Favorite Broadway Anniversary Production (2020/2021)

Since my annual winter (or summer for Americans) trip to NY is out of the plans, I figured we could fill in the time with some random trivia.



I actually posted a similar thread some years ago about productions that were having their Broadway Anniversary, and as we bid farewell to the 2019-2020 season, here are some plays and musicals that will hit interesting marks in Late 2020 / Early 2021 and would make great revivals (in my opinion):



10-Year Anniversary of SISTER ACT



I would like to see a more intimate and less corny revival of SISTER ACT. The musical has a great message, but to me the need for laughs hindered the potential of the book. If I could recast the main roles I would go for Celia Rose Gooding as Sister Deloris and Jennifer Laura Thompson as the Mother Superior.



10-Year Anniversary of CATCH ME IF YOU CAN



I enjoyed this show so much with the original Broadway cast! It was a really crowded season, but the Score and Orchestrations really managed to stay with me after all these years. Since its opening it really struck as a British-import kind of show or one that would benefit from it, so ideally I would cast Bertie Carvel as the Agent, Charlie Stemp as Frank Jr., Anthony Warlow as his father and Rachel Tucker as Brenda.



20-Year Anniversary of PROOF



It’s surreal this show has never been revived. Unfortunately all I know of this piece besides reading the play is the movie starring Gwyneth Paltrow. Is it too big of a dream a cast including Amy Adams as Catherine, Joshua Jackson as Hal, John Noble as Robert and Sarah Paulson as Claire?



20-Year Anniversary of THE FULL MONTY



I’ve seen the Brazilian production of this musical, that was awesome, and since then I’ve wanted to see a large-scale production of this musical. Why not? After this corona situation it is the exact amount of joy I expect to spend in the theater. Besides, casting Aaron Tveit in the lead role would be very attention-grabbing for all the audiences… He is a good actor and I regret not traveling earlier to see him and Karen Olivo in Moulin Rouge. As for the rest of the cast, I’d pick Andy Grotelueschen as Dave, Hinton Battle (is he still working?) as Noah and the legendary Marilyn Maye as Miss Jeanette.



50-Year Anniversary of AND MISS REARDON DRINKS A LITTLE



This is a personal pick for me. I love Paul Zindel and everything he did, and while The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds is everyone’s usual pick, I think this is his best work. Hilarious, cruel and gut-wrenching (especially at the end), I would like to see if the magic on the pages is translated to the stage. For the cast, I believe that each sister needs to have a different range. The older hypochondriac sister needs to be intense (Viola Davis), the middle sisters needs to be funny (Leslie Jones) and the younger sister needs to be a hell of an actress (Sophie Okonedo). The annoying guest character would go to my favorite comedienne, Rachel Dratch (has she ever done Broadway?).



50-Year Anniversary of FOLLIES



I’m just going to throw this idea out there to see if anyone funds it: Kelli O’Hara as Sally, Lea Salonga as Phyllis, Will Chase as Buddy, Paulo Szot as Ben and Caroline O’Connor as Carlotta. Everyone knows the drill.



100-Year Anniversary of HEARTBREAK HOUSE



I don’t think this is Shaw’s best plays (Saint Joan and Pygmalion are), but this is his funniest. It’s been some years since this was staged on Broadway and I think a revival right now would be more than welcome. I saw a recent production in Brazil and it was a hoot. I would cast Bill Irwin as the Captain, and Ana Gasteyer and Laura Benanti as his daughters Hesione and Lady Utterword. Also, just because I was blown away by her Joan in Australia (and her work in Succession), I would stir in Sarah Snook in the mix as Ellie Dunn and Costa Ronin (from The Americans) as Boss Mangan.



100-Year Anniversary of THE EMPEROR JONES



To me it’s a shame that this brilliant play by Eugene O’Neill was only staged in the 20s, never to be seen again after the legendary production starring Charles Gilpin. A Circle in the Square simple staging would be the best fit for the text, although there could be something fresh and inventive to bring, for example, Danai Gurira as Brutus.





What do you think? Which would be the best pick for next season?

Personally I think it's a little too soon for anything from 2010-2011, as well as Follies since it's been revived twice in the past 20 years already (I know, lots of shows are revived more often than that, but I'd much rather see less frequently performed shows get revivals). I agree with the others though. I think the issue with Proof was that it became such the "it" show when it opened, having a long run and then seemingly every regional and community theatre doing a production of it within the next 3-5 years, that audiences got a little tired of it. But it's been long enough now that another production is warranted. She's much older than the role is written, but I'd love to see Laura Linney's take on Catherine.