Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

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Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/26/11 at 8:53pm

I wonder what are some of the things that touring companies have to experience (endure) when they're traveling around the country with their show. For example, I was in Houston, Texas last night at the Wortham Center/Brown Theatre to see "Chicago". It's a humongous place. Once the show was over, I walked quite a distance to the back of the theatre for the stage door. I got autographs from some of the Chicago tour cast members. One person in particular was anxious that her hotel shuttle arrive on time to the theatre. Gradually, a number of cast members were waiting for the same hotel shuttle. To their surprise and dismay, they did not get a good sized van, but a four door car which could have accomodated three or four persons at the most. Some of them actually had to walk to their hotel because of that. They were not amused, with good reason. Having seen that, I wonder what are some occurences (amusing or not) that tour cast members have experienced in their travels. By the way, I LOVED the show. Terra C McLeod was in fine form as usual as "Velma Kelly". Karl Warden was magical as "Martin Harrison"...very easy on the eyes too. from RC in Austin, Texas
P.S. I had a seat in the Pit Orchestra Row A. I was amazed at the distance between the first row and the stage.... at least 5-6 feet. Also, there was a bit of space in front of the stage. At the end of "Nowadays-Hot Honey Rag", both Roxie and Velma are presented with a bouquet of red roses. Poor dears could only throw the roses just so far and the roses wound up on the floor. I did get my third Chicago rose (NYC, Fort Worth, Houston).

"Noel [Coward] and I were in Paris once. Adjoining rooms, of course. One night, I felt mischievous, so I knocked on Noel's door, and he asked, 'Who is it?' I lowered my voice and said 'Hotel detective. Have you got a gentleman in your room?' He answered, 'Just a minute, I'll ask him.'" (Beatrice Lillie)

Updated On: 6/26/11 at 08:53 PM

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/26/11 at 9:21pm

Was there not a recent touring cast that was caught in a tornado or something? Like they had some freaky weather and had to hunker down in the hotel lobby or something.

"Life in theater is give and take...but you need to be ready to give more then you take..."

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/27/11 at 12:51am

Touring is not for the faint of heart. Actors on tour are subjected to obstacles and annoyances on a weekly basis. I have the utmost respect for actors on tour. They are real troopers.

"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal "I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/27/11 at 1:02am

When I saw Chicago a few years back, Terra C McLeod gave the most enthralling performance I have ever seen by any actress. Her Velma is just stellar. Words cannot describe her performance. She has been with the company for quite some time too.

"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/27/11 at 1:10am

Oh man...

Transportaion, hotel rooms, travel, food...

The stories are endless...

"TheatreDiva90016 - another good reason to frequent these boards less."<<>> “I hesitate to give this line of discussion the validation it so desperately craves by perpetuating it, but the light from logic is getting further and further away with your every successive post.” <<>> -whatever2

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/27/11 at 1:44am

The Wicked 2NT in Vancouver got stuck in the theatre along with the audience a couple weeks ago during the post stanley cup riots in the city that basically engulfed the theatre and destroyed parts of it.

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/27/11 at 7:12am

Please share some stories TheatreDiva. Sharing is good. from RC in Austin, Texas

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/27/11 at 8:49am

Sometime in 2000 or 2001, the Les Miz tour was in Texas during a flood, and they only found out they were going to cancel the show once the guys had already gotten all their convict makeup and costumes on for the prologue.

(Cue a cast member who was a former EMT telling emergency services he could help, with them just looking at him as if he were a crazy homeless person.)

"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/27/11 at 10:53am

unpack the luggage la la la
pack up the luggage la la la
unpack the luggage la la la

heigh ho the glamorous life!

"I chose and my world was shaken--so what? The choice may have been mistaken, the choosing was not. You have to move on"

#10

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/27/11 at 1:57pm

In any company of a decent size, at least one long term relationship will start and at least one will end. It is practically a law. Sometimes these rules of thumb overlap because the relationship that ends involves someone whose relationship starts with someone else while on tour.

Then there are the relationships that exist only on the road. People go into them knowing that the relationship will end when the tour does. Then again sometimes it ends and sometimes it doesn't.

Its the old joke:

Young Thing to Wise Old Actor, "Did Hamlet sleep with Ophelia?"

Wise Old Actor, after thinking a bit, "Not in New York but definitely on the road."

"If my life weren't funny, it would just be true. And that would be unacceptable." --Carrie Fisher

#11

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/27/11 at 2:08pm

When I have some time, PLF...

#12

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/27/11 at 11:03pm

woah woah woah. What happened with wicked and riots?

A riot broke out outside the theatre because of a sports game? And everyone in the theatre was stuck? I didn't know about this.

sports riots -_-

#13

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/27/11 at 11:40pm

^Yea, apparently it was so intense around that area that even leaving through the stage door was dangerous. Cast members in particular had a difficult time getting to their hotels/rented houses cuz they were not local and had no idea what streets were closed/blocked and backways to get to their destination.

"Life in theater is give and take...but you need to be ready to give more then you take..."

#14

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/28/11 at 12:21am

During WONDERLAND's run at the Alley, during "Welcome to Wonderland," a fire alarm went off and the whole cast/audience had to evacuate to the streets. For those who didn't see it, during that song the entire company is dressed in the typical Alice in Wonderland dresses and wigs!

#15

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/28/11 at 12:52am

that is hysterical!

#16

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/28/11 at 4:10pm

"Sometime in 2000 or 2001, the Les Miz tour was in Texas during a flood, and they only found out they were going to cancel the show once the guys had already gotten all their convict makeup and costumes on for the prologue.

(Cue a cast member who was a former EMT telling emergency services he could help, with them just looking at him as if he were a crazy homeless person.)"

Great story!! Was Kelly McCormick part of the tour at this time?

#17

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/28/11 at 4:38pm

Haha. No. This was a good 4 or 5 years before she joined the cast.

"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt

#18

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/28/11 at 5:26pm

Just wondering...but in a touring company...who is actually in charge of getting rooms, securing a ride to the theatre venue and back, getting plane/bus tickets, etc? from RC in Austin, Texas

#19

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/28/11 at 5:44pm

All that falls under the duties of the Company Manager. Of course, those arrangements should all be made well before the company ever leaves New York.

Nothing matters but knowing nothing matters. ~ Wicked
Everything in life is only for now. ~ Avenue Q
There is no future, there is no past. I live this moment as my last. ~ Rent

"He's a tramp, but I love him."

#20

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/28/11 at 6:11pm

"Haha. No. This was a good 4 or 5 years before she joined the cast."

Oh, I wondered because I had the pleasure of seeing Ms. Mccormick in Les Miserables here at the Pioneer Theater. Wouldn't you know it I saw her a few years later in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang playing the leading role! She wasn't very good in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, she couldn't reach the high notes but I just loved her in Les Miz.

#21

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/29/11 at 2:53am

In May during 9 to 5's tour stop in Dallas, there was a late night car accident that was bad enough that Diana DeGarmo and a swing missed the next night's show to nurse head and back pain. During that same tour stop, the tornado warnings went off during intermission. They were eventually able to start and finish Act 2.

#22

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/29/11 at 3:14am

^ A car crash? Yikes! I'm surprised they only missed one show.

"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "

#23

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/29/11 at 8:49am

^ A car crash? Yikes! I'm surprised they only missed one show.

"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "

#24

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/29/11 at 8:59am

Something from my interview with Randy Weeks from the Denver Center. Word had it that Bob Cuccioli didn't follow the instructions while there in Jekyl & Hyde and missed a number of performances. Maybe not quite as interesting as other stories but..

On being a mile high and preparing incoming performers for the high altitude:

Well Greg, we make sure we don't have people that are our age in the show!! (Yes Randy, I left that in!) But seriously, we have a bit of a packet that we send out to the shows that are coming in and it's really kind of simple. There are two things about playing in Denver that we bring to the attention of touring kids. First of all, we are a mile high and the air is thinner. What that means physiologically is that is takes approximately 2 days for your body to kind of go "it's different". We got some advice from a physician and our own Voice and Research Center that if they (they performers) have the opportunity, and most of the times they do, to travel on the travel day, which is most of the time a good 36 hours before they have to perform, when they get here to take it easy. They can use the stairs but note that you are a little higher up and hydrate. It is dry here. Drink lots and lots of water. (I then asked about the rumor of there being oxygen tanks backstage for the performers) There are still oxygen tanks backstage but it doesn't truly do anything. It can be a quick fix but these kids are all in great shape! But literally sucking on oxygen is probably worse for you because it does nothing but dry out your vocal cords.

Read more: https://denver.broadwayworld.com/article/Part_2_of_A_Conversation_with_DCPA_President_Randy_Weeks_20090319_page2#ixzz1QfYQ6A3E

Just give the world Love. - S. Wonder

Updated On: 6/29/11 at 08:59 AM

#25

Interesting Occurences With Touring Companies

Posted: 6/29/11 at 10:54am

^The altitude thing is interesting...that's something that's important but you don't really think about right away!

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