Shows that require adjustments made to touring venues.

[Call_me_jorge]

I think I remember reading that many touring venues made renovations to their houses in order to facilitate the original phantom tour. Has this happened for any other show since? Or are most shows set designs made sure to not over build compared to what the OG phantom tour was.

[Jakeevan942]

The only other shows that led to large-scale theater renovation since Phantom were Lion King and Wicked; however, these both fit, more or less, with the physical specs of a Phantom-ready theater. The renovations which occurred related to Lion King and Wicked were primarily in theaters which had never hosted the original Phantom tour. Nothing really has gone out on a larger scale since. Now, most new venues opening in major touring markets are built to, at minimum, the specs to accommodate the full-scale, original Phantom tour, so that they can effectively accommodate anything else that hits the road.

[BwayLB]

I’m hoping the parasole issue in Hello Dolly is solved for Costa Mesa.

[zainmax]

Probably what was big enough for Phantom was big enough for Miss Saigon.

[MarkBearSF]

I recall that San Francisco's Orpheum underwent a major remodel in 1998 including a much-needed extension of the stage - as was commonly needed for old houses. It needed to be done, but also allowed more tours to play there. I remember it being done (supposedly) for "Miss Saigon" which reopened it, but I just checked Wikipedia and it said Show Boat (which was a notoriously large production).

When Phantom did a sit-down at the Curran here, they blasted through the concrete to the basement of the building next door to add extra space to store all the costumes needed for the production.

 

[brettarnett]

BwayLB said: "I’m hoping the parasole issue in Hello Dolly is solved for Costa Mesa."

What exactly do you mean by this?

[dwirth]

I seem to recall that the original, ill-fated Sunset Boulevard Linda Balgord tour with the (smaller but still) giant Broadway set, required reinforcements and/or alterations in touring theaters to allow for the heeeeavvvy counterweights which helped to raise and lower the mansion as on Broadway.

For Mary Poppins to fly in finale to back of balcony on tour, alterations definitely had to be made, too. I seem to recall some elevated, covered platforms here in Cleveland to which she flew, then slipped out unseen.

[BrodyFosse123]

brettarnett said: "BwayLB said: "I’m hoping the parasole issue in Hello Dolly is solved for Costa Mesa."

What exactly do you mean by this?"

Why would they be having issues with the umbrellas?  I’m confused here.  

[RippedMan]

Have any shows used trap doors on your? Did sunset still have the mansion raised for the set below? Or how’d they work that on tour?

[SomethingPeculiar]

BwayLB said: "I’m hoping the parasole issue in Hello Dolly is solved for Costa Mesa."

I think they mean Passerelle. (the stage extension that goes around the orchestra pit so the dancers can jump over during Waiters Gallop and the title song.)

[BwayLB]

SomethingPeculiar said: "BwayLB said: "I’m hoping the parasole issue in Hello Dolly is solved for Costa Mesa."

I think they mean Passerelle.(the stage extension that goes around the orchestra pit so the dancers can jump over during Waiters Gallop and the title song.)"

Thank you that is exactly what I mean. I just misspelled it

[Tag]

Rudin wouldn't think of not having a passerelle, after the Tony debacle, right?  Right? wink

[Jakeevan942]

Mary Poppins actually did not require as much alteration as you would think. The rigging points in the house were based on a combination of the points for the Phantom Chandelier, and Cathy Rigby's Peter Pan audience flight.

[dramamama611]

Most of America has no idea about that.

[BwayLB]

Well if the cast did the title song on the Tonys it would have given me a reason to watch the ceremony.

[Auggie27]

The Channing iterations all used a passerelle, albeit a narrower one than is seen at the Shubert. It circled the orchestra, but probably was not as safe. The current version really looks like an apron with a slit in the downstage floor to see the orchestra. The old one was a ramp-like structure that encased the opening. I suspect it's possible to built out over most orchestra pits.  I may be wrong. 

Did anyone see Channing in a "Dolly" tour without it?  I saw it at the National in DC back in the day (first with Bailey, en route to B'way, then with Channing in the mid-70s). It had a version of this feature.

[Justin D]

RippedMan said: "Have any shows used trap doors on your? Did sunset still have the mansion raised for the set below? Or how’d they work that on tour?"

Most shows try to cut out trap doors as much as possible on tour.

With the original Phantom, the deck had the little candles that would pop up but the big candelabra would track on from the sides and raoul would jump onto an airbag rather than into a hole.

Lion King also had to modify also with things like that large trap downstage for the grasslands being cut.

 

for the original sunset tour, the mansion was loaded onto a platform that had 2 huge scissor lifts that would raise it up and down, and the platform wound also move up and downstage (think of 2 very big car jacks)

[Justin D]

MarkBearSF said: "When Phantom did a sit-down at the Curran here, they blasted through the concrete to the basement of the building next door to add extra space to store all the costumes needed for the production.

"

It's so hard to find info on the SF sitdown phantom production, did you see it? did the candelabra come up from the stage or did they track on from the sides?

[CATSNYrevival]

Going a bit further back, the original Starlight Express US tour built a sort of loop around ramp from the stage into the center seating area of the house in each theatre it played. That was likely a bit more complicated than building a passerelle out over the orchestra pit. The difference is that Starlight Express relied on that spectacle and Hello, Dolly! does not, but it's still a signature moment of the staging in this production and the original production. I have no doubt they will indeed install some version of a passerelle at each theatre.

[Fosse76]

Justin D said: "It's so hard to find info on the SF sitdown phantom production, did you see it? did the candelabra come up from the stage or did they track on from the sides?"

Since the physical production was from the LA sitdown, I assume it had all the traps.

[morosco]

I worked at a theater that had Broadway tours and we had a season that was to include Starlight Express but the tour was cancelled.  We were a bit relieved that it was cancelled because, much like the rendering that another poster posted above, the racing track was to extend into the house downstage center.  The huge problem with the extension was that we would have had to relocate over 100 season subscribers who normally had season tickets in those prime front and center seats that were going to be killed.  Those subscribers were not happy that they would have had to give up those great seats to be relocated in less than prime locations.

We also had DOLLY with Channing in the early eighties that toured with a passerelle that was built over the orchestra pit.  We only had to kill a few seats for that as I recall.  Most road houses have larger orchestra pit space compared to Broadway houses.

In regard to the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco, their 1998 renovation was a massive project.  In order to make it more hospitable for Broadway tours they needed to make the stage deeper, but because the theater's upstage property line came right up to the UN Plaza property line outside they were unable to "simply" move the back wall of the stage house.  Instead they had to move the entire proscenium 9 feet forward into the house (eliminating a number of rows of seating).  Because of new sight lines created by the stage being deeper into the house, the first couple of rows of the balcony were also eliminated.

[MarkBearSF]

Fosse76 said: "Justin D said: "It's so hard to find info on the SF sitdown phantom production, did you see it? did the candelabra come up from the stage or did they track on from the sides?"

Since the physical production was from the LA sitdown, I assume it had all the traps."

Yes it did. I also remember hearing they had continual problems with the candelbra. candles and the boat throughout the run.

[Lot666]

Justin D said: "for the original sunset tour, the mansion was loaded onto a platform that had 2 huge scissor lifts that would raise it up and down, and the platform wound also move up and downstage (think of 2 very big car jacks)"

How did this work with Artie's apartment at the end of the first act? If the mansion was elevated by scissor lifts placed underneath it, how did the apartment come in when the mansion went up?

[AEA AGMA SM]

The original tour shuttered before it hit Cleveland, so I just saw the greatly reduced Schulman staging, but my guess would be that the apartment tracked in from the sides and met at center underneath the mansion once it was raised.

[Justin D]

Lot666 said: "Justin D said: "for the original sunset tour, the mansion was loaded onto a platform that had 2 huge scissor lifts that would raise it up and down, and the platform wound also move up and downstage (think of 2 very big car jacks)"

How did this work with Artie's apartment at the end of the first act? If the mansion was elevated by scissor lifts placed underneath it, how did the apartment come in whenthe mansion went up?"

the lifts were in the wing space so there is free space under the mansion once it goes up for artie's apartment to slide under. They also had a bit more elaborate steps for the gun shot scene (not just the plain steps but it had a pair of ornate planters either side of the stairs