We feel that the best way to understand what COMPACT BROADWAY is about is to listen to our pilot.

However, we realize you may want to know more about COMPACT BROADWAY even after you have heard the show, so we’ve put together the following list of some of the more frequently asked questions we’ve heard.

We hope this answers some of your questions too, but if not, we invite you to contact us with any questions or comments you have about COMPACT BROADWAY.

Q: Is COMPACT BROADWAY being made for National Public Radio (NPR)?

A: No, COMPACT BROADWAY is being made for public radio. NPR is one of three major public radio distributors (along with American Public Media and Public Radio International) that offer programs to over 900 individual public radio stations. Just as a movie theatre owner decides what movies to show in their theatre, each individual radio station decides what programming best fits the needs of its community.

Q: Is there an audience for theatre-related programming on public radio?

A: We believe there is because the core audience demographics of theatre and public radio are so closely aligned, and more than 1 in 4 public radio listeners report attending live theatre in the past year. While this group will form the base of our audience, we are confident that the style and content of the show will appeal to an even broader public radio audience.

Q: Are there other programs about theatre on public radio?

A: There are a few theatre programs with limited distribution and some smaller ones that are produced for individual stations. These programs typically play show tunes or discuss the history of theatre. The format of COMPACT BROADWAY is radically different from these shows, but we feel that they both have a place in public radio.

Q: Will you broadcast recordings of plays and musicals?

A: No. Each week COMPACT BROADWAY will choose a different play or musical as the starting point to explore related topics. While we will use dialogue and songs from productions, the listeners will not feel as if they have already seen the show.

Q: Will you play cast recordings?

A: Music is an integral part of our storytelling process and we will use segments of songs from cast recordings, but playing show tunes is not the focus of our series.

Q: Will listeners need to be familiar with the shows you spotlight?

A: The style of our series gives listeners who are unfamiliar with a show the chance to discover the material, while providing new insights to those who already know a particular show.

Q: Will you review plays or musicals?

A: Our philosophy is no critics, no reviews and no hype. One of the reasons we established this policy is so we can create an environment of trust for our guests and we think it is difficult to do that if you are also judging them.

Q: So this is about promoting shows?

A: No, COMPACT BROADWAY is about telling compelling stories. Our target audience is well educated and we believe they don’t want hype or promotion. We believe what they want is to be engaged by a source that they can trust and to earn their trust we have to bring a fair and balanced perspective to the shows we cover.

Q: Why is COMPACT BROADWAY an hour-long program instead of a half hour?

A: The majority of public radio programs are designed in hour-long increments. This often makes it difficult to add a half hour program or to find an appropriate half hour show to pair it with, so this is why we chose to make COMPACT BROADWAY a full hour.

Q: Why does COMPACT BROADWAY need to be a series? Wouldn't it work better as a special?

A: Specials are great, but it’s hard to develop an audience without a consistent time slot. A weekly series allows the audience a way to find the program and return to it on a regular basis.

Q: How are you going to find enough shows for an entire season?

A: A 52-week season for COMPACT BROADWAY will include 36 new episodes and 16 rebroadcasts, a schedule that is typical for most weekly public radio shows. While 18-25 of our new episodes will be about current Broadway productions, 2-4 will spotlight Off-Broadway shows, 2-4 will highlight national tours, 2-4 will explore regional theatres, 1-2 will center on themes or individuals and 2 shows will focus on the Tony Awards. We have found that the difficulty is not in finding the shows, but narrowing down the selections.

Q: Have you considered satellite radio?

A: We anticipate making COMPACT BROADWAY available to satellite radio in the future, but for now we are concentrating on launching the series on public radio so it can be accessible to a much larger audience.