Posted: 11/22/18 at 12:09am
For u folks more knowledgeable than me about theater, I heard that shows at Kennedy Center don't necessarily come to Broadway, but those in DC at National tend to. Norm Lewis will be The Music Man in February 2019 in the Kennedy Center. I just assumed it would come to Bway considering his talent. Does anyone have any input? What a shame if he doesn't. What a voice.
Posted: 11/22/18 at 12:13am
The Kennedy Center does the semi-staged concert versions of shows like Music Man and before that How to Succeed and In the Heights among others without intending them for Broadway. Plenty of pre-Broadway runs have happened at the Kennedy Center in the past several years including Ain’t Too Proud, Gigi, and Ragtime just to name a few.
The National recently just happens to be the place for a few high profile pre-Broadway runs like If/Then, Mean Girls, and now Beetlejuice. I don’t think there’s any set thing that a run at either is more likely to go to Broadway than the other.
Updated On: 11/22/18 at 12:13 AM
Posted: 11/22/18 at 12:38am
Most of the shows at the National are pre-Broadway out-of-town tryouts. This means they have announced they are going to Broadway and they are trying the show out (as the title suggests). There are also many national tours that stop there.
The Kennedy Center does sometimes house productions like the ones mentioned above, but the Norm Lewis-led Music Man is part of their "Broadway Center Stage" series, which is, as stated above, a series of semi-staged concerts. This is only the second season of this series, so who knows, maybe one of them will spark interest in a Broadway revival, but they are not even full-out productions, so there wouldn't be much to transfer besides the cast.
But basically, an out-of-town tryout is different than an independent regional production that decides to move to Broadway later. "Broadway Center Stage" would fit into the latter (if it transferred), while the shows at the National fit into the former.
Posted: 11/22/18 at 12:51am
Thank you to Clumsy and Elegance for answers. So does semi-staged mean they just sing the songs or they just have little stage scenery? I bought tickets to see him in DC. Norm Lewis gave a LaJolla concert in August. I didn't get to see it.
I do appreciate the input. I had no idea how that worked. I lived in the Tampa/St Pete area for a decade and most of that stuff was a tour company of a few shows. It took 3 years b4 Ham showed up and I saw that w/the orig cast in its first few runs.
Posted: 11/22/18 at 1:07am
I've been to all 4 Broadway Center Stage events at the Kennedy Center. They're in costume, complete script, mostly off-book and minimal set design. It's not a full production, with sets flying in and out, and elaborately choreographed numbers, but with the casts they're putting together, I've never felt I've missed out.
Kennedy Center did stage their own productions off and on for a few years, and Ragtime and Follies both transferred to Broadway, but unfortunately neither were financially successful.
The National Theatre is just a venue, not a theatre company. They don't create anything themselves, the shows there are just leasing the space.
