On October 24, Music Theatre International announced the release of its brand-new Apple iPhone app ”MTIShows”. This amazing app gives you immediate access to all the information on Music Theatre International licensed shows, including synopsis, casting, information on how the show is to be billed, facts about the show, and materials and resources available. There is a “Share” button that will let you share a web link to this information via Twitter, Facebook, or email. How easy is that?
The app also includes instant access to audio samples of many of the songs in the show. These clips launched for me rather quickly even on a 3G connection.
Using your iPhone’s “location services”, a press of a button can bring you a map showing all the current productions of that show in your local area. You can even zoom out and find productions in other parts of the country. This is great if you are looking for a research trip!
If you are interested in the show you can “Bookmark” it. There is an area of the app where you can view all shows you bookmarked. This is useful when narrowing down show choices for next season.
If you select a show and are ready to proceed, click the “Request Licensing Information” button found at the bottom of the show information page. Enter your name, email address, theatre company, and click “Submit”. That’s it! MTI is now alerted to your interest and you will no doubt be receiving licensing information from your representative shortly.
There is also a “Near Me” feature which will display a map of your local area showing you where all Music Theatre International licensed shows are currently taking place. Nice feature, but off course, our own Stage Magazine is a much better resource for that!
The final feature of the app is the “MTI News” section. Here you can see the latest information released by MTI on its MTI Marquee site. Very handy and useful! (Did you know they recently released a school version of AVENUE Q?)
The MTIShows app is, in my opinion, a definite winner. It is currently only available for iPhone (and should work on iPad as well), but hopefully will find its way to other smart phones as well. This is a definite must have for directors, producers, and anyone who deals with MTI in any way, shape, or form. It is available for free on in the Apple iTunes App Store, just search for “MTIShows”.
Check out the Youtube promo video…it’s pretty cute:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqam4mJSCZs
1 comment
Although not as immediately portable except for Smart Phones that can access the internet, would this be a function STAGE might offer on it’s website? Dependable links that could be updated by the theaters themselves. I often find myself in a mad scramble trying to research a show I just heard about having an audition, or a location of the show itself. One source shopping for theatre.