Why don't original cast members of a broadway show go on tour anymore?

Wasn't it a typical thing for stars of a show to go on tour after their Broadway run is over? It doesn't seem like that is the case anymore. Why is that?

I noticed this too, then when I considered the new touring shows and the stars who did the broadway runs I realized that most of them found work afterward. If you look at the shows that have started touring within the last year, almost all of the stars of that production are doing something else, or did something else. No need to do the tour when it's on your resume already, and you're being offered other work.

The best way to get your name out there is to get a TV show or movie.

While not typical anymore, some still do. Alice Ripley did the Next to Normal tour. Didn't Ashley Brown and/or Gavin Lee tour with Mary Poppins?

Touring can be, and frequently is, a pain in the ass. Most actors who have made a name for themselves in an original cast often find more appealing job offers in New York or at regional theatres.

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The way the world communicates has changed. This is really very simple. Before, there weren't movies or tv in the same level that there is now, and the internet didn't exist at all. Why would anyone tour who doesn't have to?

Touring won't get their names out there more than tv and movies will.

Updated On: 5/15/13 at 06:09 PM

Alice Ripley with Next to Normal is the most recent, I believe.

>> "While not typical anymore, some still do. Alice Ripley did the Next to Normal tour."

If you google the history of Alice Ripley with Next To Normal it's not hard to infer that she might really be enamored with that show and that character - enamored to a point that she really loves to stick with the role/show. (Personal aside: I don't blame her in the least!)

She's the one actor who has consistently been with the production from its earliest stages. Before the show opened on Broadway, she and Emily Skinner quipped about it in their RAW at Town Hall concert. When it came time to tour, she elected to play Diana on the road - which we all can probably concede is not consistent with today's standard.

I truly believe that Ripley loves that role and the show. Like I mentioned earlier, I can't see any reason to fault her one bit. (Yup... I'm a fan.)

But that explains why I think she's an exception (in regards to your OP). I think the reason stars from Broadway productions don't tour any more is: MONEY.

Even in the heyday of touring companies, few Broadway stars appeared in national tours of the show they were famous for (but that's not the MONEY part... keep reading). They could easily be replaced with another "name" actor in a touring company, BUT... they could continue with their role on Broadway, or move on to another project. (Everybody "wins".)

Today however, the "new normal" appears to be Non-Equity tours. Producers don't have to pay the higher salaries for Equity actors in the roles, but can still expect equivalent ticket fees because the show is "direct from Broadway" (meaning that there has been no other touring production in that geographical market).

Personally, I think it's a shame. I absolutely agree with best12bars that "it matters". Even if they're not "the originals" from Broadway, it absolutely does make a difference for a kid "who grew up in the styx" (REALLY, best... the rock band???) to have the opportunity to see well-known actors on tour.

I don't support non-Equity tours. It's not that I'd deny beginning actors the opportunity to "earn their dues" (Hell's Bells... soooo many other opportunities to earn those Equity points), it's just that I resent the denial of logistically challenged folks from enjoying the "rush" of seeing stars. (You either "get" that or you don't...)

Updated On: 5/15/13 at 07:01 PM

>> "Tracy Bennett in End of the Rainbow"

I'm kinda drunk now so... Meaning what?

Updated On: 5/15/13 at 07:13 PM

Do the understudies take their place for the tour?

It's not that unusual for a Broadway original performer to do the show in LA. (LA is where the film and TV casting directors are. Getting a lot of media attention here can lead to broadcast work.)

Gothampc is right that before Broadway theaters were air-conditioned, shows used to tour with their original casts during the hot summer months.

Shows also rarely ran more than a season. An original cast star today doesn't NEED to go on the road because a hit show will run several years to a couple of decades. If a performer loves her role, she might as well stay in NYC.

This isn't to say that Broadway stars don't appear in OTHER shows when they need the work. There are still large stock theaters in the Midwest and Southeast, but TV/movie stars probably draw better than a strictly Broadway star.

Updated On: 5/15/13 at 08:01 PM

Norbert Leo Butz also briefly reprised his role as Freddy in the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels tour.

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Wow,I had no idea that Broadway houses used to close for some of the Summer? When was this done? Wouldit mean a run for Oklahoma! or whatever would not be consecutive but the number of performances had a break?

One other aspect I think is not so much that stars used to get their name out by touring and hope to get better known--and now to do that theyhave to move to tv or movies, but also kinda the reverse. For a long time these Broadway stars were well known thanks to radio broadcasts of plays nationally with often the original leads, or performances on variety shows on radio and TV. Broadway culture was much better known in the rest of the US (or the continent) I believe--so to see a show with its original leads on tour would help sell it. Now, I don't think it matters that much anymore--many casual theatre fans I know who regularly go to touring shows pick their shows due to the show--they rarely would have any idea who the leads were (or if it was stunt casted on Broadway with a movie/tv actor, those same people would probably not be available for a tour...)