Broadway League Spring Conference

[BdwyFan]

Posted: 5/14/25 at 3:00pm

The League conference is this week when all the road presenters are in town to see all the shows and get entertained.  (Side note: with all the comps this week guessing grosses will be down). Which new shows do you think will most appeal to them and their theatres around the country?  Which will do best do you think? Why? 

[Wick3]

Posted: 5/14/25 at 4:27pm

There was a talkback at Dead Outlaw last night featuring cast & creatives. It was open to anyone in attendance so I'm guessing the roadies were there. I'm hoping this show will do well and hopefully the roadies loved it enough so the show will tour sometime in the future!

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 5/14/25 at 4:52pm

I’d venture Death Becomes Her will be the show headlining most subscription packages. 

[DAME]

Posted: 5/14/25 at 6:29pm

Call_me_jorge said: "I’d venture Death Becomes Her will be the show headlining most subscription packages."

Do you think that’s why all leads were out of DBH today?  Were they performing for the conference?

[Robbie2]

Posted: 5/17/25 at 12:07am

From what I heard - DBH was a big hit and loved the most with a  mixed feeling on MHE and not many thought Dead 

Outlaw would appeal to their subscribers!

[Wick3]

Posted: 5/17/25 at 7:59am

Death Becomes Her has a strong enough IP to appeal to their subscribers/members even without a Best Musical win. I still remember watching the film in the theaters when I was a kid in the 90s.

For the musicals Maybe Happy Ending and Dead Outlaw, I think a Best Musical win would certainly help in terms of appeal.

[inception]

Posted: 5/17/25 at 9:03am

Robbie2 said: "From what I heard - DBH was a big hit and loved the most with amixed feeling onMHE and not many thought Dead Outlaw would appeal to their subscribers!"

I can see how people who present shows in enormous barns across the country would be troubled by the staging of MHE.  They will get so many complaints from people who can't see anything.

Suddenly I'm remembering seeing Celine at Caesars Palace Colosseum in LV & how she had big screens on either side of the stage.  I was surprised when I went back for someone else - that they didn't do that for every show. 

If they don't open up the stage for the tour version, maybe MHE could add screens on the sides?

Another idea is instead of the black scrim covering most of the stage, the rooms could be single set pieces that roll on or off?

 

Updated On: 5/17/25 at 09:03 AM

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 5/17/25 at 10:02am

Per Alex Timbers instagram stories, it looked like Just in Time put in a lot of effort wooing the road presenters. I totally assumed the producers weren’t vying for a tour, so now I’m curious how it’ll translate on the road… Who would play Bobby and how would it look in a proscenium.

Updated On: 5/17/25 at 10:02 AM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/17/25 at 11:18am

Call_me_jorge said: "Per Alex Timbers instagram stories, it looked like Just in Time put in a lot of effort wooing the road presenters. I totally assumed the producers weren’t vying for a tour, so now I’m curious how it’ll translate on the road… Who would play Bobby and how would it look in a proscenium."

Shows use the Road Conference Week as a way to aggressively campaign for the Tony as well. And Presenters aren't the only ones who attend those parties, other League members (many of whom are Tony voters) go too. The parties are also planned and scheduled well in advance of the nominations.

"Bobby Darin Musical" probably has enough appeal for subscription markets even without Groff or an actual star. Could even be non-Eq, and could fairly easily translate to a traditional proscenium staging.

I agree that MHE could present real challenges in those barn-sized houses, even tho I don't think that's going to impact its chances of winning Best Musical. Road Voters only account for about 100 of the 850 voters last I checked, and despite their professions they do have personal taste and don't vote in a bloc.

Updated On: 5/17/25 at 11:18 AM

[BdwyFan]

Posted: 5/17/25 at 2:31pm

And although not nominated I wonder if SMASH would do well nationally?  Did they do anything special to woo presenters? 

[SmokeyLady]

Posted: 5/17/25 at 3:47pm

Ik Akimbo managed the barn sized houses, then MHE will have no problem.  I am more curious as to how Stereophonic will play.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/17/25 at 10:42pm

SmokeyLady said: "Ik Akimbo managed the barn sized houses, then MHE will have no problem."

It's not a matter of the content of the written show, it's the design: almost every orchestra seat that isn't in the center section has a level of obstruction at the Belasco (which is half the size of some of these touring venues). Naturally, the set will be adapted for the road, but if they didn't care about sightlines on Broadway, why should they care on the road?

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 5/18/25 at 1:52am

SmokeyLady said: "Ik Akimbo managed the barn sized houses, then MHE will have no problem. I am more curious as to how Stereophonic will play."

Kimberly had a very open stage and no sightlines.  MHE was directed and designed to fully accommodate a small portion of the audience.

Updated On: 5/18/25 at 01:52 AM

[Robbie2]

Posted: 5/18/25 at 11:51pm

The annual convention’s main purpose is to encourage regional markets to book tours of new musicals. 

One lyin’ presenter told me, “We want ALL these shows to come to us!” Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But the conference’s dirtier use is to sway the 100-or-so road voters to pick them at the Tonys next month. There are only about 800 voters in total, so Florida, Ohio and Illinois make a dent. 

A big hit, I’m told, was the “Death Becomes Her” soiree at Sony Hall. The comedy’s stars Megan Hilty, Jennifer Simard and Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child all showed up and schmoozed. 

 
https://nypost.com/2025/05/17/entertainment/how-nicole-scherzinger-audra-mcdonald-darren-criss-and-jonathan-groff-are-battling-for-tony-awards/



 

Updated On: 5/18/25 at 11:51 PM