"COMPANY" and "MUSIC MAN" Show How To Successfully Revive A Musical In Different Ways

When reviving an often performed musical, revival creators may choose to reimagine/revise the original work in some significant way or stage something that is largely faithful to the original.  Personally, and especially with shows I have seen on multiple occasions, I tend to gravitate towards revivals that find a way to reconceive the original (like Nicholas Hytner's "Carousel" or Daniel Fish's "Oklahoma.")  But if traditional revivals get the major elements right, there are joys to be found in those revivals as well.

Currently playing on Broadway are Stephen Sondheim's "COMPANY" and Meredith Wilson's "THE MUSIC MAN," two hugely entertaining and successful musical revivals, one revisionist in nature and the other largely faithful to the original.  Both are attracting audiences that roar with delight and approval, and at least in the performances I saw, literally stop the shows at various times with sustained audience ovations.

The "Company" revival succeeds so well because from start to finish it sustains director Marianne Elliott's carefully conceived and psychologically astute substitution of a female lead protagonist  (the Bobby character) from the as originally written male lead character.  This re-thinking makes the work feel contemporary, fresh and refreshingly different from prior iterations of the show.  It also helps that Ms. Elliott has assembled a dream cast for this revival, not the least of which are Katrina Lenk as Bobbie, Matt Doyle as Jamie and Patti Lupone as Joanne.  I need two hands to count the number of "Company" production I have seen over the years, and the current revival is by the far the best one I have seen, and the staging of the song "Getting Married Today" is one of the most joyfully inventive musical numbers I have experienced on stage.

I was somewhat skeptical that director Jerry Zaks' production of "Music Man," even with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster in the leads, would in any way justify the high prices it was charging.  This was based somewhat on my lack of enthusiasm for Zaks' "Hello Dolly" 2017 revival with Bette Midler, combined with finding the last production of "Music Man" I saw (the 2018 Marry Zimmerman production at Chicago's Goodman Theater) unexciting and dated.

But from the moment it began until its finale, the current revival of "Music Man" had me smiling from ear to ear.  Jackman and Foster are both hugely charismatic and have great on stage chemistry.  But beyond their sublime performances, the entire cast down to the smallest role is outstanding.  "Music Man" productions often falter in the performances of the children and younger characters, but kudos to the creators of this revival for finding an astounding collection of superb young talent.  It also helps that Wayne Carlyle's choreography feels fresh and exciting and highlights the considerable dancing skills of the Jackman and Foster.  The entire cast conveys a sense that they are having the times of lives on stage, and that joy is felt throughout the audience as evidenced by the very vocal audience reactions.  In short, the high ticket prices are amply justified by the musical theater perfection achieved by this revival.