This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.
[[left page]] STAGE DIRECTORS FROM THE LEAGUE BY BEN PESNER Broadway Across the USA Although Urinetown: The Musical ends its lengthy run at the Henry Miller Theatre this month, its life is by no means over. This winter the national touring production of the oddly titled multiple Tony Award® winner plays one and two-week engagements in Boston, MA; Cleveland, OH; East Lansing, MI; Wallingford, CT; Milwaukee, WI; Washington, DC; Louisville, KY; and Tampa, FL. That's a typical schedule for a Broadway show that goes out "on the road," i.e., on North American tour. Most appear as part of a subscription series, on which local audiences might see The Full Monty one week and Hairspray the next. For Broadway fans across the continent, it's hard to beat the sense of joyous anticipation when trucks carting the sets and costumes of a Broadway tour come to town. And for the performers, each new city brings with it the renewed excitement of an opening night. "It is a thrill to have live Broadway shows in Iowa," says Jeff Chelesvig, president of the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines. "We just presented the national tour of Thoroughly Modern Millie. It was a treat for our audiences to see a show straight from Broadway." Road companies were once considered second-string operations. Not any more. Audiences on the road are too smart, says Chelesvig. "We have a lot of patrons who go to New York and see shows. There is always a very favorable comparison to the casts and productions of [New York productions to] Broadway tours." "National tours are the Big Apple's greatest cultural export," says League President Jed Bernstein, who notes that touring companies account for over half of all Broadway tickets sold each season. That includes such musicals as The Producers and a new production of Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk, as well as plays like The Graduate, Say Goodnight Gracie and The Exonerated. Touring Broadway shows even have their own annual awards, the NBTAs (NationalBroadwayAwards.com), and their popularity continues to grow as new productions hit the road each season. As Cameron Mackintosh, producer of The Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables (which have each been touring for more than 15 years), has said, "Broadway is a street, but the road is a whole continent." For information on Broadway productions that tour to as many as 140 North American cities, visit LiveBroadway.com or call The Broadway Line® at 1 (888) BROADWAY. [[logo]] BROADWAY OPEN HOUSE™ the official theatre tour Broadway Open House Tours™, presented by Visa, visit 15 Broadway houses, with exclusive access to theatre interiors. Tours depart from the Broadway Ticket Center, located in the Times Square Visitors Center on the east side of Broadway between 46th and 47th Streets. Schedule and tickets: (212) 239-6200 or visit LiveBroadway.com "Stage Directions from the League™ is presented, courtesy of Playbill, by The League of American Theatres and Producers, Inc., the national trade association for the commercial theatre industry. [[Advertisement logos]] Continental Airlines The official Airline of Broadway Live Broadway www.LiveBroadway.com [[/Advertisement logos]] 22 [[/left page]] [[right page]] LINCOLN CENTER THEATRE SPONSOR PATRONS, $5,000+ (continued) [[left column]] Ninah & Michael Lynne Sir Deryck & Lady Maughan Susan & Herman Merinoff Mr. & Mrs. Edward H. Meyer Kathryn & Gilbert Miller Fund John Morning Robin Neustein Mr. & Mrs. Bruce M. Newman Mr. & Mrs. Wilson Nolen Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison Dara & Mark Perlbinder Lisa & Richard Perry rave! advertising Burton & Judith Resnick Paula & Ira Resnick Mr. & Mrs. John R. Robinson Mr. & Mrs. Allan V. Rose Miriam Rosen Kim & Ralph Rosenberg [[right column]] Mr. & Mrs. A.M. Rosenthal Pamela & Stuart Rothenberg Satter Family Foundation Rapaport-Shallat Foundation Fredric A. Silberman & Sharon Kim Siegriedt The Silverweed Foundation Mr. & Mrs. John S.W. Spofford Mrs. Anita Stafford Amy & Robert Stavis The Sulzberger Foundation, Inc. Julie Taymor & Elliot Goldenthal Bonnie & Daniel Tisch Roy & Niuta Titus Foundation Michael Tuch Foundation Diane & Tom Tuft Neil & Virginia Weiss Fdn., in memory of Steven Weiss Barry & Fran Weissler Mr. & Mrs. Robert G. Wilmers The Winokur Family Foundation SUPPORTING PATRONS, $3,500+ [[left column]] Frances Beatty Adler & Allen Adler Jody & John Arnhold Arts International Page Ashley Mary Ellin & Marvin Barrett Mr. & Mrs. Sid R. Bass Debra & Leon Black Gilda & Henry Block James & Barbara Block Isabel Brown Linda & Arthur Carter Judith L. Chiara Charitable Fund Drs. Phyllis Cohen & Walter Goldstein Betsey & Alan d. Cohn James H. Coleman Credit Industriel et Commerical Louise & Edgar Cullman Mr. & Mrs. Jack David Jennie & Richard De Scherer Aashish & Dinny Devitre Barbara & Christopher Dixon David M. Easton & James M. Steinmeyer Carol & Roger Einiger Ronald Finkelstein In memory of William Fox, The William Fox, Jr. Foundation Edgar & Barbara Freitag Barbara & Stephen Friedman Lynn Gilbert Beth & Gary Glynn William T. Golden The Allan S. Gordon Foundation Patty & Fred Green Ellen & Robert Grimes Mr. & Mrs. Henry A. Grunwald Thomas H. Guinzburg Ted & Dina Merrill Hartley Peter & Ann Herbst The Hermione Foundation Alex Hillman Family Foundation Pamela Howard Marjorie Hyman & Barnard Straus Mr. & Mrs. Alistair Johnston Sharon Karmazin Maureen & Geof Kirsch [[right column]] Geraldine Kory Nanette L. Laitman Bob & Marilyn Laurie Dalia & Larry Leeds Isabelle Leeds Dr. Ethel LeFrak Mimi & Mortimer Levitt Ellen & James S. Marcus Mr. & Mrs. Paul Martinson Wendy & Jeffrey S. Maurer Mr. & Mrs. Hamish Maxwell Gilda & John McGarry Vivian & Edward Merrin Melissa Meyer & Peter Mensch The Nash Family Foundation Stanley Newman & Brian Rosenthal Kathleen O'Grady Geraldine Parker & Tanya Waddell Diane & Steve Parrish Peggy S. Rice Marcia Riklis Mr. & Mrs. Rowland Robinson Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Rosen Mr. & Mrs. Peter M. Sacerdot John E. Schowalter, M.D. Paola & Michael Schulhof Sheldon & Elinor A. Seevak The Evelyn Sharp Foundation Sydney & Stanley Shuman Mr. & Mrs. Jolyon F. Stern James Stevenson & Josephine Merck Jane Stine & R.L. Stine Carol & Hans Storr Leila & Melville Straus Mr. & Mrs. Laurence A. Tisch June Ugelow Violett & Thomas Foundation Rudolph & Lentilhon von Fluegge Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Waintrup Dr. Sue Ann Weinberg Carl Weisbrod & Jody Adams Barbara & Kirk White Mr. & Mrs. Guy Wyser-Pratte Barbara & David Zalaznick Selim Zilkha & Laetitia Winery [[/right page]]