touring company

[ toor-ing kuhm-puh-nee ]

noun

1. 1. a cast of stage actors taking a popular show on the road, sometimes replacing certain actors with local ones as they travel from city to city:

      He’s part of the touring company of Rent, which features two members of the original Broadway cast.

   2. a popular stage production performed by a traveling cast of actors:

      While in Cleveland we attended the touring company of Les Misérables.

2. a company whose business is planning, arranging, and conducting sightseeing trips for groups of tourists:

   Our first night in Albania was a walking tour with our tour guide and the owner of the touring company.

Word History and Origins

Origin of touring company¹

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

Her first theater gig, at age 17, was in the touring company of “Call Me Madam.”

From Seattle Times

“I don’t like it. John and I call our touring company Two-Headed Monster, because it is that,” Hall said.

From Los Angeles Times

“I don’t like it. John and I call our touring company Two-Headed Monster, because it is that,” Hall said.

From Los Angeles Times

Cornwall's Miracle Theatre touring company has been awarded a grant of more than £500,000.

From BBC

Actors’ Equity Assn., the national union representing more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers working in live theater, and the Broadway League, the national trade association for the Broadway industry, on Monday announced a settlement agreement following last year’s organizing effort of the nonunion touring company of “Waitress.”

From Los Angeles Times