Changes made to revivals throughout history

[darquegk]

Posted: 1/7/10 at 2:24pm

When shows are revived, they are often heavily revised too. This can be from subtle (Les Mis was reorchestrated but not rewritten) to show-changing (West Side Story's spanish lyrics, Little Me's 1982 reimagining, Guys and Dolls' "black version" from Motown).

What are your favorite and least favorite revival revisions to the shows of yesterday and today

[BroadwayBound062]

Posted: 1/7/10 at 3:08pm

Favorite-
Annie Get Your Gun

Least Favorite-
WSS

[madbrian]

Posted: 1/7/10 at 3:24pm

I'm not a fan of revisionism, so I didn't like it when Roger DeBris changed the outcome of WW2 in Springtime For Hitler.

[After Eight]

Posted: 1/7/10 at 3:26pm

I don't like any revisions, but the worst was the travesty perpetrated upon "Flower Drum Song."

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 1/7/10 at 3:42pm

I feel that way about all the revisions to the Follies book. Only the 1971 version is valid to me.

[once a month]

Posted: 1/7/10 at 3:49pm

Loved Gypsy with Patti LuPone, Company with Raul Esparza

Hated Camelot with Richard Burton and Christine Ebersole

revivals of La Cage, Little Shop, Grease, A Chorus Line left me indifferent

[greensgreens]

Posted: 1/7/10 at 4:23pm

I think the best revivals are the ones where not a single line is changed - if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? In these cases it becomes a real testament to the strength of the original material (which should really be so strong in the first place that it warrants a revival, right?)... I get a little flustered with shows that don't trust that source material and really change the show so much it's a practically brand new. Only a few cases of this have really worked for me (Prince's Show Boat and Daniele's Annie Get Your Gun being notables here).

For me, the ultimate revival was Carousel @ LCT. It was so spectacularly reimagined (it was also the first B'way revival I ever saw, so I could just have nostalgic feelings toward it). I think the worst was far and away The Glass Menagerie under Leveaux's direction - one of the few cases where really strong source material was completely destroyed somehow.

[darquegk]

Posted: 1/7/10 at 4:34pm

But isn't it valid to say that some revivals IMPROVE upon the original with their changes, Greens? For instance, consider Cabaret, a show which is now significantly different than its original incarnation, but which many consider to be a better, stronger show than the original Sixties version.

Or, one of my favorites, the minor farce Little Me. In the sixties, it was a star vehicle for Sid Caesar, and the show essentially died without him. In twenty years, the show was revived disastrously with radical changes to plot and music, but the addition of several new songs (with varying success). Finally, in 1998, a fairly definitive version was presented, condensing the two main characters into one huge female lead, increasing the lead male's stage time, and deleting a few highly dated cultural references (love it or hate it, today's audience doesn't recognize Patrick Dennis as a reporter or writer- he's the little kid from Mame if he's anything).

[After Eight]

Posted: 1/7/10 at 5:46pm

Regarding "Little Me," I preferred the original-- by far-- to both subsequent revivals.

[darquegk]

Posted: 1/7/10 at 8:11pm

Just out of curiosity, what was it about the original that you liked more, or what did you dislike about the two revivals? (Mainly the second one- no one really liked the first one.)

Was it the cast, or the material itself, or something else?

[Scott Briefer]

Posted: 1/7/10 at 8:17pm

I think Cabaret is a wonderful example of a show that truly improved with age and serious rethinking.

Although I enjoyed the current revival of Chicago, I thought the original much better.

Dreamgirls' revival (not the recent Apollo version, but the tour playing on Broadway) was dreadful compared to the original.

The list goes on...

[E.Davis]

Posted: 1/7/10 at 8:23pm

I enjoyed the new orchestrations for Sweet Charity and the two new ad-dins...."Good Impression and the fact they way they changed the way the show ended with her singing "I'm the bravest individual" reprise.....They also changed the chorus part in the title song and cut out the big finish in the Frug. I think this carnation of "Rhythm of life" is much stronger, for the spot in the show.

Also enjoyed LUPONE GYPSY....I think changing the title of a show is always good.

BTW, Did Cy Coleman write that song for the original production and was it cut? Or was it just, let's give Oscar a quartet song...

[defyingravity11]

Posted: 1/7/10 at 10:43pm

Favorite:
Hal Prince's Show Boat
LuPone Gypsy

Not so much:
Dreamgirls at the Apollo
The last Grease

[After Eight]

Posted: 1/8/10 at 1:16am

"Just out of curiosity, what was it about the original that you liked more, or what did you dislike about the two revivals? (Mainly the second one- no one really liked the first one.)

Was it the cast, or the material itself, or something else?"


Actually, I enjoyed all three productions-- I love the show and score, I think it has one of the funniest books ever--- but the original was more professionally done than the other two. It was more polished, more sumptuous. I also didn't like the changes made to the text, either in making two leads from one in the first revival, or combining the two Belles in the second. The first book worked best. I also love "The Truth," and am sorry it was cut. It has some great lyrics.

James Coco and Victor Garber were both good, and Martin Short was hilarious. But Sid Caesar was incomparable. Similarly, Virginia Martin was the best Belle, and Swen Swenson owned "I've Got Your Number."

[darquegk]

Posted: 1/8/10 at 10:10am

After Eight, I'm sort of a Little Me-ologist, since it's one of my favorite B- or C-list musicals. I've seen the past two, and seen press reels of the first.

From what it sounds like, you would have found a lot to like about the Charles Busch production in the early 2000s, which took the best elements of the four major productions (including the less-than-stellar British production) and synthesized them into one. While it followed the '98 perhaps the closest, it restored the lavish production values of the first, as well as reinstating "The Truth" near the end of the show- though the Patrick Dennis character was simply retooled into a "famous interviewer" that seemed like it was trying to imply Geraldo.

Also, it's funny how much this score has fluctuated between the three main productions, with each having exclusive material in it- the original had "The Truth," "Be A Producer" and the duet "Little Me," the first revival cutting about half the score but adding "Don't Ask The Lady," "I Wanna Be Yours," and the trio "Little Me," and the revival returning mainly to the original score but adding a finale number, "I Love You (Reprise)," and substituting both "The Truth" and "Little me (duet)" for a new opening number, a vastly retooled "Little Me" featuring Belle, her boys, and an onstage pianist Charlie- which was a backhand reference to a large supporting character created for the first revival, Charlie Drake.

[After Eight]

Posted: 1/8/10 at 8:22pm

darquegk:

I'm glad to see you're a "Little Me"-ologist. An honorable calling! Keep up the good work, and let's hope for more revivals of "Little Me."