Why Don't Shows Try Out in Boston Anymore?- Page 2

[jennamajig]

Posted: 7/8/09 at 11:46pm

In Boston, I saw the 39 Steps at the Hunt pre-Broadway and High Fidelity before it went to NYC for its brief run. I also saw the National tour of Spamalot launch from Boston, which was cool. But you're right...it hasn't seen many out-of-town tryouts lately.

But the regional theaters in Boston are producing wonderful stuff - most equal to or even better than what I've seen in NYC. I've also been able to see shows I've missed in NYC because Boston's regional theaters have gotten the rights for shows quickly after they close. I saw the Lyric stage do November, a show I sadly missed during the Broadway run and last season the Lyric also did Adrift in Macao - complete with talk-back with Christopher Durang - which I'd missed during its Off-Broadway run. Speakeasy put up Jerry Springer: The Opera, the concert version which I missed at Carnegie Hall.

But agree it's a shame about Caroyln Clay.

[TimesSquareRegular]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 12:13am

Quote from Brick: "What are you people talking about?!

Shows still rarely open "cold" on B'way. San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, Los Angeles, among others are very big try-out towns, with an average of at least one try-out a year in each.

The question is why Boston stopped being a place to try-out. "


Does Boston have any venue comparable to 5th Ave in Seattle or La Jolla, for example, where a major musical can be presented as part of a subscription series, reducing the producers' financial outlay? As far as I know, if a producer wants to take a pre-Broadway show to Boston, he would have to simply rent a theater and bear all the costs of the production himself. If other cities have theaters willing to become involved, then it's Boston's loss.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 12:16am

Does Boston have any venue comparable to 5th Ave in Seattle or La Jolla, for example, where a major musical can be presented as part of a subscription series, reducing the producers' financial outlay? As far as I know, if a producer wants to take a pre-Broadway show to Boston, he would have to simply rent a theater and bear all the costs of the production himself. If other cities have theaters willing to become involved, then it's Boston's loss.

I might be wrong, but wouldn't The Huntington be considered a theater where a major musical can be presented as part of a subscription series?

[Bway2]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 12:17am

Is this the same Carolyn Clay from Jerby's web series?

Edit: Nope, different spelling. Updated On: 7/9/09 at 12:17 AM

[winston89]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 12:18am

I know that Boston has The Opera House which is where large scale musicals have been done when on tour. Shows like The Lion King and Wicked play The Opera House when in Boston and they are part of a subscription series so I am guessing an out of town try out can do the same thing. I mean look at Dirty Dancing, It is a large scale musical that played a good long run (longer then most tours do) in Boston as part of a subscription series. I am guessing it is something that can be done again.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 12:23am

The only place theatre has any relevance in this country is about twelve blocks in Manhattan and that's the sad truth of society and shows how much culture can change in forty years.

That statement is patently untrue. Perhaps the only place Broadway has any relevance is those about twelve blocks in Manhattan (and even THAT's not true), but it's ridiculous to say that because shows no longer tryout in Boston, there is no relevant theatre anywhere else in this country.

As Mama Rose once said, "New York is the center of New York."

[TimesSquareRegular]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 12:27am

I think they key element is a theater willing to be involved in the producing, which is what those west coast folks do.

Simply booking a show into your house as part of a subscription series is not the same thing as becoming in effect part of the creative process in a show's development.

[timote316]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 12:27am

I might be wrong, but wouldn't The Huntington be considered a theater where a major musical can be presented as part of a subscription series?

The Huntington produces their own pieces, or co-produces with other companies. They do occassionally host touring shows, but not as part of their subscription series.

When shows do use Boston as a pre-Broadway tryout/engagement, they are almost exclusively part of the Broadway in Boston season as of late, which is subscriber based. As mentioned previously in the thread, the Colonial and the Opera House are the theatres used to house that season.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 12:33am

^ that makes sense, and a quick trip to ibdb.com informed me that the Huntington co-produced The 39 Steps.

I have to agree with jennamajig that the productions done by regional theaters in Boston are of the highest quality. I saw excellent productions of a few shows while I was there.

[TheActr97J]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 3:27am

I might be wrong, but wouldn't The Huntington be considered a theater where a major musical can be presented as part of a subscription series?

Gahhhh! Nicholas Martin's beyond brilliant production of "She Loves Me" should have transferred!

[fgreene1938]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 6:37am

Actually, some shows still do try out in Boston before going to New York, though not many. The place they seem to use most consistently is the Huntington Theatre, which is not located in the main theater district. "Butley" with Nathan Lane, "Gem of the Ocean" with Phylicia Rashad, "Radio Golf" and "The 39 Steps" all played there before heading to Broadway. Huntington's subscription program has a loyal following.

[singtopher]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 7:48am

Mamma Mia played the colonial prior to Broadway.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 8:54am

Gahhhh! Nicholas Martin's beyond brilliant production of "She Loves Me" should have transferred!

this.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 9:02am

proptart has it right. Boston is way too expensive these days to try out a big budget musical.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 9:16am

1998's FOSSE and the 2005 Broadway revival of SWEET CHARITY both played Boston on their pre-Broadway tryout/tour.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 9:26am

Butley doesn't really qualify as a tryout, does it?

On a side note, I saw The 39 Steps at the Huntington. It still remains one of the best theatrical experiences of my life!

[WOSQ]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 10:25am

Shows that play the Huntington use the LORT contract. If Butley had been a bust it would never have gone to NY. Different producers pick up regional productions to move into NY. That's how Butley/NY came to be.

Then there is 'enhancement' money in regionals which is how La Jolla, the Globe, and other theatres or productions happen to get tryouts even though they are often not billed as tryouts since legally they are not-for-profit productions. Commercial producers enhance the production budget in the LORT houses with the hope that the show will be good enough or fixable enough to continue on as a for-profit venture. Jersey Boys is a prime example. 39 Steps had enhancement money when it played Roundabout and probably at Huntington too.

Musicals do play out of town but rarely in more than one theatre because physical productions are now so large and complex that it is difficult to move them. In the case of the 5th Avenue, often the owners will become investors in shows that try out there. Look in the fine print of Hairspray producing credits and I think the 5th Ave is listed as one of the many producers. Often theatre owners will contribute not-directly-financial items to a budget like operating guarantees, bonds, free rehearsal space, transportation costs.

One of the big reasons shows don't try out in the northeast any more is us. Too many nay-sayers including slobs like Reidel will go see a show when it is trying out and is in mid-fix and then report back that the show is awful whether in the Post or on the web. There's a word for people like that and it is 'amateur'.

A true theatre pro goes and sees a show trying out, whether in preview in town or in performance out of town and the worst, the very worst, that ought to be said is that the show is 'in trouble' and leave it at that. The pros don't trash a show, the amateurs do. However the web and the Post have changed all that and not for the better.

I hope no one on this board has to be in trouble with a show and then have everyone throwing stones especially when the stone throwers cannot do better or even do less worse.

Philly, Boston, New Haven, DC, Detroit and Toronto all used to be busy tryout towns. Even Baltimore, Wilmington, Cincinnati, and Cleveland had tryouts during the season. Granted there were a lot more plays produced commercially, and they went out of town too. Few if any tryouts play that close to NY anymore.

[BroadwayBound115]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 11:12am

I think they don't try out there anymore because of Robbin' Hood. Remember what happened last time? A crazy critic killed 2 people during the show's out of town try-out. I don't think the producers want to put their show through that.

[lovesclassics]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 11:17am

Timely news item - "Present Laughter" is coming to Broadway after having a phenomenal run at the Huntington last season! I saw the production and it was superb. So glad it's transferring.

Interesting info, WOSQ. I seem to remember reading about "enhancement money" and other benefits when "Turn of the Century" had its world premiere at the Goodman in Chicago last year. It was part of the subscription season and therefore didn't have to pay space rentals etc. Being a non-profit, that keeps the payscale down, too, right?

Back in Boston, the Huntington really is a great space for musicals. "She Loves Me" was delightful. Wonder why they don't move more of them to Broadway. They move plenty of plays.

I wonder if they were considering "Pirates!" for a potential move. It was the same production done at PaperMill last year. It was fun but not very well received by critics. I hear it didn't sell well, either.
Present Laughter

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 11:17am

broadwaybound,

Updated On: 7/9/09 at 11:17 AM

[Fosse76]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 12:32pm

"The only place theatre has any relevance in this country is about twelve blocks in Manhattan and that's the sad truth of society and shows how much culture can change in forty years."

You've clearly never been to Chicago, which has more active theater groups and more theater offerings than New York. My theory is that cities that also have good regional offerings remain more relevant to producers, so they will pick cities that have an active theater community to try-out in...thinking it gives them a better response. I think it may also depend on the show and the type of audience they are appealing to:you'd probably try-out a new Sondheim show in a theatre-savy town rather than somewhere like Des Moines.

Another factor is where the talent is. Where the producers are based, on what theaters are available.

[chiuptown]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 2:00pm

"The only place theatre has any relevance in this country is about twelve blocks in Manhattan and that's the sad truth of society and shows how much culture can change in forty years."

With all due respect, for someone I thought fairly astute, that is the most asinine and elitest comment I have ever read on here. Take a look at the shows tranferring to Broadway from Chicago (just an example) this season, past seasons, and next season. I can walk in my neighborhood and pass countless active theatres on the North side of Chicago where apparently the crowds think something relavant is going on.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 2:33pm

singtopher, Mamma Mia went on a U.S. tour before coming to New York. The first production outside of the original in London was in Toronto. Then a tour went out while the OBC, who many were from the original Toronto cast, rehearsed the show for Broadway.

Back in the Golden Age of Broadway" the main try-out cities were Boston, Toronto, Philly, Detroit, New Haven, and Washington. And many would visit two or three cities before Broadway.

And if anyone can help me, but I know that the back cover of the cd booklet from the OBC recording of Oliver has the dates for all the out of town try-outs. It was like 3 or 4 cities before NY.

[timote316]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 7:44pm

DEFINITELY agree about the Huntington's SHE LOVES ME. Its one of my absolute favorite productions I've seen.... if not the #1.

I wonder if they were considering "Pirates!" for a potential move. It was the same production done at PaperMill last year. It was fun but not very well received by critics. I hear it didn't sell well, either.

I have no idea if that's in the cards, but it wouldn't surprise me. With the creative team that created the show (all of who have been a part of each major production of it), I've got to imagine that's the plan at some point. Only one critic hated it - unfortunately the most "influential" in the area. Due to her seemingly biased and rather disconnected review, initial sales were indeed hurt, but by the end of the run, when word of mouth caught up, houses were extremely full. I saw the show 3 times - it was fantastic.

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 7/9/09 at 8:09pm

So what TRULY is the purpose of an out of town tryout? Is it for the piece itself or to see how audiences would react? Because New York audiences are different then anywhere else audiences, right? For example, Flower Drum Song played in LA and was hugely successful and was extended. The Times they are A Changing was fairly successful in San Diego. But then again H2$ and Mille were really successful and were pretty successful on Broadway. Anyways, audiences are different in different parts of the country. It's just culture and how we were raised and how we view things. So if you look at it as that, and then taking a show to New York, what exactly is the point of a tryout?