How Long Should It Take Between Revivals?

One of the more interesting pieces of news that came out the day after the Tony Awards was the announcement that the West End production of La Cage Aux Folles would be transferring to Broadway during the 2009-2010 season (this production won the Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival). This came as a shock since the show was already revived very recently, running from Dec 9, 2004 to June 26, 2005. That production, which starred Gary Beach, Daniel Davis and Gavin Creel, won Best Musical Revival in a relatively weak field. The production closed soon after the Tony Awards after playing 229 performances.

Now this is nothing against the show, which I think has a decorated place in the musical theatre canon, but do we really need another revival of La Cage right now? The last revival barely lasted seven months, which made it impossible for the production to return on its investment, even after winning the coveted Best Musical Revival Tony Award. I completely support the necessity of revivals of musicals for the purpose of guaging where we are as an art form. It's fun to see how a revival of one show "speaks" to the newest show around the block.

Another example of this is the recently announced transfer of the Kennedy Center's production of Ragtime. Now as a disclaimer, Ragtime is one of my top 10 favorite musicals and I absolutely love every little moment of its three hours traffic. Given that, the original production of Ragtime ran two years, but still had trouble returning its investment and gain the respect of the theatre community at the time. Is 11 years really enough of a break for people to revisit this piece? Now you might be thinking, "you love this show! How can you say that you wouldn't want another Broadway revival?!" I say this because I respect the piece so much that I'm willing to wait another 10 years or more for a time where audiences can experience this wonderful exploration of the human spirit in a production more distant from the original.

My question is this: should the Broadway League do anything about this? Should their be a "rule" that any piece must wait at least 10 years to be revived on Broadway? As well as being an artistic choice, it is also a fiscal consideration. When a production takes one of the few vacant Broadway theaters, they are pledging that they will be able to make a smart investment. Having a 10 year rule would help ensure that revivals and new works that are on the track have available space when the time is right.

It's all a matter of opinion so who knows; maybe these revivals will be the hits of next season. For me, I'd rather see a new piece or a new revival than a show that needs more time to appreciate its place in the musical theatre canon. Example: the revival of Brigadoon that was postponed with revised book by John Guare!

Comment about what you think about these upcoming revivals!