Other shows that have made changes after opening.

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Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 5:31am

With the changes to Mary Poppins and Shrek recently, I was curious:

What other shows are you aware of that have made big changes well after the show has been open and running ON Broadway-- adding numbers/scenes, removing/replacing them, changing choreography, etc? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it? These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 5:34am

The Scarlet Pimpernel did an ENTIRE revamp of the show from 1997's "SP 1.0" to 1998's "SP 2.0".

Everything from solos changed to songs deleted; new director, etc.!

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 6:51am

Cameron Mackintosh is fairly legendary for this – Les Mis was shortened by 15 minutes (?) a few years ago by cutting various bits and pieces, Miss Saigon went through two or three different endings, Martin Guerre was revised twice during its London run (before being completely rewritten for a UK tour and then revised again for the US), Witches of Eastwick had numbers cut, added and restaged through its London run and Mary Poppins added changes made for Broadway into the London production.

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 7:11am

The ending of the original production of CAMELOT was changed due to a suggestion by the NY Daily News critic John Chapman.
The change involved King Arthur sending forth a youth to tell the world that, "...once there was a spot...called Camelot." It gave a more hopeful ending to the show.

"Madam Rose...and her daughter...Gypsy!"

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 7:57am

HELLO, DOLLY! added material for Ethel Merman.

BEAUTY & THE BEAST added a song for Belle when Toni Braxton took on the role.

"My Own Best Friend" became a solo for Liza Minnelli when she filled in for Gwen Verdon back in 1975.

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 8:19am

Don't most shows make at least minor changes after opening? They could be as small as the restaging in the Sweeney Todd revival that was done to further bring out the mental asylum theme, but they're nearly always there.

"Are you sorry for civilization? I am sorry for it too." ~Coast of Utopia: Shipwreck

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 8:22am

CAMELOT is legendary for its post-opening changes,bigger ones than the ending. 6 months after opening -- maybe earlier, maybe later -- they went back and trimmed out quite a bit. "Take Me to the Fair" was eliminated, and I think some of the Morgan Le Fay stuff, too. It's all fairly well documented in Julie Andrews's recent books.

I also think ON A CLEAR DAY did some adjusting. When you lease it, you get a version of the show that wasn't what was performed. "Don't Tamper With My Sister" was altered and/or cut. Other changes.

I always wonder why the other Merman numbers aren't offered to other Dolly's. Does anyone know if others have sung them? I know it's never been in the stage version, but I have a special fondness for "Love is Only Love" in the film. Written originally for MAME, by the way, and sung by Angela thru at least part of the Boston MAME tryout, I think. It was between "Man in the Moon..." and the title song, about her decision to seek Beau as a husband. A truly perfect Jerry Herman number.

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

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 9:03am

"Wildcat" dropped the title song and "That's What I Want for Janie" after the opening. "Baker Street" dropped "I'm in London Again" and replaced it with "Buffalo Belle." Ethel Merman dropped two songs from "Happy Hunting" after the opening. "Victor/Victoria" wisely cut the dreadful "Louis Says" after opening.

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 9:32am

Wicked incorporated a number of small changes after its opening. The dialogue in the first scene between Elphaba and Fiyero was revised, and the choreography in Dancin' Thru Life was altered. There were some other small, internal changes as well.

#10

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 9:35am

In Rent, they made the minor change in the restaurant scene from "...the enemy of Avenue A will stay, oy veh" to "...the enemy of Avenue A will stay, and Mister Gray". I think this was to acknowledge that Benny was sitting with his father-in-law, because it had previously only been implied.

#11

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 9:44am

That was changed with the start of the non-Equity tour, and then spread elsewhere.

"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt

#12

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 10:47am

For their national tour, the creative team of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels replaced the opening number "Give Them What They Want" with a new song called "The Only Game In Town". I don't think it was ever incorporated into the Broadway incarnation.

I saw the tour and thought "The Only Game In Town" worked well and that it was even a little catchy, although I remember many people on this board weren't too thrilled with it and liked "Give Them What They Want" better.

"You drank a charm to kill John Proctor's wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!" - Betty Parris to Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller's The Crucible

#13

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 11:35am

WISH YOU WERE HERE had revisions after opening and HELLO DOLLY!, when the national tour with Mary Martin began, cut the Butterfly number in the Harmonia Gardens scene and replaced it with the dance contest.

#14

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 12:15pm

Spring Awakening comes to mind for me...they added a verse to The Song of Purple Summer (I think) and changed some of the existing lyrics.

#15

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 12:25pm

All Shook Up went through a lot of revamping for their national tour. Personally, I hated these changes. Here are some that I remember:

- Instead of the show opening with Natalie singing "Love Me Tender," the show opens with Chad singing "Jailhouse Rock." The justification was that it allowed audience members to understand earlier on in the show where Chad was coming from, but I actually thought that the original opening was perfect. Natalie sang "Love Me Tender" when she changed into her Ed costume.

- "Devil in Disguise" was made into a bigger production number and they moved the song to another part of the show. I forgot where it was moved (I don't have a Playbill in front of me), but I remember disliking it more.

- I remember "That's All Right" had a dance break. I might be mistaken, but it seemed as if they added extra dance breaks in songs that originally did not have them.

This was probably one of the worst national tours I saw in terms of direction.

"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611

#16

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 12:41pm

"Victor/Victoria" wisely cut the dreadful "Louis Says" after opening.

Victor/Victoria has a couple of other changes as well, if I'm not mistaken, but Louis Says was my favorite number in the show.

Beauty and the Beast added A Change in Me.

"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian

Updated On: 10/13/09 at 12:41 PM

#17

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 4:20pm

CATS - "Mungojerrie & Rumpleteazer" is a solo vocal on the OBC, but when I saw the 1st national tour in the 80's, it was sung and danced by a male/female duet.

LES MIZ - near the end of it's first run on Bway, Cameron McIntosh had several minutes trimmed from the show to keep from paying Overtime to the musicians in the pit.

SUNSET BLVD. - once the American version opened, they shut down the London version and implemented the American changes.

#18

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 4:42pm

"Spring Awakening comes to mind for me...they added a verse to The Song of Purple Summer (I think) and changed some of the existing lyrics."
They changed assorted lyrics during previews (and from off-Broadway to Broadway), but there were only a few changes made during the show. Many of which were minimalistic costume changes, and a script change to make the terribly written beating scene, even worse.

#19

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 4:43pm

The Act II opening of DREAMGIRLS went through several variations.

#20

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 4:51pm

Didn't Betty Buckley refuse to do the "chair levitation" in CARRIE after the opening night performance, perhaps for fear she would be injured (or nearly injured) ala Barbara Cook? Or did the chair mechanism merely not work which is why it did not raise ten feet in the air (supposedly) ever again?

And another Cam Mack show that was vastly rewritten from West End to Washington, D.C. (never made it to bway): THE FIX which did NOT need to be fixed and Arthur would had had to eat his hat were he to see Mendes's staging at the Donmar! I'm not sure if I've EVER seen a show better directed than that. I will admit that most of Sam's other work pales in comparison, particularly the musicals.

P

#21

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 4:55pm

- "Devil in Disguise" was made into a bigger production number and they moved the song to another part of the show. I forgot where it was moved (I don't have a Playbill in front of me), but I remember disliking it more.

I only saw the tour, but I believe "Devil in Disguise" was moved to where "Jailhouse Rock" used to be. The mayor (forget her name) was singing about how Chad couldn't be trusted and the production number was sort of her fantasy number.

Again, I only saw the tour, but I thought the organization of the songs worked really well. "Jailhouse Rock" is a great, fun, upbeat way to get the audience into the show right off the bat.

Nothing matters but knowing nothing matters. ~ Wicked
Everything in life is only for now. ~ Avenue Q
There is no future, there is no past. I live this moment as my last. ~ Rent

"He's a tramp, but I love him."

#22

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 5:00pm

Yero, I saw the Broadway production of All Shook Up as well, so maybe that is why I have my issue with the changes.

I felt "Jailhouse Rock" wasn't the type of number to open up the show with. I can understand it was a high energy number and gets the audience into the show right off the bat, but after seeing the original production, I liked the original opening better.

I guess after going back and looking at the changes, it makes sense, but at the same time, something just didn't click with me.

"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611

#23

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 6:31pm

I was aware of minor changes happening often....but totally replacing songs while the show is currently ON B'way simply boggles my mind a bit....I couldn't think of any MAJOR changes.

I knew little things: like Melchior singing BOL with the rest of the boys where he never sang before and trimming of Les Miz.

Thanks for all the specifics from everyone!

#24

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 6:37pm

Surprised nobody's mentioned the WSS revival yet. They changed a bunch of Spanish lyrics back to English because apparently, people didn't know the story of WSS well enough and got confused and angry (well, not sure about the angry part, but judging by the thoughts on the board, I'd say that's fair for at least part of the audience).

#25

re: Other shows that have made changes after opening.

Posted: 10/13/09 at 6:40pm

But that's just a revert to the original....I wouldn't have considered that in the same way. THe material isn't different...just the language.

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