Playbill.com polled our readers via Facebook and Twitter. Their responses follow:
Photo by Joan Marcus |
Phill Greenland: I loved the Douglas Hodge La Cage.
Based on the French play of the same title, La Cage aux Folles opened on Broadway in 1983, winning the Tony Award for Best Musical. Revivals were presented on Broadway in 2004 and 2010, starring, respectively, Gary Beach and Douglas Hodge.
Photo by Joan Marcus |
Since it opened on Broadway in 1945, Carousel has been revived numerous times on Broadway. The 1994 revival won the Tony Award for Best Revival. The second musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Carousel is based on Ferenc Molnár’s play Liliom.
Photo by Joan Marcus |
Nathan Hinds: 2011 Follies.
Follies opened on Broadway in 1971 and was Stephen Sondheim’s eighth work on Broadway. The show has enjoyed a number of revivals, all with star-studded casts. The most recent production featured Bernadette Peters, Jan Maxwell, Danny Burstein and Elaine Paige.
John Kander and Fred Ebb have written over a dozen musicals, including the hits Cabaret and Kiss of the Spider Woman, both of which earned them the Tony Award for Best Original Score. The revival of Chicago is currently the longest-running revival in Broadway history. A revival of Cabaret, starring Alan Cumming and Michelle Williams, is set to open April 24 following previews that begin March 21.
Photo by Joan Marcus |
The 2013 revival of Pippin earned several Tony Awards, including awards for Best Revival and Best Featured Actress. This successful revival recently welcomed Emmy nominee Annie Potts; it was recently announced that Kyle Dean Massey and Ciara Renee will assume the roles of Pippin and The Leading Player, respectively, on April 1.
Photo by Michael J. Lutch |
Tyler Hayes: 2012 production of Porgy and Bess with Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis. Everything about that production was phenomenal. I went to see it 3 times.
With music by George Gershwin, Porgy and Bess opened on Broadway in 1935. It was most recently revived in 2011, starring Norm Lewis and Audra McDonald in the title roles. Both actors were nominated for Tony Awards, with McDonald winning her fifth Tony.
Photo by Joan Marcus |
West Side Story opened on Broadway in 1957 and was nominated for Best Musical but lost the award to The Music Man. The musical was revived in 2009 sporting a Spanish-infused libretto with translations provided by Tony Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Photo by Paul Kolnik |
Sweeney Todd opened on Broadway in 1979, starring Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou. It has been revived twice on Broadway, once in 1989, starring Beth Fowler and Bob Gunton, and again in 2005, starring Patti LuPone and Michael Cerveris. The 2005 revival featured the cast playing their own instruments. LuPone played the tuba and percussion, while Cerveris played the guitar.
Emily Rasch: Chicago, being the longest running revival, proves that it's still "All That Jazz."
With a score by John Kander and Fred Ebb, Chicago is currently the longest-running revival in Broadway history. The revival opened on Broadway in 1996, starring Ann Reinking as Roxie Hart and Bebe Neuwirth as Velma Kelly, the roles created by Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera in the original production. Neuwirth starred as Roxie in 2006 and is currently portraying Mat Mama Morton.
Photo by Joan Marcus |
The 2011 revival of Cole Porter’s Anything Goes opened at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre April 7, 2011, and ran for 521 performances, closing July 8, 2012. Sutton Foster won her second Tony Award for her performance as Reno Sweeney. A previous revival cast two-time Tony winner Patti LuPone as Reno.
Photo by Joan Marcus |
South Pacific opened on Broadway in 1948 and ran for nearly 2,000 performances and starred Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza in the leading roles. The 2008 Lincoln Center Theater revival, which was preserved on a PBS broadcast, starred Kelli O’Hara as Nellie. (Laura Osnes assumed the role during O’Hara’s seven-month pregnancy leave.)
Photo by Ari Mintz |
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, based on the Shepherd Mead novel of the same title, opened on Broadway in 1961 at the 46th Street Theatre, winning seven Tony Awards. The show has been revived in 1995, starring Matthew Broderick, and in 2011. The 2011 revival starred several big-name celebrities, including Daniel Radcliffe, who was later succeeded by Darren Criss and Nick Jonas.
Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods opened on Broadway in 1987 at the Martin Beck Theatre, starring Bernadette Peters and Joanna Gleeson, among others. The musical won three Tony Awards, including Best Score, Best Book and Best Actress. Disney will produce a film adaptation of the musical, set to premiere in 2014, starring Meryl Streep as the Witch and Anna Kendrick as Cinderella. The 2002 revival featured Vanessa Williams, Tony winner Laura Benanti and more.