Shows that don't work as amateur productions- Page 2

[hairspraydude1962]

Posted: 7/20/12 at 6:04pm

I think Wicked would do rather well in high school cafeterias-turned-auditoriums.

[emlodik]

Posted: 7/20/12 at 6:31pm

Exactly where it belongs, LOL! Though, I bet you without all the super-high production values and professional performers, it'd fall apart pretty quickly, though I bet you once the rights to it are released to amateur companies, every single high school in the nation will be mounting it for the next five years.

[hairspraydude1962]

Posted: 7/20/12 at 8:15pm

I can't even imagine how much of a disaster that'll be...

[ComingUpRoses2]

Posted: 7/20/12 at 8:18pm

Follies is probably not a good idea for theatres without much of a budget. "Loveland" is sure to be a disappointment and the whole show tends to rely on whether or not that scene works.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 2:54am

^ I dunno; if the London version of "Loveland," with only four showgirls (each carrying a shepherd's crook with a letter of the alphabet on it), were used, it might be slightly easier to pull off.

This is one example of why I've always been in favor of licensing the original Goldman book, with appendices containing the new songs from the London production, which might be fitted in to suit the needs of a particular cast or directorial concept.

Updated On: 7/21/12 at 02:54 AM

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 3:04am

Miss Saigon - I saw a dinner theatre production where the helicopter was a section of an old bus
Hairspray - It seems like every local theatre production I have seen has been a mess. The material was completely mishandled and none of the splashiness and spark of the Broadway version was there

[Jon]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 5:02am

The Marriott Lincolnshire production of MISS SAIGON mentioned earlier was brilliant. I liked it better than Broadway.

There was no helicopter. There was a metal ladder that descended down from the catwalk. There were fog machines. There were fans. There were flashing lights. There was this incrdible SOUND. It was more effective thasn the inflatable helicopter of the original.

There was no red, white and blue Cadillac for "American Dream". Insgtead, the ensemble appeared in red, white and blue costumes representing symbols of the American Dream: Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, a baseball player, Uncle Sam, Lady Liberty, etc.

The lead actors all had Broadway credits. The ensemble was superb.

[JeanGudio]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 5:41am

I am not sure what you mean by regional like this http://www.lajollaplayhouse.org/ or like this http://www.berkeleyrep.org/ or http://www.nytw.org/
or even this http://www.publictheater.org/
they all have tonys to their name thank god we have them as for amateur productions we need them as they help people become more competent i am sure cheno did not just walk into charlie brown and get a tony from no experience. all shows can be done in regional theatres if they are intact and be good and successful.

[ClapYo'Hands]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 5:49am

I have seen very good amateur productions of both EVITA and Les Misérables.

[JamesBroadwayWiner]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 10:18am

Wicked, obviously!

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 10:56am

Actually, darquegk (who posts on these forums) came up with a really great low-fi Wicked for smaller companies (I used to call it "Wicked on $50 a day") that I think would really work -- only two mobile set-pieces, a lot of quick changes (whoever does the Boq/Wizard track would win a Tony for sure were this rendition ever to hit Broadway), and a much simpler staging in general that kind of gives the story a heart that the tech-driven megamusical version lacks. Don't get me wrong, no one's ever going to license his specific version in a million years, but if somebody can chart out a halfway decent low-fi Wicked, then it just goes to prove anyone can achieve the impossible if they really, really try.

Wow. I nearly gagged on that last sentence. Seriously, though -- can't praise his version enough.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 12:41pm

Wicked is expensive, yes, but how high-tech is it really as opposed to many other shows on Broadway?

The set on Broadway uses a good deal of automation, but so do many other shows, both old and new, and community theaters have staged those shows without anybody freaking out over the lack of automation.

There is some flying. Community theaters have been doing that to various degrees of success for a long, long time now.

There is a large cast. Not a problem for community theaters who aren't paying people anyway. If anything a lot of community theaters end up cutting the doubling that some professional productions use to save on salary costs. After all, they have to have different costumes anyway, and in community theater the bigger your cast the more friends and family you have coming to see them in the shows, thus a bigger "guaranteed" attendance.

Yes, if you hold a community theatre up to the same budgetary/spectacle expectations that you hold Broadway up to you are going to be let down. But the thing to remember is exactly that, it is not Broadway, it is most often a bunch of volunteers and hobbyists.

[bdn223]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 12:44pm

IMO Wicked could work in an amateur setting. The show's only neccecary tech piece is Elphaba's flying in Defying Gravity, and considering she only "flys up" and most schools/community theater do Peter Pan at one point or another, where it's characters legitametly fly across the stage....all they have to do is put her in a harness and raise her up, or have a high ramp upstage that she walks backwards up during the song, while everyone else walks down stage giving her the allusion of raising above them. Galinda's initial entrance is cool to look at but not necessary and she can simply walk in through the aisle. The wings growing on the monkey could be done with Velcro...the same way amerature productions do Suessical and Gertrude's growing tail...
The moving of Nessarose's wheel chair can be done with rope or fishing line...
Like the Broadway production the Boq transformation can be done with a stand in.
The giant Dragon Clock is not necessary....
The show doesn't really have many set pieces...it's all lighting..and the show could be truly done with a bare stage and props..
The only real challenge is getting costumes that don't look cheap, and having a girl that sing Elphaba without getting winded come No Good Deed...

[Nettik]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 12:46pm

The Wizard of Oz.

I'm part of the crew for a community theatre production of it currently. There's so much that has to happen technically and if you don't have the budget for it... Don't do it.

[JohnyBroadway]

Posted: 7/22/12 at 12:35pm

The Lion King!

[ACL2006]

Posted: 7/22/12 at 12:51pm

I've yet to see a good amateur production of A Chorus Line. If you know you won't be getting the talent/strong dancers, why attempt the show and insert 2nd grade choreography??