Memory’s a funny thing: of the six shows you mention, only three were performed before “Chicago”, with the other three in subsequent seasons. And looking at the full list of 82 productions (but not 82 musicals; they’ve done “Fiorello!” and “Call Me Madam” twice), it’s clear that they’ve tended to program either famous shows or works by famous composers (indeed, it looks like a good half of their productions are from the same limited pool of writers that includes the Gershwins, Rodgers, Hammerstein, Porter, Berlin, Comden, Green, Sondheim, Kander, and Ebb; all of whom have had multiple productions).
“Love Life” isn’t an unrealistic ask - Weill is famous, and in fact it was programmed - but every year we can expect people demanding something truly obscure be programmed because that fits the “original mission”, when actually, Encores! never would have produced that show and likely never will. And really, this upcoming season feels fairly typical of an Encores! season, with a big name show, a beloved-by-theater-folks new classic, and a more obscure show by a hit composer (with Herman having already been produced at least once by Encores!).
This is just who Encores! is, and it’s who they’ve been since 1994. |
