TennesseeGuy

After a lifetime of watching sports (esp. football), going to movies. I find my tastes changing. I am interested in seeing some live theater, shows, etc.
NYC came to mind, but the price of hotels in NYC is crazy! My wife and I will be visiting Atlanta a lot ( our first grand child was born there yesterday).
Has anyone been to a lot of shows in both Atlanta and New York? How does the quality compare?
Appreciate any advice or info about this type of entertainment. I've been to maybe half-a-dozen plays in my life , including high school. That was a long time ago!
Not knocking sports or Hollywood movies; just been there and done that.

starrs

The national tours of Broadway shows are just as good as the version on Broadway.
http://atlanta.broadway.com/

nytraveler

A matter of opinion.

Road shows often have "stars" known for their TV appearances and ticket appeal rather than Broadway level song and dance talent. If it's a cast FROM B'way it should still be as good.

starrs

I disagree. The "stars" from Broadway shows usually pass on after opening and shows continue with other cast members. Most of the time, the show continues without any noticeable impact. If the show is good, it continues on Broadway with new cast members. Vanya, etc. is one recent example.

I've been to Broadway Across America shows for years and they aren't known for casting ""stars" known for their TV appearances and ticket appeal ". They certainly aren't doing it with this year's lineup, including Book of Mormon, Once and Lion King. That would be jarring, I think.

Citylghts

I second the above post. Here's some more info on touring shows:

Within the first year or so of a successful Broadway show, what's known as the First National Touring Company is formed to play the major cities like Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, etc.

The company will play engagements between three weeks to several months and is almost indistinguishable from the Broadway production. It will have the same number of people in the cast and a similar number of musicians in the orchestra. For popular shows, there will frequently be a Second National Tour to play additional large cities at the same time.

Later, the producers will often form a Third (and possibly Fourth) National Company. These will play shorter engagements in smaller cities like Duluth, Fort Wayne or Syracuse.

The sets will be simplified and there will likely be fewer chorus members and musicians and some secondary characters may be combined. If you haven't seen one of the larger national companies or Broadway company, you probably wouldn't know what's missing. The performers frequently move between Broadway and road productions, so the caliber of performance is equal among all the different companies.

Another difference can also be that the performers in some touring shows are not members of Actors' Equity, the Broadway actors' union. While it can mean that they don't have as much experience that Equity members have, many are equal to their union counterparts. While Equity rules cover things such as the audition process, work hours and conditions and other areas, the biggest factor is that performers aren't paid on the same scale. So even though tickets prices are similar for Equity and non-Equity shows, the performers receive less and the producer keeps the difference.

starrs

One personal example supporting what Citylghts said -
I've seen one Broadway show multiple times in multiple cities. I've also watched the "behind the scenes" videos on the Behind the Emerald Curtain tour and was fascinated with the process of rotating sets among cities. One team is setting up in one city, while another set is being used in another. When current city's shows are over, the cast moves on to the new city while the set is moved to the next city. The sets are identical to the set on Broadway (and I was inches away last month to the Broadway set) although they may be adjusted for smaller stages.

The cast members, including the leads, have appeared on Broadway and in the traveling national tours (teams 1 and 2) as well as the permanent installation cities.

I completely disagree with anyone who says that the quality of the show is less than off Broadway than on.


Are there regional theaters that cast TV/movie starts to generate revenue? Sure. But that's a different situation altogether.

TennesseeGuy

Thanks a lot everyone! Looks like we can combine visiting the grand baby and Broadway quality shows in the same visit.