Stereophonic - Radio Edit

[Zeppie2022]

Posted: 4/16/26 at 11:17am

My daughter saw Stereophonic on tour and program mentioned "radio edit" of the show. I believe the show was cut to be a little under 3 hours. Is there any particular reason why they cut the length of this show on tour from the length it was on Broadway?

[tacotheatrelover]

Posted: 4/16/26 at 11:29am

Because it was too long. A two act play that starts at 7:00 and ends at 10:30 is utterly insane. It would be silent for 10 minutes, then a song, an argument, rinse and repeat. The show needed to be cut down from the get go.

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 4/16/26 at 11:35am

Usually cuts like this are to prevent overtime pay and to make things smoother on the road. This is playing subscription houses and those kinds of patrons might be less interested in longer, more shaggy show. 

 

While I agree that cuts could have been made and likely gone unnoticed, the length of the show was an important part of the show experience for me. 

[darquegk]

Posted: 4/16/26 at 11:37am

See also: the recent Beauty and the Beast which cut half an hour from the show.

[Zeppie2022]

Posted: 4/16/26 at 1:35pm

KJisgroovy said: "Usually cuts like this are to prevent overtime pay and to make things smoother on the road. This is playing subscription houses and those kinds of patrons might be less interested in longer, more shaggy show.



While I agree that cuts could have been made and likely gone unnoticed, the length of the show was an important part of the show experience for me."

Thanks, the OT reason makes sense. Not sure many patrons that see show at subscription house would change mind about show over 15 minutes. I saw show on Broadway and wondered if I saw the tour version if I could tell what was cut.

[TheGingerBreadMan]

Posted: 4/17/26 at 4:21pm

I think that a 3 hour show vs. a 2:45 show, or a 2:45 show vs a 2:30 show, could absolutely be a dealbreaker for some folks. Especially for people who have kids to get home to, work in the morning, etc. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/17/26 at 4:27pm

"Radio Edit" is a funny phrase here - but I'd be interested in seeing the shortened version. I bet I wouldn't miss anything. I really liked it on Broadway but found it overstayed its welcome.

[James885]

Posted: 4/17/26 at 5:03pm

I saw the ‘radio edit’ at the Pantages with a friend who had seen it during the Broadway run. He said there was more music in the Broadway version. I liked the show but I did feel like it was about 10-15 minutes too long. I noticed there were songs on the cast recording that were definitely not in the show I saw.

Updated On: 4/17/26 at 05:03 PM

[Zeppie2022]

Posted: 4/17/26 at 6:57pm

James885 said: "I saw the ‘radio edit’ at the Pantages with a friend who had seen it during the Broadway run. He said there was more music in the Broadway version. I liked the show but I did feel like it was about 10-15 minutes too long.I noticed there were songs on the cast recording that were definitely not in the showI saw."

Disappointing that music was part of the cuts, oh well.

 

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 4/17/26 at 9:17pm

Music wasn’t part of the cuts. The album has always been significantly longer than the music seen in the show. The cuts were to dialogue and transitions.

[bear882]

Posted: 4/17/26 at 11:32pm

ColorTheHours048 said: "Music wasn’t part of the cuts. The album has always been significantly longer than the music seen in the show. The cuts were to dialogue and transitions."

Good to know, as I saw the play on tour and wondered what I was missing. I assumed it was nothing essential, but the show - which I enjoyed - did feel a little choppy at times.

[Zeppie2022]

Posted: 4/18/26 at 5:38am

ColorTheHours048 said: "Music wasn’t part of the cuts. The album has always been significantly longer than the music seen in the show. The cuts were to dialogue and transitions."

See Post #8. They mentioned more music in the Broadway version which is why I posted that about the music.

 

Updated On: 4/18/26 at 05:38 AM

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 4/18/26 at 11:02am

Zeppie2022 said: "ColorTheHours048 said: "Music wasn’t part of the cuts. The album has always been significantly longer than the music seen in the show. The cuts were to dialogue and transitions."

See Post #8. They mentioned more music in the Broadway versionwhich is why I posted that about the music."

I understand. Music wasn’t part of the cuts though. The “radio edit” version keeps all of the songs heard in the Broadway version (which are already truncated from the album songs, with the exception of “Bright (Take 22)” and “Masquerade&rdquo intact. The cuts made were to internal dialogue, pauses, and transitions.

Updated On: 4/18/26 at 11:02 AM