Sit Down Production Vs. Open Ended Production

[lakezurich]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 2:09am

What exactly is the difference between the two?


Forgive me if a topic about this was already posted, but I searched and couldn't find one.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 10:27am

There really is no difference. They are the same thing.

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 10:32am

Sit-down seems to refer to shows not in New York. Wicked on bway is open-ended, Wicked in LA is a sit-down?

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 10:33am

Sit-down is applied to open ended engagements of shows outside New York City.

Posted: 8/7/07 at 10:39am

Both expressions are to indicate tbat the show will run a while, as opposed to the "tour" which just passes through.

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 10:46am

A sit down is usually applied to a touring show that does an extended engagement in one city before moving on to the next city on it's itinerary. A sit down would normally have a beginning and ending date to its run. An open ended run, usually has no other cities on it's itinerary and will play there until the producers decide to close it.

[morosco]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 10:49am

I also think a sit down production tends to be a bit more extravagant since the show doesn't have to pack up and move on a regular basis. Larger modifications can be made to the theatre hosting the performance (trap doors, stage mechanics, etc.). Some sit down productions seem to be designed specifically for the theatre they are playing. A sit down isn't neccesarily an open ended run...just an extensive run in one theatre. I could be wrong.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 11:10am

"A sit down is usually applied to a touring show that does an extended engagement in one city before moving on to the next city on it's itinerary."

While that CAN be the case, it is not always true. A sit-down is a show outside of Broadway that has an established minimum length of time but with an indefinite extension clause. Hence, it is an open-ended run. Generally producers know how long a show will last in a particular city, and therefore will have plans to move the show to a new city, but that isn't always the case.

[RENTingFAME]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 11:14am

Wicked, Spelling Bee, and The Color Purple are all considered sit down productions in Chciago... but none of them are going anywhere. When the Wicked tour left two years ago in June, the company changed but the production stayed.

Wicked at least is also referred to as an open-ended run. In general I think they mean the same thing, aside from the fact that sit down production is a term not used for New York shows.

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 12:33pm

"A sit-down is a show outside of Broadway that has an established minimum length of time but with an indefinite extension clause."

While that CAN be the case, its not always true. A National Tour with an itinerary planned in advance, will do a sit-down in a city, for x amount of weeks or months, knowing that there will not be an extension, because that would mean a complete re-vamping of the itinerary, and cancellations in other cities because of an extension, therefore it would not be considered an open ended run.

[Act4ever]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 12:45pm

The way that I look at is, is Color Purple in Chicago is "on tour" but it'll have been here for 6 months before it leaves - so I consider that to be a sit-down. Whereas Wicked on the other hand doesn't have any intention of going anywhere.