Shows That Are Due A London Revival

Whilst it is always a marvellous joy to see new theatre being showcased on the biggest stages, I feel it is also important to remember the various shows that have been forgotten, neglected, or just not given their due care or attention over the years, and there will invariably be plays, musicals, even ballets and operas, that sadly will go unperformed for years on end. So with this in mind, here are a few of my picks for stage shows for which a revival is long overdue...

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PARADE

Previous London staging: 2007

Bertie Carvel and Lara Pulver in "Parade" at Donmar Warehouse

We kick things off with a musical that only had its first broadway revival a couple of years back, in a production directed by Michael Arden and starring Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond, a whole 25 years after it first premiered, becoming the first musical by Jason Robert Brown to receive a revival on broadway. The musical tells of the infamous real life court case surrounding Leo Frank, a Jewish pencil factory superintendent who was accused of murdering 13 year old factory worker Mary Phagan. Already ostracised by the residents of Marietta, Georgia, to where Frank had moved from Brooklyn in New York, when Phagan's body was discovered, he was a prime suspect, largely due to the interference of the press, and the witch hunt instigated by prosecutor Dorsey.

Parade is often considered Brown's best work, winning him a Tony and a Drama Desk for the score during its original run, with the show also winning the Tony for best musical revival in 2023. Its only prior professional UK staging has been in 2007, when it ran at Donmar Warehouse in a production starring Bertie Carvel as Leo Frank, and Lara Pulver as his wife Lucille. With a masterful book by Alfred Uhry, and one of Brown's best scores, the show is a masterclass in tragic storytelling, with its devastating mix of tragedy, injustice, and exploration of the notions of antisemitism, general racial prejudice, and the dangerous power of press aggrandisement. In the current political climate, this could potentially the perfect time to retell this harrowing tale.

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE

Previous London staging: 2005

Jenna Russell and Daniel Evans in "Sunday in the Park with George" in the west end

Now to a musical that was actually due to be revived almost five years ago at the Savoy Theatre, in a direct transfer of the 2017 broadway revival starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford as Georges and Dot respectively, however due to the COVID-19 pandemic this has been postponed indefinitely with no hints of it ever materialising, likely due to the venue no longer being available, financial constraints, and availability of the two aforementioned actors. "Sunday in the Park with George" tells the story of French artist Georges Seurat, considered the foremost of the pointillist art movement, and his painting of his most famous work "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte", with the second act set a hundred years later, centring around his great-grandson George trying to make it as an artist himself, but struggling hugely with the ins and outs of the art world.

The musical, often considered Stephen Sondheim's most artistically and musically sophisticated work, first premiered on broadway in 1984, starring Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters, winning two Tony awards from ten nominations, as well as a Pulitzer Prize for drama. It later ran at the National Theatre six years later, with the two leads taken on by Philip Quast and Maria Friedman, though in spite of its success at the Olivier awards, where it beat another Sondheim and Lapine musical (Into The Woods) to the best musical win, it only lasted around 3 and half months, closing with 117 under its belt. It was revived later in 2005, playing at the Menier Chocolate Factory and subsequently at Wyndham's Theatre, in arguably a much more solid innings, during which it won 5 Oliviers, including best revival. With the late, great Sondheim having experienced something of a renaissance in recent years, it goes without saying that there is a place for Seurat to return to London before long (especially if recent rumours are to be believed...)

WITCHES OF EASTWICK

Previous London staging: 2000

The lead cast of "The Witches of Eastwick"

If we've learned anything from modern audiences, it's that we love a spooky, weird and wonderful story, one only has to consider recent productions of "The Addams Family", "Little Shop of Horrors", and upcoming stagings of "Ride The Cyclone" and "Beetlejuice", to know that we revel in tales of the macabre. In the small eponymous town, three women disillusioned with their suburban life, and all wish to meet the man of their dreams, which is granted after a handsome but devilish and manipulative man named Darryl Van Horne arrives in town. He proceeds to seduce all of them, in the process teaching them how to unleash dormant magical abilities, and after these cause the women to be shunned by the townspeople, they have to use these newfound powers to banish the corrupting Darryl forever.

Written by Dana P. Rowe (music) and John Dempsey (lyrics/book), "The Witches of Eastwick" is based on a 1984 John Updike novel of the same name, and though it has spent precious little time on the professional stage, it has developed something of a cult following, not to mention it has become rather popular with amateur dramatic societies in both the UK and Australia. Though it never made it to the USA, and it doesn't maintain a prominent a place in the history of musical theatre, it is still considered a very well written and composed show that could easily see a new lease of life if allowed the chance to return to the professional stage.

PAL JOEY

Previous London staging: 1980

The 1980 west end production of "Pal Joey"

One of the earliest examples of a musical revival far outperforming its original production, the original 1940 broadway staging of Rodgers and Hart's late work "Pal Joey" was subjected to a lukewarm critical reception, however its 1952 revival at the Broadhurst Theatre was a roaring success, critically acclaimed and the winner of 3 Tony awards. The musical is about manipulative, mediocre nightclub performer Joey Evans, who successfully pursues the married socialite Vera Simpson, in an underhanded ploy to get her money in order to open his own nightclub. Known for its biting wit and unconventionally real, cynical tone for a comedy, it has been revived a total of 4 times on broadway, most recently in 2008.

The show has featured an array of major stage figures, including Gene Kelly, Bob Fosse, Lena Horne, Patti LuPone and Stockard Channing, and the 1957 film adaptation starred megastars of the day Frank Sinatra and Rita Hayworth as Joey and Vera respectively. It has also been revived in London, but not since 1980 when it was staged at the Noël Coward Theatre, with Denis Lawson and Siân Phillips leading the line, so I feel like it's safe to say Joey has been elusive from the west end for long enough.

THE MUSIC MAN

Previous London staging: 1961

Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster in "The Music Man" on broadway

It seems highly unlikely that a musical as popular as the Meredith Wilson classic "The Music Man", whose film adaptation has endured decades, has never been restaged in London since its original production in the 1960s. Most famously beating Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's big hit "West Side Story" to the coveted Tony award for best musical in 1958, "The Music Man" follows "professor" Harold Hill, a conman posing as a boys' band organiser, who sells a truckload of band instruments and uniforms to the stuffy, naïve residents of River City, Iowa; Hill is no musician though, and has the express aim of skipping town without giving a single lesson. Local librarian Marian Paroo sees right through his scheme, however after Hill helps her younger brother Winthrop overcome his speech impediment, she eventually falls for him and he remains in River City in spite of his potential discovery as a swindler.

Originally starring Robert Preston and Barbara Cook, the former reprising his role in the 1962 film adaptation, The Music Man has received more recent attention due to its 2022 broadway revival starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster as Harold and Marian respectively, a production which was nominated for six Tony Awards, but also saw 21 young actors make their broadway debuts. With popular songs such as "Til There Was You", "76 Trombones" and "Marian The Librarian", there is no shortage of terrific music to choose from, and the story is so delightfully light hearted and silly that modern UK audiences would surely revel in its innate playfulness.

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Which musicals do you think are long overdue a major revival? Let me know below, or on my Instagram page.