Before settling on a musical, be sure and check with the licencing company that the production you want to stage is available. Oftentimes if a musical production is being put on by another theater company in town or even in the region a licencing company will turn your request down for proprietary reasons. The license company may also have to turn you down if they have licensed the production to a traveling show that will be coming through the area within the next year. Do your research and check to see if the production is available.
Submit your application to the licencing company. Include as many details as you possible can: your institution, theater size, how many tickets you think you will sell and the prices of each. Be sure and include each discount you will offer to students, faculty and staff. These numbers are important for the licencing company to know in order to give you the best price for your needs. After your application has been submitted, you will have to wait anywhere from two weeks to two months for them to get back to you, so plan ahead, submit early and have an alternative choice.
When the licencing company gets back to you, take their price and see if it will work in your budget. If so, purchase the rights from them and plan your event. Count costume rental, lighting, sound and all the extemporaneous items that it takes to put on a production. Plan out if you are going to have a reception on opening night and how much to charge. Keeping a balanced budget will help your theater company come out ahead and perhaps raise some much needed funds for future productions.
Once you have obtained a licence, check with the licensing company to see what materials and images they have available for you to put on your advertising both on and off campus. Order your materials and make sure that the printing company knows that you have purchased a license and are legally authorized to reproduce the logos from the production. Include the logos of your choice on your programs.