Hello Dolly -past tours- passerelle question

[DAME]

Posted: 8/11/20 at 8:48pm

Did all the tours before the last one go out with a actual passerelle?  There has been some wonderful Dolly -past tours-  footage resurfacing on my feed today.   As far as I can tell they all had it.  Didn't they?  And unless memory is failing me...the last tour with Carol had it.  I know they got away without one in the Buckley tour..and many of you probably did not notice or miss it.  I did.  But just curious..  Is it a hard thing to travel with?

Updated On: 8/11/20 at 08:48 PM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/11/20 at 8:57pm

Its broken up and the pieces connect like Legos. It’s not hard to travel whatsoever. And as long as the theatre has an orchestra pit, it can be accommodated without any problem. The first few rows of seats may have to be removed, that’s all.

Here’s an example from another show:

[DAME]

Posted: 8/11/20 at 9:01pm

Wow.  Thank you for sharing.  To me the Pasarelle moment in Dolly is as iconic as the staircase descend.  I really was disappointed the last tour went out without one.  The production was so gorgeous.. why skimp on that?  

[sbflyfan]

Posted: 8/12/20 at 11:22am

The Betty Buckley "Hello Dolly" tour most certainly used a modified passarelle.  It was more a static extension on the front of the touring stage deck, which didn't allow for the design to be modified venue-to-venue.

In theaters with a big apron at the front of the stage, it wouldn't have extended very far (if at all), but in some venues with small aprons, it did go out over the orchestra pit with supports underneath it in the actual orchestra pit.

I sat front row in Cleveland and saw the latter firsthand, and it looked pretty good.

The 50th Anniversary "Hello Dolly" tour with Sally Struthers (around 2013) did not utilize a passerelle.

 

Updated On: 8/12/20 at 11:22 AM

[DAME]

Posted: 8/12/20 at 6:27pm

• sbflyfan said: "The Betty Buckley "Hello Dolly" tour most certainly used a modified passarelle. It was more a static extension on the front of the touring stage deck, which didn't allow for the design to be modified venue-to-venue.

In theaters with a big apron at the front of the stage, it wouldn't have extended very far (if at all), but in some venues with small aprons, it did go out over the orchestra pit with supports underneath it in the actual orchestra pit.

I sat front row in Cleveland and saw the latter firsthand, and it looked pretty good.

The 50th Anniversary "Hello Dolly" tour with Sally Struthers (around 2013) did not utilize a passerelle.

"

Sorry.  I beg to differ.  That was not a passarelle.  Modified or otherwise . 

Updated On: 8/14/20 at 06:27 PM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/12/20 at 7:28pm

Woah!  So the Buckley tour used a stage deck with an embedded simulation (it wasn’t even a real hole).  The orchestra pit was in front of the stage lip not inside the pasarelle.

[DAME]

Posted: 8/12/20 at 7:38pm

That’s right. No going out over the orchestra and reaching out to the audience . Which is so thrilling for the audience. And iconic .

Updated On: 8/14/20 at 07:38 PM

[ACL2006]

Posted: 8/12/20 at 7:50pm

The 50th Anniversary "Hello Dolly" tour with Sally Struthers (around 2013) did not utilize a passerelle.

 

This tour was an embarrassment to the show and it's legacy.

[Ravenclaw]

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

DAME said: "That’s right. No going out over the orchestra tand reaching out to the audience . Which is so thrilling for the audience. And iconic ."

I was similarly disappointed by the lack of the passerelle in the tour. So much of the staging of that production was built around that passerelle, which serves so many functions--it can allow for a feeling of intimacy in a huge theatre, it can separate an individual from a huge chorus and put them in focus, and it can add depth to the stage picture. Without the paserelle--and without adapting the staging to accommodate the lack thereof--the staging looked flat and occasionally silly. Why is everyone carefully walking around this gap that isn't really there? If you can't use the main scenic concept your staging is built around, you should reimagine critical moments for the space that you do have.

[Tag]

Posted: 8/12/20 at 10:45pm

A better view of the monstrosity:

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 8/14/20 at 10:35am

Maybe I’m misinformed, but....what is the point of a large, fake hole in the stage if it’s not actually utilized? I just watched multiple clips from the tour (mostly curtain calls) and it just seems like a hassle to get around.

[sbflyfan]

Posted: 8/14/20 at 11:26am

I don't think it looked too terrible in venues with a short stage apron.

dmwnc1959 took some great photos which show the difference.

HUGE stage apron at Benedum Center in Pittsburgh (I don't like how it looks here):

https://www.flickr.com/photos/57377062@N04/48515435886/in/album-72157710234831342/

But in Cleveland's Palace Theater, it extended quite far with musicians underneath it, and it created much more of an illusion:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/57377062@N04/30217760707/in/album-72157698865514882/

I had a similar issue with the recent "Cabaret" tour.  The set and deck were so far back in venues with a large apron at the front of the stage, and it made you feel incredibly disconnected. 

I'm guessing it boils down to logistics, not having to adjust the lighting and blocking and load-in for each venue, depending on how the passerelle would need to be accommodated.

Updated On: 8/14/20 at 11:26 AM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/14/20 at 11:53am

From the various photos of the tour, seems this simulated pasarelle did have a removable panel so if it was possible, the panel was removed therefore there was indeed an actual “hole.” If it wasn’t possible, they kept the panel on the “hole” to create the illusion for the pasarelle effect.

[DAME]

Posted: 8/14/20 at 12:23pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "From the various photos of the tour, seems this simulated pasarelle did have a removable panel so if it was possible, the panel was removed therefore there was indeed an actual “hole.” If it wasn’t possible, they kept the panel on the “hole” to create the illusion for the pasarelle effect."

But there you have it.  It’s a illusion .  And looking at footage from the older Carol tours ..if they were able to tour with it then ;  then why not now ?    Not only is the moment in the title number so iconic .. but that glorious curtain call with Dolly crossing the passarelle and the audience hands reaching out.  So thrilling .

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 8/14/20 at 12:49pm

I am going to make a pointed effort not to comment on whether or not the passarelle should be there and instead comment solely on the logistics.

I DID love this revival, so let's set that there.

The logistics of touring have changed an awful lot in the last few decades, especially the last 20 years. It is severely unfair to say "well they did that then, why can't they do that now", when all of the moving parts that go into that decision are fundamentally different.

In touring, you are at the mercy of the venue and what they will and will not allow and what the space may or may not be.

In some houses, you have no choice EXCEPT to be set further back on their stage because of the allowable footprint. Some houses will also have very strong and unbending rules about the orchestra pit because their insurance requires it, so you just may NOT be allowed to have a passarelle around the pit with actors jumping over it. The allotted load in time and budget (which, sorry, is not truly up the show's producer on tour) may not allow for the venue modification to the pit in such a very specific way because the passarelle has such a specific shape that HAS to be consistent.

The question being posed here is a lot more complex than is being presented above. Nevertheless, the staging of the show is irrevocably tied to the apron having a passarelle and you have to recreate that to the most logical point you are able.

[DAME]

Posted: 8/14/20 at 1:00pm

broadwayguy2 said: "I am going to make a pointed effort not to comment on whether or not the passarelle should be there and instead comment solely on the logistics.

I DID love this revival, so let's set that there.

The logistics of touring have changed an awful lot in the last few decades, especially the last 20 years. It is severely unfair to say "well they did that then, why can't they do that now", when all of the moving parts that go into that decision are fundamentally different.

In touring, you are at the mercy of the venue and what they will and will not allow and what the space may or may not be.

In some houses, you have no choice EXCEPT to be set further back on their stage because of the allowable footprint. Some houses will also have very strong and unbending rules about the orchestra pit because their insurance requires it, so you just may NOT be allowed to have a passarelle around the pit with actors jumping over it. The allotted load in time and budget (which, sorry, is not truly up the show's producer on tour) may not allow for the venue modification to the pit in such a very specific way because the passarelle has such a specific shape that HAS to be consistent.

The question being posed here is a lot more complex than is being presented above. Nevertheless, the staging of the show is irrevocably tied to the apron having a passarelle and you have to recreate that to the most logical point you are able."

Good points.  By the way.. I also thought the last tour was fabulous.  Not trying to take away from that.  But I did miss the Pasarrelle and I would have hoped that when possible they would have made it work.  Noticing that a lot of the venues that hosted the last tour were previously visited by Carols tour.. and they were all able to do it.  But I understand the points you are making.

Updated On: 8/14/20 at 01:00 PM

[alovingfan]

Posted: 8/14/20 at 1:05pm

So thrilling.

[alovingfan]

Posted: 8/14/20 at 1:16pm

And the iconic Pearl Bailey Life cover.  https://2neat.com/product/life-magazine-december-8-1967-pearl-bailey/

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 8/14/20 at 2:18pm

DAME said: "broadwayguy2 said: "I am going to make a pointed effort not to comment on whether or not the passarelle should be there and instead comment solely on the logistics.

I DID love this revival, so let's set that there.

The logistics of touring have changed an awful lot in the last few decades, especially the last 20 years. It is severely unfair to say "well they did that then, why can't they do that now", when all of the moving parts that go into that decision are fundamentally different.

In touring, you are at the mercy of the venue and what they will and will not allow and what the space may or may not be.

In some houses, you have no choice EXCEPT to be set further back on their stage because of the allowable footprint. Some houses will also have very strong and unbending rules about the orchestra pit because their insurance requires it, so you just may NOT be allowed to have a passarelle around the pit with actors jumping over it. The allotted load in time and budget (which, sorry, is not truly up the show's producer on tour) may not allow for the venue modification to the pit in such a very specific way because the passarelle has such a specific shape that HAS to be consistent.

The question being posed here is a lot more complex than is being presented above. Nevertheless, the staging of the show is irrevocably tied to the apron having a passarelle and you have to recreate that to the most logical point you are able."

Good points. By the way.. I also thought the last tour was fabulous. Not trying to take away from that. But I did miss the Pasarrelle and I would have hoped that when possible they would have made it work. Noticing that a lot of the venues that hosted the last tour were previously visited by Carols tour.. and they were all able to do it. But I understand the points you are making."

Yes, they were on the Carol tours, but I can tell you with 100% certainty that mechanics of modern scene design are different and are less flexible on a show like that now than they were decades ago, the logistics of getting the show in and out are vastly different, the local presenters are also far less likely to foot the bill for making that physical change, and the current insurance policies are wildly different and, as I said, increasingly strict around orchestra pits.

I can safely say that the creative would have LOVED to maintain that element had they been feasibly able to and there are a LOT of moving parts in that decision making process and chalking it up to a show's producer trying to cut corners, as some have done, is horribly reductive and dismisses so much of what really forces the decision. :)

[Tag]

Posted: 8/14/20 at 3:39pm

Basically a true passerelle in each venue is a custom install.  All pits are different.  With the latest tour the tour deck just goes straight on top of the stage deck, and done.  Saves time & money.  Things are very different from the Channing tour days.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/14/20 at 4:35pm

This is sooooooo good!

 

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 8/14/20 at 6:07pm

I absolutely and unconditionally adored this last national tour, and am honored to have seen it three times - twice during the tour launch in Cleveland, and once in Pittsburgh when the tour passed through. Loved the cast, love the music, loved it all. The fake passerelle did nothing to dampened the pure joy I felt when seeing this show live and in person. I have some incredible and fond memories, and even now have the curtain call from Cleveland as the screen saver on my laptop. It still makes me smile.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 8/14/20 at 6:30pm

I'm really upset that I never got to see this tour. I had a lengthy hospitalization during the 1st leg of the tour but had tickets for 5 consecutive performances when the 2nd leg of the tour was playing g in Philly. Unfortunately the pandemic caused me to back out of that and the box office was very gracious about refunding my money.
Ah well, such is life.

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 8/14/20 at 8:01pm

sbflyfan said "The 50th Anniversary "Hello Dolly" tour with Sally Struthers (around 2013) did not utilize a passerelle.


ACL2006 said: “This tour was an embarrassment to the show and it's legacy."

 

Had to look that one up...

https://www.playbill.com/video/highlights-from-the-hello-dolly-50th-anniversary-tour-starring-sally-struthers

Yikes! 

[ArtMan]

Posted: 8/14/20 at 8:44pm

If you thought that was bad, imagine seeing her in a very, very scaled down production prior to the tour in a dinner theater.  She starred at the Alhambra in Jacksonville for six weeks prior to going out on the tour.  My late friend adored it.  I sat there trying to refrain from laughing.  It ranks up there with, in the late 90's at a VIP "event" in Miami, being two feet away from a balding, overweight KC (from the Sunshine Band)  shaking his booty, trying to be sexy.  I couldn't stop laughing.  It didn't help that I was "overserved".

Updated On: 8/14/20 at 08:44 PM