When Will These Shows Get Revived?

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 3:31pm

I know there are a number of shows from the Golden Age that still need to be revived.

But I was curious when you think these shows from the early-mid 90's will be revived.

- City Of Angels
- Will Rogers Follies
- Kiss Of The Spider Woman
- Passion

All 4 have fantastic scores. Plus all 4 won the Tonys for Best Musical and Best Original Score.

I know PASSION had a hard time finding an audience the first time around. Do you think it will do better with a revival? I think with 2 Broadway stars in the leads, it could work. It would be great to have SPIDER WOMAN back. Would love to see Bebe Neuwirth in the lead, she did it in London. Would love for her to head a revival of it.

I am really hoping these 4 songs will be revived soon. Do you think they should be revived? And when? Or is it to soon to revive them?


Updated On: 2/25/06 at 03:31 PM

[Dre2387]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 3:34pm

when will Crazy For You be revived again? I will see that a million times. not kidding.

it won Tony from best musical in 1993 i believe.

Updated On: 2/25/06 at 03:34 PM

[BroadwayDoc]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 3:36pm

They are all wonderful shows. I, personally, think it's way too soon to revive them. Unless, some director complete re-thinks it (like Sweeney) and brings a complete new concept to them.

[Dre2387]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 3:39pm

Chorus Line is reviving after 16 years. Feels shorter. so, you never know with Crazy For You. might be in another 3 years.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 3:43pm

Passion will never be revived on commercial Broadway -- it was a big flop the first time around and has very limited appeal. There are also two DVDs of it on the market. Perhaps Roundabout might do it in a decade or so, for a limited engagement.

Not sure about the others. Not really a big fan of any of them and I don't think that they're SO great that they would deserve another broadway run (especially Will Rogers Follies which I thought was fairly mediocre)

[GClef2]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 3:43pm

I do think Passion will have a better run. The Lincoln center concert proved its success, I really hope this happens soon!

[FoscasBohemianDream]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 3:45pm

Ken Mandelbaum mentioned that City of Angels is likely to be revived by Roundabout sometime soon in one of his latest columns on Broadway.com
I can't stand Will Rogers Follies, or at least the cast recording, never seen it live. From the synopsis it doesn't look like something audiences today would appreciate and any Tommy Tune show without Tommy Tune sounds questionable.
Kiss of the Spider Woman has to be revived but I think it needs a whole new concept. This is the kind of show I'd like to see Ann Reinking, Rob Marshall, or Sam Mendes revisit and do something with it. People have the misconception that the show was a hit because of all the awards and a 900+ performances run, but it actually got mixed reviews and it didn't recoup its investment during its extensive Broadway run, so that's why I think people are reluctant to revive this show. I would love to see Bebe Neuwirth or Donna Murphy tackle this role but take it in a different direction from Chita's interpretion which wouldn't be hard to do if the show is revived with a new concept.
Passion is my favorite stage piece ever, and as much as I'd love to see a Broadway revival, I am realistic. The show only ran for 200 performances, a lot of people hate Fosca to this day, there are no applause breaks, and with shows like Wicked, Hairspray, and Tarzan taking over Broadway houses, who is going to give Passion a chance? Also, I have never EVER seen anyone in the role of Fosca who can compare to Donna Murphy's haunting performance. So I don't think a revival of the show is conceivable.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 3:50pm

Forget those. When is Moulin Rouge coming to Broadway?

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 3:56pm

Quick threadjack: There are two DVDs on Passion? I'm only aware of the original Broadway cast filmed performance, what's the second one? Is it comercially available?

[Rentaholic2]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 4:49pm

Is it just me, or does any one else think Moulin Rouge should never be a Broadway musical. Don't get me wrong, I love the movie, but the music doesn't follow a musical theatre format very well, and a lot of it is so abstract and cinematically sown together, I can only see a Broadway version cheapening the movie...I'm sure someone will prove me incredibly wrong in a couple of years, more power to em.

Has Evita ever been revived?

I really hope The Wiz revival happens.

[Scottie310]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 4:59pm

I absolutely adore Passion. The music is so, well, passionate and the characters are so well defined and great roles that any actor would be fighting over. I think Roundabout should bring it back in 5 years or so with a new concept. I too am not aware of any other recordings of the show except for the original Broadway cast DVD. Maybe they are talking about the Lincoln Center concert? even though that was never released on DVD.

I think Catherine Zeta-Jones would be an amazing Spider Woman. She's already played one of Chita's roles, and I think this would be such an amazing way to get her to Broadway. She certainly has the voice and dance skills to headline a revival, plus I can see her really playing up the sex appeal side of that character.

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 5:25pm

I really can't imagine Will Rogers Follies being revived. It doesn't seem that it would appeal to an audience now. How long was its inital run, did it even turn a profit?

And I don't know enough about it to really judge its quality, but even if, I'm *still* really upset it won the 1991 Tony over Miss Saigon, The Secret Garden, and Once On This Island.

[broadway betty]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 5:31pm

I want a PORGY AND BESS revival with Stokes and Audra!

I <3 PASSION.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 5:48pm

Will Rogers was a decent-sized hit that ran over two years (nearly 1000 performances), but part of its success was due to stunt casting (Mac Davis, Marla Maples, Larry Gatlin, Mickey Rooney).

COULD the show be revived successfully? Maybe. I doubt it. There are SO many better shows out there.

[children&art]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 5:50pm

while i do adore "Passion", i think that "Will Rogers Follies" would be a great revival in the near future - it was fun, sexy, a good combination of modern and old using the Follies framework - and it would give country stars like Garth Brooks or Kenny Chesney a chance to shine onstage as Will.

[jv92]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 6:21pm

I've actually thought of how to revive Spider Woman and I'd love to see it scaled down, maybe at Circle in the Square. I'd place musicians (not actormusicians as in Sweeney Todd) around the stage (They'd walk around of course) playing the guitar, the trumpet, the violin, the flute. A percussionist and pianist would be upstage in full view of the audience. There would be no set, just a cot, a sink and a stool upstage by the percussion and piano. The entire stage would be the cell with no action taking place outside of it. The Spider WomanAurora would be dressed in the colorful costumes as in the original version, but everything else would be minimalist.

[TheaterAddict7652]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 7:14pm

Has Evita ever been revived?

No, not yet. A West End revival is going to open at the end of June, so it might transfer to Broadway, depending on how sucessful it is.

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 7:16pm

Thanks Margo. Out of curiosity, what show do you think deserved to win the 1991 Tony for Best Musical?

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 7:30pm

Too soon for these shows

Would much rather see Lil Abner

[blaxx]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 7:35pm

"And I don't know enough about it to really judge its quality, but even if, I'm *still* really upset it won the 1991 Tony over Miss Saigon, The Secret Garden, and Once On This Island."

WHAT?!
Can someone please give details of why this show deserved the award in Tony voter's eyes?

[Jon]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 7:55pm

By the way, Bebe did Spiderwoman in London. She replaced Liza.

[renthead2]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 10:05pm

i think aida shoudl be revived.

[gavrochegirl]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 10:14pm

I think that Pippin should be revived.

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 11:16pm

WILL ROGERS FOLLIES does have a lovely score by the incredible Cy Coleman. But I think CITY OF ANGELS is a better score, an amazing one.

And there is only 1 OFFICIAL Passion DVD, other DVDs floating around are not official - but taped recordings of the concert version with Patti.

I think PASSION will be great with a Roundabout limited run revival. The one I think that will definitely be revived commercially on Broadway in the upcoming years is SPIDER WOMAN. WONDERFUL score.

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 11:45pm

Score wise for the 91 Tonys.

The legendary Cy Coleman was a far more respected composer than his competition. Even though he was up against great composers. And lets not forget the amazing songwriting team of Comden & Green wrote the lyrics for ROGERS FOLLIES.

It's a complete SHAME because people always forget the importance Cy had in the Broadway community, and his amazing versatile skills as a composer.

Sweet Charity, Twentieth Century, Barnum, Will Rogers Follies, The Life, come on - amazing stuff!