Stage Door: Revive This! (a musical lover's list)
Monday, March 21, 2016 at 7:40PM 
This week I caught the Off Broadway hit Red Speedo about a swimmer who thinks he needs performance enhancement drugs. It was a totally solid thought-provoking play and if that sounds like faint praise it's only that because the raves have been so breathless. I had front row seats (not intentional) which is a weird angle with which to see this show because the pool part of the stage looms large in front of you (you do get splashed). I don't mind getting wet so I wished they'd used the pool part of the well designed stage a little more. The actors were uniformly terrific so if you're interested in the topic, by all means go.
But back to Broadway itself. After finally seeing The King and I, one of last year's Tony winners, and the news that Hello Dolly will finally return (with Bette Midler!) after decades of invisibility, thoughts turned to shows that rarely get revived. Some shows like Les Miz & Gypsy & Fiddler on the Roof and a handful of others seem to return to the big stage every 4 or 5 years. It begs the question of why others are never revived. So herewith a list!
10 Longest Running Shows That Have Not Been Revived in Over 20 Years
Not a qualitative list but factual based on how long the show ran.
01 Oh! Calcutta! - the nude musical revue closed in 1989 after two very successful multiple-year runs. Why no third?
02 Life With Father -Broadway's longest running straight play ever closed way back in 1947 the same year the film version came out. Among its 1939 opening night cast was future Oscar winner Teresa Wright.
Julie Andrews was famously denied recreating her "My Fair Lady" role on the big screen. But she became a huge movie star anyway
03 My Fair Lady the classic Pygmalion inspired musical had several revivals but apparently fell out of fashion for producers in the early 90s. Every once in a while you hear about a film remake or a revival but they never happen. The film version was named 1964's Best Picture by the Academy.
04 The Magic Show a one-act musical which starred the magician Doug Hennings (who was big in the 70s). It ran for four years. The music was by Wicked composer Steven Schwarz
Has anyone seen this 1980 movie?
05 Gemini was a culture clash family dramedy --Sigourney Weaver was in the cast before it went to Broadway -- set in a blue collar neighborhood. It played for 5 whole years (which is a lot for a non-musical) and closed back in 1981. The play featured future Oscar nominee Danny Aiello (Do The Right Thing). They made a movie of it called Happy Birthday, Gemini (1980) which featured Madeline Kahn and Rita Moreno. Why have I never heard of either? (Perhaps it's an Off Broadway revival which closed basically as soon as it opened in the 90s)
06 Deathtrap was a twisty comic thriller about a writer and a married couple. It played for four years and got a much publicized movie version when it closed with big stars at the time Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve, and Dyan Cannon. Strange that it has never been revived on Broadway. Why not? Was it the twist ending that everyone knows now or the fact that said twist might feel dated?
07 The Wiz was a big hit in the late 70s so it must have been a disastrous revival in the 80s (13 performances) that killed the desire to bring it back all these years? After the recent very successful TV Live version maybe someone will try it again.
08 Ain't Misbehavin' based on the songs of Fats Waller and starring the late great Nell Carter was another black musical with a successful 70s run and an 80s revival. But it's been dormant since.
09 The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas ran for four years and ended with the film version in theaters in 1982. Surely there's more money to be made with that one? It's famous. It's funny. It's got three showstopping roles for the right star actors plus several boisterous ensemble dance setpieces.
10 Mary Mary was a comic play starring Barbara Bel Geddes about a divorce couple trying to stop an IRS audit. It ran for three and a half years or so in the early 60s and was made into a quickly forgotten film in 1963 starring Debbie Reynolds. Perhaps the material is dated? Who knows but it's now quite an obscurity!
And, an alternate list...
Four musicals I personally hope to see revived
- The Wild Party - LaChiusa wrote a stronger musical than its sole Broadway production suggested. With the right team it could have a huge second life. I've fantasized about a movie version of this one so many times. And its limited set would make for an unusually inexpensive period musical unless they felt the need to 'open it up' *shudder*
- Falsettos - great songs and it would be interesting to see this with 2016 eyes after all the advances in gay rights. (There is supposedly a revival of this gay musical coming late this year but it's already been moved back at couple of times.)
- Parade - Because Jason Robert Brown is not appreciated enough.
- Grand Hotel - this closed in 1992 and was never revived but I've always loved the 1932 Best Picture winner its based on so seeing it produced would be fun
Reader Comments (25)
It's super strange that MY FAIR LADY hasn't been back, especially as there's constant reviving of plays and musicals of its era.
Not enough people know about PARADE, but the score is a complete masterpiece. I'm sure it'll get a major revisit eventually, but a film adaptation would be aces. It's the first musical that comes to mind whenever I rant about HBO never adapting a musical.
The Turner was a replacement in Gemini. Her first Broadway credit.
Loved this article.
I feel like my want list for stage productions is too unrealistic - instead of long-running shows I'm drawn to interesting flops. Would love to see "Henry, Sweet Henry" (based on "The World of Henry Orient") some day.
Thought provoking article, nice to see some stage conversation. Indeed, "Grand Hotel" needs reviving. Fast paced and timeless subject, all with no intermission. And it gave us my favorite Tony scene of all time…."We'll Take a Glass Together", with the dearly departed David Carroll and Michael Jeter .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QUCt4t92Zs&list=PL2JCMNbD3hyJT_5FPL4KsSBGUwtqTSsX5
I too have longed for a revival of Deathtrap and Whorehouse. And the Falsettos revival looks to be a pretty sure thing.
The soundtracks to March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland taught me a hell of a lot about being a gay man. love those shows.
Parade got a major overhaul a few years ago for the Donmar Warehouse production in London. Even with a smaller cast and reduced orchestrations, it's still a very expensive show to mount. You don't want to do a production of Parade where the audience asks "Where's the parade?" It's a recurring visual in the show that costs money. The original production didn't recoup, either, and the story is a hard sell.
There's rumblings about The Best Little Whorehouse getting another chance, though it's early days.
The Wiz is gearing up for a state adaptation of the retooled book and score from the NBC telecast. Give it about a year and there will be more details.
The Magic Show was literally a magician's proprietary act on Broadway. That will never be revived.
"Deathtrap" would seem like a sure thing- if they got the right cast. And what ever happened to that "My Fair Lady" musical remake?
"Deathtrap" would be a dream to cast - so many people could do so well with that text. I do think the twist is the hang-up, though. The play has more to offer than that, but it would almost certainly be less shocking in 2016.
I saw a terrific production of "Parade" a few years back here in LA starring TR Knight of all people. It was very powerful, but I think it works best in a more intimate theater like the Mark Taper Forum.
I've always preferred Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party adaptation to LaChiusa's. Strange they both came out at the same time. Perhaps that's one of the reasons both musicals failed to find an audience. Both are superb, though, and deserve a second look.
Aren't people still shuddering from the return (and subsequent close) of GIGI on Broadway? MY FAIR LADY will have to wait.
I've always wanted someone to revive Applause, which starred Lauren Bacall (!) as Margo Channing (!!). It won the Tony for Best Musical and it's based on All About Eve, but has never been revived! Crazy.
Aaron -- i've seen both performed and definitely prefer the LaChiusa but they couldn't help but be compared at the time and I think it hurt both shows as you suggest.
Lippa's Wild Party was presented as part of City Center's Off-Center series last summer, with Sutton Foster and Steven Pasquale. It was substantially revised- and for the worse. It sported a new, irrelevant opening sequence (cutting "Queenie Was a Blonde" and swapping in the production number "A Wild Wild Party," along with other changes to the subsequent apartment scene), a new ending song. It also eliminated the introduction of all the guests, further reducing them to glorified chorus members. The changes were truly ill-conceived and did the show no favors.
It made me really appreciate how strong LaChiusa's take on the material is, really.
Glad you enjoyed Red Speedo!
My company is working with the show (marketing): got to see it during its final dress rehearsal and was really surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Totally a pleasant surprise for me.
Playbill says that Julie Andrews will be directing a revival of My Fair Lady in Sydney, Australia this year, as a celebration of the 60th(?) anniversary.
Nathaniel - they already announced that FALSETTOS is being revived this Fall on Broadway! your prayers have been answered! (and the rumored cast is set to include Andrew Rannells, Gavin Creel, and Stephanie J. Block...)
Laura Benanti has said that her dream role is Eliza Doolittle in MY FAIR LADY, but that she feels like she's getting too old for it. Why won't someone make this happen? Who would deny Benanti her dream?!
I don't see why The Magic Show can't be revived. You might not be able to do Doug Henning's schtick (thank god), but the songs don't belong to him do they? And if they do, doesn't he want to make a buck? I think it would be a terrific showcase for Neil Patrick Harris since he loves magic, and he can make the show whatever he wants it to be.
My only problem with Falsettos is that I still prefer the two shows to be done separately, rather than crammed together. Heck, throw in the "prequel" In Trousers and make it a three part/three night musical experience.
The Ritz
I Do I Do
How many years did it take to have a South Pacific revival?
Hello Dolly finally coming back
Applause
Mame
Has The Lion In Winter been revived recently? With the success of Empire (which is the same story) I am surprised no none has done it.
Apparently My Fair Lady is coming back soon with Kelli O'Hara. I think she's too old for the part and wish the version with Carey Mulligan was still being talked up. http://www.showbiz411.com/2015/11/23/exclusive-kelsey-grammer-kelli-ohara-eyeing-julie-andrews-directed-my-fair-lady
I truly cannot think of anything we need less of right now than another Pygmalion theme.
abstew -last i read that got pushed back again. that show's road to a revival feels very iffy to me. i'm hopeful though.
jordan -- really? yeah, O'Hara is definitely too old for that part. she'sa much better fit for the more womanly / matronly characters like Anna in The King and I.
austin -- thanks. i wasn't aware of all the changes they had made for that city center production.
Oh, Calcutta! will never be revived because the songs are, if I'm being honest, TERRIBLE. It ran for as long as it did on the nudity factor, and being truly a product of its time.
Life With Father is similarly a product of its time, but it could be revived and do well if a brave director came along and cut to the heart of the material in an interesting way.
I have been dying for a Whorehouse revival ever since Reba was so gosh-darn good in Annie Get Your Gun! Given the popularity of country music it would be an easy sell, especially since despite the title it's relatively tame, and the score is lovely.
Deathtrap (and its twisted sister, the even better Accomplice) probably has to wait until the generation that first saw it gets to old to remember the big twist. It's pretty popular in regional/community theater, largely because what you see is what you get. There's not really much you can do to make it your own, either from a directiorial or acting standpoint, which is probably why there hasn't been much interest in reviving it, although it could do well with big stars. It feels like stage thrillers have gone out of fashion recently. It's time for them to make a comeback.
If Shuffle Along is a huge hit, I don't see why a revival of Ain't Misbehavin' (or Bubblin' Brown Sugar, for that matter) wouldn't be in the cards.