What do the Tier _ tour productions mean?

[Azuah.]

Posted: 2/6/09 at 11:03pm

What I mean to ask is, what's the best I guess, letter tour?
For example Legally Blonde is Tier B,
and Spring Awakening is Tier D..

What does it mean? I'm curious to know..

[Celticblockhead]

Posted: 2/7/09 at 12:44am

The tier system refers to the theatre that the show is in and that tier is determined by the amount of seats in the theatre. The only reason tiers are assigned is to make sure that if the cast/crew are playing to a larger house they are getting more money. At least that is what I think it stands for. I was taught about tiers a while ago and my memory is rusty.

[outdamnwench]

Posted: 2/7/09 at 12:50am

It's not exactly the number of seats.

It's potential weekly box-office gross.

[gvendo2005]

Posted: 2/7/09 at 10:49am

And the longer a tour goes on, the more money it makes in all the top places, and it eventually scales down to bring in more money and eventually (if one is still flogging that dead horse) becomes a non-Equity tour playing basically the lower tier theaters for cash.

Updated On: 2/7/09 at 10:49 AM

[Byron Abens]

Posted: 2/7/09 at 8:39pm

The tiers were introduced in the 2004 (I think) Production Contract negotiations. They were a way to entice producers to keep more tours Equity, as the non-Eq tours were steadily gaining strength and popularity.

Essentially the tiers allow lower minimum salaries. The tiers are based on the average weekly guarantee. If a production makes over a certain amount in a week the cast then gets a small percentage of that overage.

If you really want to get into further detail you can read through the Production Contract rule book. It is in the document library of the Equity website.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 2/7/09 at 8:48pm

now i'm a bit confused, whereas Wicked (I believe tier A), Legally Blonde (Tier B), and Spring Awakening (Tier D) all played the Academy of Music in Philly

[Byron Abens]

Posted: 2/7/09 at 8:54pm

It doesn't have anything to do with what theatres it plays. It all has to do with money and how it is estimated a show will sell on the road.

[tourboi]

Posted: 2/7/09 at 9:19pm

I think WICKED is a full production contact, not a Tier.

that said, it's (as stated) based on the guarantee that the show charges presenters to come in.

[Byron Abens]

Posted: 2/7/09 at 9:21pm

Correct about Wicked. Officially there is no Tier A. If a production is overqualified for Tier B then it goes under a full Production Contract.

[Azuah.]

Posted: 2/8/09 at 12:08am

So it has nothing to do with how much money the production is given for costumes, sets, etc..?

Because I thought that's what it meant since on the Legally Blonde tour blog when Nick Dalton talked about how they didn't have certain things, for example costumes for swings, he blamed it on it being a Tier B tour..

[Byron Abens]

Posted: 2/8/09 at 12:29am

In terms of getting the classification from Equity, no, budget has nothing to do with anything. Now, since part of getting into the tiered classification, as opposed to being a full Production Contract, involves the number of one week or less engagements, many times you will find the physical production scaled back just to reduce load in/out costs, and transportation costs. Legally Blonde most likely would have been redesigned to eliminate the trap door no matter what as the availability of a trap room in the location of the stage you need it is not a guarantee on the road. Even Lion King redesigned when it went out, so I doubt Legally Blonde would have tried to keep the full Broadway design.

What you hear in the Legally Blonde blog most likely comes from the fact that many actors feel Equity gave in too easily to the producers' demands. Many resent the new tier classification and feel Equity should have held firm on their position, of course forgetting that if the experimental touring program had not been implemented even more shows would be going out on their first national as non-Equity. I would be willing to be that if Legally Blonde had not been able to utilize the tier program that tour would have gone out non-Equity, along with Spring Awakening and a number of other shows.

[nydirector2]

Posted: 2/8/09 at 12:39am

This was devised by the Broadway League(formerly the League of American Theatres and Producers, Inc.) The tiers basically deal with the guarantees between the producers/presenters and Equity.

It has a lot to do with how much money the production is "given," Azuah. Producers won't invest the same amount of money in a Tier B show that they would in a show with a Production contract. I do not know who Nick Dalton is, but to be complaining about the production is a great way to lose a contract...especially in this economy when there are a ton of actors who would be willing to be in a "lowly" Tier B tour.

As for the cities/theaters the tours go to....it all has to do with money and markets. A larger tour is not going to waste its time going to a market that can only sell for a few days (or maybe even a day).

[CraniumBoy]

Posted: 2/12/09 at 1:11pm

The rumor around NY is that they had to scale back the tour to even send it out Equity....which is why it is Tier B. From what the blog says, the swings were having trouble having even a basic costume as well as the understudies. That is also an aspect of the Tier ( which CHITTY CHITTY and FIDDLER are as well) as opposed to full production contract I think. They only have to supply a basic costume to understudies and swings, and anything beyond that is not actually included in the initial costume design contract-----one of many loopholes in the contract. Also, I heard anything beyond a Tier C will soon dissappear.
And I dont think the blog was complaining, It seems like they were frustrated because they were left to patchwork the show, while 3 tracks were cut and costumes were not all present. Why would anyone complain about a job when 15 Bway shows just shutdown, a plethora of Bway Shows have not even opened due to lack of funds, and CHITTY CHITTY and SPRING AWAKENING are not doing well on the road( both of which have lost cities in the last month)

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 2/12/09 at 1:23pm

If it is the post I think you are referring to, it is in reference to one of the early performances when someone was out and an understudy / swing had to be thrown on and squeezed into someone else's costumes.. As a general rule in almost any show, understudy and swing costumes (which as was said, is left up to the wardrobe staff and not the designer) are not built until after the show is running. That is, of course, because getting the "first string" costumes out there is the priority for obvious reasons (and though it doesn't apply here, when a new show is opening and you are making changes, redesigning and rebuilding ONE costume is cheaper than rebuilding 4!).

Yes, the Tier contract is based on what they estimate the show to be able to bring in in sales, not what the actual budget is.

[tatter47]

Posted: 2/12/09 at 5:36pm

CraniumBoy--Can you be a little more specific as to what cities Chitty and SA have lost recently? Thanks in advance.
Updated On: 2/12/09 at 05:36 PM

[Paul W. Thompson]

Posted: 2/12/09 at 5:44pm

Chitty cancelled its Chicago engagement, which was supposed to be this weekend.

[Randwhich]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 12:29am

thats because the chicago theatre is not a subscription house and deals with single ticket sales only. their pr dept is terrible...they seldom get musicals...often cancel shows...its not a shock.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 11:22am

"thats because the chicago theatre is not a subscription house and deals with single ticket sales only. their pr dept is terrible...they seldom get musicals...often cancel shows...its not a shock."

The Chicago market doesn't need a subscription series for a show to be successful. In fact, only the Shubert had a subscription series until 2000, when they took ownership of the Palace and Oriental. Cats, A Chorus Line, Show Boat, The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, Ragtime and Fosse all had lengthy, successful runs without being part of a subscription series. Essentially, like Broadway, the theaters need to have shows people want to see.

The Chicago Theater is in its third owner in less than ten years. It doesn't host musicals because the producers claim the stage is too small...which I find suspicious since there are Broadway houses with musicals that have the same size (and smaller) stages. I'm guessing it was cancelled because too few tickets were sold.

[TenThousandThings]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 11:32am

Well, having a pre-existing subscription base and spending some money on p.r. might ensure better ticket sales, no?