Does anybody know why this show failed on Broadway? It had a soaring Kander and Ebb score (my favorite of their collaboration--yes, I prefer it to Cabaret and Chicago), stars Chita Rivera and Liza Minnelli in the leads, and a story that (from the brief synopsis I was able to find on guidetomusicaltheatre.com) sounds like a very fascinating and powerful Sondheim-esque psychodrama. I think there must have been flaws with Terrence McNally's book that brought the show down (I'll be seeing a good community-theatre production of this show in my hometown this Sunday, so I'll be able to judge better then), because I can't see what else could have sunk it.

Anyway, does anyone who knows this show think it's worth someone trying to revive it on Broadway/Off-Broadway with a revised book and attempting to give it a second chance at life/success? (I don't think the financial risk would be too great for a small Off-Broadway revival, because the show can be done with a cast of 9 actors playing all the roles, and then it could transfer to Broadway if it were a hit.)

At any rate, for the leads I was thinking Patti LuPone as the mother and Sutton Foster as the daughter if they're available and interested.

What do people think of this idea?

The Rink is my favorite Kander and Ebb show too! I think the main reason the show isn't performed that often is because you would need to build a fully functional roller rink as one the main set pieces and that's a very tall order that not a lot of companies can pull off.