Inside a 12-Hour Workday Behind a 2-Hour Broadway Show | WSJ

TL;DR

Hundreds of crew members spend 12+ hours on logistics, prep, and technical checks to deliver a 2-hour Broadway show every night.

Key Points

• 1.Jimmy Fedigan, a production electrician since 1980, starts his day reviewing overnight show reports from multiple productions, checking for technical issues before the next performance cycle begins.
• 2.PRG Senior Technologies is the massive warehouse where all Broadway set pieces, lighting, video, and sound equipment is built, tested, and trucked in — sometimes filling 100+ trucks daily with flatbed-sized stage pieces.
• 3.By 5:30 PM, the backstage crew begins a precisely timed pre-show routine: carpenters check set pieces, props are preset, every microphone is individually tested, and lighting cues are rehearsed on stage.
• 4.Backstage space is extremely cramped — props coordinator works directly beneath the drummer under the stage, quick-change areas double as storage, and cast members share tight dressing rooms in theaters that are often 100 years old.
• 5.Jimmy has worked on 126 Broadway shows and follows in his father's footsteps — his father was so beloved that walking 10 blocks on Broadway required 50 stops to greet people, a legacy now repeating with Jimmy's own kids.