out it made 1.2 mllion in it's first week here as a an open ended run something that took B'way 36 weeks to do; and the B'way on even had 13 week where it was sold out, prior to matching the Chicago production.

[aegeusrocks]

Posted: 8/17/05 at 11:36pm

Hey Yeah, don't forget that we got Spamalot too. Make it six running on Bway. And Chi-town was The Light in the Piazza's second, and only other stop after Seattle on its way to the Great White Way.

[BeingAlive]

Posted: 8/17/05 at 11:43pm

Don't laugh, but Kansas City has A LOT of theatre. There are a few big venues for touring productions/professional shows, two outdoor theatres, the Quality Hill Playhouse just for revues, the Coterie (voted in the top 5 children theaters of the nation by Time magazine), and a lot of places like The Unicorn and Late Night Theatre for the more alternative patrons :) One of my favorites is our free Shakespeare in the Park.

[Mamie]

Posted: 8/17/05 at 11:47pm

Gotta agree Marc. The NYT did an article on this very subject last year and said that LA HAD been the #2 theatre town after NY but Washington DC had taken over that position in the last year. They mentioned the fact that there are more theatres in all the DC area (including Northern Virginia and Maryland) than anyplace else and the fact that so many of these theatres were expanding into new and larger spaces. (Studio, Shakespeare, Arena, Woolly Mammoth).

[pab]

Posted: 8/17/05 at 11:49pm

I've seen a lot of good Broadway and West End shows but some of best theatre that I've seen was at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

[Menken Fan]

Posted: 8/18/05 at 8:31am

Other shows I've seen in Chicago before they went to NYC - Victor Victoria, The Goodbye Girl, I Am My Own Wife, and Sweet Charity.

[erinrebecca]

Posted: 8/18/05 at 9:48am

Menken Fan, I'm curious about IAMOW. When was it in Chicago before the NY production?

[LoringsGuy]

Posted: 8/18/05 at 10:39am

Lion King, Victor/Victoria, and the revival of Grease all had pre-Broadway tryouts in Minneapolis before heading to Broadway. If I'm not mistaken, Joseph/Dreamcoat originated in Toronto but made its U.S. debut in Minneapolis before going to NYC.

Then there's the aforementioned nationally renowned Guthrie, Children's Theatre, and Theatre de la Jeune Lune, all Tony winners for regional theatre, with Jeune Lune winning just this past June.

Aside from those, there are countless other smaller theatres in town like Park Square, Mixed Blood, and Penumbra that produce consistently high quality productions.

Indeed, you can find theatre everywhere in the Twin Cities!

[Menken Fan]

Posted: 8/18/05 at 7:19pm

I Am My Own Wife was performed in workshop by Chicago's About Face Theatre at the Museum of Contemporary Art in 2002, before moving to Broadway. It just came back in a production at Goodman Theatre earlier this year too.
Updated On: 8/18/05 at 07:19 PM

[eslgr8]

Posted: 8/18/05 at 7:46pm

L.A. isn't much of a show town??? What the f***??? Someone find for me another city in the U.S. with more theaters to see shows and more opportunities for actors to act. I doubt that even the illustrious Chicago can match L.A. in this respect. And besides numbers, there are superb major theaters like the Pasadena Playhouse, the Taper, and the Geffen, just to name three. We must also have the biggest number of working actors. True, many come for TV and film work but that doesn't make them any less talented than those who go East becaust that's where Broadway is. I'm sick and tired of hearing L.A. put down by people who don't know the facts, or who haven't investigated the enormous variety of theater offered here. We have nothing to apologize for or feel ashamed about, despite what elitist theater snobs may feel.

Updated On: 8/18/05 at 07:46 PM

[VanHassle]

Posted: 8/18/05 at 8:51pm

Although I think it now follows Chicago as a theatre town, Boston is not that far behind. Between all the national tours, smaller theaters you also have all the colleges and universities in the greater Boston area, which included Boston University and Emerson College. Numerous productions have their pre-Broadway try out in Boston. In fact it used to be tradition for shows to start in Boston. Althoug that's no longer the tradition, Boston has no shortage of theatre.

[nolatheatre]

Posted: 8/18/05 at 8:55pm

Community Theater: New Orleans
B-Way Shows: London and Chicago

[Fosse76]

Posted: 8/18/05 at 8:59pm

"L.A. isn't much of a show town??? What the f***??? Someone find for me another city in the U.S. with more theaters to see shows and more opportunities for actors to act. I doubt that even the illustrious Chicago can match L.A. in this respect. "

Chicago has well over 150 theatre companies, and there is NEVER a day where you can't find a stage production going on. LA can't touch Chicago...I doubt it can even touch Branson.

[chinkie azn jai]

Posted: 8/18/05 at 9:14pm

I would like to put Chicago after nyc, then Toronto, then LA. Being a Chicagoan who loves theatre, I am happy that I live here if I can't live in NYC.

[aegeusrocks]

Posted: 8/19/05 at 1:27am

Eslgr8, no offense, but LA just doesn't have the same standing theater-wise as Chicago. There are uncountable regional theater groups in Chicago, comedy groups like Second City and The NeoFuturists, pre-Bway musicals and plays, and the vast majority of it all is high quality. If you visit Chicago for just one night any time during the year, I bet that you would be able to find at least ten shows in the area worth watching. There are certainly more opportunities to act in terms of Film and TV, but theaterwise, Chicago is the place to start an acting career on stage. I live in a far north, Smallish/medium suburb, and there are dozens of opportunities to act within 15 miles of here, including a wonderful regional theater company in that suburb. I'm not putting LA down as showtown, I know it is a wonderful place for theater. But you unfairly criticized Chicago and put LA above it, and I had to defend my hometown.

[toodramatic]

Posted: 8/19/05 at 3:35am

Yeah! I love that Chicago is getting so much attention. That being said I do believe it is the most overrated and underrated theatre town in the world at the same time. Contrary to some peoples belief, no, chicagos theatre scene is not better in quality or quanity than new york, but is frickin' amazing and I would definatly rate it a solid #2. There has become a steady stream of pre-broadway runs, tours and sit down runs. More importantly there is a fresh and stunnning off-loop scene that features things you'd never see in NY. While MUCH (not all) of the theatre in places like LA, Seattle, SF, DC, Toronto tends to be very similar to what is being done in NY, Chicago always seems to have a uniqe style.

However, much of the casting at larger houses is done in NY, even at through and through Chicago companies like Chicago Shakes, one is always hearing stories of theatre artists moving east or west because they just dont get enough attention in the middle. Gary Sinease, John Malkovich, John Mahoney, David Mamet, Laurie Metcalf, Robert Falls, Tennesse Williams (career certainly began in Chicago even if hes not a native), Joe Mantenga, David Schwimmer, Mary Zimmerman (sp ? on all) quickly come to mind. And did you know Mark Hollman and Greg Kotis (U. of Chicago Alums) tried to mount "Urinetown" several times in Chicago before NY, but it failed each time, so in frustration they headed east.

I love it, but like every place Chicago theatre has its ups and downs.

[toodramatic]

Posted: 8/19/05 at 3:38am

www.chicagoplays.com