Which Recent Musicals Do We Need to See Again?
Geek Out Freak Out
Welcome to Geek Out/Freak Out, where theatre fans get super enthusiastic about things.
This week, Stages editor Mark Blankenship geeks out (via Google Doc) with his friend Adam Grosswirth, Membership Director of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT).
Today’s Topic: Which recent musicals deserve another production in New York?
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But why stop there, right? Let’s have more! Do you agree with me?
Adam: I graduated from college in 1997, so this was really my formative theatre-going period and the beginning of my career as a stage manager (which is what I was doing before I came to NAMT). So yes, yes I do agree!
Mark: So if you were a producer with a big tub of money, which musical from the late Clinton/early W. years would you revive first?
Mark:There’s no shame here, Adam. Only references to former teen stars.
Adam: Anyway, for our hypothetical revival, every single role is a juicy one that can make a new star or sell tickets with an existing one. Raúl Esparza could reprise his Riff Raff, or better yet he could move up to Dr. Frank N. Furter. And I nominate Betsy Wolfe for Janet and Zachary Levi for Brad.
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Mark: I love this idea! If people will go see that movie every week for decades on end, why not bring the show back?
Now if it were ME, I’d stage a full-blown revival of Adam Guettel’s Floyd Collins, about the guy who gets trapped in the cave. The music is sensational—don’t even get me started on “How Glory Goes”—and the story perfectly rides the line between heartbreak and hope. Plus, the show’s original New York run was tragically short, so people around here need a chance to really experience it.
Adam: And given the trend of site-specific productions right now, maybe we can do it in an actual cave?
Mark: Yes! Maybe audience members have to spelunk down to the show. Only two people can see it at a time, but that’ll make it buzzy.
Mark: I remember very clearly that Jai Rodriguez was in the original cast, because later, that was how theatre people explained Queer Eye For The Straight Guy to each other. “Oh, you know. It’s got the guy from Zanna, Don’t! in it.” And for what it’s worth, Anika Larsen, who just got a Tony nom for Beautiful, was in it, too.
As the dated references, I’d say there’s still a lot of power in a musical about a high school where being gay is the norm and being straight makes you a minority.
If I’m not mistaken, you’re hosting a concert revival soon, aren’t you?
Adam: Why yes, Mark, I’m so glad you asked! On June 30th at 54 Below we’ll be reuniting almost all of the original cast for a concert version that will benefit the Hetrick-Martin Institute.
But enough shameless plugging, what’s your next show?
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Mark: Okay… how about The Life? To be honest, I’ve never seen it on stage, but I love the songs I’ve heard, and the premise—a look at the seedy underbelly of the old Times Square—would probably seem even more shocking in the tourist-friendly mecca that Times Square has become. Chuck Cooper and Lillias White won Tonys for their performances back in 1997, and I’d love to see performers like Joshua Henry or Keala Settle tear into those roles.
Adam: I saw The Life! I may have been too young to truly appreciate it, but you’re right, those songs are great, and it even had a trans character, which feels very current. Fun fact: Bellamy Young (Scandal‘s Mellie) was in the original cast! And your dream casting is perfect.
Mark: I think we’ve got time for one more selection. Is there anything else that’s warming your heart?
Mark: In fact, I’d love to see both of those shows in rep somewhere. How great would THAT be? You see the Lippa on Tuesday, then come back on Wednesday for the LaChiusa, with the same cast in both productions. I’ll bet we could discover new things about both shows all these years later.
Adam: Those actors might actually die. But it’d still be worth it.
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Zanna Don’t! photo by Joan Marcus. Floyd Collins photo by T. Charles Erickson. The Life photo by Carol Rosegg.
MARK BLANKENSHIP