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| Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? | |
| Posted by: PlazaBoy 01:26 pm EST 01/02/19 | |
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| I'm probably missing an obvious point, but why are neither of these shows in the regular revival cycle that most hit shows seem to follow? Would My One and Only fall into this same category? Another show, I've rarely seen revived. Curious to hear your thoughts. |
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| re: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? | |
| Posted by: Broadwaywannabe 09:22 am EST 01/03/19 | |
| In reply to: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? - PlazaBoy 01:26 pm EST 01/02/19 | |
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| Roundabout did a concert version of My One and Only with Sutton Foster and Gavin Creel. Did anyone see that? Roundabout sometimes does full productions of these concerts a year or two later (like She Loves Me). | |
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| re: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 05:26 am EST 01/03/19 | |
| In reply to: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? - PlazaBoy 01:26 pm EST 01/02/19 | |
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| I think MY ONE AND ONLY needs Tommy Tune and Twiggy. It was a fun vehicle for the two of them. (Could Tommy do it again?) Instead of doing it again, we've had both CRAZY FOR YOU and NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT as Gershwin spin offs. | |
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| re: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 10:45 am EST 01/03/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? - KingSpeed 05:26 am EST 01/03/19 | |
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| And An American In Paris. And, for me, that's enough for re-envisioned cobbled together Gershwin tributes, lol. But I'm still a bit surprised that I haven't heard of any high-profile productions of Of Thee I Sing - this would be the perfect time for that show (one actually written by the Gershwins, to boot). |
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| re: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 10:42 am EST 01/04/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? - Chromolume 10:45 am EST 01/03/19 | |
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| I think Paper Mill did it in 2004. | |
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| re: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 03:16 pm EST 01/04/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? - KingSpeed 10:42 am EST 01/04/19 | |
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| lol - that wasn't quite my point, though...I was more referring to the current state of our government. ;-) (I did a production during the Paula Jones vs. Bill Clinton suit - with a woman who did truly bear a resemblance to Hillary playing the show's first lady, Mary Turner.) |
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| re: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? | |
| Posted by: StageLover 08:43 pm EST 01/02/19 | |
| In reply to: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? - PlazaBoy 01:26 pm EST 01/02/19 | |
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| I was led to believe that the Manhattan Theatre Club had "dibs" on it and it was rumored for the Friedman just a few years ago. I remember seeing it at MTC's then-theater on the Upper East Side in the late 70s.. It featured the cast that went on to Broadway, save Irene Cara, who was replaced by Charlaine Woodard. |
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| re: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? | |
| Posted by: caps17 05:29 pm EST 01/02/19 | |
| In reply to: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? - PlazaBoy 01:26 pm EST 01/02/19 | |
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| Arena Stage did a major revival of Sophisticated Ladies in 2010. It was directed by Charles Randolph-Wright and choreographed by and starred Maurice Hines. It was at the Lincoln Theatre, a proscenium house, when the new Arena building was under construction. Of course, DC was Duke Ellington's home and he played the Lincoln Theatre. Ain't Misbehavin' is about to be revived in the DC area at Signature Theatre. | |
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| re: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? | |
| Posted by: mikem 02:28 pm EST 01/02/19 | |
| In reply to: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? - PlazaBoy 01:26 pm EST 01/02/19 | |
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| I saw a national tour of Ain't Misbehavin' a few years back, with Ruben Studdard as one of the players. It was quite good, but this particular production had a pretty bare-bones physical production -- some chairs and that's about it. Not a lot (any?) costume changes or dance numbers. I'm not sure you could charge Bway prices for the show nowadays without a name in it. | |
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| re: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? | |
| Posted by: jbronsto 05:04 pm EST 01/02/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? - mikem 02:28 pm EST 01/02/19 | |
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| Sophisticated Ladies will likely never be revived as it requires such odd specialists that you are almost certain to have more success creating a new work in that vein (like After Midnight) than attempting to catch that lightning in a bottle again. It is also rather large, expensive, and black for consideration by any of the major regional theatres (and being a revue isn’t likely to interest any big name director who could muscle forward a production). I saw a small touring version of it 8-9 years ago and it truly doesn’t scale down well. Ain’t Misbehavin has other issues. Richard Maltby still is very interested in staging it and it’s format seems to resist radically different versions from the original (note: I worked on four professional productions of this show in the last twelve months). It’s roles are also poor fits for our current black musical theatre stars and it has been seen as a star driven piece (even though it originally created stars instead of featuring them). It is tough to imagine La Chanze, Audra McDonald, Adrienne Warren, or Billy Porter in any of the Ain’t tracks. However it is done pretty regularly regionally and on tours and I suspect New York will eventually see that title again. But I suspect it will be off-broadway where the show originated as it rarely ends up playing at a size that demands a broadway house. | |
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| re: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 05:17 am EST 01/03/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? - jbronsto 05:04 pm EST 01/02/19 | |
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| Come on now. Did "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill" teach you NOTHING? Audra Ann McDonald can do anything. She would be brilliant in AIN'T MISBEHAVIN but I doubt she would have any interest in doing it. | |
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| re: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 12:09 am EST 01/03/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? - jbronsto 05:04 pm EST 01/02/19 | |
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| Actually, I wonder if Billy Porter might be an interesting choice, maybe for Andre DeShields' original track? Very different, but I can imagine him doing those songs. But indeed, I do think it's much more of an ensemble show than a "star" show (was Nell Carter already a "star" by that point, or was that really after?). That original cast was wonderful not just because of their individual talents, but so much because of the way they played together so well. Clowns in the very best sense of the word, who could then absolutely break your heart in pieces with that stunning arrangement of "Black And Blue." I've been at the piano for 2 productions of the show (subbing in both times) and both times had the time of my life playing that score. But really nothing for me beats that original production, and thank god it's been preserved on video for posterity. |
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| re: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 05:21 am EST 01/03/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? - Chromolume 12:09 am EST 01/03/19 | |
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| Nell had only done two short lived Broadway flops prior. SOON & DUDE. She sang the title song in DUDE which is a guilty pleasure for me. I'd say she wasn't a star when BEHAVIN opened in 1978 but before that show even closed, she had been handed her own TV show "Gimme A Break" in 1981. So I'd say BEHAVIN launched her into a star. After hearing her sing "Mean To Me," Hollywood came calling quick! | |
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| re: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? | |
| Posted by: jbronsto 12:59 am EST 01/03/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? - Chromolume 12:09 am EST 01/03/19 | |
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| I understand the idea of Billy in that track. However Andre is the bass in the show. And he is also the dancing male track. It is most curious that none of the crop of musical theatre stars have played any of these roles on their way up. Not Brian Stokes Mitchell or Norm Lewis. The closest we have had was the production at Bucks County a few years ago that featured Darius and Aisha De Haas and Brandi Chavonne Massey (who was also in one of the productions I MD’d this year...but curiously in an entirely different role). It isn’t that the talent isn’t there to do the show it is that the star roles of the current age ask for wildly different skills than the five parts in Ain’t Misbehaving. | |
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| re: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 05:22 am EST 01/03/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Why no revivals of Ain't Misbehavin' and Sophisticated Ladies? - jbronsto 12:59 am EST 01/03/19 | |
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| Massey is so f-ing good. I loved her "White Boys" in the Encores HAIR. | |
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