Budgeting a Musical

You can spend as much or as little as you like, make the show technically as complex or as simple as you prefer. The music, the lyrics, the dialog, the pathos, the comedy, and ultimately the energy of the performance are the heart and life of a musical. Scenery, lighting, costumes and special effects are secondary.

Inspiring comments aside, you do need a fairly precise idea of how much your vision of the show will cost. This will then give you an idea of how much money you must commit yourself to raising if you don’t already have such sums on hand. Your main costs will be licensing fees and/or royalties, which are determined by the license holder; additional help for the show, which depends on the show and how comfortable you are taking on certain roles and the cost of additional help; and production costs, over which you have quite a bit of control.