The first step to creating most Broadway shows, once a draft has been written, is a reading. In a reading, actors rehearse for a relatively short period which culminates in an invite-only performance for potential investors and other industry professionals. These readings are generally very simple, consisting of actors standing in front of microphones reading from their scripts. They usually have few or no props, sets, costumes or orchestrations and just test to see if the text itself is worthy of a production.
After a successful reading, a show moves on to its regional production. Regional productions are quite like Broadway productions except they’re performed in slightly smaller venues around the world and are able to work with slightly smaller budgets, more unknown stars and fewer scathing critics. During the rehearsal process, the show truly begins to take shape and the producers can finally get an image of what the final product may look like. Depending on audiences’ responses, a show might have multiple regional productions, adding rewrites and design changes at every stop, until the show is ready for Broadway.
Even after a show reaches the Broadway stage, there are still changes to be made. All Broadway productions have a preview period where critics are banned but the general public can come at a discounted rate. During this period, actors need to be flexible, ready to have new lines, songs or blocking thrown at them on a daily basis. While the majority of these changes are subtle, it’s not uncommon for an entire song or scene to be cut or added during this preview period.
A few days before opening night, a show “freezes” and changes cease. From this point on, everything – from costumes to lighting cues to dialogue – is exactly the same as it will be until the production closes.
While Broadway shows can seem to magically materialize, they are almost always the result of a painstaking revision process. The end result of this journey is a production that will last forever in the minds and hearts of the audience members who viewed it all along the way.
