What shows will we never see again on broadway

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 6/17/20 at 9:37pm

With the recent events and discussions on race, norms etc. What shows do you think we will never see on Broadway

[Jarethan]

Posted: 6/17/20 at 11:02pm

i would have said that we would never see a bunch of revivals of dated Neil Simon shows, but Plaza Suite seems to disprove that.

I long ago began to wonder whether we will ever see a first class revival of Mame (for my money, a poster child for a big, brassy Broadway musical) or Funny Girl.

I have always thought that Roundabout or Lincoln Center might do a revival of Life With Farther if for no other reason the fact that it originally ran for 8 years.

Re new shows, I imagine we will never again see original original larger ensemble (rather than star turn) 'light dramas' (think 2020 versions of William Inge or and most Terrance Rattigan plays) or light comedies, similar to many Neil Simon works.

But, we all know that never say never is a cliche for a reason.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/17/20 at 11:06pm

New Faces of 1934

[lachri5]

Posted: 6/17/20 at 11:18pm

In the 1951 film version of the Broadway musical Call Me Mister, there's a shockingly racist production number called Japanese Girl Like 'Merican Boy. The clip is on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy_uFEQ1jzo To be fair, the song was never in the stage version. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/17/20 at 11:37pm

Jumbo

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 6/18/20 at 12:32am

Do you think we’ll ever see a show like South Pacific back? Or king and I

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/18/20 at 12:44am

Of course. They were both recently revived and are very expensive shows so it’ll be a very long time but of course they’ll be revived again at some point.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 6/18/20 at 1:12am

Not so fast about Jumbo  :)

Updated On: 6/18/20 at 01:12 AM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/18/20 at 1:23am

If/Then

Goddamn, what horrendous garbage that was. 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/18/20 at 1:54am

There’s a recent thread on Show Boat speculating that we will never see a revival of Show Boat again but I hope that’s not true.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 6/18/20 at 2:11am

In the post-COVID future, when the only Broadway theatre-goers are upper-middle class Gen X'ers from Long Island and New Jersey, Gettin' The Band Back Together will finally get it's due.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/18/20 at 2:47am

Hahahahaha.

PURE TRASHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[Princeton2]

Posted: 6/18/20 at 2:48am

Actually shows like South Pacific, King and I and even My Fair Lady may not be revived much in future. Not because of current events so much, more that their core audiences are dieing out. Similar to how shows from pre-1950 are done less and less. They are big expensive shows to put on and the two most recent revivals really didnt last that long. Outside of theatre fans, future generations of more casual theatre goers arent exposed to the classics as much. They will likely be drawn to shows that either pull on their nostalgia or have more contemporary scores. It's a shame as I think South Pacific is especially relevant now.

[Wick3]

Posted: 6/18/20 at 7:00am

The core audiences of those shows are also considered higher risk of getting covid-19 in terms of age.

Updated On: 6/18/20 at 07:00 AM

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 6/18/20 at 8:43am

Princeton2 said: "Actually shows like South Pacific, King and I and even My Fair Lady may not be revived much in future. Not because of current events so much, more that their core audiences are dieing out. Similar to how shows from pre-1950 are done less and less. They are big expensive shows to put on and the two most recent revivals really didnt last that long. Outside of theatre fans, future generations of more casual theatre goers arent exposed to the classics as much. They will likely be drawn to shows that either pull on their nostalgia or have more contemporary scores. It's a shame as I think South Pacific is especially relevant now."

There is always going to be an audience for the classics, that's part of the reason why they're classics. Part of keeping them alive is reviving them. It all goes in cycles, and it works hand in hand with reinvention or sometimes even casting. There will always be an audience. 

The other thing to take into consideration is the scope. Here we are talking about Broadway. The 2008 revival of South Pacific was the first production since the original on Broadway. I think that was because it is so cemented in our culture, its done everywhere, so what can a Broadway production add? Much like "The Sound of Music". There was 1 revival on Broadway in the late 1990's, and in between that, everyone and their dog see it in community theatre, and the movie. It seems to almost be better to do a big national tour, than a Broadway production.

Also, I think that a lot of the shows based on movies, we'll never see. Not that some aren't good, but I just don't see a revival of "9-5", "Legally Blonde", "Rocky", "The Little Mermaid", "Shrek", "Waitress", "School of Rock", etc.

 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 6/18/20 at 9:20am

Predictably, a sensible question nonetheless provokes some "I didn't like it" posts. Oh well.

I think it is very true that some shows will be of fading interest as generations are removed (just as they always have been), but I think we will occasionally see non-profit revivals of the major museum pieces. In effect this is what LCT has been doing anyway. 

Discussion of the effect of covid 19 on particular audiences misapprehends the nature of the beast: we will not have theatre for ANYONE until we can have theatre for everyone. That sounds ominous but it isn't because (like every other epidemic) this one will be eradicated in relatively short order. (It seems like this is taking forever from our current perspective, but historically it will barely register. (Don't believe me? How much did you know about the Spanish Flu 6 months ago?)

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 6/18/20 at 11:46am

fashionguru_23 said: "Also, I think that a lot of the shows based on movies, we'll never see. Not that some aren't good, but I just don't see a revival of "9-5", "Legally Blonde", "Rocky", "The Little Mermaid", "Shrek", "Waitress", "School of Rock", etc.

"

What I think will be interesting about some of these shows based on movies is whether they find a resurgence 20-30 years from now when folks who loved them now start sharing them with future generations.  For example, in 25 years, will every kid who loved Frozen now want to share the movie with their kids?  And will enough of those kids be interested enough in it that it could potentially warrant a Broadway revival?  So in the immediate future, no, I can't see any of those shows having a second life, but potentially down the road there could be interest generated in them again.

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 6/18/20 at 12:03pm

Heathers.

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 6/18/20 at 12:03pm

Heathers.

[joevitus]

Posted: 6/18/20 at 12:04pm

Princeton2 said: "Actually shows like South Pacific, King and I and even My Fair Lady may not be revived much in future. Not because of current events so much, more that their core audiences are dieing out. Similar to how shows from pre-1950 are done less and less. They are big expensive shows to put on and the two most recent revivals really didnt last that long. Outside of theatre fans, future generations of more casual theatre goers arent exposed to the classics as much. They will likely be drawn to shows that either pull on their nostalgia or have more contemporary scores. It's a shame as I think South Pacific is especially relevant now."

All of these shows have had major, well-received revivals within the past 15 years. I think they will be with us forever. Yes, they will look even more old-fashioned (and sometimes careless in terms of racial issues) as time goes on. But they are so well-constructed dramatically, and so appealing musically that they will survive. 

[trentsketch]

Posted: 6/18/20 at 12:17pm

In terms of the economic impact of the shutdown, it is less likely than ever that shows that didn't turn a huge profit their first time around are getting revived. Like, we'll get an Into the Woods revival eventually, but something like Merrily We Roll Along isn't going to get the same chance. A radical reimagining isn't going to be enough to get investors on board for shows that haven't proven their ability to turn a profit on Broadway.

I imagine we're going to see more musicals adapted from movies on Broadway, but the ones that didn't do great their first time around (9 to 5, Wedding Singer, Rocky, etc.) have little chance of being revisited. Like, I'll be shocked if Disney doesn't get that Beauty and the Beast revival going within a year or two of theaters reopening (that poor, poor Aida revival isn't going to happen anytime soon, though).

I imagine we are going to get some big classics revived when the theaters can reopen again. I will not be surprised to see something like The Sound of Music appear out of nowhere. I'll also be surprised if we getting a revival anymore serious than The Sound of Music being pushed anytime soon. We're not getting something upsetting and provocative like Parade or Ragtime. We're going to get happier shows that will draw the widest audience possible. 

Plays aren't going to be impacted as hard, but open ended commercial play runs on Broadway aren't exactly the business model right now. We get limited runs that extend or not for profits slotting in a potentially electric but under-performing productions because they can. We're probably not going to get anything as provocative as Slave Play or Gary anytime soon, but those were already unexpected (but welcome) arrivals on Broadway.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/18/20 at 2:23pm

It’s not really a fair comparison to say shows before the golden age classics “died out” and these will, too. In the case of shows like “South Pacific”, “My Fair Lady”, “King & I” etc, we have huge films made of them and/or broadcasts of stage productions preserving them for people to watch, which we didn’t have for the pre-golden age shows. So while interest died down for them there was a very good reason, lack of exposure and visibility whereas that’s just not the case for the shows mentioned here.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 6/18/20 at 2:42pm

trentsketch said: "In terms of the economic impact of the shutdown, it is less likely than ever that shows that didn't turn a huge profit their first time around are getting revived. Like, we'll get an Into the Woods revival eventually, but something like Merrily We Roll Along isn't going to get the same chance. A radical reimagining isn't going to be enough to get investors on board for shows that haven't proven their ability to turn a profit on Broadway.

I imagine we're going to see more musicals adapted from movies on Broadway, but the ones that didn't do great their first time around (9 to 5, Wedding Singer, Rocky, etc.) have little chance of being revisited. Like, I'll be shocked if Disney doesn't get that Beauty and the Beast revival going within a year or two of theaters reopening (that poor, poor Aida revival isn't going to happen anytime soon, though).

I imagine we are going to get some big classics revived when the theaters can reopen again. I will not be surprised to see something like The Sound of Music appear out of nowhere. I'll also be surprised if we getting a revival anymore serious than The Sound of Music being pushed anytime soon. We're not getting something upsetting and provocative like Parade or Ragtime. We're going to get happier shows that will draw the widest audience possible.

Plays aren't going to be impacted as hard, but open ended commercial play runs on Broadway aren't exactly the business model right now. We get limited runs that extend or not for profits slotting in a potentially electric but under-performing productions because they can. We're probably not going to get anything as provocative as Slave Play or Gary anytime soon, but those were already unexpected (but welcome) arrivals on Broadway."

I agree with you re a commercial run of Merrily; however, particularly given the strong reviews for the Maria Friedman version which played in London and was performed several years ago at the Huntington in Boston, I am surprised that Roundabout hasn't already done that.  I have every expectation that we will see a revival of Merrily one of these days.

Re something like Gary, I assumed it was a given that big flops (mainly in terms of critical response or briefness of run) were never going to be revived on Broadway.  So I don't expect revivals of Kelly or Dr.Jazz or Moose Murders or Buck White or Passione or Children Children or Maggie Flynn or Marilyn or Her First Roman or 1000- 2000 other productions in the past 80 years) or any of the modestly successful musicals that ran most of a season in the 50s and 60s, e.g., Bajour, Here's Love, How Now Dow Jones. Walking Happy,etc.

[Urban]

Posted: 6/19/20 at 12:34am

In My Life

Hahaha...

As somebody that is interested in obscure or half-forgotten musicals, the one that comes to mind is The Redhead - even though it won Best Musical and 3/4 Musical Acting Awards. Some shows are just so wrapped around one person (in this case Gwen Verdon), it would be bloody hard to remount with somebody else (okay not impossible, but highly unlikely short of a triple threat with the name recognition of say... Beyoncé willing to do it).

 

[blaxx]

Posted: 6/19/20 at 1:47am

Urban said: "In My Life"

That show was so bizarre and hilarious, I'd sit through it again anytime!