What Are The Chances Of These Coming Back To B-way?

[~*Triple Star On Broadway*~]

Posted: 4/28/04 at 5:26pm

Hedwig and The Angry Inch
West Side Story
Steel Pier
On The Town
A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
Annie, Get Your Gun
Working
Guys and dolls


These are not neccessarily the ones I would LIKE to come back, but I'm just curious about if they will ever be brought back? If theres anymore you wonder about, say them!

[Ruffian]

Posted: 4/28/04 at 5:30pm

LOVED HEDWIG

Saw it with JCM & also with Cerveris

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 4/28/04 at 5:35pm

They will all be revived at some point.... even CATS.

Within the next 50 years I'd like to see:
THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL (3.0)
CATS
CABARET
STARLIGHT EXPRESS
JEKYLL & HYDE
TITANIC
MY FAIR LADY
OLIVER!
GREASE!
JANE EYRE
1776
JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT
SOUTH PACIFIC (Trevor Nunn directed)
SWEENEY TODD
EVITA

They could all be major revivals.... Updated On: 4/28/04 at 05:35 PM

[nystateomind04]

Posted: 4/28/04 at 5:42pm

arent they planning a west side story revival for next season, or did i make that up?

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/28/04 at 5:43pm

*West Side is in works to be revived I think next year or so.
*Guys and Dolls was already done in early 90's (1994?) with Nathan Lane and Faith Prince.
*Funny Thing, that was mid to late 90's with Nathan Lane, then Whoopi Goldberg.
*Steel Pier, 1997, no chance of that showing up anytime soon.
*Annie Get Your Gun- just left us like two years ago!
*Hedwig was never on bdway, and if it revived prolly wouldnt be on broadway or a big theatre, it spoils the intimacy.
*On the Town - Good Question...it hasn't been done in a while, I think it was done at Encores, and wasn't that successful, the most success was Lea Delaria, singing "I cam cook too!"
*Working - would be interesting to see again, although it's not a show with one particular storyline, so it's harder to follow

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 4/28/04 at 5:48pm

"West Side Story" is slated to return in 2005 under the direction of Jerry Mitchell (who has said he will be re-creating the original Robbins choreography).

"Hedwig" just finished up a two and a half year run off Broadway a couple of years ago at the tiny Jane Street Theatre -- it's doubtful that it would ever attract enough of an audience in the future to run in a Broadway house long enough to return its investment. I suppose there's a remote chance somebody might try and revive it off-Broadway someday, but, because of the touchy economics of commercial off-B'way, it seems rather unlikely (unless some big rock star or big "name" willing to work for peanuts wants to do it).

1978's "Working," 1997's "Steel Pier," and the 1998 revival of "On the Town" were all VERY expensive flops which lost their entire investments, so they will almost certainly never be seen on Broadway again.

"Guys and Dolls," "Funny Thing" and "Annie Gets Your Gun" are all classics which have been revived successfully fairly recently and will each likely be revived again at some point, though I doubt we'll see them on Broadway in the next several seasons.

Updated On: 4/28/04 at 05:48 PM

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 4/28/04 at 6:30pm

Just because something flopped doesn't mean it doesn't have a second chance, of course: Look at "Assassins". I think "Grand Hotel" also had an earlier incarnation on Broadway that flopped.

What hit musicals will never be seen on Broadway again? A Chorus Line? Paint Your Wagon?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/28/04 at 6:47pm

Assassins was originally an Off-Broadway limited run, not a flop. West Side Story is slated for a revival. On the Town, Guys and Dolls and Forum are considered classics and will probably resurface. Working is pretty dated and was a bigger hit in the amateur circuit, so I doubt we'll see it again. I wouldn't look for Steel Pier, either. Some shows just don't work and don't return. Hedwig is a possibility for a Broadway run in a small house, but I doubt any time soon.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/28/04 at 6:51pm

How about reviving Metro or Nick & Nora ?

[BroadwayDiva]

Posted: 4/28/04 at 7:20pm

I really hope JCS and Godspell come back soon. I doubt they will because of the whole religious thing.

Is it possible they could come back???

[Plum]

Posted: 4/28/04 at 7:30pm

Oh, I'd love to see a revival of West Side Story. They're not changing the choreography or anything, are they?

[CapnHook]

Posted: 4/28/04 at 7:48pm

GUYS AND DOLLS is a planned movie remake by Miramax. They want to do DREAMGIRLS first, though.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 4/28/04 at 8:11pm

"Grand Hotel" was a hit straight play and movie in the early 30's. It was adapted into a musical in 1989, and, so far, that musical version has only played Broadway once (and it was a hit).

Flop shows are VERY rarely revived. The few times it has happened, it was due to extremely unique circumstances and almost always was the result of a major overhaul of the original material. In the case of ASSASSINS, the original off-Broadway production can't really be called a flop -- it was always intended to be a limited run at Playwrights and financing for a proposed Broadway transfer was attempted, but it unfortunately just never quite fully materialized. Nobody lost any money, so it can hardly be categorized a flop (not to mention, there have been over a 1000 productions of it around the country in the last decade).

Sondheim is always a special case. His shows rarely make any money ("Funny Thing," "Company" and "Into The Woods," if I remember correctly, were the only ones to turn a profit during their original runs -- I'm only counting the shows for which he did both music & lyrics), but because he is by critical consensus considered the greatest composer of music for the theatre (perhaps, best composer, period) of the latter half of the 20th century, there is a certain prestige factor associated with his work. Producers are generally willing to risk losing money on his shows because he makes them look classy by association (not to mention he's always a good bet for the Tonys). His work will probably always get revived regardless of the financial consequences -- which is why we'll be seeing a revival of "Pacific Overtures" here at Roundabout next season.

As for non-Sondheim shows, the only big flop that got a major revival that I can think of off the top of my head is "Candide" and it was a very special case. Bernstein, like Sondheim, is one of the most well-respected giants of musical theatre and some considered "Candide" to be his finest Broadway score (or at least to be on the level of "West Side Story"). The original production in 1956 only ran 73 performances, mostly do to an overly dark book from Lillian Hellman, as well as a lousy production. When they decided to revive it two decades later, they tossed out Hellman's book and replaced it with a much funnier, completely new one by Hugh Wheeler, added new songs and other material by Bernstein (and Sondheim, if I remember correctly), and the whole production was reconceived as a circus-like farce by Hal Prince. In short, it was almost a completely brand new show and ended up being a hit. Unfortunately, somehow the magic disappeared when Prince revived it again in 1997 and it flopped. Because of Bernstein's extraordinary score and the fun story, it'll never disappear (City Opera is doing a few performances of it this season), but I'm not sure when we'll see it on Broadway again.

The original production of Bernstein's "On the Town" was a hit 60 years ago, but the two times it has been revived -- in 1971, running 73 performances and in 1998, for 69 performances and losing $8 million -- it flopped badly and the biggest complaint was that the material felt dated -- and as time goes on, it's not going to feel any less dated. The popular movie version (which tossed out most of the score) with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra means a skeleton of the material will live on, but it's a pretty sure bet we've seen the last of the show on Broadway.

"Steel Pier" ran two months and lost its entire investment -- the show didn't work (I was bored senseless) and it won't being seeing a Broadway house again without a MAJOR overhaul of the book and score.

"Working" is charming enough -- a great revue for colleges and amateur theatre. It lasted 24 performances on Broadway despite a cast that included future Tony winners Patti Lupone, Joe Mantegna and Lynn Thigpen, as well as Bob Gunton, Lenora Nemetz, Matt McGrath, et al. There are some good songs in it and it was filmed for PBS, but if it is produced in NY again (and it probably will be off-off-Broadway) somehow I just don't think it'll be on Broadway.

Updated On: 4/28/04 at 08:11 PM

[NYUstud]

Posted: 4/28/04 at 11:28pm

Ragtime is already in the works for a revival. So I have heard. Within the next few years.

[leomaxfrank]

Posted: 4/28/04 at 11:39pm

all the talk of these new musical movies really excites me too!

expanding the business and hopefully getting new fans to NYC to see the REAL THING! :)

[alterego]

Posted: 4/29/04 at 12:07am

How about...

Minnies Boys
No, No, Nanette
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Brigadoon
Raisin

[Amneris]

Posted: 4/29/04 at 12:29am

i think it's time for a revival of sweeney todd. i could see jack nicholson as sweeney ha HA ha HA...

[Plum]

Posted: 4/29/04 at 12:34am

It's a shame the movie version of Sweeney is being delayed by Mendes' other projects.

[lvpblues]

Posted: 4/29/04 at 3:36am

The flop version of "Grand Hotel" was called "At the Grand" (Wright-Forrest) and it starred Paul Muni and Joan Diener. It was loose with the plot (Diener was an opera singer instead of a ballerina; Kringelein was a scullery worker). The production closed on the road in 1958, though was resurrected and totally remolded for Broadway in 1989. Ken Mandelbaum tells a great anecdote about Paul Muni's prudery in "Not Since Carrie" - and the events surrounding the final performance, in particular Diener's curtain call. I think it's hilarious.

~Kevin

[mominator]

Posted: 4/29/04 at 11:18am

With a wee bit of updating I'd love too see "A Chorus Line" come back.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 4/29/04 at 12:41pm

"Chorus Line" won't come back for the same reasons "Hair" probably wont' come back: it's just sooooooo of it's time. It's like reading "Im Okay, Youre Okay". Seeing a recent production, I was stunned how dated it has become....even blase.


I'm still hoping someone smart tries to re-work and re-do "Carrie".

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/29/04 at 12:49pm

Brigadoon and No No Nanette are definitely due for revival and with high production values and good choreography , should do well. Like The Canterbury Tales, I would love to see a revival of Two Gentlemen of Verona, but I doubt it is likely unless the book and score are updated. The show won a Tony, but was quickly forgotten. Wasn't there a Paper Mill mounting recently? I remember a rumor of Raisin being revived sometime last year, I think, but with the current revival of Raisin in the Sun and the upcoming The Wiz, I don't see it happening. Perhaps in a few years, Raisin will reappear, but it also has a very dated book and score that need to be dealt with.

Personally, I'm ready for revivals of The Pajama Game and On the Twentieth Century. Given that Twenieth Century is now in revival on Broadway, I doubt it's musical counterpart will show up any time in the near future. A Chorus like will undoubtably be back and probably retain most of its original staging and perhaps some minor updates in the orchestrations. Some brave producers would attempt fresh choreography, but they would need to find someone astonishing to compete with Michael Bennett's legacy.

Minnie's Boys never really caught on and probably never will. The show focused too much on Minnie and not enough on The Marx Brothers, for which people really came to see. A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine is far more entertaining and interesting and a much better candidate for revival. I had the privelege to play Samovar (Groucho) and was the one role I recived the most positive press and resonse. I would love to do it again and I'd camp out at Tommy Tune's back door for the chance to audition.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/29/04 at 4:07pm

Again, I wish I could have my own little theater somewhere and a budget that would not run out and do a whole season of flops.

Flops Theatre

And do shows that were comsidered failures for one reason or another and present them.

We could
CARRIE
METRO
CYRANO
METROPOLIS
STEEL PIER
TED AND ALICE
and so many other shows....

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/30/04 at 1:31am

High Spirits with Andrea Martin as the Medium. :)

[DAME]

Posted: 4/30/04 at 3:36am

triplestar,
Hedwig was never on broadway