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Broadway Revivals That Deserve The Jellicle Ball Treatment

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#1

Broadway Revivals That Deserve The Jellicle Ball Treatment

https://www.onstageblog.com/columns/2026/6/10/here-are-some-other-broadway-revivals-that-need-the-jellicle-ball-treatment

So about a month ago OnstageBlog posted a great article on some broadway shows that should get "the Jellicle Ball treatment" and im very curious, if you were to give any broadway musical this kind of treatment what would it be and how would you approach the material...if you've wanted to get your director's hat out, here's your chance

#2

Broadway Revivals That Deserve The Jellicle Ball Treatment

I’ve always wanted A Chorus Line done in a new way. The reality TV show idea sounds cute. My friend and I were talking and he was like “what if it was an open trans woman talking about how she got her tits and ass done after her casting card said she was clockable”. I’d LOVE that. 


I should’ve been Blac Chyna.
#3

Broadway Revivals That Deserve The Jellicle Ball Treatment

I find a lot of these ideas sound terrible in brief. Remember that the formula of a contemporary update is not going to work for a lot of shows.

A CHORUS LINE can maybe tweak some references, but a wholesale update of the book for a modern era would not fly unless the rights holders allow it.

They somewhat tried a modern update of FAME with the 2009 film that was later maligned as inferior to the original for being heavily sanitized 


Check out my eBay page for sales on Playbills!! www.ebay.com/usr/missvirginiahamm
#4

Broadway Revivals That Deserve The Jellicle Ball Treatment

Guys and Dolls — but make it sports betting and nightlife

People just like to say things... I feel like a show that can take a whole concept overhaul is one that is very light on plot because you're not really changing the text. All of these examples are just "Take old thing and make modern" and that is just not interesting. You don't have to reinvent the wheel to make a good production. 

#8

Broadway Revivals That Deserve The Jellicle Ball Treatment

What exactly is "The Jellicle Ball Treatment"? 

"Cats" has been stripped of anything resembling a cat (including make-up, costumes [animal prints don't count], and choreography) and completely replaced with elements of another culture. Even cat-like behaviors (when applied in this specific setting) are more readily associated with Ball culture than the original concept's setting of Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats.

Can anyone realistically say that Jellicle Ball is about cats?

#9

Broadway Revivals That Deserve The Jellicle Ball Treatment

John Adams said: "
Can anyone realistically say that Jellicle Ball is about cats?"

That’s what makes the revival work: it identified themes in the piece that had been obscured by the previously literal concept of “they’re cats.” That is what makes Jellicle Ball successful: its concept is strongly rooted in what was already motivating the piece. 

And this is the approach that has long been embraced in staging classic plays. It’s extremely rare to see Shakespeare or Sophocles staged in their literal settings, even as their texts frequently refer to them. 

Peterson hasn’t really identified universal themes in his pitches for these adaptations, just loose contemporary equivalents of plot points, which is a shallow approach that doesn’t really sustain a production. 

 


"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#11

Broadway Revivals That Deserve The Jellicle Ball Treatment

Kad said: "And this is the approach that has long been embraced in staging classic plays. It’s extremely rare to see Shakespeare or Sophocles staged in their literal settings, even as their texts frequently refer to them."

I'm completely on board with this, and also your observation that, "That’s what makes the revival work", but I have to admit - I don't know what obscured themes were actually "obscured", or are now brought to light by being presented in the setting of Ball culture.

The biggest difference for me is that in your example of Shakespeare, bringing the text into a contemporary setting (or any other), usually points up the relevance of the text - that it's not only still "alive" and holds true, but also is applicable in multiple settings.

I'm not so sure I can agree that also applies to "Cats" and "...Jellicle Ball". The original production seemed to me to be about bringing the poetry of T.S Elliott to life. In this new production, the focus is more about recognizing/lifting up Ball culture.

To my eyes, it's a Ball that happens to have a T.S. Elliot theme - a theme that could easily be swapped out for any other and still work as successfully as "...Jellicle Ball" - there's not much tying the libretto to the setting or characters who don't appear to be cats, but instead, are "cat-themed".

Updated On: 7/8/26 at 09:30 AM

#13

Broadway Revivals That Deserve The Jellicle Ball Treatment

To revive another show with the umbrella conceit of Jellicle Ball would be restricted to a theater piece that doesn't trade on verisimilitude to build its world. Not easy. The Doyle Sweeney stripped away  Victorian England entirely and carved out the telling of the story within an institution. We never believed we were relocating to any of the show's settings, and it didn't matter. The story of revenge's toxicity was presented by characters arguably locked into a "safe" place to explore trauma. No blood was let before our eyes; it was about storytelling. (South Pacific has apparently been in a similar way, among patients.)  I can imagine some fascinating concepts: a King and I performed entirely by an Asian cast, say, in 2026 Thailand. To give it a frame that comments on Orientalism. What if the whole show were performed as pageant-like as the "House of Uncle Thomas" ballet?  That's not really "The Jellicle Ball Treatment" as much as re-thinking cultural appropriation.  


"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling
#14

Broadway Revivals That Deserve The Jellicle Ball Treatment

Everyone always wants a modern retelling of an older show.
I want an Irish potato famine era retelling of “Spider Man Turn off the Dark” 

He swings from pasture to pasture

Updated On: 7/8/26 at 10:53 AM

#16

Broadway Revivals That Deserve The Jellicle Ball Treatment

THE WIZ would be kind of perfect for this type of treatment.

The magic of JELLICLE BALL is that the new concept worked without changing nearly any of the written material - it was all about the subtext. If you're going to try to make BIRDIE about modern stan culture, you might as well write a new show.

I guess you could do a production of FIDDLER set in contemporary Israel or Palestine or Ukraine, without script changes. Whether that would be great or if anyone would want to see it is a different matter...

I'm not thinking hard about this, but I wouldn't really count Daniel Fish's OKLAHOMA! or Ivo's WEST SIDE or Marianne's COMPANY as one of these "treatments." Those didn't really change the subtext of what the show is about, they just changed the way it was presented/set/costumed. To that end, much has been said about Encores' LA CAGE feeling like a "lite" (and ineffective) version of this, but I DO think there's a world where it worked with the right director/choreographer and new musical arrangements. My kingdom for Colman Domingo as George alongside Monet Xchange or J. Harrison Ghee as Albin!

#18

Broadway Revivals That Deserve The Jellicle Ball Treatment

tomorrowBIGLITES said: "Legally Blonde but you cut everything about it that turns into a cartoon."

The 2022 Regent’s Park Open Air production of Legally Blonde is my holy grail of musical revivals and it sucks that we didn’t get a transfer of it…

in fact you could pretty much say that for most of the Regent’s Park productions 

#19

Broadway Revivals That Deserve The Jellicle Ball Treatment

The shows most people mention as possibilities for this Jellicle Ball treatment are shows that also have no linear story or characters that interact dramatically, they are loose concert style shows. Perhaps those shows, like Wiz, can be retrofitted with a new concert style coat of paint -- Mamma Mia would be a good one to do that to. These are essentially concerts, not dramatic works.

That said, is the new Cats really selling that well?  Does it justify another $25 million being thrown on the revising of another show in a niche or gimmick style?  

 

Aren't these shows with style but no substance becoming tiresome? 

#20

Broadway Revivals That Deserve The Jellicle Ball Treatment

merle57 said: "Aren't these shows with style but no substance becoming tiresome?"

Speaking for myself? YES.

But, there is a section of the population that is eating this up with a spoon. I have no desire to take their joy away from them, nor the aspect of representation. 

My opinion is however, that ALW is making bank on appropriated cultural aspects of the LGBTQ+ community that have no connection to the musical he wrote beyond the idea of a "Ball".  I think if RUG really wanted to make a statement of "substance", they would have selected "Jesus Christ Superstar" to remodel using Ball culture instead of "Cats". 

PS: As a way of giving back, it would be nice if he (RUG) pledged a percentage of the show's profits to a charity that supports Trans rights/housing/protections, or an organization that specifically provides support for LGBTQ+ PoC.

It doesn't need to be a lot - just as a token of "thanks" to a community and their culture for revitalizing a show that had become a long-running joke. 

Updated On: 7/8/26 at 04:57 PM

#21

Broadway Revivals That Deserve The Jellicle Ball Treatment

TotallyEffed said: "I’d actually love to see some Shakespearewith period appropriate sets and costumes. No “concept,” just beautifulwords and great actors."

 

I agree, its got to the point with Shakespeare tthat this type of production would be quite revolutionary.

#22

Broadway Revivals That Deserve The Jellicle Ball Treatment

Theatrefan2 said: "TotallyEffed said: "I’d actually love to see some Shakespeare with period appropriate sets and costumes. No “concept,” just beautiful words and great actors."

I agree, its got to the point with Shakespeare tthat this type of production would be quite revolutionary.
"

I believe there are many productions (professional and non-) that fit the brief;  many, many more than you or I might be aware of. They just don't get the kind of publicity that Shakespearean "concept" productions do. 

Unfortunately, it's my opinion that a majority consider Shakespeare to be a yawn-inducing property that you're forced to read (not see, mind you) in High School.

Updated On: 7/8/26 at 05:33 PM

#23

Broadway Revivals That Deserve The Jellicle Ball Treatment

Kad said: "And this is the approach that has long been embraced in staging classic plays. It’s extremely rare to see Shakespeare or Sophocles staged in their literal settings, even as their texts frequently refer to them."

This is exactly what I said after I saw it at PAC. It plays like a Shakespeare production, where aspects make more emotional than logical sense. (The moon part, in particular.)

And not to take anything from Levingston, but it would make sense given Rausch's history at OSF.

#24

Broadway Revivals That Deserve The Jellicle Ball Treatment

John Adams said: "Theatrefan2 said: "TotallyEffed said: "I’d actually love to see some Shakespeare with period appropriate sets and costumes. No “concept,” just beautiful words and great actors."

I agree, its got to the point with Shakespeare tthat this type of production would be quite revolutionary.
"

I believe there are many productions (professional and non-) that fit the brief; many, many more than you or I might be aware of. They just don't get the kind of publicity that Shakespearean "concept" productions do.

Unfortunately, it's my opinion that a majority consider Shakespeare to be a yawn-inducing property that you're forced to read (not see, mind you) in High School.
"

I just loved A Tender Thing by Ben Power which uses Shakespeare’s language but resets the Romeo & Juliet story from teen love and suicide to seniors with terminal illness. I saw this two years ago at Barrington and often think of it. Candy Buckley and Derek Smith were outstanding. To just sit in an intimate theater with minimal staging and listen to that poetry was very special. I would see that play again in a heartbeat. https://youtu.be/opeMbavPpyg?si=-_9Lw6NHNIWG0Nmy

 

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