A musical comedy called It's a Bird, It's a Plane It's Superman debuted on Broadway on March 29, 1966. It lasted a measly 129 performances and those who see productions of it today rarely wonder at the brevity of its run. The songs, with one or two exceptions, are forgettable. The storyline is silly…and Superman spends much of the second act being whiny and un-super. Who wants to see that? Obviously, not enough for a healthy Broadway run.
But it gets revived a lot by local groups, especially at colleges. The same season Superman opened and closed at the Alvin Theater in New York, a musical called The Zulu and the Zayda opened and closed four blocks away at the Cort. The Zulu and the Zayda lasted 179 performances — even longer than Superman but I've never heard of it being revived anywhere. Obviously, the name of Superman and the mythos keep alive a musical that would otherwise have been forgotten.
A new production is currently playing in Dallas. It features a revised book by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa that has some people talking about a future for this version. That would be exciting. In the meantime, a member of the cast has filed this report…