Revivals Question

[mjohnson2]

Posted: 12/23/13 at 2:22pm

So Cinderella on Broadway was nominated for best revival, despite it never having been played on broadway or off-broadway. So why was it nominated for best revival?
My question is what classifies as a revival and what classifies as an original musical?

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 12/23/13 at 2:31pm

A show that has never technically played in a Broadway house, but has a long standing and well-known history in the theatre cannon will be determined to be a revival since the work is "known" and existing.. ie, Little Shop of Horrors was a revival, Children of Eden and the RSC's Wizard of Oz (should they ever open on Broadway) would be deemed revivals.

[mjohnson2]

Posted: 12/23/13 at 2:33pm

Alright, so there aren't any specifications, just general consensus.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 12/23/13 at 4:09pm

"Alright, so there aren't any specifications, just general consensus."

And yet movies turned into musicals are well known but not considered revivals. Strange, huh?

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 12/23/13 at 4:16pm

^ That's because most of them have a new score that's never been heard before.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 12/23/13 at 4:53pm

It's more like "because they have to write a libretto, of not a libretto AND score."
Are you going to argue that every new show based on something else should be deemed a revival from day one? Because you'd be talking about shows such as Oklahoma, Carousel, My Fair Lady, Sound of Music, West Side Story... Playing the "movie" card is a pretty complaint when shows have *long* been based on popular media.

Posted: 12/23/13 at 6:11pm

The long-standing reputation factor is the current qualification, but I think it shouldn't always be so cut and dry.

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS was the first Broadway production of the same exact show that played Off-Broadway two decades earlier, wheras the recent CINDERELLA is drastically different from previous incarnations, although it retains much of the familiar score.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 12/23/13 at 6:33pm

^ Which is why, I believe, Douglas Carter Beane's book was eligible, even though the show was considered a revival.

Alright, so there aren't any specifications, just general consensus.

There absolutely are specifications, as laid out in the official rules of eligibility for the Tony Awards, which you can find online or even discussed on this very site if you just research a little bit. Sometimes, the specific circumstances can be gray, so the production is considered by the nominating committee and they come to a decision, but they are basing their decision on the definition clearly stated in the rules.

[blaxx]

Posted: 12/23/13 at 7:08pm

And yet movies turned into musicals are well known but not considered revivals. Strange, huh?

They are also, you know, movies. Not plays. You can't revive something that has never lived onstage before.

[jnb9872]

Posted: 12/23/13 at 10:55pm

When THE HIT LIST plays on Broadway, will it be eligible for Best Musical or Best Revival of a Musical?

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 12/24/13 at 8:09pm

IF that should ever happen (huge IF there) it would depend on whether they do the premiere production on Broadway, or just release the rights and let it have a bunch of regional productions for many years before it is finally mounted on Broadway.