Plays I've seen twice

All this talk of doubles has made me try to reach back into the memory bank and determine how many plays I have seen twice, though I mean two distinct productions. I don't actually do it that often, mostly because I tend to focus much more on plot (rather than acting or stage sets or costumes), so seeing a play twice has less appeal than seeing two completely different plays. There are also examples where I have seen an incredible performance of a play, and I simply don't want to risk a lesser performance over-writing the better one in my memory banks.  While this doesn't always happen, it is a risk, especially given the huge number of plays that I have seen over the years (some of which I barely remember even after seeing proof in the form of a program that I attended!).  But for the most part, I am open to seeing a different take on the same play, after enough time has passed.  And clearly I have done this. I've managed to track down details on where and when I saw plays multiple times, though that was not possible in some cases.

Plays I’ve seen (at least) twice:

Shakespeare:
Othello: Kalamazoo (1988?), Stratford (2013); Toronto (2017)
Midsummer's Night’s Dream:- NYC (1992), a couple of other times; Bard on the Beach (2014)
Twelfth Night: Ann Arbor (1990); Chicago; Toronto (2015 & 2017), probably another time
As You Like It: Evanston, IL; Toronto (2015 & 2017)
Much Ado About Nothing: NJ Shakespeare (1992); Toronto (1994)
The Comedy of Errors: NYC; Toronto (2016)
Measure for Measure: NYC; Toronto (2016)
Taming of the Shrew: NJ Shakespeare (1992); Atlanta (2003)
Macbeth: NJ Shakespeare (1992), Bard on the Beach (2012); Toronto (2015)
Henry IV: NJ Shakespeare (1992); Oak Park, IL* (2011)
Romeo and Juliet: Toronto (1997); Stratford (2013)
Hamlet: saw the first half in Cambridge, UK 2006 (totally rained out), Bard on the Beach (2013); Toronto (2015)
The Tempest: Evanston (1997), probably one other time, and I will be seeing it at Bard on the Beach (2014)
King Lear: Vancouver (2013) and I will be seeing it at Stratford in 2014.

Chekhov:
The Seagull: NJ Shakespeare (1992), Evanston (1998)
Three Sisters: Ann Arbor (1988?), Vancouver (2013); Toronto (2017)
Uncle Vanya: Chicago (2010), Vancouver (2014)

Ben Jonson-The Alchemist: Stratford (1999); Cambridge UK (2006)
Beckett-Waiting for Godot: Chicago (1998), Stratford (2013) & a bad mix-up trying to get to the Cultch led to me missing a Vancouver performance
Beckett-Endgame: Ann Arbor (1990?); Chicago (1998)
Brecht-Good Person of Setzuan: New York (1994); Chicago (2007)
Brecht-Caucasian Chalk Circle: Chicago; Toronto (2018?)
Eric Overmyer-On the Verge: Evanston (1997); Minneapolis (1997)
Jason Grote-1001: Chicago (2009), Chicago (2010)
"George Gershwin"-Crazy for You: Broadway (1993); Toronto (1994)
Heiner Müller-Hamletmachine: Ann Arbor (1989), Vancouver (2013)
Dylan Thomas-Under Milkwood: Evanston (1996), Chicago (2009)
Rivera-Marisol: Newark (1995), Evanston (1997), Chicago (2011) - I actually tried to see this in New York around 2001, but there was some strange mix-up
Gilbert & Sullivan-Pirates of Penzance: Kalamazoo (1986?), Chicago (2010)
Wilde-The Importance of Being Earnest: NJ Shakespeare (1992), Chicago (2010), Toronto (2014)**
Tony Kushner-Angels in America: Broadway (1994); Chicago (1998)
Tony Kushner-Homebody/Kabul: New York (off-Broadway); Chicago (2003)
Enda Walsh-Penelope: Chicago (2011); Vancouver (2013)
Tom Stoppard-Arcadia: Chicago (2007); San Francisco (2013); Toronto (2014)†
John Logan-Red: Broadway (2010); Vancouver (2012)
Caryl Churchill-Top Girls: Evanston; Shaw Festival (2016)
David Auburn-Proof: Broadway (2000) - original cast; Toronto (2017)
The Flick: Chicago; Toronto (2019)

So this is actually more than I remembered at the start of this post.  In addition, I've managed to see nearly all the key plays of the 20th Century (by American playwrights at any rate) by keeping my eyes on the listings and spreading myself thin (too thin probably).  Chicago and the Northwestern School of Drama were great in that regards.  Toronto (and the Stratford and Shaw festivals) should be very comparable, if slightly more expensive.  I have seen some really incredible things over the years, and maybe I shall go into more detail down the road.


* This worked out really well, as I saw Henry IV and V in Oak Park (an inner ring suburb of Chicago) and then a month or so later Henry VI (all three parts boiled down to one play) at Bard on the Beach.

** I took my son to this performance, and he thought it was amusing, though a lot went over his head.

† This is actually the sold-out Shaw production from 2013, which had been transferred by Mirvish.