Future Arena Tours?

[Starship]

With the recent news of JCS being cancelled due to an investor pulling out (most likely due to poor ticket sales?), I've been wondering if an arena production of a theatrical piece is even possible. What in the future could draw more attention to the production itself? A more familiar piece? A more A list cast? Any ideas for shows/casts you think could successfully tour an arena show?

I thought The Wiz would be a great choice. The Wizard of Oz is a universal theme and The Wiz is very contemporary and seems like it would be a great match for 2014-2015 audiences and a good match for a concert like arena adaptation. I also think there's a lot of star casting potential. Even though they may not be the best choices at all, I could definitely see names like Ciara, will.i.am, Michelle Williams, and even artists such as Mary J. Blidge, Alicia Keys, or Usher being attached. The show itself may not be wildly popular, but there's a lot of different possibilities when it comes to casting and design and I think the show itself could hold the attention of most American audiences. Investment wise, I think it would be very appealing for investors to have a modern, high-tech concert like musical adaptation that toured for a short period of time with some A, B-list names.

What do you all think?

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

It's an interesting thought, not illogical, but The Wiz has been done and done and done. They've tried. Its time is over. Wicked eats up all the Wizard air now.

To add something more constructive... you need something that fits the venue. Arenas and stadiums are big, and it needs to be really specific to fill those. You could do, say, Tommy with rock stars. Or maybe something based on an opera, because they are big by nature (I thought of one about a week or two ago, and now I forgot it).

[Starship]

Very very true. I personally could do without anything Wizard of Oz themed for quite a while, but how is The Wiz/Wizard of Oz received in the US right now? Are people sick of it or would it still be something people would be inclined to see? I know there's been a non-equity/equity tour that has passed through most venues in the US over the span of the past few years, but I'm unaware of how it is received.

I mainly thought of The Wiz only as I feel it'd be the easiest to "contemporize" without ruining the material too much. There's many many many possibilities for bringing the show to a concert setting, both set, music, and casting wise.

[dramamama611]

I don't see the appeal of ANY arena musical. MOST seats would be too far away to see any sort of "acting" at all. It could only BE spectacle -- and that just doesn't appeal to me at all.

[veronicamae]

I don't think The Wiz or Wizard of Oz would sell as an arena tour. Hell, WoO could barely fill an Austin university concert hall. And without an all-star cast led by, like, Beyonce, The Wiz could never.

Shows that have huge followings that cross generations would need to be used, plus star power. Les Mis and Phantom come to mind.

As successful as Wicked is, I don't think it could sell multiple arenas. They could probably sell MSG for a one-night OBC reunion.

[James885]

Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark would probably work well in an arena. It was pretty much all spectacle anyways.

[RW3]

^Agree. They could cast the show with at least B-list actors to cast.

[sbflyfan]

Although I'm sure many would argue it's only a mediocre piece, I've always thought "Starlight Express" would be fantastic in an arena setting. Something along the lines of the production in Germany.

[brdway411]

Although not a true arena, the whole reason I skipped going to A Christmas Story (which I adored, saw it twice the year before at Lunt Fontaine) last year was because it was in the theater at MSG. I have never been in the space but have been told it is huge, with horrible sight lines.

[ukpuppetboy]

From today's Billboard article:
"Cohl says his company, S2BN, struck a broader arrangement with Really Useful — one giving S2BN the global rights to produce arena tours of a wide range of Webber’s properties. That would include such hugely popular works as "Cats," "The Phantom of the Opera," "Starlight Express" and "Evita.""


Looks like this thread was ahead of the news here, but Michael Cohl could do worse than mull over the suggestions. I mean, an arena tour of Cats??! Seriously...

I agree, possibly Starlight (at a push) is the only potential but I still doubt it would sell. A stadium tour of Woman in White - forget about it.

And for Michael Cohl's next trick...

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Phantom might have a chance if they pick the right stars, try to replicate the Albert Hall staging, and replace the chandelier drop with something that has more impact, like a massive chandelier explosion (and not the few popped fuses from the concert). (Also, cutting it down to the ninety-minute Vegas version but retaining the intermission and Act One chandelier climax might help.)

[Starship]

If a name like Hugh Jackman toured with another A-list actress, Phantom MIGHT have a shot. But in an arena? It's just too big.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

That's the kind of casting I was thinking, to be frank.

[ukpuppetboy]

At the end of the day though you're still looking at a performance on a screen for 90% of the audience. I was at the Albert Hall gigs for Phantom and Les Mis and it's still just about intimate enough to make out the actors without relying on a video feed for the majority of seats. But an arena (such as the O2 Les Mis event) does detatch you from the action that extra mile. And for every part of the show that may be great in such a large venue (The Overture, Masquerade, the title song), there are lots that would just get lost (Managers Office/Notes, Angel of Music, any dialgoue scenes.....) Unless they had multiple chanderliers or other large scale pyrotechnic this too may just disappear into the scale of the arena..

[qolbinau]

God, Michael Cohl has produced Spider-Man, A Night with Janis Joplin and The JCS Arena tour in the US. He hasn't been very lucky recently.

[RippedMan]

I just wonder what the "big" set pieces were going to be? or what would have made it a massive arena tour? Just the fact that there are stars isn't enough.

[SweetLips]

I did see Hugh Jackman do an arena production of Boy from Oz, but without him I'm sure it wouldn't have sold.

[haterobics]

I get that I have to go to an arena/stadium if I want to see U2 or somesuch, but... I can't think of any theater show I would want/have to see in a venue that size.

[philly03]

I always thought "Jekyll & Hyde" (its expected I would say this...) could work in an arena setting, something like the Resurrection concert tour that played a few years ago. 3 big stars, don't really need the ensemble. As the last tour/revival proved, they are going to still be directed to "sing out" to the audience like a concert anyway, why not put it in an arena. And stars would certainly be attracted to playing Lucy and Jekyll/Hyde with those songs!

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Yes. Back in 1989. Unfortunately the stars have long since moved on, which is how you wound up with Constantine Maroulis and Deborah Cox instead of, say, Josh Groban and Beyonce.

[philly03]

^^ HAHA Touche!