A variety show/revue is probably the most complex use case for how Cast98 is designed to function with a single cast list for a single show. The challenge of a revue format is that every musical number is basically treated as a separate show with a separate cast within one big production. Performers will often be in the ensemble for a handful of songs and have a solo or featured part in a couple of others. Sometimes multiple songs are extracted from the same show and you may have a different performer playing the lead character in each.

Luckily, this use case is not entirely unique. Dance studios using Cast98 have similar performance structures where every dance is choreographed for a subset of the overall dance company. It is possible that no two numbers have the exact same group of performers, and different dancers are featured throughout.

So, here are some suggestions to maximize the benefit of using Cast98 with a complex production structure.

Treat your list of characters as a list of songs.

This will enable you to assign each performer multiple "roles" which will show them exactly which numbers they are in, and using the schedule maker you can select a song to easily mark everyone in that song as an attendee.

Use custom roles to call out any featured parts for each performer.

By activating the custom role for each performer on the cast list, you have the flexibility to highlight any lead or featured assignments which cast members will see when they check the cast list and/or receive a role offer.

Admittedly, this will make your custom role text a bit long, but hopefully not dreadfully so if you can abbreviate the song titles effectively.

Create rehearsal groups for any independent subset of a song's entire company.

As an example, if you expect to rehearse a featured group of 6 performers separately from a song's entire company of 24, you can create a group just for the 6 featured performers (and maybe another for the remaining 18 in the song's "ensemble").

Caveat: Only create groups for a subset of 4 or more performers per song. Why? Because you can select 1-4 individual performers on the schedule maker with relative ease, so creating a group with only a few members would be tedious and counter-productive. Seriously - you will spend more clicks trying to tag performers in the group than just clicking them in the schedule maker as individual performers.

I hope these suggestions are helpful! If you find yourself butting up against any pain points during casting or rehearsals, tell me about your struggle and I'll help brainstorm a solution!