This summer, Broadway welcomed back the mega-hit "Cats" after 16 years. However, it wasn't the cat's meow for today's critics. This isn't surprising to me. The show never appealed to me. "Cats" was the "Hamilton" of the early 1980s, but how? It is a show about cats! The recent revival got me thinking. If "Cats" can return to Broadway, any shows that are more eligible can return to the stage.
1. "Oliver!"
It is very surprising that “Oliver!” hasn't been on Broadway since 1984. Especially since London had a recent revival starring British legend Rowan Atkinson. It did had plans to transferred to Broadway a couple years, but never came true. “Oliver!” is one of the most popular musicals. It is based on Charles Dickens's novel, so the story is already popular in Western media. But, the musical is well-known for its iconic theme song, "Food, Glorious, Food" and the image of an perfect child, who is of course Oliver. Especially after a successful West End run and a remake of the beloved movie in the works, it's time for “Oliver!” to reconsider itself a part of the (Broadway) family.
2. "Carnival!"
Anna Maria Alberghetti, who won a Tony for her performance as Lili, and Jerry Orbach as the bitter, but secretly good hearted puppeteer Paul in "Carnival!"
This musical is surprisingly unpopular in the Golden Age it debuted from because the lyricist of the show's beloved theme song, "Love Makes the World Go 'Round" also wrote the highly famous musicals, “Funny Girl” (which right now has a revival in West End) and “Hello Dolly!”, which is returning to Broadway for the first time since 1961 with music and film legend Bette Middler as the titular character. This musical has many basics, but “Carnival!” is based on the movie “Lili.” “Carnival!” follows the movie: an innocent and naive 16-year-old orphan named Lili joins a puppet show in a carnival and falls in love with the miserable, bitter star of the puppet show and a dashing, womanizing magician.
This show almost made its return to Broadway in 2004 with a revised script, starring baby Anne Hathaway as Lili. The show was revived a couple of times: a New York City concert in 2002, which starred Hathaway, a Kennedy Center revival in 2007, and a Tony-powered production at Goodspeed in 2010, with the last two having revised scripts.
The show is magical with charming puppets, amazing circus acts, and an enchanting heroine. The show is truly a throwback to the 1960s with the rich soundtrack and a love story. However, the show stays in the '60s with two older men falling in love with a 16-year-old girl, which was deemed appropriate in entertainment that time. More seriously, the puppeteer, Paul is very mentally, emotionally, and physically abusive to Lili and ends up striking her in the face, like in the movie. “Carnival!” needs a serious revision of the book by reducing the ages of Lili, Paul, and Marco to make the love triangle less creepy, making Lili more independent while keeping her charm, making Paul not abusive while retaining his inner anger and conflict, and the removal of the song "Yum Ticky" performed by Lili and the puppets, which has Spanish stereotypes. With a solid script and a spectacular creative team, a revision of “Carnival!” will surely make Broadway go 'round.
3. "The Sound of Music"
Why there hasn't been a revival of “The Sound of Music” is beyond me. “Sound of Music” is one of the biggest movies in America with the iconic performances of Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Peggy Wood and the children and memorable songs that are huge in pop culture. If the 5,000th revivals of “Fiddler on the Roof” and “The King & I” did well, this will definitely be a hit. Plus, with the recent TV production with singer Carrie Underwood and a national tour that is actually going on right now, this couldn't a better time to make Broadway alive with “the Sound of Music.”
4. "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"
The 2014 National Tour of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" that starred music and Broadway couple Diana Degarmo (Young) and Ace Young.
“Joseph” is a very underrated show. It is a reimagining of the Biblical story of Joseph who became a pharaoh after being sold to slavery by jealous brothers. This is my favorite Andrew Lloyd Webber score with an upbeat and enthusiastic musical score with very colorful (pun intended) characters. The scenes are very cleverly written to bring out the mood of the story and characters. Example: The main pharaoh’s dilemma is told through an Elvis parody. The show is also captivating with an absorbing woman narrator and a choir of children who interact with Joseph, which reminds me of God's love for children. If “Cats” can return, I can dream that “Joseph,” the king of my heart, will come back on Broadway.
5. Little Shop of Horrors
Hunter Foster (who was nominated for a Tony as Seymour) and Kerry Butler in the Original Broadway production of "Little Shop of Horrors."
The musical is a cult classic to many theatre fans, but I can see why. This is one of the first soundtracks by Disney duo Alan Menken and the sadly deceased Howard Ashman and as always, they deliver with funky Motown music that follows the adventures of a nerdy plant expert, a sweet, but ditzy co-worker with a trouble past, and a singing, human-eating plant. The show debuted off-Broadway in 1982, but never got to the Great White Way until 2003. A New York concert that had the beloved original Audrey, Ellen Greene reprising her role showed that this show still has the heart to terrorize somewhere that’s green, with lots of money from passionate fans.
