Editing Tom Lehrer (section)

===Revivals and reissues===
[[File:Portrait of Tom Lehrer in c. 1983 (retouched).jpg|thumb|left|upright|Lehrer {{circa|1983}}]]
Lehrer's music became a staple of the [[Doctor Demento]] Show when it began national syndication in 1977.<ref>Billboard Magazine pg 19. July 10, 1982, Vol. 94, No. 27 ISSN 0006-2510</ref>
In 1980, [[Cameron Mackintosh]] produced ''[[Tomfoolery (musical)|Tomfoolery]]'', a revue of Lehrer's songs that was a hit on the London stage. Lehrer was not initially involved with the show, but he was pleased with it; he eventually gave the stage production his full support and updated several of his lyrics for the show. ''Tomfoolery'' contained 27 songs and led to more than 200 productions,<ref name="Jim Bessman 1997"/> including an Off-Broadway production at the [[Village Gate]] which ran for 120 performances in 1981.<ref>{{iobdb title|2186|Tomfoolery}}</ref> Lehrer made a rare TV appearance on [[BBC]]'s ''[[Parkinson (TV series)|Parkinson]]'' show in conjunction with the ''Tomfoolery'' premiere in 1980 at the [[Criterion Theatre]] in London, where he sang "I Got It from Agnes".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/43413/tom-lehrer-collection-cd-dvd-the/ |title=The Tom Lehrer Collection (CD + DVD) : DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video |publisher=Dvdtalk.com |access-date=October 27, 2015 |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924044309/http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/43413/tom-lehrer-collection-cd-dvd-the/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|EDeRYmB4t6Q|Tom Lehrer: I Got It From Agnes}}—from "Parkinson" 1980</ref> There were "Tomfoolery" performances in San Francisco about 1982 and in 2018–19. "Tomfoolery" was performed at the Arena Stage Theater in Washington, DC, in 1982.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lehrer |first=Tom |date=1982-01-03 |title=Tom Lehrer: Live & Off-color |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1982/01/03/tom-lehrer-live-38/079cd514-2b53-4183-a6d0-bcef22696a9b/ |access-date=2025-05-18 |work=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> In 1993, he wrote "That's Mathematics" for the closing credits to a [[Mathematical Sciences Research Institute]] video<ref>{{cite web|title=Fermat's Last Theorem - The Theorem and Its Proof: An Exploration of Issues and Ideas|url=http://videodl.msri.org/data/000/022/041/original/fermat-fermat-QuickTime.mov|website=MSRI|publisher=Mathematical Sciences Research Institute|location=Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco|date=July 28, 1993|access-date=April 7, 2017|archive-date=August 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809100706/http://videodl.msri.org/data/000/022/041/original/fermat-fermat-QuickTime.mov|url-status=live}}</ref> celebrating the proof of [[Fermat's Last Theorem]].

On June 7 and 8, 1998, Lehrer performed in public for the first time in 18 years at the [[Lyceum Theatre, London]] as part of the show ''[[Hey, Mr. Producer!]]'' celebrating the career of Cameron Mackintosh, who had produced ''Tomfoolery''. The June 8 show was his only performance before [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]]. Lehrer sang "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" and an updated version of the nuclear proliferation song "Who's Next?".<ref>{{YouTube|hf-eIgFJg4w|Tom Lehrer - Poisoning Pigeons In The Park (live, 1998).}}</ref>

In 2000, Lehrer commented that he doubted his songs had any real effect on those not already critical of the establishment: "I don't think this kind of thing has an impact on the unconverted, frankly. It's not even preaching to the converted; it's titillating the converted&nbsp;... I'm fond of quoting [[Peter Cook]], who talked about the satirical Berlin [[Kabarett]]s of the 1930s, which did so much to stop the rise of Hitler and prevent the Second World War."<ref name="avclub">{{cite web|last=Thompson|first=Stephen|date=May 24, 2000|title=Tom Lehrer Interview · The A.V. Club|url=https://www.avclub.com/tom-lehrer-1798208112|access-date=October 27, 2015|publisher=Avclub.com|archive-date=August 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829120231/http://www.avclub.com/tom-lehrer-1798208112|url-status=live}}</ref>

Lehrer has said, jokingly, of his musical career: "If, after hearing my songs, just one human being is inspired to say something nasty to a friend, or perhaps to strike a loved one, it will all have been worth the while."<ref name="Songs 1997" />
In 2003, Lehrer commented that his particular brand of political satire is more difficult in the modern world: "The real issues I don't think most people touch. The [[Bill Clinton|Clinton]] jokes are all about [[Monica Lewinsky]] and all that stuff and not about the important things, like the fact that he wouldn't ban land mines&nbsp;... I'm not tempted to write a song about [[George W. Bush]]. I couldn't figure out what sort of song I would write. That's the problem: I don't want to satirize George Bush and his puppeteers, I want to vaporize them."<ref name="smh" />  Earlier, he had said:  "Political satire became obsolete when [[Henry Kissinger]] was awarded the Nobel peace prize."<ref>Todd S. Purdom, [https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2000/jul/31/artsfeatures1" 'When Kissinger won the Nobel peace prize, satire died' "], ''The Guardian'', July 31, 2000.</ref>

In 2000, the boxed CD set ''The Remains of Tom Lehrer'' was released by [[Rhino Entertainment]]. It included live and studio versions of his first two albums, ''That Was The Year That Was'', the songs that he wrote for ''The Electric Company'', some previously unreleased material, and a small hardbound lyrics book with an introduction by [[Dr. Demento]]. In 2010, [[Shout! Factory]] launched a reissue campaign, making Lehrer's out-of-print albums available digitally. The CD/DVD combo ''The Tom Lehrer Collection'' was also issued, including his best-known songs, with a DVD featuring an Oslo concert.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126189232 |title=Tom Lehrer: '60s Satirist Still Strikes A Chord |publisher=NPR |date=April 30, 2010 |access-date=October 27, 2015 |archive-date=September 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905114821/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126189232 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In a February 2008 phone call, [[Gene Weingarten]] of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' interviewed Lehrer [[Off the record (journalism)|off the record]]. When Weingarten asked if there was anything he could print for the record, Lehrer responded "Just tell the people that I am voting for [[Barack Obama|Obama]]."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/02/05/DI2008020502027.html |title=Chatological Humor: A Tribute to Tom Lehrer |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=February 12, 2008 |access-date=October 27, 2015 |archive-date=January 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160123021733/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/02/05/DI2008020502027.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2012, rapper [[2 Chainz]] sampled Lehrer's song "[[The Old Dope Peddler]]", on his 2012 debut album, ''[[Based on a T.R.U. Story]].'' In 2013, Lehrer said he was "very proud" to have his song sampled "literally sixty years after I recorded it".  Lehrer went on to describe his official response to the request to use his song: "As sole copyright owner of 'The Old Dope Peddler', I grant you motherfuckers permission to do this. Please give my regards to Mr. Chainz, or may I call him 2?"<ref name=bbc /><ref>{{cite magazine | last=Prospero | date=October 17, 2017 | title=Who can fill the role of Tom Lehrer today? | magazine=[[The Economist]] | url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2017/10/wit | access-date=January 1, 2018 | archive-date=December 1, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201194530/https://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2017/10/wit | url-status=live }}</ref>

Comedy label [[Stand Up! Records]] released Lehrer's holiday songs "(I’m Spending) Hanukkah in Santa Monica" and "A Christmas Carol" as a seven-inch single in 2024. The  limited-edition release also included sheet music for both songs.<ref name="JJ2024">{{cite web |url=https://jewishjournal.com/culture/arts/music/376941/stand-up-records-releases-tom-lehrer-vinyl-just-in-time-for-hanukkah/ |title=Stand Up! Records Releases Tom Lehrer Vinyl Just in Time for Hanukkah |last=Lobell |first=Kylie Ora |date=November 20, 2024 |website=[[The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles|Jewish Journal]] |access-date=2025-04-13}}</ref>