By Jennifer R Jones | Posted on April 23, 2014 10:17 PM
The Book Of Mormon Sees Massive Success On Broadway And Embarks On A U.S. National Tour Crisscrossing The Country With Two Simultaneous Tours.
Broadway Success Paves The Way To A U.S. National Tour
When a musical is doing well on Broadway, its producers will generally opt to take the show on a U.S. National Tour, as they will have optioned this right along with their original Broadway rights agreement. As such, a tour is often the mark of a successful show, sometimes taking place after a show has earned a number of Tony Awards that can be touted as the show travels from state to state.
There are also cases in which a tour can be launched after a show has flopped on Broadway, in an effort to recoup some of the lost funds in cities other than New York. For instance Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark, which concluded its Broadway run on January 4, 2014, will soon open a Las Vegas production and is also considering an arena tour around the country, though its large-scale special effects may make that difficult.
"Book Of Mormon" Has Seen Extremely High Demand And Clever Dynamic Pricing
While it sold many tickets over its 3-year run, becoming the sixteenth-highest grossing show of all time, it still failed to recoup its enormous capitalization, estimated at $75 million. More investment would need to be raised, and yet a tour could potentially earn back some of Spiderman’s lost capital.
The Book of Mormon, on the other hand, is far from a flop. Between extremely high demand and clever dynamic pricing strategies, the satirical musical managed to recoup its $11.4 million investment after only nine months of performances. The show has been playing at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre since March 2011, where it looks to remain for many years to come.
Two Tours Simultaneously
After making a huge splash at the 2011 Tony Awards, receiving 14 nominations and 9 wins, the show ran for another year before the producers decided to launch a national tour. On August 14, 2012, the first national tour began at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, then proceeding to the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles where it played for the fall season, before continuing on a tour around the country that is still underway.
Meanwhile, a replica production ran at Chicago’s Bank of America Theatre from December 11, 2012 to October 6, 2013, after which it also began a tour around the country, thereby allowing The Book of Mormon to enjoy two tours simultaneously. This is in addition to the West End production, which has been running in London’s Prince of Wales Theatre since February 2013.
Book of Mormon Not The Only Show To Travel
This is not the only show that has made the choice to launch two simultaneous tours. Wicked presently has two tours running, and Elf the Musical launched two simultaneous tours during the holiday season of 2013. Still, The Book of Mormon is covering a lot of ground between its two touring companies.
While the first national tour is presently playing in Boston, the second national tour is enjoying a run at Los Angeles’ Pantages Theatre, where the first tour played a year and a half ago. Next, the first tour will play Providence, Rhode Island; Columbus, Ohio; Louisville, Kentucky; East Lansing, Michigan; Indianapolis, Indiana; Memphis, Tennessee; and the list goes on.
Theatregoers All Across The Country Can Enjoy The Performance
Meanwhile, after the second tour finishes in Los Angeles, it will proceed to Costa Mesa, California; San Diego, California; Las Vegas, Nevada; Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; and many more. As such, the show is effectively criss-crossing the United States, allowing theatregoers all over the country to catch a performance at a theatre near them, and exponentially boosting profits for the producers.
