The Life revival?

[jamiekennywicked]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 5:59pm

Does anybody think we'll see this revived anytime soon? I've been listening to the cast recording all week and am reminded how good the score is.

[Kad]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 6:15pm

I could see it being done at Encores, but I doubt we'll see a full revival anytime soon.

[latitudex1]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 6:38pm

You're probably right, Kad, not without star interest ala Sweet Charity (like Jennifer Hudson as Sonja, Raven as Queen) and a strong director. Moya Angelo would probably be a good Sonja though.

[jamiekennywicked]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 6:41pm

I too thought Moya Angela could be a great Sonja. Audra as Queen?

[Kad]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 6:51pm

The show wasn't a hit the first time, and is not a known quantity, like Sweet Charity is.

It would need a lot of star power and directorial support.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 9:59pm

I agree with Kad. I don't think either Raven or Jennifer Hudson (using the two examples given) are enough. You would need Beyonce-level star power to get this one off the ground and back on Broadway.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 10:14pm

The score is so-so (Hooker's Ball?? Really, really??) and the script is not good. The show captures the seedy Times Square but not in an interesting way. Audiences like their hookers and pimps happily singing and dancing.

Additionally, the fantastic talent of the OBC helped raise the level of mediocre material: Pamela Isaacs, Chuck Cooper and of course Lillias White were all powerhouse voices.

The show is quite flawed. For example, the character Queen sings "He's no good, but I'm no good without him" then the very next song she's singing "I'm Leaving You". So you sit through "I'm Leaving You" thinking "Five minutes ago you were just singing how you needed him so badly".

Then you have the Lillias White character singing about she's tired of the Oldest Profession, but when she gets the chance to leave, she's begs off with some dumb excuse "I'm staying in this life, I know all the rules."

I think it's a show headed for Encores, but not really worth a Broadway production.

[castlestreet]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 10:44pm

The Life is a prime example of a show that lives on in our minds based on as mentioned above a pretty terrific OBC, and an amazing performance by Lilias. If our memories really served us well, we would realize that it was a deeply flawed show.

Encores- yes... but probably not for some time.

Full scale revival- many many years from now maybe, but there will be major tinkering involved, and whoever the hot commodities are at that time, they will surely be courted to star.

It had some great moments- but thats not enough!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/3/18 at 10:43pm

I revisited this show today so I’m bumping this 6 year old thread.

I’d love to see a revival of this musical (off-broadway seems the likeliest possibility) and to hear the score sung live. Does anyone know what happened to Pamela Isaacs? She seems to have completely disappeared. Her voice really was spectacular.

[Sondheimite]

Posted: 11/3/18 at 10:46pm

This seems like the perfect choice for the Encores summer series. 

LOTS of names I can see them pulling for it.

Then we'd maybe get a cast recording out of it and there wouldn't be financial pressure on it. 

 

Updated On: 11/3/18 at 10:46 PM

[ArtMan]

Posted: 11/4/18 at 12:50am

If anyone is interested, at the housing works (?) thrift store on 9th Avenue around  50th street, they have the OBC recording of The Life for $1.  It was in great shape.  Also had Merman in Gyspy, Spamalot and a couple of others.  For a $1.  Also some dance cds.

[Cesare2]

Posted: 11/4/18 at 8:58am

Not sure why this would be a perfect show for the Encores summer series.  It did not originate off-Broadway.  Although the show had some wonderful performers -- e.g., Chuck Cooper, Lillias White, Pamela Isaacs, Bellamy Young -- the material was terrible. .  A musical about pimps, sex workers, AIDS, and not a single Disney princess.

[nealb1]

Posted: 11/4/18 at 9:40am

Such a great show.  Saw it several times during it's run.  It played for a year and won a few Tony Awards.  I'm pretty sure it recouped, so in that regards it was a success.  Great score. 

[Esther]

Posted: 11/5/18 at 11:26am

Cesare2 said: "Not sure why this would be a perfect show for the Encores summer series. It did not originate off-Broadway.."

 

 

While I agree  the material is quite problematic, it did indeed originate off - Broadway

http://www.lortel.org/Archives/Production/1119

 

 

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/5/18 at 11:31am

Awful show with a handful of decent songs.  Encore should be about as far as it ever goes again.

I'm pretty sure it recouped, so in that regards it was a success. 

It did not recoup.  It flopped.

[nealb1]

Posted: 11/5/18 at 12:19pm

Thanks, Mister Matt.  I had thought it did.  So many shows don't, unfortunately.  

[Mark_E]

Posted: 11/6/18 at 5:53am

We had a production here in London last year, very enjoyable. Sharon D Clarke (soon to reprise Caroline, or Change in the West End) was in the cast. No reason this can't work in a small production off-broadway, as it worked very well at the Southwark Playhouse.

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 11/6/18 at 6:52am

Give me Heather Headley as Queen. 

Didn't Liza perform in the show for one night? 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/6/18 at 9:21am

As much as I love Headley, I’d kill to hear Anika sing the role of Queen.

[LarryD2]

Posted: 11/6/18 at 9:59am

I saw the original Broadway production. The show itself was kind of a mess. Half the score sounded good, the other half was laughable, and the book and lyrics were chock-full of cliches and hoary tropes. Suffice it to say, a show about predominately black people written by two older white men wasn't exactly a model of racial sensitivity or understanding. The original production was lifted by a handful of particularly good performances, some of which I doubt will ever be equaled (Lillias White, especially). I am in no hurry to see it again.