Term of the Moment: Out-of-Town Tryout

out-of-town tryout--out-of-town stop, opportunity to fix the show. It was more common twenty or thirty years ago, but shows would do one or several stops out of town to work and rework the show. Some major success stories are "Wicked"(which went to San Francisco) and "The Addams Family"(which went to Chicago). Both shows were deeply flawed, but the out-of-town work made them into the hits they are (or in the "Addams" case, soon-to-be WERE). In the case of "Addams," the producers brought in Jerry Zaks, the show doctor, who made the most important changes in New York. An out-of-town closing, when the producers pull the plug due to the quality of show or no money is like a miscarriage--the show was not meant to be born.