Producers Tour to Start in Pittsburgh | Playbill

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News Producers Tour to Start in Pittsburgh Though there's been no official word on touring plans for the Broadway mega-hit The Producers, the tour's itinerary seems to be coming together. Earlier this week, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette received word from co-author Thomas Meehan that the mega-hit tuner would start its tour in Pittsburgh, PA in September. That news is now borne out by an audition notice from Johnson-Liff Casting, which notes that rehearsals for the Producers' tour will start July 22, readying for a first performance in Pittsburgh Sept. 12. Actors at the Feb. 12, 14 and 15 Equity auditions are asked to eschew monologues and be "prepared to sing humorous songs from the American Musical Comedy Repertoire."

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Nathan Lane, Cady Huffman and Matthew Broderick in The Producers. Photo by Photo by Paul Kolnik

Though there's been no official word on touring plans for the Broadway mega-hit The Producers, the tour's itinerary seems to be coming together. Earlier this week, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette received word from co-author Thomas Meehan that the mega-hit tuner would start its tour in Pittsburgh, PA in September. That news is now borne out by an audition notice from Johnson-Liff Casting, which notes that rehearsals for the Producers' tour will start July 22, readying for a first performance in Pittsburgh Sept. 12. Actors at the Feb. 12, 14 and 15 Equity auditions are asked to eschew monologues and be "prepared to sing humorous songs from the American Musical Comedy Repertoire."

Meehan had also told the Post Gazette's Chris Rawson that after Pittsburgh, The Producers musical would likely continue on to Cincinnati, OH. Meehan also hinted that he and co-librettist/composer Mel Brooks would be in Pittsburgh for the launch of the tour, which will likely not be star driven.

A spokesperson for the Broadway Series told Rawson "no contracts have been signed or dates set" and would not confirm the booking, which would presumably play at the Benedum Center or Heinz Hall after Mamma Mia! (Aug. 27-Sept. 8).

Reached Jan. 30, a spokesperson at the T.M.G. marketing firm, which handles the tour, reiterated the organization's decision to treat The Producers differently from most Broadway national tours, which announce a whole slate of cities in one fell swoop: "As most markets confirm their subscription seasons, they'll make their individual announcements. We don't want to steal their thunder on the local level."

That said, the spokesperson said Pittsburgh and Cincinnati are likely cities for the tour, and that several other markets "are close to announcing, probably within the next month." There's no word, however, on casting or financing for the tour In her Jan. 31 column, syndicated columnist Liz Smith reported that "the ink is all but dry" on contracts for Jason Alexander and Martin Short to play Biaystock and Bloom in the L.A. version, but a Barlow-Hartman spokesperson had "no comment" on tour casting, and a rep at Short's agency, ICM, told Playbill On-Line she had "no information" on the actor doing The Producers either in or outside of New York.

Previously, it's been confirmed that The Producers will make its West Coast debut at San Diego's Civic Theatre on New Year's Eve, though the show's Los Angeles plans remain up in the air. The Los Angeles Times reported Jan. 15 that the producers of The Producers had been eyeing the Ahmanson Theatre but, under the assumption that the musical will be as big a hit in L.A. as it's been in New York and Chicago, they judged the 2,100-seat venue too small to reap the kinds of grosses a mega-hit can generate.

Instead, The Producers is now apparently eyeing a 30 week run at the 2,700-seat Pantages Theatre, even though The Lion King is still playing there. (According to the L.A. Times, Pantages temporarily reduced its seating capacity, from 2,704 to 2,261, specifically to ensure that the Julie Taymor tuner would remain a hot ticket and stay put for another year.)

As previously reported, on New Year's Eve 2002, San Diego will get the West Coast premiere of the tuner for a two-week run at the Civic Theatre through Jan. 12, 2003. Tickets at the 2,975-seat Civic will run decidedly less than the the $480 top price for "Inner Circle" ducats at Broadway's St. James Theatre. Broadway/San Diego director Joe Kobryner told the San Diego Union-Tribune the price range for the CA stay will run $34.50-$78.

A report from the Colorado-based Rocky Mountain News notes that Denver Center Attractions, which had hoped to land the musical in 2003, won't see it until spring 2004 at the earliest.

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The Producers continues to be Broadway's weekly box office champ, with its $480 "Inner Circle" seats helping push grosses regularly past the $1.2 million mark. For the week ending Jan. 27, the show took in $1,252, 479 and sold out 100.9 percent of its seats. The average paid admission was nearly $90.94, more than $5 higher than nearest competitor Mamma Mia!.

The grosses remain strong despite Nathan Lane playing only six performances per week in the show to maintain his vocal health. Both he and co-star Matthew Broderick are contracted only through March 17, so the crunch has long been on to see them before they (presumably) go. No word yet on who will be the next Bialystock and Bloom.

For tickets and information on The Producers at the St. James Theatre, call (212) 239-5800. For Broadway Inner Circle tickets, call (212) 563-2929.

 
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