"Rent" is one of many Broadway shows that are touring away from the Great White Way

Web posted on:
Friday, July 09, 1999 10:24:21 AM EST

From Cynthia Tornquist
CNN Entertainment News Correspondent

"Jekyll and Hyde," for example, is one of nearly 20 productions crisscrossing the United States this summer. The show originally debuted on the road in pre-Broadway tryouts. This has become a common way of testing and tinkering with a big-budget production before its investment is risked amid the tough critics and audiences of Manhattan. "Jekyll and Hyde" went into a Broadway theater six years after its inception on the road.

Currently performing to audiences in Columbus, Ohio, the roadshow is expected to tour the United States through the middle of the year 2000, even as its Broadway company continues its engagements in New York's Plymouth Theatre.

A special effect for "Jekyll and Hyde" is tested for local fire inspectors to approve before a show in Dallas

Like "J&H," as its fans call it, many more musicals continue on Broadway -- "Cabaret," "Chicago," "Footloose," "Ragtime," and "Rent" to name a few -- with additional companies created for the road. Many large-scale shows today, in fact, are built from the beginning with double sets and costumes, their producers planning the roadshow versions from the outset.

"Broadway now is presented in about 90 cities across the United States, and the touring business seems to continue to be very healthy," says Jed Bernstein, executive director of the League of American Theaters and Producers. That's the organization of Broadway producers formed to promote their product both in New York and on the road.

This past season, Broadway raked in more than $1.3 billion. More than half the industry's annual take comes from profits from the road.

Take "Peter Pan." The show has been on the road since November 1997, headlined by former gymnast Cathy Rigby. It recouped its investment, paying itself back in the first six months of the tour. When successful like this, touring allows the production to pay its bills.

"Footloose"

It's back on Broadway right now, performing at the Gershwin Theatre through August 29.

But when out on the road, the actors travel light -- usually by bus -- so the crew can cram every set, costume prop, and piece of hardware into the six semis that move the show from city to city. Tours like this, in fact, are often called "bus and truck" in the industry.

A long engagement in one venue -- say a month or so -- is called a "sit down" because the show "sits down" for an extended period. Most stops, however, are for a week of eight performances, normally running from Tuesday night through the Sunday matinee.

Particularly thanks to London-based producer Cameron Mackintosh -- who broke the mold by pouring millions of dollars into the roadshow of "Les Miserables" in the late 1980s -- national and international tours today are generally comparable to their Broadway counterparts. Once Mackintosh had established a new standard, a prior tendency to field scaled-down versions of New York shows fell quickly into disfavor among audiences.

In most cases now, a Broadway show's elaborate sets and costumes will be retooled for road travel. Casts are usually quite comparable to their New York counterparts. Orchestras may be smaller, but scores can be synthesized in many cases to good effect.

Practically everything you'd see on Broadway you'll find at a theater near you.