Most Overdue Revival- Page 2

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 12:36am

Valentina3 said: "Ooof tantalizing. If this is actually true, I really hope that powers that be decide to bring Carolee back as Mrs Lovett because she was a miracle in that role at Barrow Street production a couple of years ago. Although, if this is indeed a Broadway revival, she might not be a big enough name."

She'd better than who they have in mind, who is about equal in name status as far as I'm concerned. Co-starring with Jake Gyllenhaal in a previous Sondheim revival isn't exactly the sole criterion I'd be interested in, but hey, I ain't them.

[Lumiere2]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 1:47am

Just for fun, when looking at commercially successful shows that haven't been revived, I looked at the top five longest running musicals that have never been revived on Broadway (not counting, of course, shows that are still running in NYC.) I also didn't include Kinky Boots or Beautiful just because they only closed in 2019 and it's way too soon to revive them.

Here they are....

5. Rock of Ages. It played two different theatres over its six-year run, and it had a 2012 film version that bombed hard at the box office. How to make it new - what about setting it at a real concert? Immersive revivals at Circle in the Square (like Once on this Island and Oklahoma!) have been popular in recent years.

4. Mary Poppins. Having just closed in 2013, nine years may not seem like a long time. But that how long there was between Ragtime's 2000 closing and its 2009 revival. Spring Awakening was even less from its 2008 closing to a 2015 revival.

3. Hairspray. A big surprise hit that ended up playing a successful six-year run, but hasn't been seen since 2009. The live TV version in 2016 was the last high-profile version of the show.

2. Rent. Winner of dozens of awards and one of the rare musicals to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It had a short-lived off-Broadway revival in 2011 that lasted only eight months, and the last professional tour just ended last month. It hasn't had an NYC presence in more than a decade. Maybe there's no day but today?

1. Disney's Beauty and the Beast. It ran over 13 years, and Disney hasn't produced a new show since 2018, with nothing new set to arrive in the future. Maybe it's time for a redesign? (Curiously, a new version of this show produced by Disney has been running on one of their cruise ships, the Disney Dream, for years now to smashing reviews. Not that a 60-minute cruise ship show is good enough for Broadway proper, but perhaps it's a good launching pad for a new design of the full-length show?)

Honourable mentions go to plays Life with Father and Tobacco Road - I know nothing about the plays themselves, but they're the two longest running plays in Broadway history, both with over seven years in their original runs. What about a revival of them?

Some other honourable mentions (and the next five longest running shows on the list afterwards): Smokey Joe's Cafe (closed in 2000), The Magic Show (closed in 1978), Aida (closed in 2004), Dancin' (closed in 1982 - though a new version from La Jolla is rumoured to be looking at a Broadway run....) and Crazy For You (closed in 1996)

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 1:50am

100%

[tomwsjr]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 6:02am

Barnum 

[Valentina3]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 8:02am

g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "Valentina3 said: "Ooof tantalizing. If this is actually true, I really hope that powers that be decide to bring Carolee back as Mrs Lovett because she was a miracle in that role at Barrow Street production a couple of years ago. Although, if this is indeed a Broadway revival, she might not be a big enough name."

She'd better than who they have in mind, who is about equal in name status as far as I'm concerned. Co-starring with Jake Gyllenhaal in a previous Sondheim revival isn't exactly the sole criterion I'd be interested in, but hey, I ain't them."

Lol, I see. Assuming we are talking about Ashford, I can totally see her in the role easy but she'd read very young for the role. I suppose you can't also drop not hints about the lead they have in mind? Haha.

[darquegk]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 8:56am

There’s a new edition of BATB that has replaced the old one in licensing, primarily designed to get the show down to under two and a half hours. It’s probably so you don’t have to pay union musicians overtime on a long show.

It cuts bits and pieces of scenes, and drops the songs No Matter What, Maison des Lunes and the Battle. Also, it cuts the famous “so many harmonies and vocal parts” arrangements down to usually SATB four-part instead for ease of amateur production. All of which I kind of hate.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 9:11am

Dreamgirls, Me & My Girl, Aida, The Full Monty, Parade.

[Nolan LuPone]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 10:08am

What happened to the Yazbeck revival of Crazy For You?

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 10:19am

One of the most underrated musicals in my opinion

CHESS!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 10:34am

Urintetown.  What's it been 17? 18 years?    

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 10:38am

dramamama611 said: "Urintetown. What's it been 17? 18 years?"

More like 20 years! It opened in late September 2001, just weeks after 9/11. I would like to see a revival. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 10:41am

(I meant since closing....which I think was 2 years later?)  

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 10:43am

Valentina3 said: "Lol, I see. Assuming we are talking about Ashford, I can totally see her in the role easy but she'd read very young for the role. I suppose you can't also drop not hints about the lead they have in mind? Haha."

Well, the last time we saw him, he hit the earth like a Great Comet, and replacing him proved to be quite a chore on that production.

[Valentina3]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 10:44am

g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "Valentina3 said: "Lol, I see. Assuming we are talking about Ashford, I can totally see her in the role easy but she'd read very young for the role. I suppose you can't also drop not hints about the lead they have in mind? Haha."

Well, the last time we saw him, he hit the earth like a Great Comet, and replacing him proved to be quite a chore on that production."

Now I'm day dreaming about Mandy and Bernadette in the lead roles... 😂

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 10:53am

Lordy, lordy, make it so.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 11:21am

darquegk said: "There’s a new edition of BATB that has replaced the old one in licensing, primarily designed to get the show down to under two and a half hours. It’s probably so you don’t have to pay union musicians overtime on a long show.

It cuts bits and pieces of scenes, and drops the songs No Matter What, Maison des Lunes and the Battle. Also, it cuts the famous “so many harmonies and vocal parts” arrangements down to usually SATB four-part instead for ease of amateur production. All of which I kind of hate."

It wasn’t cut for overtime for union musicians. Almost every musical is at least 2.5 hours, which is still not enough for overtime. The cuts, based on numerous tours and productions since the Broadway version, were likely made to streamline the show for family-friendly audiences, who check out during the songs you mentioned (The Battle also makes the action lose steam and momentum; The Mob Song into the Gaston/Beast fight gives a logical progression).

Anyway, my vote is for City of Angels.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 12:15pm

RENT is not overdue, but I could see Jeffrey Seller or Kevin McCollum trying to revive it. Perhaps a 30th anniversary revival in 4 years? I think it's time for Michael Greif to say goodbye to the show, though...time for a new director to put their stamp on it. Same situation with A CHORUS LINE, which I know John Breglio has said will have a 50th anniversary revival, and I hope will have an all-new staging.

Also not overdue, but feels like we're a few years out from good revivals of GUYS & DOLLS and SOUND OF MUSIC (or at least revivals that want to be good, since they're such perennial favorites).

Updated On: 3/29/22 at 12:15 PM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 12:18pm

MAME and DREAMGIRLS seem to be the shows thrown around the most, but the former needs a new book and a major star, and the latter needs a dynamite cast and physical production.

URINETOWN should always be running somewhere until it stops being relevant. I could see that doing well in a commercial Off-Bway revival, not unlike LSOH (except it requires a larger cast than LSOH, which might not make it feasible).

CITY OF ANGELS is a good choice (or a feature film) or GRAND HOTEL. Don't know that either would do well financially, but I'd see em a few times!

[Jarethan]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 12:51pm

I would like to see Mame the most, but I agree with the last poster that it needs someone great in the role.  The book will need a little work, but I don't think that much.  It IS a period piece.

I agree with all the posters for Dreamgirls and would add Nine to the list.  IMO the original production of Nine was one of the most perfect productions ever, and the revival was just terrific.

In the Sondheim canon, the one that I actually want to see the most is A Funny Thing Happened.  I would have added the reimagined Maria Friedman Merrily, and I have gotten my wish there.  Hopefully, prices will not be totally absurd.

Next for me is The Pajama Game, which has a great score and an enjoyable book.  The revival in the early 70s -- couldn't get tickets for the one with Connick and O'Hara -- was really wonderful, even if was not a hit; but that was the days when revivals were generally relegated to short runs at the City Center.

It's also time for Show Boat, but I would vote to recreate the Hal Prince version.  OF course, the problem is that it would be prohibitively expensive.

The Producers, if they can get someone who can make people forget Nathan Lance.

I would never have said The Sound of Music, but a production that I saw at the Asolo Theatre just before the Pandemic exceeded my expectations in every way.  And it was actually darker than any version I have previously seen.

I would love to see Chess if someone could figure out how to make it work.  The closest I have seen to date was the Signature Theatre in Virginia about a decade ago.

Never gonna happens, but I can dream: The Happy Time in a production scaled for the Booth (saw a spectacularly good production years ago at Signature): Over Here (Lupone and Peters in the Andrews Sisters roles...not actually huge roles, but both had showstopper numbers); Hallelujah,Baby, with a reworked book (the concept was excellent, the musical numbers were excellent, and an opportunity for some great performances; 

Finally, I would not have previously said Camelot, but the idea of a Bartlett Sher / Aaron Sorkin production is very appealing 

SI have zero interest in City of Angels (I hated it and a lot of others apparently did, based on its shortish run, with many months of 3/4 filled houses, even with TKTS) or Grand Hotel.  I enjoyed it when I saw it, but remember thinking that once was enough.  Twenty years later, I feel the same way.  What a lousy score.  Not ready for Gypsy, Fiddler, Man of La Mancha, Les Mis...all favorite shows.  I think the last revival of A Chorus Line set the record straight that it was never a great show, and I have no interest in it.

Shows that I feel are one-timers and would not be hits a second time include: Me and My Girl, Urinetown (unless Roundabout or off-Broadway -- a terrific show, but I don't see it working economically), Barnum, Raisin and Sophisticated Ladies.

 

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 3:02pm

Valentina3 said: "Now I'm daydreaming about Mandy and Bernadette in the lead roles... ?"

If only it was them instead...

[SidebySidebyLogan]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 3:19pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "MAME and DREAMGIRLS seem to be the shows thrown around the most, but the former needs a new book and a major star, and the latter needs a dynamite cast and physical production.

URINETOWN should always be running somewhere until it stops being relevant. I could see that doing well in a commercial Off-Bway revival, not unlike LSOH (except it requires a larger cast than LSOH, which might not make it feasible).

CITY OF ANGELS is a good choice (or a feature film) or GRAND HOTEL. Don't know that either would do well financially, but I'd see em a few times!"

I enjoyed West Side Story but thought through the entirety that I'd rather have seen Spielberg's take on City of Angels (or Sunday in the Park with George, or Kiss of the Spider Woman, or....)

[Globefan]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 7:38pm

Show Boat 

Chess 

 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 8:46pm

Dreamgirls, Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Sound of Music, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Mame, Ain't Misbehavin' , Damn Yankees and Hairspray

[Azúcar!]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 11:00pm

Whorehouse 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/30/22 at 7:32am

g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "Valentina3 said: "Now I'm daydreaming about Mandy and Bernadette in the lead roles... ?"

If only it was them instead..."

Re-reading your hint, I realized that's not what you were saying, as Mandy never performed Comet.   I'm guessing, then, that you must be talking about Groban.  Which doesn't seem to be a good fit. (Although I'll listen to his recording.)