Why is the "revue" dead?
Why is the "revue" dead?
#1Why is the "revue" dead?
Posted: 5/7/17 at 5:15am
Once extrememly popular on Broadway, the format was taken over for a long time by Television, but now it can't even be found there. Attempts have been made to revive it in recent years but the reception has been tepid at best. What happened?
Keeping BroadwayWorld Illustrated
#2Why is the
Posted: 5/7/17 at 9:00am
I would not say it is dead but perhaps moribund. Why? I'd say one thing is the jukebox musical has supplanted one subset, perhaps because a revue is too thin for Broadway. (And some of the JB shows arereally just dressed up revues.) Another is that there is not much of a mass appetite for the sort of loosely themed assemblages that form the other subset. And of course there are quite a few revues off-B and in the cabaret setting.
Smaxie
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
#3Why is the
Posted: 5/7/17 at 9:35am
What didn't help matter either are all of the shows that tried and failed to copy the success of Ain't Misbehavin', a revue that is still without equal. Having a bunch of actors in evening clothes and making goo-goo eyes at each other all night is not enough.
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
#4Why is the
Posted: 5/7/17 at 9:45am
Isn't Prince of Broadway a revue? Not trying to negate your point, OP, but it's interesting that we will have one this season for the first time in several years (was the last one Sondheim on Sondheim? or has there been one since?)
JennH
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/14/13
#5Why is the
Posted: 5/7/17 at 10:12am
I may be a bit biased here because I've never been a big "revue" fan. Of course Ain't Misbehavin, and I would also say Smokey Joe's Cafe are tops, but it's true not much else has seem to work other than those two. I guess I've just never understood the genre of revue. You might as well do a concert at that rate, since they're in essence the same thing. At least to an audience who doesn't know the more nuanced details of the differences between them.
But I'd agree with calling them moribund. But I wouldn't be surprised if they did die out, revue's are just of a bygone era. They were the thing when what we know as musicals didn't exist yet.
And the only reason I think Prince of Broadway will be at least moderately successful is because it's Hal Prince. Everything he's ever done has been successful to some degree and people love those shows. It's material everyone knows. At least, that's my own takeaway on PofB.
Smaxie
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
#6Why is the
Posted: 5/7/17 at 10:22am
Then again, When Pigs Fly is coming back. And it's sort of a revue with a thread of plot pulling it together. There's successful theatre on every level, and I thought the original When Pigs Fly was one of the most enjoyable (and delightfully subversive) things I've ever seen.
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
#7Why is the
Posted: 5/7/17 at 11:15am
I agree about When Pigs Fly (though I thing that thread of plot technically takes it out of the revue category). I also took the OP as written and that was just about Broadway.
#8Why is the
Posted: 5/7/17 at 11:20am
The revue may not have had success recently on Broadway, but revue-type shows (and shows with the barest slips of plot like Marvelous Wonderettes) are immensely popular with regional theatres.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#9Why is the
Posted: 5/7/17 at 11:36am
Revues have also heavily influenced the structures of Song Cycles, which have become a popular and cheap calling card for new musical theatre writers.
#10Why is the
Posted: 5/7/17 at 12:01pm
Because Broadway isn't the center of American music culture anymore.
ViniFromBrazil
Stand-by Joined: 1/26/16
#11Why is the
Posted: 5/7/17 at 12:29pm
Maybe because there haven't been many people who have tried to reinvent it, or refresh it or something. To create a revue based on those themes from the 19th century is ok if you want to use jazz and tap dancing, but do people want to see that one more time?
I'm sure people would flock to Broadway to watch a revue that tackled modern themes (many still watch Saturday Night Live sketches anyway), but then which music would be used? The community still has its reservations towards music that is popular nowadays, and the audience it attracts...
Jarethan
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/10/11
#12Why is the
Posted: 5/7/17 at 6:27pm
I have seen my share of revues over the years, and have enjoyed a reasonable number of them and not enjoyed a reasonable number. I have always thought of them as filler...they have generally filled voids in seasons that did not have a huge number of productions. (I do not consider one-person shows to be revues...they are about the star performer...not random material assembled in some attempt at logical order).
A revue has to be exceptional to keep an audience interested, since they do not have characters to become invested in. For me, they have worked better when the cast were the authors, e.g., An Evening with Comden and Green, the show that Sammy Kahn did many years ago, or an had extraordinary cast, e.g., Ain't Misbehavin. There just aren't many of those.
I think there is a place for revues off-Broadway, assuming expenses can be kept low...a nice little inexpensive night out. I just don't see them coming back in fashion on Broadway. I assume they have gone the way of the light comedy. With ticket prices being as high as they are and the trudge from suburbia being horrific and expensive, they have had their day. This is not to sat that one won't come along that is so special, etc.
Full disclosure: I hated Smoky Joe's Cafe, I hated Fosse, I got bored half way through Dancin', Jerome Robbins' Broadway, Sophisticated Ladies; Bubbling Brown Sugar; hated Wait a Minim (a non-star hit 50 years ago), loved Comden and Green, Sammy Kahn, Ain't Misbehavin' (though I new er had any interest in seeing it a second time). So, I must have a pretty strong bias.
#13Why is the
Posted: 5/7/17 at 7:22pm
I think they've been replaced by musicals whose scores are written by popular artists like Cyndi Lauper (Kinky Boots) and Sara Bareilles (Waitress) or jukebox musicals like An American in Paris and Mamma Mia.
#14Why is the
Posted: 5/7/17 at 8:17pm
Wouldn't it be best to define the term "revue" before weighing in? It seems as though everyone is discussing the songbook collection revue only, but the original "revue" was an evening of original sketches, songs, and dances, a la Two On The Aisle. TV shows like Saturday Night Live still sort of do that (although light on original songs), introducing new material much more often than could be done in the theatre.
Updated On: 5/8/17 at 08:17 PM
seaweedjstubbs
Broadway Star Joined: 3/21/07
#15Why is the
Posted: 5/7/17 at 8:45pm
I know that AFTER MIDNIGHT wasn't necessarily a financial success, but it was pretty well received and, in my opinion, thoroughly entertaining. I believe that was the most recent revue on Broadway.
#16Why is the
Posted: 5/8/17 at 1:36am
JennH said: "I may be a bit biased here because I've never been a big "revue" fan. Of course Ain't Misbehavin, and I would also say Smokey Joe's Cafe are tops, but it's true not much else has seem to work other than those two. I guess I've just never understood the genre of revue. You might as well do a concert at that rate, since they're in essence the same thing. At least to an audience who doesn't know the more nuanced details of the differences between them.
But I'd agree with calling them moribund. But I wouldn't be surprised if they did die out, revue's are just of a bygone era. They were the thing when what we know as musicals didn't exist yet.
And the only reason I think Prince of Broadway will be at least moderately successful is because it's Hal Prince. Everything he's ever done has been successful to some degree and people love those shows. It's material everyone knows. At least, that's my own takeaway on PofB.
"
I guess you missed A DOLL'S LIFE, END OF THE WORLD..., PLAY MEMORY, GRIND and Prince's version of MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG.
He's my favorite director, but he's had a long career. Nobody hits a home run every time at bat.
***
I think the OP answered his own question: television killed the traditional Broadway revue, specifically the television variety show which was very popular up through the mid-1970s.
Jarethan
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/10/11
#17Why is the
Posted: 5/8/17 at 1:42am
seaweedjstubbs said: "I know that AFTER MIDNIGHT wasn't necessarily a financial success, but it was pretty well received and, in my opinion, thoroughly entertaining. I believe that was the most recent revue on Broadway.
And audiences stayed away, despite some spectacular reviews.
Also, re the prior definition, I agree; but, other than Sugar Babies, which was a star vehicle, there hasn't been one of those since the fifties.
#18Why is the
Posted: 5/8/17 at 8:28am
"Also, re the prior definition, I agree; but, other than Sugar Babies, which was a star vehicle, there hasn't been one of those since the fifties."
I don't think that Sugar Babies had much in the way of new/original material. But there have been many post 1950's classic-style revues (original songs & sketches) on Broadway (although few had any success), including:
From A to Z - 1960
Vintage '60 - 1960
Laughs and Other Events - 1960
The Billy Barnes People - 1961
From the Second City - 1961
New Faces of 1962 - and 1968
The Hollow Crown - 1962
The Beast in Me - 1964
Double Dublin - 1963
The Committee - 1964
Cambridge Circus - 1964
This Was Burlesque - 1965
Wait A Minim! - 1966
At The Drop of Another Hat - 1966
Oh! Calcutta! - 1969
To Live Another Summer, To Pass Another Winter - 1971
Pacific Paradise - 1972
Mother Earth - 1972
The Night That Made America Famous - 1975
Let My People Come - 1976
A Day in Hollywood, A Night in the Ukraine - 1980 (some old, some new songs, and think of Act II as one extended sketch)
The Moony Shapiro Songbook - 1988 (sort of)
Pump Boys and Dinettes - 1982
Mayor - 1985
Bring In 'Da Noise, Bring In 'Da Funk - 1996
Jackie Mason's Laughing Room Only - 2003
Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me - 2006
All About Me - 2010
finebydesign
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/17/07
#19Why is the
Posted: 5/8/17 at 11:25am
I've never been fan and find them a little self-indulgent. The current zeitgeist seems to lean toward proper narratives. I imagine this could really change if someone reinvents it, but I wouldn't invest in one if I were a bway producer.
#20Why is the
Posted: 5/8/17 at 12:23pm
Jarethan said: "seaweedjstubbs said: "I know that AFTER MIDNIGHT wasn't necessarily a financial success, but it was pretty well received and, in my opinion, thoroughly entertaining. I believe that was the most recent revue on Broadway.
And audiences stayed away, despite some spectacular reviews.
Also, re the prior definition, I agree; but, other than Sugar Babies, which was a star vehicle, there hasn't been one of those since the fifties.
"
It was my recollection that After Midnight, although didn't blow the roof off of the box office, did pretty solid numbers during its run. The whole reason it closed was because the producers didn't want to put on an understudy during the 4th of July weekend (between Patti LaBelle's end and Gladys Knight's start), but they also knew closing for a week wasn't lucrative either, so they just shut it down.
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Jarethan
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/10/11
#21Why is the
Posted: 5/8/17 at 1:45pm
quizking101 said: "Jarethan said: "seaweedjstubbs said: "I know that AFTER MIDNIGHT wasn't necessarily a financial success, but it was pretty well received and, in my opinion, thoroughly entertaining. I believe that was the most recent revue on Broadway.
And audiences stayed away, despite some spectacular reviews.
Also, re the prior definition, I agree; but, other than Sugar Babies, which was a star vehicle, there hasn't been one of those since the fifties.
"
It was my recollection that After Midnight, although didn't blow the roof off of the box office, did pretty solid numbers during its run. The whole reason it closed was because the producers didn't want to put on an understudy during the 4th of July weekend (between Patti LaBelle's end and Gladys Knight's start), but they also knew closing for a week wasn't lucrative either, so they just shut it down.
The show represented a sizable investment. If the producers closed it rather than sustain losses in a single week, it was struggling and they wanted the hemorrhaging to stop. I think it was a terrible shame that it closed so quickly...but that, to me, is a perfect illustration of the issue. People were not interested, despite the terrific reviews and clear sizzle they could see from the commercials. This wasn't A Grand Night For Singing -- maybe an adequate Summer Stock fare if you can't afford to put on a book musical -- this was original, with a great energetic cast, terrific choreography, the investment showed...yet, no interest.
#22Why is the
Posted: 5/8/17 at 2:52pm
After Midnight opened early in the season and got overshadowed by some big hitters including Beautiful, Aladdin, Les Miserables and Hedwig. From the beginning, marketing shouldered a lot on the announced headliners appearing for limited engagements, so the producers handicapped the show from the beginning by relying on fans of the headliners for ticket sales. I remember thinking to myself how I'd rather wait to see someone more desirable in the show if they were going to be rotating so often. I think having no cast recording hurt them as well. Living in Chicago, there was little exposure to the show outside of NYC. I remember strong reviews, but there really wasn't any far-reaching buzz. I remember not having a clear picture of what the show was like and wasn't wowed by the Tony performance, which I couldn't help but compare to the amazing Tony performance of Black & Blue.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
chanel
Broadway Star Joined: 1/28/04
#23Why is the
Posted: 5/8/17 at 3:02pm
As has been mentioned, revues aren't thriving so much anymore because jukebox shows took over and give you not only revue-style old songs, but a plot.
Jarethan
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/10/11
#24Why is the
Posted: 5/8/17 at 9:40pm
chanel said: "As has been mentioned, revues aren't thriving so much anymore because jukebox shows took over and give you not only revue-style old songs, but a plot.
I actually think that is right on analysis. The story increases audience commitment to the show.
bk
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/03
#25Why is the
Posted: 5/8/17 at 9:46pm
The revue is certainly alive and well in LA because I keep it alive :) Last year we did a wonderful revue, L.A. Now and Then, and prior to that I did a revue based on my albums Lost in Boston and Unsung Musicals, and before that a revue called What If. I love the form - no one really knows how to do them anymore - except me, of course :)
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