^the Chicago production did run 9 months. It didn't run as long as wicked but it was rather long. It has since come back with a 12 week engagement last year and is coming back this summer for 5 weeks. I'm pretty sure chicago is done with the show.
Leading Actor Joined: 6/18/08
This tour had a very different model from the mega-tours like Phantom, Wicked, and Lion King. It played long engagements in the major cities, but was small enough to bounce around the smaller markets, playing sold-out one week stops, making it able to play more markets in the same period of time. Phantom spent the first few years of its touring life playing 3-6 month engagements. Even the current, lighter tour, plays a minimum of 2-3 weeks in each market. Wicked plays 2-3 week stops, and Lion King moves, on average, once a month.
Book of Mormon has sped through the country; for a Blockbuster tour to have played as many cities as it has 5 years after opening is new ground. Phantom didn't start hitting the smaller A tour cities until almost 5 years after it opened in New York. The second tour will run for the time being, and I think at some point they may launch a smaller physical production to play in the bus and truck markets. They also managed to get their touring before Hamilton takes over the road.
It's also worth noting that, compared to other major musicals, the content of Book of Mormon limits its audience in each market-Grandma is not going to bring Little Sally to her first tour at Mormon, like she might at Lion King.
You have to give the producers credit for putting out TWO tours on full production contracts. Brava!
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