So either some person of enormous power at the top ranks of the North America (International, whatever) Tour should be labeled as Cromwellian, or some aggregate Real Estate Magnate/Underground planner/faceless bureaucrat might be more Cromwellian. Who gets the goofy black Cromwell hat?
Dunno. Too many angles, too many playas.
I'd still like to throttle whoever it is at my local PAC that has 2-3 times (seasons) passed on the BETM tour. The most close venue the tour stopped at in my area was Ft. Lauderdale, and the prices for seats were outrageous (getting used to the front row of the VPT is like getting hooked on crack! [in a good way????]). Meanwhile the Miami PAC remains underutilised, with season after season of really "safe" (boring) choices, and the bond service for the PAC itself will probably never get close to being paid till several generations in the future.
tzwicky wrote:So either some person of enormous power at the top ranks of the North America (International, whatever) Tour should be labeled as Cromwellian, or some aggregate Real Estate Magnate/Underground planner/faceless bureaucrat might be more Cromwellian. Who gets the goofy black Cromwell hat?
Dunno. Too many angles, too many playas.
I'd still like to throttle whoever it is at my local PAC that has 2-3 times (seasons) passed on the BETM tour. The most close venue the tour stopped at in my area was Ft. Lauderdale, and the prices for seats were outrageous (getting used to the front row of the VPT is like getting hooked on crack! [in a good way????]). Meanwhile the Miami PAC remains underutilised, with season after season of really "safe" (boring) choices, and the bond service for the PAC itself will probably never get close to being paid till several generations in the future.
tzwicky
I might send the powers that be at NETworks Cromwell's hat!
Your point about an overlooked but perfectly excellent venue makes my case....there are legs in this Tour yet. I think the more the members of this forum make it clear that we think so, then the greater the chance that the message will get through.
(I looked for seats at Jacksonville today. Very few good ones are available. At any performance. It is selling very well. That speaks volumes!)
When you consider that the North American tour began almost 3 years ago in Chicago, there will indeed be a number of cities who would be ripe for a "re-visit" since it will have been quite awhile since the show played there at the beginning of the tour (Chicago, Toronto, Durham, NC, etc.) Besides adding new cities where the show has yet to appear, some of the locations where the show has already played could indeed be ready to support it in a return visit, one would think.
Case in point: Cleveland was the 2nd stop on the original tour. The old model had the show staying longer in each city. Would you believe they were in Cleveland for 3 1/2 weeks and 29 performances?? If I remember correctly, the fill rate was something like 55%, BUT the State Theater is HUGE - 3000 seats. That means approximately 48,000 Clevelanders saw the show at the end of 2010 (remember the tour with Giuseppe, Daniel, Michael, Lex, and Kylend, who made his debut?). I think that three years later, under the new model of setting in for just one week, Cleveland would welcome the BETM tour with open arms again.
For them to end the tour must mean that even under the revamped, more cost-efficient model, that the show is not making the money it needs to. Again, we know all the reasons why this is an extremely expensive show to run. But jeez, the quality sure shines through, doesn't it? Sigh.
It's very difficult to get good seats unless you buy them as soon as they go on sale and they are not discounted. So the tour is staying in many cities for too short a time. Maybe the only solution is for the tour to close as SETA and open as non-union.
My take on the auditions is that Cal and one or both of the Michaels said no to Brazil, so they need to fill those roles. As for the Tampa Bay article, bebilly.com is still advertising for all roles; they're just repeating that call. It doesn't mean the company is in need of Billys right now. When speaking with a member of the company in Ottawa, they said that the cast is getting tired of the frequent lay-offs. The lay-offs have been spoken about here as "well-deserved rest"; they may be, but it's not paid vacation! As for a South American tour, I think that would require a major re-casting, particularly for the children. While the current cast might enjoy two weeks in Brazil, almost like a vacation, spending months that far from home is another matter altogether, not to mention that many wouldn't feel safe living in South America.
Unfortunately, just because we love the show doesn't mean enough other people do to make the show viable to keep going indefinitely. At the end of the day, it has to pay for itself.
'.......why this is an extremely expensive show to run.......'
All shows that go on Tour have added expenses not seen at 'fixed' venues, such as Broadway. My guess as to what make the Tour so expensive (whether in a fixed location or on tour) are the added expenses of 20 or so minor children. The Production has to be responsible for paying each child actors' contractual income, plus a per diem allowance for room and board, plus the expenses of guardians (whether parent or hired), academic tutors, dance instructors, physiotherapists, a dialect coach, plus the costs of transporting everyone in coaches or by air (for longer journeys) from points A to B. There will be incidental expenses, such as side visits to places of interest, group meals, entertainment for things such as hootenannies and parties, and so on. Somewhere in the background must exist people who oversee the welfare of the children from a duty of care position: the tour wranglers, the tutoris, compliance with each child's state's school requirements (believe the tutors' are hired from a company that does this), health and safety rules for minors, coordination with each state's and province's child welfare and health and safety rules, including transporting children across state lines and international borders; liaising with state and local health and safety over the use of aerial effects by minors, etc etc etc. It all adds up, and must place a demand on the bottom line figures not seen in all-adult touring productions. It is also a very large cast to transport, move and pay - larger than, say, Jersey Boys. Whereas London maintains a Billy House (and the girls sleep at home) and education can be state paid, the Tour has to transport, house, educate and chaperone 20 children 24/7 in hotels, coaches and theatres, a number considerably larger than the Billy House holds, and has to do it among a constantly changing set of rules, regulation and bye-laws as the Tour moves from state to state and country to country. Given the choice of organising the London children, or the Tour, the London situation must be vastly more straightforward, consistent and, I would imagine, less expensive to maintain than the Tour, even in a very expensive city.
I have to tip my hat to those who coordinate the training and welfare of the Tour cast so well - and seemingly so efficiently. The kids and cast look very happy.
Well as a forum I think we need to keep the pressure on the tour to keep going. I too fear that if the tour closes, it might not ever be revived in North America.
I think that casting calls for Billys will continue in the US after the tour ends, because the London show might find a Billy they want to bring over to London. Of course, at least three of the current tour Billys could easily transfer to London after the tour ends if needed, and if they wanted to go.
Ellen
"I don't want people who want to dance; I want people who have to dance.”
-George Balanchine 1904 -1983
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Mactor17 wrote:Well as a forum I think we need to keep the pressure on the tour to keep going. I too fear that if the tour closes, it might not ever be revived in North America.
The forum has no influence on what the touring company, nor any other company producing BETM, does. To assume that forum "pressure" could be applied is not realistic.
Ellen
"I don't want people who want to dance; I want people who have to dance.”
-George Balanchine 1904 -1983
To follow the forum's Twitter at http://twitter.com/BEForum, click on the direct link in Applies to All Forums above.
