The Basics

Before getting into some exciting daily stories, I think it might help if I briefly describe how the Broadway industry works. This is for any young actors, writers, producers out there AND for all of us out there sick of trying to explain our business to our parents :) Ask them to read this. And feel free to refer back to this posting as you read others later on!

For Plays and Musicals
Basically, someone decides they have an idea for a new show. Usually this person is a writer or a producer. Then a few things need to happen:

a) the show needs to be fully developed--
written, composed (if it's a musical), designed (sets, costumes, lights, sound), cast, etc;

b) the creative team of designers/writers/directors needs to be assembled.

c) funding must be raised to pay for the "pre-production" development of the piece.

While the producer(s) is out raising money, the show is usually developed in the following stages:

Reading
Workshop
Out-of-Town Tryout
Broadway

a) A reading is a minimally rehearsed presentation of the piece for a small invited audience in a rehearsal studio where the actors 'read' the piece from their scripts with minimal (if any) staging.

b) A workshop is a more thoroughly rehearsed presentation of the piece often with basic sets, costumes, etc; for a potentially bigger (but still limited) audience still in a rehearsal studio or a small theater.

c) An Out of Town Tryout is a fully mounted production of the piece with full sets, costumes, make-up, lights, sound, music, and so on in a selected venue of the producer's choice. Certain theaters around the country (La Jolla Playhouse, the Globe Theater in San Francisco, etc;) now specialize in housing new shows in development.

Still with me?

Ok, so depending on the success of the readings and workshops (yes there can be multiple), producers decide if the show is good enough & if there is enough interest to take the piece to Broadway.

This is a big decision. For a Broadway musical, a workshop can cost up to $500,000 to produce. But to then mount the show fully produced in a Broadway theater means spending upwards of 8 million dollars and beyond (Wicked's budget was one of Broadway's biggest ever at 14 million dollars. That's a lot of money to raise & risk.)

Since New York critics have the power to close a vulnerable Broadway show within hours of opening night, many producers choose to open the show out-of-town. There, away from the pressures of New York, the cast and crew take a few weeks to work out the kinks, make any necessary changes, and ideally turn their new Broadway show into a potential Broadway hit.