Broadway Can't Stop Reviving Its Old Musicals — and Audiences Love It
A wave of splashy revivals is dominating the season, raising questions about the appetite for anything new.
Broadway is in a nostalgic mood. A wave of lavish revivals of beloved musicals is dominating the season, drawing enthusiastic crowds and reliable reviews — and prompting worry that new work is being crowded out.
Producers make no apology for the strategy. Familiar titles reduce the enormous financial risk of mounting a show, and audiences reward the comfort of a known favorite reimagined. The fictional revival of the classic Sundown Avenue has been the season's hottest ticket.
Critics warn that a diet of revivals could leave the art form creatively stagnant, dependent on recycling its past. But with production costs soaring, the revival has become Broadway's safest bet, and the season's marquees increasingly read like a greatest-hits list.
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