Back on Broadway: The risk and reward behind the revival.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

Byline: Desmond Ryan

Holding forth on the dubious economics of Broadway in "The Producers," Nathan Lane's Max Bialystock sternly counsels, "Rule No. 1: You do not put your own money in the show. That's taboo."

Rosie O'Donnell and the $10 million-plus she lost backing "Taboo" has been so widely publicized that even tourists in the audience can laugh at Lane's inside gag. But as Broadway begins the second leg of its season, the joke underlines a serious question for real-life producers.

In a jittery feast-or-famine time for Broadway, are you better off staging new material, or are the returns likely to be better with a revival?

The schedule for the season's second half indicates that many producers are betting that familiarity breeds content at the box office: Of the 13 musicals and plays slated to bow in the next few months, seven are revivals. And the strong $7 million advance sale for "Fiddler on the Roof" _ directed by David Leveaux and starring Alfred Molina as Tevye _ seems to validate their appraisal. (The revival of the long-running 1964 hit opened Thursday night.)

"A revival is a lot easier to sell," ...