Skip Navigation
Musical Theatre @kbin.social
Prouvaire @kbin.social

Which Shows Had the Biggest Overhaul From Out-of-Town Tryout to Broadway Opening?

Which Broadway shows had the biggest overhaul from their out-of-town tryout to their Broadway opening?

This article covers Fiddler on the Roof, Big, Funny Girl, Annie and Next to Normal.

1 comments

  • This article also made me wonder which shows had the biggest overhauls after opening on Broadway or the West End? Not just minor tweaks, but major changes. Off-hand, I can think of a few candidates:

    • Love Never Dies in London closed for a few days in 2010 to be reworked after poor reviews. The later 2011 Australian production (based substantially on the revised London text, although with an entirely different physical production) was somewhat better received and got a pro-shot.
    • Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark was infamously troubled, and the show re-engineered with a new director and book writer brought in three months after the show started previewing on Broadway.
    • Martin Guerre's book and score was continually reworked during the initial West End production (with a new lyricist being added to the creative team mid-run), and even more substantially overhauled for the subsequent UK tour. Comparing the original London cast recording and the UK tour cast recording reveals that there are very few lyrics that remained the same and entire songs were jettisoned and inserted.