by Chase Gosselin
To call something a “long and winding road” is so cliche. Yet, I honestly can’t think of a better description to encapsulate the long and, well, winding journey that any musical or play goes through before making it to NYC’s theatre district. In a time when we have become supersaturated by entertainment, both good and bad, it’s becoming more and more difficult to trust that a piece is working. Likewise, it’s becoming even more difficult to find the immense numbers of investors needed to pay for the show. With all of this in mind, I thought I would try to simply break down the path that most shows take in order to get to New York, whether it takes them ten months or ten years!
1) Conceptualization and Writing
All shows start as a simple concept. Some are based on a book or movie, or imagine this- some shows are completely original ideas. I know, that’s a lot to swallow these days. But, I digress. On occasion, the idea to make a theatrical production can come from a producer or theatrical organization. For example, Kinky Boots was the brainchild of producer Daryl Roth, while Matilda was commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company. These instances are rare in the sense that the authors are actually being paid to write their piece. However, more often than not, the concept starts right at the authors. In that case, they’re on their own, and the authors can spend years writing without any certainty that anybody will ever actually pay them for their work. They then have the task of finding a producer for their work before moving onto the next step of the process.
2) Development
Once the first draft of a musical or play is written, then begins the treacherous developmental process. Really, there are three main routes that people take at this stage: concept recordings (if it’s a musical), readings, and workshops.
-A concept recording is a common device used by composers such as Andrew Lloyd Webber and Frank Wildhorn. They produce full albums of their musicals, and by using a full cast and orchestra, it helps them shape their piece. Similarly, I know some plays have been first released as novellas (recently, The Testament of Mary) or as radio plays. Regardless, it’s all about seeing the piece in some semi-finished format, though different than the eventual purpose.
-A reading is a process that almost every show coming to Broadway goes through at least once. A reading is exactly what it sounds like- a reading of the script. A cast and creative team is assembled, and usually within a 29 hour period the piece is rehearsed and performed for an invitation-only audience. Like the concept recording, a reading is meant to hear the piece out loud to then go back and make edits and alterations as necessary. However, a reading has the added luxury of watching crowd reactions. You can start to really understand how an audience will respond to your piece.
-A workshop is similar to a reading, except that it starts to incorporate a physical production. Though it’s confined to a rehearsal room, you start to use props and some costumes, have choreography and staging, and spend more time on making changes throughout the process. Then, at the end, you might have a performance like that of the reading. Wicked is a musical that was known to be developed majorly through a set of intense workshops.
3) Money Money Money…..
So, a show might be getting into great shape from all those readings and workshops. But, it ultimately won’t matter until a physical production is mounted which takes, yes, money. Lots of money. So, the show’s producer goes into hyper-producer mode, and the show will often hold special events such as concerts or reading and workshop like performances. These all are considered “Backer’s Auditions” where the show is literally auditioning for potential investors. Now, the focus is not so much improving the piece, but instead selling the piece.
4) The Try-Out
Great, you had your backers audition and you’re rolling in cash. Now what? Broadway. Nope. Nice try, but not yet. First, you must have a try-out production. Whether that’s out of town (i.e. Pippin at the ART), out of the country (i.e. Rocky Das Musical in Germany), or maybe just a bit out of Times Square at an off-Broadway theatre (i.e. Next to Normal at Second Stage). Regardless, you’ve got to get the whole production on its feet to make the appropriate tweaks before bringing it to Broadway. There are rare exceptions where shows open straight on Broadway without a try-out (i.e. The Book of Mormon), but those success stories are few and fare between.
5) Ta-Da!
Congrats, now it’s time for Broadway! Well, usually. You can never know what might occur in a show’s development. You may go into your try-out production thinking everything is ready to go, but suddenly realize that the whole piece needs rethinking. In fact, some shows go into previews and then realize it! (i.e. a little show called Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark). Anyhow, at the end of the day, it’s important to understand that each show gets to Broadway on a very unique path. There is certainly no formula to create a theatrical hit, but that’s the risk and excitement of it all, isn’t it? So, while I can’t promise that every production will follow the exact path I’ve outlined, I can promise you this: If you get a handle on these simple set of terms, you are one step closer to understanding the bizarre inner workings of our wonderful industry.