In its revival on the West End in London, “Cabaret” earned seven Olivier Awards (The West End’s version of the Tony Awards).  Next spring it will be crossing the pond to play again on Broadway.

The 2024 production at the August Wilson Theatre will mark the fourth revival of the musical since it debuted in 1966 with Joel Grey as the emcee.  Since that debut Joel Grey and Alan Cumming both earned Tony Awards for their performances as the emcee.  The film production starring Liza Minnelli won a total of eight Academy Awards.

But “Cabaret” is not the only Broadway production to see multiple revivals.  Each season along with the on-going productions and new shows are a handful of revivals all competing for that coveted silver trophy known as the Tony Award.

“Brigadoon”, “Gypsy”, “Hello, Dolly!”, “The King and I”, “Man of La Mancha”, “My Fair Lady”, and “Pal Joey” have also appeared on Broadway four times after their initial debuts.

“Carousel”, “Fiddler on the Roof”, “Guys and Dolls”, “Oklahoma!”, ”Peter Pan”, and “West Side Story” have all appeared on Broadway with five revivals.  The list for “Fiddler on the Roof” does not include the most recent production which was performed in Yiddish.

Since its 1927 premiere, “Show Boat” has officially been revived six times – the numbers doe not reflect the numerous “bootleg” productions that popped up prior to the copyright laws wentinto effect.

“Threepenny Opera” has also been revived six time since its 1933 debut.

But the most revived musical was not even well accepted when it first premiered in 1935.  Featuring an all non-white cast, “Porgy and Bess” has seen seven revivals and nearly as many reworkings from cutting out part of the production to earning the opera treatment.  The 1977 revival won a Tony Award and the 2012 version earned Audra McDonald a Tony for her leading role as Bess.

In regard to Broadway Play revivals, Shakespeare easily tops the overall list with “Hamlet” appearing a total of 65 times since 1864; but when it comes to a more modern era of productions – since 1945 – how many will make the grade?

The Tennessee Williams play “The Glass Menagerie” has appeared seven times since its 1945 debut to top the list.  But who else has seen multiple appearances???

“A Streetcar Named Desire” has been revived six times since its 1947 debut.

“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, “The Crucible”, “Long Day’s Journey into Night” and “Present Laughter” have all been revived five times.

“Death of a Salesman”, “The Heiress”
“The Iceman Cometh”, “A Moon for the Misbegotten”, “The Price”, “A View from the Bridge” have all been revived four times.

And the plays that have all seen revivals three times are “All My Sons”, “A Christmas Carol”, “Hughie”, “The Night of the Iguana”
“A Touch of the Poet”, “Waiting for Godot”, and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”.  With the popularity of “A Christmas Carol” and a plethora of films airing every December, it is somewhat surprising that the play production has appeared a total of four times throughout its history.