Iowa is one of the great political states in our union, thanks to the first big Presidential primary race (which is underway on the day this blog goes live!).

What most people don’t know is that Iowa is also one of the great theatrical states as well, thanks to Jeff Chelesvig and the work he does at Des Moines Performing Arts.

Jeff is one of the premier and most powerful independent Broadway Presenters in the country (a Broadway Presenter, for those who might not be familiar with that term, is someone who books National Tours of Broadway shows).  And on top of that, anyone who has ever played his home town with a show knows how gracious and generous of a guy he is.

Every time I talk to Jeff, I get so much insight into the touring market and what makes it tick, which is why I sucked him into doing my podcast.  And, as expected, my thirty minutes with Jeff taught me even more, including . . .

• How he decides which Broadway shows to book (and would he ever book a show that wasn’t on Broadway first?).
• Why he’s not a fan of the recent trend of having to book shows years in advance.
• What he thinks will make a show a success on the road.
• What’s the difference between marketing a show to a Broadway audience and marketing a show to a touring audience?
• Why touring audience expectations are so much higher than they were 20 years ago.

If Broadway is the longest street in America, Jeff is one of the traffic cops.  Listen in to see what gets the go sign.

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