History Main / AlternateShowInterpretation

** A recent BBC television adaptation of ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'', which also happened to include Patrick Stewart in the title role, played him as an {{Expy}} of UsefulNotes/JosephStalin.

* Various productions of ''Theatre/LOrfeo'' have used the show to meditate on the themes of grief, death, and love, particularly in ones that use a SettingUpdate to modern or semi-modern times. David Bösch's 2014 production has Orpheus returning from the Underworld to find decades have passed, leaving open the idea that the Underworld trip didn't happen at all and he was wasting away grieving Eurydice.

** The recent Broadway production of Macbeth starring Alan Cumming. Set in a psychiatric ward, Cumming plays a deeply disturbed man who impersonates almost every character in the show, occasionally leaving clues as to who the patient is, why he is recounting this story, and what has led him to become so tortured. There are only two other actors, who portray doctors commenting on his madness.

** One memorable Berlin performance of "St. Joan" (in the Deutsches Theater) started out with four actors fighting over who got to play which character, all reading from cheap paperback copies of the play. Once they finally all managed to get a private part in the play, they found themselves stuck in the middle of a tragic plot, and desperately tried to stop being these characters again (with varying levels of success). Meanwhile, the actors and a miniature cardboard cityscape were filmed live and projected onto a screen, with the SFX crew clearly visible, and as the plot got more dramatic, the floor disappeared from under the actors, slowly forcing them back towards the screen. On which a counter was displayed showing how many people had died of poverty and hunger worldwide during the performance of the play alone. Oh, and? It ''didn't change or add a single word'' from Brechts original script. The whole thing was a huge SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome.
* A 2011 Los Angeles production of Bernard Pomerance's ''The Elephant Man'' chose to defy in-script instructions that the lead actor not use any kind of makeup/costume to suggest his deformities (he must use body language and vocal distortion instead) in favor of outfitting the performer in an elaborate prostethic suit.

* Over the years, Music/StephenSondheim's ''Theatre/{{CompanySondheim}}'' has undergone a transformation as to the concept behind the concept musical: in the original production, there was more of a focus on the show being a series of vignettes about married life, but later productions (particularly the 2006 Broadway Revival) interpret the text as a narrative about Bobby's isolation and inability to connect with people as his friends do.

* Over the years, Music/StephenSondheim's ''Theatre/{{Company}}'' has undergone a transformation as to the concept behind the concept musical: in the original production, there was more of a focus on the show being a series of vignettes about married life, but later productions (particularly the 2006 Broadway Revival) interpret the text as a narrative about Bobby's isolation and inability to connect with people as his friends do.

* The 2014 Dallas Theater Center production of ''LesMiserables'', which set the show in contemporary times and played the revolution similar to police riots.

* The 2019 Broadway Revival of ''Theatre/{{Oklahoma!}}'', which restaged the show in modern times with a minimalist set and band.

* The 2019 Broadway Revival of ''Theatre//{{Oklahoma!}}'', which restaged the show in modern times with a minimalist set and band.

* The 2019 Broadway Revival of ''{{Oklahoma!}}'', which restaged the show in modern times with a minimalist set and band.

* The 2019 Broadway Revival of ''[[Oklahoma!]]'', which restaged the show in modern times with a minimalist set and band.

So let's say you have a famous show that is always thought of as being performed or interpreted in a certain way. Then one day somebody decides to revive it, but with a big twist on the plot that changes the way the entire production is done. Congratulations, you've got yourself an AlternateShowInterpretation, a large-scale defiance of OriginalCastPrecedent.

** One memorable Berlin performance of "St. Joan" (in the Deutsches Theater) started out with four actors fighting over who got to play which character, all reading from cheap paperback copies of the play. Once they finally all managed to get a private part in the play, they found themselves stuck in the middle of a tragic plot, and desperately tried to stop being these characters again (with varying levels of success). Meanwhile, the actors and a miniature cardboard cityscape were filmed live and projected onto a screen, with the SFX crew clearly visible, and as the plot got more dramatic, the floor disappeared from under the actors, slowly forcing them back towards the screen. On which a counter was displayed showing how many people had died of poverty and hunger worldwide during the performance of the play alone. Oh, and? It ''didn't change or add a single word'' from Brechts original script. The whole thing was a huge CrowningMomentOfAwesome.

** It's not uncommon for productions of ''Theatre/JuliusCaesar'' to have Romans dressed as Nazis.

* The TurnOfTheMillennium revival of StephenSondheim's ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'' (produced first in the U.K., then on Broadway) sets the whole thing in an insane asylum, drops the ensemble, and the remaining performers -- the leads and supporting cast -- play instruments when they aren't singing.
* Over the years, StephenSondheim's ''Theatre/{{Company}}'' has undergone a transformation as to the concept behind the concept musical: in the original production, there was more of a focus on the show being a series of vignettes about married life, but later productions (particularly the 2006 Broadway Revival) interpret the text as a narrative about Bobby's isolation and inability to connect with people as his friends do.
* The Fiasco Theatre production of StephenSondheim's ([[RuleOfThree noticing a trend?]]) ''Theatre/IntoTheWoods'', which depicts the story as told by a bunch of people using whatever they have, playing multiple roles.

** A recent BBC television adaptation of ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'', which also happened to include Patrick Stewart in the title role, played him as an {{Expy}} of JosephStalin.

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* The 2015 Deaf West Broadway Revival of ''SpringAwakening'', which cast several deaf performers in the roles, making their characters deaf as a result. The deaf performers would sign while hearing actors (who also made up the band) voiced their dialogue and singing. The change really heightened the themes of miscommunication and alienation and changed some of the shows relationships. The biggest change is the show incorporating the policies for the deaf enacted in education at the time, such as forbidding sign language and forcing the students to speak. As a result, [[spoiler: Moritz being intentionally flunked out of school is significantly harsher than the original as it seems like the teachers want to keep a deaf student out of the school and, in turn, their adoration of Melchior is because he can hear.]]

* The 2015 Deaf West Broadway Revival of ''SpringAwakening'', which cast several deaf performers in the roles, making their characters deaf as a result. The deaf performers would sign while hearing actors (who also made up the band) voiced their dialogue and singing. The change really heightened the themes of miscommunication and alienation and changed some of the shows relationships. The biggest change is the show incorporating the policies for the deaf enacted in education at the time, such as forbidding sign language and forcing the students to speak. As a result, [[spoiled: Moritz being intentionally flunked out of school is significantly harsher than the original as it seems like the teachers want to keep a deaf student out of the school and, in turn, their adoration of Melchior is because he can hear.]]

* The 2015 performance of Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice, by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Straford-upon-Avon itself, interpreted the love story as a polyamorous romance between Antonio, Bassanio and Portia. None of the text was changed, but Antonio and Bassanio spent much of the play kissing and embracing, with Portia looking on happily.

* The 2015 performance of Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice, by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Straford-upon-Avon itself, interpreted the love story as a polyamorous romance between Antonio, Bassanio and Portia. None of the text was changed, but Antonio and Bassanio spent much of the play kissing and embracing, with Portia looking on happily.

* The 2015 performance of Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice, by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Straford-upon-Avon itself, interpreted the love story as a polyamorous romance between Antonio, Bassanio and Portia. None of the text was changed, but Antonio and Bassanio spend much of the play kissing and embracing, with Portia looking on happily.