Worst Revival Ever — Page 3

jewishboy-don't you mean Harvey Fierstein should not have gotten the Tony? Because, he WAS the one who won-not Brian Stokes Mitchell. I did love Harvey Fierstein in Hairspray, not so much the show. I do agree that Antonio Banderas deserved that Tony.

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I don't remember the witch turning into a snake in the woods revival!

I really loved the revival of Annie Get Your Gun, it wasn't my favorite ever but it was still great if you ask me...

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I found the revival of WOODS very enjoyable but the Stratford production was an absolute revelation. If the 2002 revival had not just happened I would have campaigned to transfer Stratford's wildly inventive staging to New York. They did the original 1987 text with only the addition of "Our Little World" and the restoration of the segments that were trimmed for Broadway but left on the OCR.

As for worst Broadway revival, of recent years anyhow, my choice would be the Roundabout revisal of THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE. A real travesty!

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The 3penny revival missed what it was supposed to be about. It was a great cast, but everything else was useless and detracted from the original intentions of the story. It was unfortunate for people to go in, never knowing anything about 3penny before, and to leave the theatre thinking they really understood 3penny.

I still loved nellie, jim dale, ana, alan, and cyndi <3!!

Christina Applegate in Sweet Charity.

I don't know about the On The Town revival of the late 90s, but I have read/heard that the On the Town revival of 1971 starring Bernadette Peters, Phyllis Newman, and Donna McKechnie was disastrous, McKechnie talks about the bad experiences the cast had during the rehearsal/preview process during the show. Bernadette Peters still managed to get a Tony nod. though, did anyone see this revival?

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Ray, the 1971 revival of On The Town wasn't disastrous. It flopped, but it left a lot of fans. Ethan Mordden called it "superb," and said "it was in fact one of the most impressive revivals Broadway has ever seen." I've heard sound clips. I just wish it could have received a cast album. It would probably be a cult recording now, if it had.

Updated On: 12/3/06 at 06:51 PM

I really don't like Vanessa Williams but I thought she was great in ITW and the Bye Bye Birdie remake. I loved Bernadette more in ITW. No one could take her place for me!

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the current revival of EVITA in London,,, Bore, snore, goodbye!

the Roundabout revival of Company.

I love that the title of this thread is Worst Revival Ever! and most posters are claiming revivals of the past 5 years are the WORST EVER! Weighing in with an opinion if your first broadway show was 5 years ago, doesnt make sense to me, respectfully.

I disliked the revival of ITW, some elements were good, some serviceable, many terrible. Jack's mother and Little Red were horrible, one unable to remember her lines or get the timing together in her songs, the other seemed to have no idea where she was or what she was doing. Compared to scene stealers like Danielle Ferland and Barbara Byrne, this was inexcusable to me. Noone else came close to the performances of the original, save for John McMartin, who found so much in the role that Aldredge never did. It was a fine production, for a very good community theater...and it was far too soon to be revived.

It, however was not as bad as many others I've seen (tho I'd be a fool to claim I knew which revivals were the "Worst Ever.")

The Man of LaMancha revival w/ Stokes Mitchell was not anywhere near a fiasco, though it was too soon since the previous revival, one of the worst revivals I've ever seen was the Raul Julia revival in 92 with Sheena Easton completely out of her element. It was embarrassing.

I would put the On the Town revival in 98 on the shortlist. It was awful, save for DeLaria and Testa.

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Doodle, you're right about the "worst" and how there's a vast history of awful revivals from which to choose (especially for those of us who are OLD!) However, I have a very sophisticated habit of "blocking" miserable experiences from my past in an effort to move forward in my life with some modicum of sanity in tact.

Therefore, my most vivid memories of "bad" are also relatively "recent." (I have not, however, been able to erase the painful memory of my brother rolling me up in a blanket and hanging me from hooks on the ceiling as a child. Actually, that wasn't as bad as 3Penny Opera.)

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