When Showboat sails into Providence next weekend, with its 30 foot boat,
nearly 80 actors and staff, and 18 truckloads of props and scenery, it
will mean another Providence Performing Arts Center extravaganza that is
sure to infuse hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, into
the area’s economy.
These huge shows, that remain in town for a couple of weeks or more – as
Showboat will — bring employment to area musicians, stagehands and other
individuals, bring thousands of paying patrons to the theater, mean some
1,000 room nights at area hotels, and keep local restaurants and parking
lots filled.
Seifert Systems Invests in Energy Efficiency to Strengthen Operations
For manufacturers, energy is more than just another operating expense. It plays a critical role…
Learn More
Randy Buck, general manager for Livent, Inc., the company that in 1993
revived the 1927 production, wouldn’t speculate on the economic impact
of such a production, but only agreed that it is substantial, and the
show is expensive.
It combines that rare sense of a revival of a popular musical, a
collaboration of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, that when first
staged at the Ziegfeld Theater, hardly resembled the current version,
and the mega-musical genre that actually surfaced a few years ago with
Chorus Line, Cats, Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon. It is an era in
which falling chandeliers, helicopters and other props mesmerize
audiences from the stages of Broadway to off-off-Broadway in any city
USA.
But the mega musical, as producers have said quite often, is becoming
less attractive because of its enormous cost.
Showboat, which puts this huge boat on stage, fits into that mega
musical description and will be at the Providence Performing Arts Center
from Nov. 25 through Dec. 6.
Most striking about the production, besides many familiar songs, is the
27-foot high, 30-foot long boat. The production brings a cast of 55, and
the history of a musical that has won acclaim throughout its 63 years.
“There is so much history with Showboat,” said Buck, whose company first
launched the revival in Toronto in 1993, brought it to Broadway, where
it won several Tony Awards, and then on the road. “(When it was first
staged) It was sort of a new era in American Musical Theater. It was the
first to have a (serious) plot. Until then musicals were more
vaudevillian evenings of entertainment. It was the first to come out
with a serious book.”
And the message that Buck believes is as important today as in 1927 is
about “family values, alcoholism, gambling, black-white issues.
“When people see Showboat they think about Ol’ Man River, that Old Man
of Mine,” Buck said. “They’re going to see a show that is epic in
proportion. Once we bring them in the door we expose them to something
they aren’t aware of — or that they had forgotten — the emotional impact
of the show. People leave with the same mindset as seeing a straight
play.”
It is also a show that requires considerable manpower, well beyond the
traveling group of 55 performers. Traveling with the show are 22 crew,
five staff and four musicians (a conductor, assistant and two
keyboardists). And once here, the show will hire another 17 local
musicians, 20 stage hands, 17 local dressers and five local
hairdressers, Buck said.
Because of the show’s expense, Buck said, they look to come into a town
for no less than two weeks, preferably three. But he also warned of the
dangers of overstaying your welcome.
“When Phantom came out — back when I started touring– they said the
theater was dead — for all intents and purposes the road was dead (late
’70s, early ’80s),” Buck said. “Phantom was suddenly going into one-week
markets, playing six to eight weeks. It was very exciting. We all in the
industry said wow, where are these people coming from.
“We all sort of hung our hats on that,” Buck said. “But extravagant
tours were not making the money that Phantom made. It took a number of
years for that to sink through our thick skulls. There is a theater-
going community that exists in every municipality and once you tap that
out, there isn’t anything left.”
