Worst show to hit Broadway.....- Page 3

[thevolleyballer]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 2:21am

"I now want The Black Rider to open on Broadway just so there is a clear answer to this thread."

AHH. How did I forget that one!? Well, probably because it's not on Broadway, but REGARDLESS! That had to be the worst show I've seen. Ever. Oh gosh. Ever ever. Like, Cinderella-serious ever.

I also forgot Movin' Out. Fantastic dancing... just a very bad show for someone who likes a dialogue-driven plot. :)

[broadwayguy4]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 2:41am

What a coincidence...I was just talking about the play Prymate with my friends this very evening!!! Then I come upon this topic? Ok...I saw Prymate on it's opening night. Apparently the word of mouth of the show was so bad to begin with...that they were giving tickets away to this. Hence, how I got mine.

I can't tell you very much about what I remember about that dreadful play. Other than feeling bad that a talented guy like Andre DeShields (who was giving a wonderful performance as a gorilla, mind you) was in this crap.

But here's what I will always take away from that performance. Halfway through the show, there was a scene change that took...just a little longer than you would think. My friend and I both thanked god that the intermission has finally arrived and we can jet out of the theatre never to look back. We didn't quite notice that it said in the Playbill that there WAS NO INTERMISSION. Though my friend swears that they didn't post it...so that they can sucker people into staying. We stand to leave...and almost immediately, the lights come up...onto another scene. We both looked at each other, sighed, and slowly sat back down.

The play closed three days later.

[Theatreboy49]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 2:52am

Bring back birdie = worst show ever
cast = close second

[rjmcbean]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 2:55am

That's a pretty funny story.. I hate the feeling of being caught trying to sneak out when the lights go up!!

I don't really know the WORST play b/c I tend to like things that no one else really enjoys. (ie: Footloose.. I had a great time at Footloose!!)

I am not a big fan of Cats. I think I liked SOME of the show the first time I went but I saw it a few different times with school trips, etc and it was just too much. I do like the original book by TS Elliot though.

[jimnysf]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 2:58am

"cast = close second"

Did you mean "Cats"?

[scooter38432]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 8:14am

CHU CHEM (1989)
THE CHAIRS (199
SUNSET BOULEVARD
MAIL (1989)
LEGS DIAMOND

And, I would have added THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, but the creative design elements saved it from being one of the worst I've seen. It was most certainly one of the worst-written shows ever to hit the Broadway stage in recent memory.

Note: One might assume that SUNSET BLVD would also fall into this category, but as impressive as the set was, it wasn't very functional. It was too big for its own good. Plus, the effect of the ridiculous car-driving scenes were totally laughable. (Plus, I saw Betty Buckley who has such serious pitch problems. All of these factors added up to make it one of the worst nights I've ever spent in a Broadway theater.) Dreadful show.

Updated On: 6/22/06 at 08:14 AM

[All_For_Laura]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 8:43am

I'm too nice to find any shows I really hate. I always find something I like. But, I'd have to say one of the worst shows broadway has had would have to be....oh too much pressure I can't answer!

[FranklinShepard-Inc.]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 10:54am

Actually, Bring Back Birdie as a show may have been bad, a good deal of the score in my eyes surely isn't. Actually nothing Charles Strouse ever wrote is really bad. Neither, as many already stated was the score of Annie 2 and Annie Warbucks. One though can say, both shows were unnecessary, if not for the opportunity of getting a few new Strouse tunes.

My vote goes to In my Life, for its very unique absurdity.

But one more thing: I wouldn't want to not have any of these shows, they all have a certain something, an adventurous spirit one might say, something many square commercial productions nowadays lack.
Updated On: 6/21/06 at 10:54 AM

[ILoveMyDictionary]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 10:59am

"Man of La Mancha {Most Recent}
Sweet Charity {Most Recent}
Spelling Bee"

Whaa? I agree Man of La Mancha and Sweet Charity left much to be desired but they definatley by far are not the worst shows. I have to admit, both of those had me entertained for an evening. And Spelling Bee well, I'm not even going to bother saying anything.

The worst show that I've seen has to be Cats.
Updated On: 6/21/06 at 10:59 AM

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 11:11am

Thank you for defending the score to Bring Back Birdie, FranklinShepard. The only song in that show that is unlistenable is "Inner Peace." The rest all have something good in them...and the overture is excellent! I agree that nothing Strouse ever wrote is really bad.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 12:23pm

I don't know about BRING BACK BIRDIE...I found the entire CD to be virtually unlistenable.

TARZAN is the worst show I have ever seen.

[SweeneyPhanatic]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 12:28pm

Even though it has become a sort of cult classic, I think many, if not all, of us can agree on: CARRIE.

[FranklinShepard-Inc.]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 12:55pm

Oh, WithoutaTrace, I just recall, "Inner Peace" is actually a motif I found in a piece of Bruckner. So it isn't all Strouse's fault .

[Wildcard]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 12:57pm

Lestat?
Lennon?

[rosiecabaret]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 1:07pm

Bat Boy, not sure if it was on Broadway or not (I should probably know that lol) but I HATED that show.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 1:25pm

Bat Boy was off broadway...

"Inner Peace" is to the tune of Three Blind Mice. It is awful.

[FranklinShepard-Inc.]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 1:36pm

Now that you say it, yes, true too.

And I've to add, I don't hate Bat Boys at all, many nice songs in it. Not every thing of it appeals to me, but when does that happen...

[rosiecabaret]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 2:32pm

There are probably a few songs that are okay in Bat Boy, but the production I saw just made me and everyone I was with very uncomfortable. Traumatizing experience I suppose. lol

[Princeton78]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 2:39pm

Saturday Night Fever

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 2:46pm

Aint Broadway Grand
Thou Shalt Not

Annie2 off bway was very bad, and B12B, I remember the orphans number you referred to as the highlight. It was so odd in the show, though, that it just made the show that much more strange.

Cats, originally, was quite good, new and exciting. It may not be someone's cup of tea, but to call it the "Worst show to hit Broadway" is a bit ridiculous. Perhaps in the "Worst show I've ever seen, in my opinion" thread.

[tgrabon]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 2:47pm

I'm sure there are several more worst shows that made it to Broadway. These are the shows that I have seen on Broadway and disliked:

Shogun
Aspects of Love
Carrie
Lestat
Bring Back Birdie
The Goodbye Girl
Victor/Victoria
Play On!
Sweet Smell of Success
Saturday Night Fever

[So what...I sing]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 2:51pm

Not a real musical... but it's funny to think about... YO MAMMA The Broadway Spectacular

[FranklinShepard-Inc.]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 2:53pm

Awww, I love the score of "The Goodbye Girl" actually. I must be addicted to flops

[Sant]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 3:04pm

DRACULA. Yuk.

[ggersten]

Posted: 6/21/06 at 4:07pm

I saw it in LA on its way to Broadway: At the time, it was called Odyssey. Yes, a musical version of Odyssey music by Mitch (Man of La Mancha) Leigh, so yes, starring Joan Diener but also Yul Brynner as Odysseus. It was terrible - and I knew it even though I was a young pup. I remember the playbill notes about how the show originally had more of the Odyssey and how there's a cyclops stuck in a warehouse somewhere. The version I saw started with Odysseus leaving Circe and returning to Ithaca.
It made it to Broadway as "Home Sweet Homer" and closed on opening night.
It remains the worst night of musical theatre I ever saw.

I did not enjoy the 1990? version of Three Penny Opera starring Sting, which I caught in Washington DC just before it went to NY. It really paled because I saw Gypsy with Tyne Daley three nights before at the Kennedy Center.