Sunday, September 13, 2009
'SOUTH PACIFIC' Tour to Feature 30 Piece Orchestra
Broadway World: "Variety reports this weekend the answer to an often asked question - how big will the orchestra be for the upcoming tour of South Pacific? The answer...the full 30 pieces. Producer Bob Boyett explains how: 'Most of these cities have really great orchestras, and everybody knows this stuff -- they've all played Rodgers & Hammerstein all their lives,' says Boyett. 'So we travel with about 12 and the rest are local musicians.'"
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8 comments:
I love the idea of touring with 12 orchestra members and then hiring local musicians to play the other parts. What a way to get the community involved in a large show and what a way to make it unique from place to place. I am excited to see how this all pans out.
With all the economic trouble American theater has been going through lately, it is refreshing to see producers making artistic decisions based on what would be best vs. what could we cut and still have a decent show. The idea of traveling and housing 12 musicians and filling the rest of the pit with locals has the benefit of spreading the wealth among the musical community as well as providing a better musical experience for the audience. Kudos.
And what a better musical experience it is... As Broadway pits get smaller and smaller and get piped in from far-off corners of the building, it's refreshing to hear of the Broadway revival and now the tour maintaining an orchestra befitting the R&H material they are being given.
I also read at one point that the orchestra was really featured by putting them on-stage with the performers... is that still true?
I am not particularly surprised about this fact. For a show like South Pacific, that is so deeply based in the music, it is important to get the entire musical feelings across. If this means touring with a full orchestra or even half of one, than so be it. I for one am looking forward to seeing this tour and hoping it makes its way to pittsburgh.
Sounds like a good way to keep the musical integrity set up by the composer, while still retaining local jobs. Having worked closely with a local Philharmonic who often gets hired out for gigs like this, I understand how important it is to keep these kinds of opportunities open. However, I understand the flip side of wanting to maintain continuity and level of professionalism on behalf of the artistic staff. Sounds like a good hybrid.
Certain political administrations have held with the idea of rotation in government, and rotation in the orchestra works on the same principle. Having 18 open seats in the Orchestra gives talented local musicians a chance to improve their resume and climb the professional ladder. And of course, being cost effective and efficient is always a bonus in the theater.
This is a great idea to tour with 12 members and then hire out the rest. I find that is a great way to try and boost the theater industry and keep people employed and all the while adding to the integrity of the show.
I'm very excited to see that the tour is keeping with the 30 piece orchestrations they used for the recent revival (as well as for the original production). Now more and more click tracks and recorded and synthesized musicians are being added to the pit to ease the wallet of the producers, but with these additions, a certain element of theatricality is lost. There is nothing like seeing the current revival and watching the entire deck of the stage open up to reveal 30 live musicians. Now THAT is theatre.
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