Bridges of Madison County Tour Casting

[broadwayboy222]

Was just listening to a clip of Nathaniel Hackmann singing They Call The Wind Maria and thought that he would make a phenomenal Robert! I don't think that the tour is cast yet, and don't know if he would leave Les Mis/ NYC to tour, although he was previously in the Les Mis and Beauty and the Beast tours that were also produced by Networks. Would love to see this happen! Just a thought.

[NiceWork2]

Wasn't the Bridges tour made non-equity? I thought i heard it was, but could be mistaken. I do agree that Hackmann would make a great Robert Kincaid.

[LizzieCurry]

No. https://twitter.com/MrJasonRBrown/status/579090747351158784

[ebontoyan]

Just curious why someone allready in NYC will want to tour?! In baseball terms that will be like moving from the major leagues to the minor leagues! Just my opinion of course

[juice23]

I don't think Stephanie j. Block would consider originating elphaba on tour as being demoted to the minor leagues....

[gleek4114]

Well to be fair, if someone was in a show on broadway as an ensemble member or an understudy, getting offered a lead in a major national tour is something many would jump at. Even though it wouldn't be in New York, it would give anyone a chance to showcase their wider range of talents outside of an ensemble track.

[LizzieCurry]

Just my opinion of course

Your uneducated opinion.

[ebontoyan]

Wow why call my opinion that?! What have I ever done to u Ms St*****y??! lol lol

To the other posters, thanks for pointing out ensemble who may want to go on tour as the lead character to showcase their talents, makes sense! Was Stephanie J Block working in a Broadway show when she was offered and took the Elphaba role on tour?! Just curious

[oncemorewithfeeling2]

Block was one of the female leads in The Boy from Oz before she toured with Wicked.

Touring isn't a step down. For many young actors, it change a way to gain experience and make some money (especially if they're touring on a production contract). The touring lifestyle is the hard part and what many more established actors don't want to do.

[broadwayboy222]

Just saw that Nathaniel tweeted his departure from Les Mis will be this summer, and that "more exciting news is coming soon". Hoping this will be the Bridges tour! 

[bjh2114]

Well this casting to me is disappointing.  I don't really see Stanley in that part, but maybe she can make it work.  But Samonsky is all wrong for that part.

 

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Elizabeth-Stanley-Andrew-Samonsky-Will-Lead-National-Tour-of-Jason-Robert-Browns-THE-BRIDGES-OF-MADISON-COUNTY-20150723

[neonlightsxo]

Yup. They're both wrong.

[QueenAlice]

Touring is also a way a lot of actors can put away savings, as they are pied a per diem to live on and housing on the road.  

I think the reason you don't see as many 'A' name Broadway performers on the road these days isn't because they don't want to tour, its because most of the tours are being presented either non-union or under a contract that pays substantially lower than Broadway.  

Just googling the audition notice for this tour: it was offering actors $698 a week under a "Short Engagement Touring Agreement" -- this is less than what most major regional theaters pay, and less than 1/2 of the Broadway minimum.  That's not exactly a grand incentive to leave New York...

Tours in the UK are doing the same thing (and we pay actors much less to begin with) and the quality of what you see in the provinces is largely dire.

[LarryD2]

Just googling the audition notice for this tour: it was offering actors $698 a week under a "Short Engagement Touring Agreement" -- this is less than what most major regional theaters pay, and less than 1/2 of the Broadway minimum.  That's not exactly a grand incentive to leave New York...

That is the minimum pay for this type of tour, not necessarily what they will be paid. A good agent can almost always negotiate a more favorable compensation package than the category minimum. While hardly stars, Stanley and Samonsky are fairly well-known industry professionals; I'm certain they'll be making significantly more than minimum.

[ACL2006]

I would almost guarantee that both Stanley & Samonsky are making around $1,000/week on this tour.

[QueenAlice]

I don't doubt that, but even if they are making $1,000 a week, that is a lot less than what they would get being in the chorus of a Broadway show.

 

[MegInManhattan]

Alice (or anyone), do you know what the average per diem is when on tour with a major production?

[LarryD2]

The amount of per diem is dependent upon certain factors, all of which are explained below:

(E) When the Actor is required to be more than 50 miles away from the Actor’s Place of Residence, Actor shall receive a Per Diem payment (except as provided in (F), below).

(1) If the Actor elects not to accept the Producer-provided housing, the Per Diem shall be $82.00 (effective June 7, 2010, $84.00; effective June 6, 2011, $86.00).

(2) If the Actor elects to accept the Producer-provided single-occupancy housing, $42.00 (effective June 7, 2010, $43.00; effective June 6, 2011, $44.00) shall be deducted from the Per Diem as a housing payment; and the remaining amount of the Per Diem, $40.00 (effective June 7, 2010, $41.00; effective June 11, 2011, $42.00), shall be paid to the Actor.

(3) If the Actor elects to accept the Producer provided double-occupancy housing, $32.00 (effective June 7, 2010, $33.00; effective June 6, 2011, $34.00) shall be deducted from the Per Diem as a housing payment, and the remaining amount of the Per Diem, $50.00 (effective June 7, 2010, $51.00; effective June 6, 2011, $52.00), shall be paid to the Actor.

(F) Where pre-production or rehearsal prior to the first paid public performance takes place in Los Angeles County, New York City, Chicago or San Francisco, Producer shall not be required to pay Per Diem under (E) above, but shall provide, at Producer’s option, any Actor who is more than 70 miles away from Actor’s Place of Residence, either:

(1) $50 per day, as reimbursement for housing costs; or,

(2) Single occupancy housing within reasonable commuting distance to rehearsal, at no cost to the Actor.

Said housing or per diem shall be provided from the first day of rehearsal up to the time the company leaves the pre-production location or the first paid public performance, whichever is earlier. At that point, Actor shall receive housing and per diem in accordance with (A) through (E) above. Producer shall make its election ((1) or (2) above) in Producer’s offer to the Actor.

[newintown]

Really? Just $1,000 a week for the leads? I know it was a flop, and has a good chance of flopping on the road as well (it's not unheard of for tours to shut down early), but even if they signed 1-year contracts, that's only $52,000 for the year, minus $5,200 for the agent, $5,200 for the manager (I imagine they each have both), etc., etc., etc.

That's hardly what anyone would call remotely lucrative.

[CatastrophicDay]

Is it common for tours to not finish their runs? I only started following the business side of theater recently, and I've never really looked into a tour's numbers.

That doesn't seem like a huge salary; the per diem may make a difference though, especially if a lot of the usual costs of living are covered (housing, mostly). 

[eperkins]

I sincerely doubt that the leads would be paid only $1,000 week. No.

[newintown]

The first national tour of The Full Monty closed after only the first few cities. Others since have cancelled engagements and folded early, including Peter and the Starcatcher, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the Dreamgirls tour of about 5 years ago, etc.

[sorano916]

"The first national tour of The Full Monty closed after only the first few cities. Others since have cancelled engagements and folded early, including Peter and the Starcatcher, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the Dreamgirls tour of about 5 years ago, etc."

For the record, the first national tour of Peter and the Starcatcher didn't close early; it finished its run. You might be referring to the non-equity tour.