LADY IN THE DARK was revived with Maria Friedman at the National Theatre in London in the mid-nineties. A cast album was released. I found the show, as usual at the National, quite well-mounted and very stylish...I still remember vividly the wonderful set. But it's still not the greatest show or score (with the exception of a couple of numbers) and I suspect the psychology is a bit primitive these days.
Martha Raye once told me a great story about Marie Lloyd...She was being introduced by someone in a theatre who announced, "Miss Marie Lloyd will now sings Trees." Someone from the audience yelled: "Marie Lloyd's a @*#!sucker!" To which the interlocutor replied: "That may well be, but nevertheless she is going to sing Trees." Don't know whether it's true or not, but it's funny.
MattH, BUTLEY well worth a looksee.
As a theatrical archeologist who loves the obscure, the neglected, the forgotten, the overlooked, and the rarely performed there are hundreds of things I would love to see revived.
As far as musicals, LI'L ABNER has been evoked enough. I think Kimmel should direct a revival. I'd also like to see a production of KEAN. The two Ibsen plays I recently read would be interesting to see staged, THE VIKINGS & THE PRETENDERS. I would love to see a first-class revival of ROYAL HUNT OF THE SUN. I would also like to see a production of John Webster's Jacobean tragedy,THE WHITE DEVIL. Just missed one a few years ago in London.
Another Shaffer play I'd like to see is GIFT OF THE GORGON, which played London in '94 and, to my knowledge, hasn't been revived since. It is the single greatest play I've read in the last dozen years.
