2012 Broadway Revivals

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/3/21 at 10:57am

I have been revisiting a different Broadway season each week through videos and cast albums for a while now, and one of the more interesting years for musical revivals was 2012. We had the following which were nominated for Tonys...

Evita

Follies

Jesus Christ Superstar

The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess (Winner)

Then we also had On a Clear Day You Can See Forever and Godspell. Which of these revivals was your favorite? I seem to remember Follies being much more well received than Porgy and Bess, but Follies also opened in the fall of 2011 and had been long closed by the time the Tonys happened. Evita had a lot of hype around it coming in, but ultimately fell flat.  I saw Evita and Porgy and Bess on tour, and I loved both productions, but am curious to hear the thoughts of those who saw all the nominated original productions.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/3/21 at 11:12am

I didn't see all of them, but I did see Porgy and Bess, Follies, and Evita (and Godspell, FWIW) 

As you pointed out, it was effectively a race between Follies and P&B - I don't recall any of the others being serious contenders for the win. Follies even won the Drama Desk IIRC. 

I loved Follies, but personally I think they got it right with Porgy and Bess. I thought that revival was magnificent, and my appreciation for it was cemented even further when I saw it on tour - which is to say, it held up even without that Broadway cast. So when you add that extraordinary cast into the mix, it makes the win feel all the more earned. 

Follies was likewise a major event - it was a lush, beautifully-designed production, and there were a ton of excellent cast members. But I think it suffered in a few areas. First of all, I know I'm in the minority here, but I was underwhelmed by Burstein's Buddy (the beginning of my ongoing reticence toward Burstein as a performer, which continues to this day), as well as Ron Raines. I actually liked Bernadette's Sally more than most people did, but I agree that the vocals weren't all there. And as for the production, I liked it at the time, but having since seen the National Theatre production, I realize just how much the Memory Ghosts were wasted in the 2011 revival by comparison. 

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 5/3/21 at 12:54pm

I saw Porgy, Follies and On a Clear Day.  

Porgy was hands down the best. 

Follies was Follies, which - don't shoot - is a show I have never liked, it's great score notwithstanding.

On a Clear Day was a bomb - though I thought the premise had promise..

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 5/3/21 at 1:19pm

I saw Follies, Porgy and Superstar on Broadway and Evita in London before it transferred (but without Elena Roger, which, from what I've heard, means I lucked out).

Follies was a beautifully staged production (especially when compared to the absolutely dreadful 2001 revival).  I thought the performances were all fine, but that they also didn't really bring anything to the roles that prior actors hadn't (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, just that there was nothing about any of them that really stood out to me).

Superstar was Superstar.  Josh Young was excellent as Judas.  It looked like your typical Des McAnuff production--very crisp and polished in its staging, but lacking a lot of emotional depth.

I agree Porgy and Bess was the strongest.  I had some issues with the staging (very overcrowded and unfocused at places), but Audra McDonald, Norm Lewis, Philip Boykin, and David Alan Grier were all magnificent.  And while I'm usually against cuts from the original text, I didn't feel like there was really anything missing here.

The London production of Evita was fantastic, but I know there were several major changes to the Broadway mounting, so I can't really comment on it.  But all in all, I agree Porgy deserved the Tony, but the others were also fine productions.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 5/3/21 at 1:22pm

I have to say, I adored the Evita revival. I often find myself watching clips

[binau]

Posted: 5/3/21 at 2:15pm

Such a shame the truly stunning, gorgeous, lavish 2011 revival of Follies and the complex, knock-out performances were not professionally filmed. I hope when we get a revival with Audra or Kelli (as Sally) and Laura Benanti (as Phyllis) it will look this good. Not surprisingly, Derek McLane has gone on to design perhaps the most amazing scenic design ever seen in a musical with 'Moulin Rogue!'. And the sole Tony Award for the production was for Gregg Barnes' costumes. 

Bernadette's Entrance



Beautiful Girls



Just a Broadway Baby




 

Too Many Mornings


Loveland



More Loveland



HELLO FOLKS, WE'RE INTO THE FOLLIES



YOU SAID YOU LOVED MEEE

 



I could tell you someone who would finally feel just FINEEE

 



ME, I DON'T LOVE ME

[binau]

Posted: 5/3/21 at 2:25pm

Two more, "Who's That Woman"

Illustration from a New Yorker article on the show