On the Twentieth Century
Sometimes, there's a revival of a show because the moment is absolutely right—the stars (i.e., constellations, not celebs) align, the politics of the day are right and the theatre-going audience is ripe for a particular message (think: the 2009 revival of Hair ). Sometimes, there's a revival because anything goes (think: the 2011 revival of Anything Goes ). This splendid revival of On the 20th Century , the first-ever Broadway revival of the musical, is the anything goes kind: too much fun to pass up. Based on plays by Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur and Bruce Millholland, this zany musical comedy comes courtesy of book writers and lyricists Betty Comden + Adolph Green ( On the Town ) and composer Cy Coleman ( Sweet Charity ), with additional material by Marco Pannette and Green's daughter, lyricist Amanda ( Hands on a Hardbody ). The action is set on a train (the Twentieth Century, to be exact), which is chugging along from Chicago to New York. Aboard is theatr...