Wisconsin's American Players Theatre did just that in 2009 when it opened the Touchstone Theatre, a low-slung, elegantly simple 201-seat indoor house located a stone's throw-and-a-half from the 1, 148-seat rural amphitheater where the company has been headquartered since 1979.

WSJ: Skylight | Heroes | Richard III | American Players Theatre | Passionate Acting, Impeccable Setting | Theater Review by Terry Teachout

Relics of Goat Island's convict origins remain, including a seat carved out of stone by Charles Anderson, an inmate who was sentenced to be tied to a particularly large slab of the island for two years.

BBC: The islands of Sydney Harbour

The road strategy for "Mormon" is similar to the approach that Mr. Rudin and Ms. Garefino employ in New York, where the musical, created by Matt Stone, Trey Parker and Robert Lopez, plays at the relatively small, 1, 066-seat Eugene O'Neill theater.

WSJ: Will 'Book of Mormon' Fly in the Heartland?

On board the train I have to grope my way to a seat in the corridor via several knees, albeit not very comfortably, as a six-stone Labrador needs a lot of room.

BBC: News | UK | Commuting: A lottery for the visually impaired