Tours with better casts than OBCs

I dont know if this has ever been discussed on here, but has anyone ever came across a tour that you think has a better cast, or was a better show, than the original Broadway performance?

I thought of this when I watched the Frozen Tour’s performance at the Rose parade. I love our original Broadway Anna and Elsa, but Caroline Bowman and Caroline Innerbichler blew me away with how well they both embody the characters.

Updated On: 1/3/20 at 02:55 PM

ChairinMain said: "SHREK wrote a new song for the tour called "Forever"that was a vast improvement over the equivalent number in New York."

Agreed! Also, the dragon puppet on tour was also much better than that floating head they had on Broadway!

The original cast of the first leg of the SOMETHING ROTTEN! tour. The Bottom brothers especially gelled more for me and had a more believable brotherly dynamic.

Recent tour of Falsettos

Fosse76 said: "The Chicago production of Harold Prince's Show Boat revival I felt had a superior cast in John McMartin (Captain Andy), Mark Jacoby (Ravenal),Michel Bell (Joe),Dorothy Loudon (Parthy), Gay Willis (Magnolia), Clare Leach (Ellie), Eddie Korbich (Frank), Jo Ann Hawkins White (Queenie) and Marilynnn McCoo (Julie). I though they were better than the Broadway cast (though the first three aboveplayed their respective roles in New York).

I was also partial to the Chicago cast of Ragtime, which featured LaChanze as Sarah and Hinton Battle as Coalhouse.If not better, the cast as a whole was comparable to Broadway.

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I think there have been many Chicago sit down casts that have proved equal or better than their broadway counterparts. Add Wicked, Hamilton, and Book of Mormon to the list.

Call_me_jorge said: "Fosse76 said: "The Chicago production of Harold Prince's Show Boat revival I felt had a superior cast in John McMartin (Captain Andy), Mark Jacoby (Ravenal),Michel Bell (Joe),Dorothy Loudon (Parthy), Gay Willis (Magnolia), Clare Leach (Ellie), Eddie Korbich (Frank), Jo Ann Hawkins White (Queenie) and Marilynnn McCoo (Julie). I though they were better than the Broadway cast (though the first three aboveplayed their respective roles in New York).

I was also partial to the Chicago cast of Ragtime, which featured LaChanze as Sarah and Hinton Battle as Coalhouse.If not better, the cast as a whole was comparable to Broadway.

"

I think there have been many Chicago sit down casts that have proved equal or better than their broadway counterparts. Add Wicked, Hamilton, and Book of Mormon to the list."

Add to that The Lion King in it's initial sit down in Chicago.

Fantastic.

The multiple casts I have seen of the CHICAGO national tour have always been 100 times better than any of the casts I have seen in the Broadway production.

I have to agree about the tour cast of Frozen. Caroline Bowman has that cold look down but is warm when she needs to be. Caissie, while amazing in the role, had more of a chill to her Elsa.

Dionysus3 said: "Euan Morton made a more dynamic and nuanced Hedwig than NPH."

I got to see Euan Morton's Hedwig on tour and loved him. I keep going back to his rendition of Wicked Little Town. Hannah Corneau who played Yitzhak is also now Elphaba on Broadway.

Is he still playing King George in Hamilton?

I also liked the new cast of the Newsies tour (Joey Barreiro) better than when I watched it on Broadway with Corey Cott. The whole cast seemed to have more energy as a whole. Neither of them were original casts, though.

There have also been a few times when the tour of Wicked has been better than the Broadway production, but then again, neither were original casts. And that isn't saying much: many times cast members of the Broadway production hit the road after performing in the Great Wite Way, and many other times actors performed in the Broadway production after performing on the tour.

Updated On: 1/4/20 at 05:04 PM

markypoo said: "And going back fifty years, the sit down Chicago production of Hair in 1970 was an event."

Would love to know more about this production, if you can recall any details. Especially in contrast to the Broadway production

The Memphis tour with Bryan Finkart, Felicia Boswell, Quentin Earl Darrington & Julie Johnson was leagues better than the OBC cast of Memphis w/Chad Kimball & Montego Glover.

Updated On: 1/4/20 at 08:35 PM