As you may have heard, one of Broadway’s hottest tickets is coming to Hawai‘i.  “The Book of Mormon will be arriving next year - but the logistics involved in getting the show on the road are already underway.  Pacific Business News Editor in Chief A. Kam Napier has more on the business side of what it takes to put on a show like this.  

According to Jack Lucas, the man most responsible for making this show happen – it’s taken 2 ½ years from the idea to announcing the tour dates for next April.  Lucas is president of Westcoast Entertainment and Tickets West.  He says, “It all starts with scheduling.  First, open dates need to be found at the venue.  In this case, that the Blaisdell.  Then the producers of the touring company need to find a date that works for them.”

Shows like these typically tour for 30 to 40 weeks at a time.  Of course adding Honolulu to their itinerary is not as easy as adding – say Denver.  Lucas also needed to figure out the freight schedule to bring in the sets and costumes.  Usually the equipment arrives on a Saturday for a Tuesday opening night.  For Honolulu, that’s been pushed to Wednesday – just in case there’s a hitch.

Adding Honolulu also means adding costs but in this case, producers didn’t need much convincing to take the risk.  Lucas says it only took about three phone calls to get a commitment.  He also says all stage hands, musicians, and other support staff for the show will be hired right here in Hawai‘i.