Haven't I Seen This Before?

This week it was announced that Al Pacino would be returning to Broadway in a new revival of Glengarry Glen Ross.  Pacino played the role of Roma in the movie, and this time around he'll be playing Levene, the older salesman.  A few people pointed out that the show was just revived in 2005, and not only revived, but revived well--that production winning the Tony for Best Revival of a Play.  What nobody pointed out was that we don't need another production of Glengarry Glen Ross less than ten years after the last one--even if the Pacino casting is interesting.

Lately, when it comes to seeing theater, I keep asking myself the same question--Haven't I seen this before?

I'm about a month shy of turning twenty-eight, and there are certain plays and musicals I've already seen far too many times for someone who hasn't been on the planet for three full decades.

Most of the time it's not even shows I dislike, but shows that I like and have just seen far too many times so that now I'm starting to dislike them, which is ultimately much sadder.

I remember the first time I saw The Crucible.  I remember thinking it was the greatest thing I've ever seen.  Now when I hear a college or theater is doing it I groan because I've now seen six separate productions of it over the years.  My love for the play has now worn considerably thin.

It's not the fault of the play, but the frustration I feel seeing theaters trot out the same plays over and over again, year after year.  (Does anybody want to see Twelfth Night again?  Anybody?  Can we just agree to put a moratorium on that for at least five years?  Please?  I'm begging.)

With so many new works out there, why is everybody scrambling to remount Hedda Gabler or Three Sisters one more time?

And don't give me that old excuse that audiences like familiar titles.  What would be more appropriate to say is that theaters feel more comfortable working on a show they can present rather than produce because they know the source material is so good their only job will be to not #$%^ it up.

Some of the best local productions this season weren't old chestnuts, but shows most audiences had never seen before:  Clybourne Park at Trinity, August: Osage County at 2nd Story, and boom at the Gamm.

In the case of Clybourne Park, Providence audiences were actually able to see a Tony-award winning play before it even made it to Broadway.  How cool is that?

I'm not saying we should give up on producing the classics, but we need to take them in smaller doses, or at least have a reason for doing them that isn't--"Shakespeare is cheap and it makes us money."  By all means, if you have a great new take on The Importance of Being Earnest, go for it, but if you're just looking to make a quick buck on an old play, well, shame on you.

It's true that the majority of an audience leaving a production of The Glass Menagerie is probably going to be satisfied with what they've seen because of the show's pedigree, but there's no guarantee they're going to be excited or engaged.  And the more they see these shows, I can't help but think, they're going to start to become desensitized to the plays' power.

So please, Scarlett Johansson, don't bring Cat on a Hot Tin Roof back to Broadway for the THIRD time this decade.  Please, Unnamed Producer, don't drag Fiddler back for another go-around.  And Mr. Pacino, I think it's great you want to rediscover a show you know so well in a new role, but why not lend some of that star power to one of the many young playwrights who would love to have their show get a boost of star power.

Trust me, Shakespeare doesn't need the help.