Broadway hits and flops- Page 2

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 4/3/08 at 12:42am

How can Pajama Game be a hit when it was Roundabout? Am I forgetting something?

"This is depressing. I do love a lot of shows that are considered flops both financially and critically, but to see the likes of COMPANY and GREY GARDENS in the flops list makes me really sad. I know everyone says "it's a business" but it's also an experience when you see a show and if something moves you, you're not thinking "but still...it's a business." It feels like more than that. And lists like this bring the sad reality back into view."

I find it the opposite of depressing. I think it's wonderful that even though a show may fail financially, it can still have a fan base, and a well- loved cast album, and many regional productions, and school productions, and even revivals.

I think it's amazing that even though Caroline or Change didn't make back it's investment, producers brought it to London where it won Oliver Awards.

I think it's amazing that even though Wedding Singer was a financial flop, it has had a national tour, and is gaining an increasing fan base.

I think it's amazing that even though Side Show was a flop, theatre folk (including those on this board) discuss it all the time, and it is hugely popular and being bandied about by Roundabout for a possible revival.

I think it's amazing that even though Ragtime was a flop, it is hugely well- known and has its songs performed all the time at concerts and in regional productions.

I think it's fascinating to know the financial status of Broadway productions, so one can contrast this with their impact, artistic worth, etc. Thank you, frontrowcentre2.

[Urban]

Posted: 4/3/08 at 3:29am

Thanks for the post.

I thought some of those 30s/40s shows listed where not technically cast albums but studio recordings of said shows/highlights et cetera. Or am I just mixing up shows here? (Plus admittedly being way to picky which I shouldn't be since your posts are great and I really do admire the work you put into them).

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 4/3/08 at 7:47am

Well Done Front Row Centre 2 for taking so much time and care by compiling this list, made fascinating reading.

Suprised to see that Sunset Boulevard was a flop.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 4/3/08 at 2:38pm

Yes, although PAJAMA GAME was produced by Roundaboutr, In the seasonal list published by Variety in June 2005, it is listed as a hit. (It did sell out it's entire run and was extended.) Yet another Roundabout revival, THREEPENNY OPERA is listed as Non-Profit/Misc.

SUNSET BLVD was a very expensive show to run and even though it ran over 2 years on Broadway it still closed with heavy losses. The London production was also a long running failure. The Toronto production folded in less than a year with staggering losses (that marked the beginning of the end for Livent here) and the aborted tour was fiscal disaster. So many people keep hoping for a scaled down revival but SUNSET is not a show that would work in any kind of scaled down production.

[sparkleplenty]

Posted: 4/3/08 at 4:12pm

The flop that struck me was the "No, No Nanette" revival in 1971 - one of the huge hits of the season. From what I've read about the production (and the producers) this sounds like a creative accounting flop.

[amalou]

Posted: 4/3/08 at 4:22pm

"I find it the opposite of depressing. I think it's wonderful that even though a show may fail financially, it can still have a fan base, and a well- loved cast album, and many regional productions, and school productions, and even revivals."

That's a really good point. I didn't think of it that way.

[hotjohn]

Posted: 4/3/08 at 5:40pm

On the subject of a scaled-down production of Sunset Boulevard, The Watermill Theatre in Newbury, England will produce the show in July.

The Watermill is most famous for John Doyle's innovative style of actor-musicians (Sweeney Todd, Company etc.), mainly because it's such a small space (approx. 220 seats) there's no room for an orchestra!

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/3/08 at 5:50pm

Wasn't Pajama Game partially subsidized?

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 4/5/08 at 3:27am

You are correct, the 1971 NO NO NANETTE was inadvertently listed as a flop..it was indeeed a hit as per Best Plays. (I corrected that.) It was Harry Rigby's revival of IRENE that sing in red ink despite a long run.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 4:35am

Variety's annual report of tehs eason's Hits and Flops will be publsihed in mid-June. Any guesses which shows will likely pay off from this season?

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 8:17am

Their list last season was FILLED with inaccuracies.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 11:49am

I thought Parade was neither a flop OR a hit because it was produced by Lincoln Center. Or was it the Livent Scandal that was a factor?

[cfmiller]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 6:46pm

Thanks for this excellent list, frontrowcenter. It is yet another tool in my database to try to figure out what cast albums I am missing.

[KrissySim]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 7:25pm

"The problem with Broadway theatre as an art is that it's a business. The problem with Broadway theatre as a business is that it's an art."

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 7:28pm

didnt footloose recoup?

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 11:11pm

FOOTLOOSE recouped only 60% of it's investment.

FOSTER: I think last year's list was correct. It was the year before that they jumped the gun and listed some shows as hits (DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS) which were not. (They did correct this later when the show closed and they ran a story stating it closed with a loss.)

Per the closing announcement on PARADE (which I clipped out and tucked inside the CD) : "Parade will shutter with a loss of more than $5 milllion..... It didn't help that Lincoln Center Theatre's co-producer on the show was the now-bankrupt Livent."

The artice notes that complications from Liven's situation were hindering plans for the cast album but apparently several board members put up funds to get it made.

Also in the CD is the review chart from Variety: 7 favourable reviews, 4 unfavourable, and 4 mixed. (this counters the popular opinion that the show got mainly negative notices.)

[TiffanyB]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 12:48am

I find it hard to believe that THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE was a flop...

[KrissySim]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 12:55am

The list is missing "Dance of the Vampires" (2002) which did have a cast album, "Tanz der Vampire", though it may not have been the Broadway cast. At the time, it was "the biggest failure in Broadway history at a cost of 12 million dollars" (according to IMDb).

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 6:33am

TiffanyB: Why is that hard to believe? The show ran two years but much of that time it was just making back costs without showing much profit.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 8:20am

Im surprised about Footloose as Dean Pitchford said that the show recouped

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 4/18/08 at 12:21am

FOOTLOOSE did not recoup as of closing. Subsequent income from tours and regional stagings may have pushed it out of the red but the producers have never re-stated its status.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 6/1/08 at 12:30pm

Now that GLORY DAYS has opened and closed I have updated the list. Interesting that only GLORY DAYS and CRY BABY have opened this year and (so far) not gotten cast albums released.

Variety's tabulation of this seaon's HITS and FLOPS should be out next week.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 6/1/08 at 12:42pm

The first thing I noticed was the flop/hit ratio of shows in the 40s. 8 flops vs. 28 hits!

This is misleading because ONLY shows that got cast albums are listed. There were a lot of flops in the 40s too that were not recorded and today are (justly) forgotten. (MY DEAR PUBLIC; HAIRPIN HARMONY; WHAT'S UP?; ALLAH BE PRAISED; TAKE A BOW; SADIE THOMPSON; RAHPSODY; THE GIRL FROM NANTUCKET... etc)

[myshikobit]

Posted: 6/21/08 at 5:34pm

I was looking for a complete list of flops. Thank you so much. Put Carrie on there =). Ironically, it was one of the biggest flops (lost $8,000,000), yet it was the easiest show for me to get on my IPod, sheet music and info on out of all the flops. Internet... the art of the possible =).

[AvenueQResident]

Posted: 6/21/08 at 6:09pm

Isn't Mary Poppins a hit now? I'm sure it recouped recently.