Encore performances are enjoying a major resurgence at the moment. Successful stage shows often run for a period of time with the original cast, and then these shows are later revived with new actors. Quite a few of these shows are appearing on the so-called off-Broadway circuit despite the fact that live events have had a long association with the Big Apple.
The Diviners
Chris Bundy, who was previously the director of Floyd Central, announced that he would come back for another performance of The Diviners. Quite a few people had assumed that no one would continue to put the play on stage any more, but it looks like audience demand was high enough to warrant another tour.
The Met Live
The Metropolitan Opera announced a series of four encore performances in association with Fathom Events. In spite of the fact that the performances will actually be put on in New York, the series is going to be distributed to countless cinemas across the country so that a wide audience who otherwise wouldn't be able to make can enjoy it live. This is in sharp contrast to previous encore performances by the Met troupe, which were mostly only available in New York.
Steve Wynn's Showstoppers
Steve Wynn recently announced that his Showstoppers performances have moved to the Encore Theater in Las Vegas. He said that he hoped that the run would never end, and there hasn't been any suggestion that any of these performances would leave the Las Vegas area. This might have something to do with the fact that Wynn is closely associated with the resurgence and ultimate expansion of the Las Vegas Strip. Some have described his Showstoppers shows as a show made up of encores of other shows, which makes them attractive for those who want to see a number of classic acts in a single night.
South Pacific
Musical comedy is one of the most important genres when it comes to putting on live events, and a recent series of encore performances of South Pacific actually recaptured the Tony for musical revival. Considering that the original Rodgers and Hammerstein production premiered on Broadway in 1949, this shocked many analysts. It probably shouldn't have. The original show ran for an incredible 1,925 nights, and there was another revival of it in 2005 featuring Reba McEntire. The current encore feature might continue to run for quite some time.
An American in Paris
It's hard to believe that encore performances and revival shows are already springing up when one considers that the stage adaptation of An American in Paris is rather recent. That being said, this play has already spun off a series of such performances that should help to bring plenty of attention to the recent cast of relatively unknown actors that the stage production features.
