Broadway’s Touring Facelift
By SAM THIELMAN
All this work can be worthwhile, because on the road, there’s much less guesswork about whether a show will succeed.
For one thing, it’s easier to find people who are going to like what you have to offer. “Those presenters who are interested in the show raise their hands early on,” Isaacson says. “Clearly, with 9 to 5, early on, we knew we wanted to start in the South. Launching the tour in Nashville [on Sept. 21] was kind of a no-brainer. From there we go from Atlanta to Charlotte.”
Right away, then, Isaacson had three dates in places where 9 to 5 composer/lyricist Dolly Parton has an established—you could even say rabid—fan base. From there, it’s possible to work out within a much smaller margin of error how much money a tour can make. With careful planning—plotting a route with as little travel time as possible between shows, for example—a producer can increase that amount.
Look for this type of tinkering to continue for years to come. Isaacson says, “I think what’s happened is that there is more of a recognition now that touring musicals are their own craft and art.”
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Sam Thielman is a freelance writer based in New York City. He contributes arts and news reportage to Variety, Publishers Weekly, World Magazine, and Newsday. He reviews fiction, movies and live performance and writes a bimonthly column on graphic novels and cartoons for Newsday.