Making a Broadway Musical
by John Kenrick
(Copyright 2000, Revised 2020)
Backer's Auditions: Finding the Money
In the end it all comes down to money. The best script and most exciting score won't get anywhere until someone raises the millions of dollars required to make a show happen. As Max Bialystock puts it in The Producers, "Can't produce play without checkee." For better or worse, Bialystock's batallion of wealthy, lonely little old ladies don't exist (and never did). Producers have to work like hell to raise a few million.
Thanks to the ever-increasing costs of union requirements, stage technology and multi-media advertising, a typical Broadway musical costs ten million dollars to produce – elaborate productions have cost far more. It now takes teams of producers to find enough investors. The Broadway version of The Producers (2001) had eight individual producers plus two multi-producer groups. Hadestown (2019) required more than 40 producers.
Each producer raises a percentage of the necessary cash, often holding parties where potential investors can hear highlights of the new musical performed by the composers or probable cast members. This process can take months or even years, and there is no guarantee sufficient funds will ever be raised.
Backer's auditions are far from new. When Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein teamed up for Oklahoma in 1943, their producer – the esteemed Theater Guild – had just sold off its theatre to cover some old debts. Despite their reputations, the composers had to endure dozens of backers auditions before they had enough money to go into production.
One Broadway production I worked on required several backer's auditions, including one held at a massive suburban mansion. The host (a major investor) invited than a hundred friends, with the backer's audition as after dinner entertainment. Two limos brought in several Tony-winning stars from Manhattan, as well as a musical director, the producers, and a small technical staff to provide top quality sound and lighting. In a cavernous reception hall, we presented key songs from the show, with narration by one of the actors. Afterwards, several guests indicated that they were interested in investing. In the days that followed, the producers kept in touch until checks were received. Most backers events are not quite so massive, but all have "life and death" importance for those involved. No show can get to Broadway without a lot of money.
Why don't producers use their own money? Simple -- no producer wants to risk personal ruin. Most Broadway shows are now produced as separate "limited partnerships," a form of legal corporation. If a show fails, the producers are not personally wiped out, and any other productions they may be involved in are unaffected. In the 1990s, a costly but unsuccessful revival of Candide sent the Canadian group Livent spiraling into bankruptcy, but Livent's Tony-winning hit Fosse was able to keep running even without its parent company. Even Disney uses a variation of the "limited partnership" system, so even a costly flop won't wilt Mickey's ears.
Actor's Auditions: Finding the Cast
All actors must audition at one time or another. I have seen famous stars audition with all the nervousness and uncertainty of newcomers. Like it or not, no one has found a better system. Most Broadway producers begin casting with one or more major stars lined up for key roles, and the director may want to use some actors from the workshop. However, Actors Equity Association (the powerful stage actors union) requires that open auditions be held for all roles – and that's how open calls (also known as "cattle calls") were born. The opening scene of A Chorus Line accurately depicts an open chorus audition, where lesser talents are quickly winnowed out.
Actors who are new to the business go to as many open calls as possible. While this provides valuable experience, it also disabuses any aspiring performers who think the theater is all about glamour. (Ha!) Auditions are sweaty, grueling work for everyone involved – especially the auditors. The pressure of knowing that the fate of a multi-million dollar production rests on who you select is nerve-wracking. This is why auditors often recall the same actors multiple times before making their casting decisions.
Every actor who appears in a Broadway or Off-Broadway show must be a member of the Actors Equity. Although many producers complain that the union is too demanding, the fact is that it provides actors with crucial protection and benefits. Producers had long abused the rights of actors, forcing them to rehearse without pay, charging them for their costumes, and firing them without explanation or severance pay. In 1919, Equity called the first-ever actors strike. A prolonged nationwide walk out forced the producers to come to terms. It took several more years and countless court battles to get every producer in the business to really abide by those terms.
Notices for open auditions are posted at Equity headquarters (just off Times Square) as well as online, announcing the time, location and role requirements (appearance, age range, special talents needed, etc.). On the appointed day, hundreds of actors show up at a theatre or rehearsal hall to sign up and wait their turn. In most cases, the casting director's staff handles cattle calls. Once called on, a few lines or a few bars of music is all they get to offer, so a performer must make an immediate impression. Most are dismissed with a simple "thank you!" Most open auditions end up with no one being hired. But every now and then, someone beats the odds and gets cast or asked to re-audition at a callback.
Callbacks involve any number of the best candidates for a role. It is common for performers to have to audition a dozen or more times before getting a role. Having the right person in the right role can drastically improve the chemistry of show. Casting the wrong person can open the way to disaster. Producers decide how many people are involved in the casting process, and it is customary for the director, choreographer, librettist and songwriters to have a say. After the creative team settles on a cast, it is time to get rehearsals started.