FolliesCabaret said: "To be honest, and I know this'll ruffle some feathers, but I don't think we'll see a Mame revival without a complete rewrite of those lyrics from the titlesong, which is probably why Encores!won't touch it. It really is startling when you really listen to the lyrics, and it's a long song. I just can't imagine, with as many people as you need to "sign off" on a musical revival, that those people would do so for amusical that features a 6 minute long song glorifying slavery, that is also virtually unremovablebecause it's a plot point AND the titular song. Either that, or only produce Mame starring black women, which I think is limiting and unfair for a role that could be played by anyone."
It's not just the lyrics of the title song. There are things in the show that might have been humorous to 60s audiences but would be viewed as negligent behavior towards a child nowadays (sending Patrick to a nudist school for example). And this isn't about "woke" - you do not want to distract or confuse the audience from the point that is trying to be made...nor do you want to sand the edges down TOO much; she isn't Mary Poppins.
The book structure is also quite poor. Act 1 is interminably long, and then act 2 is a mess of time-jumping and vignettes and moments where it feels like the show should end but then it keeps dragging on.
MAME is fixable while retaining the whole score and vast majority of the original lyrics. But it would not be a mere Amy Sherman Palladino/Mattress type situation, it would need a proper rewrite of the entire show. Which would inevitably ruffle feathers of traditionalists and elderly show queens, but they are not the target audience of any Broadway musical.
Updated On: 6/8/25 at 01:58 PM