I think that if anything did happen, it would start with a semi-concert production of some sort, perhaps at Encores! (I'm not sure it really makes sense at this point to refer to Encores! production as concerts.) I do think that the version that opened in Philly is a good deal better than the version that opened on Broadway. But I suspect that any production, even at Encores!, might receive some backlash.
Perhaps someday the Bernstein estate will relent and allow some fuller version of the show to be performed, rather than just A White House Cantata, which I think doesn't work very well. I don't know if the Lerner estate is standing in the way at all. I think it may just be the Bernstein estate at this point.
But a full-scale production for any sort of extended run seems unlikely. It would need to be done by a heavily subsidized theatre company, like LCT or the National. I don't think we want to hear the score with a 12-piece orchestra (much less a smaller one). At least I don't. |
