Believe it or not but there are currently seven musical revivals playing on the Great White Way. They are Anything Goes,Chicago,How To Succced In Businesss Without Really Trying,Evita,Godspell,Jesus Christ Superstar,and Porgy and Bess. The last four of which opened this season. Now of all the shows listed the only ones that I have seen are Chicago and Superstar. Not that I'm sure the others aren't good. I just haven't gotten around to seeing them yet.
The longest running revival as well as the longest running American musical is Chicago which opened back in the fall of 1996. Has it really been that long? I remember seeing it back in 1997 and while I loved it I never expected to still be talking about it all these years later.Say what you want about producers Barry and Fran Weissler but they know how to keep a show running. Next up is last year's Tony Award winner for Best Revival.
No it wasn't How To Succeed. It was Anything Goes. The show which also won Tony's for Best Actress and Best Choreography continues to delight audiences eight times a week at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. Now to be honest I didn't expect How To Succeed to continue after the departure of Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe. However thanks to the casting of Glee's Darren Criss and popstar Nick Jonas the show has stuck around.
Which brings me to Godspell, Evita, and Porgy and Bess. Now of the three the ones with the best reviews were Porgy and Bess. Of course it helps having two loved Broadway veteran like Norm Lewis and four-time Tony winner Audra McDonald. The show which opened in December is now on sale thru September 30. Now while Godspell did not get the greatest reviews it has managed to stick around mostly do to low overhead and because it is one of the few shows on Broadway that the whole family can enjoy.
Evita which was a big hit in London opened last week to good notices for it's leading lady and while she may be great we all know the real reason people are going in droves to see the show. Two words. Ricky Martin. Now the big question is who will win this year's Tony Award for Best Revival. My guess is that it will be between Evita and Follies which closed back in January following an acclaimed run. Nominations are set to be announced on May 1 with Tony night scheduled for Sunday June 10. Should be an interesting award season. Until next time theatre fans.
JWB
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