Anticipated Shows That Failed to Live Up to Expectations- Page 3

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/1/16 at 8:00pm

It is perhaps Herman's best score which did not get a Tony nod. What was the nomination committee thinking.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 1/1/16 at 8:08pm

I have no idea what they were thinking, Mr. R. Maybe, like the rest of us, they so badly wanted to like the show they felt betrayed.

[JRybka]

Posted: 1/1/16 at 8:13pm

Thou Shalt Not

and

Rags

 

Posted: 1/1/16 at 8:27pm

I was a little disappointed with On the 20th Century.

The worst day I've had seeing musicals was one Saturday when I saw Sister Act and Catch Me if You Can.

I had been looking forward to that double feature for awhile and when I got home I felt just dejected.

 

 

[Cupid Boy2]

Posted: 1/1/16 at 8:31pm

End of the Rainbow is a recent one that comes to mind. Tracie Bennett's performance was critically acclaimed in London, but she received mixed reviews in New York.

Updated On: 1/1/16 at 08:31 PM

[NoName3]

Posted: 1/2/16 at 11:57am

Allegro is another that fits the description. It was very highly anticipated and had a huge advance but when it opened it was considered both critically and commercially an unsatisfying follow up to Oklahoma! and Carousel.

 

BTW, Mack and Mabel is *not* a true story.  Normand and Sennett may or may not have had an affair when she worked for him but no extended love relationship, though their professional relationship was tumultuous.  Things between them were completely over by the time she left his studio in 1918.

The great love of Normand's life was famous silent film director William Desmond Taylor, who was trying to help her beat her addiction to cocaine so they could marry.  He was shot to death in his home shortly after a visit from Normand under highly suspicious circumstances.  It is one of Hollywood's most famous mysteries.  Normand was ruled out as a suspect by law enforcement and her biographers, but she may have been unknowingly involved.  One of several plausible theories is that he was shot by her drug dealers when they suspected he was trying to convince her to identify them to the authorities to shut them down and remove her supply.

 

And Normand did not die of an overdose.  She died of tuberculosis and pneumonia after a stay in a sanitarium.  She had suffered from a re-occurrence of TB since the early 1920s, and although her years-long drug addictions and chronic alcohol abuse undoubtedly exacerbated her illness, it was TB that finally killed her in 1930, not an overdose.

Updated On: 1/2/16 at 11:57 AM

[Hellob]

Posted: 1/2/16 at 12:28pm

Something Rotten- it had some good parts but as a whole- nope 

Now, 10 years ago, it'd probably be brilliant but I think the bar has risen so much that it seemed so basic to me.

 

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/2/16 at 1:44pm

No Name

 

My basic arguement is their relationship did not end happily .Much like the movie WC Fields and Me. A lot of it was made up but the basic people and circumstances were there. Poetic license is expected here. My point was unless you totally rewrite their relationship the bottom.line was it did not end well. 

 

 

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 1/2/16 at 5:04pm

"No matter how good it was, it did not have a prayer with the critics with Wildhorn's name attached to it. His name to the critics is like sunlight & a crucifix to a vampire. The critics are repelled pure and simple.No matter how good it was, it did not have a prayer with the critics with Wildhorn's name attached to it. His name to the critics is like sunlight & a crucifix to a vampire. The critics are repelled pure and simple."

 

I always wondered how some of his shows would have been received if he went under assumed name - lol.

Updated On: 1/3/16 at 05:04 PM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/3/16 at 1:40am

Mr Roxy said: "Mack and Mabel. It is basically true so what should have been done - have a happy ending?

That's the problem. I can think of two things that might have been better than the original ending.  (1) steal from Pulp Fiction, and have her die at the beginning of Act 2, then go back to happier times.  The ending of PF had Travolta and Jackson barrel out of the diner in great moods...interesting since the were viciously killed 30 minutes earlier; nevertheless, it was an exhilarating ending, because of its shear audacity.  (2) after her death, have Mack reminisce back to a greatest moment in her career and end with a great production number.  Either way, the book that was in place when I saw the show 40 years was the weakest component from beginning to end and would need a total revision anyway.

Re Dear World, I always loved the song, but thought it was so out of place in a show that never should have tried to be a blockbuster, that it further harmed a flawed show that I still loved in many places, more so in Boston, where I was going to college.  I listened to the album a few months ago and cringed when that song came on, such a blatant attempt to copy the success of the Hello Dolly and Mame title songs, at the expense of the shows 'integrity', not to sound too pretentious.

Re A Chorus Line, I totally agree with you, and have taken enormous pleasure that Chicago -- which I thought was much more entertaining that A Chorus Line in 1975 -- has become the phenomenon that it deserved to be the first time around.  I liked ACL, but I LOVED Chicago.

Re Baker Street, I remember that the sets were incredible and there was a magical moment where a miniaturized parade of the Queen crossed the stage (again, it was the set that was magical); else, I don't remember anything about it.  For years, I felt that the show wanted to be My Fair Lady with a mystery bonus, and that mixing the two didn't work.  I suspect that it still the case.  The only other example that I can think of is Curtains, which went for comedy, and was clearly a mild success at best.

But the thing I really remember about BS was the constant barrage of publicity that Alexander Cohen's office was constantly digging up.  I remember full page ads in the times that focused on the grosses, not the reviews (which were pretty bad).  I think he thought he could make the public think that the early grosses were an indication of the entertainment value (vs. the pre-opening advertising blitz), which allowed the show to have a decent run, although I would imagine that it lost most of its investment, since it was a very large show.

 

Agree 're Chorus Line score. Chicago's was 100% better

 

 

 

Disagree re Dear World title song. One of the best things of the score and show.

 

 

 

Illya was ok but Melina was the real reason to see it.

 

 

 

Baker's staging was the best part of it. A better score might have saved it. The actors tried but nothing they could do.

 

"

 

Updated On: 1/3/16 at 01:40 AM

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 1/3/16 at 4:52pm

I would put "Spiderman" on the list because with music by U2 and having Julie Taymore on the creative team I think there was decent expectations before it became a train wreck.

[Comden Green]

Posted: 1/3/16 at 6:28pm

Well, this has certainly become a fascinating thread.  Only have time to skim it now but will be back to absorb these details from you guys who are so knowledgeable about "those days" when I was alive and kicking but living in a nonbroadway world.   

And, Gaveston- what a fount. I would love a tete a tete but fear I must be satisfied with your posts here.  I have the cd of fade in fade out and haven't even listened to the whole thing.  I am afraid I sometimes fail to see the talents of comden and green at first glance of a work.    I shall give it another go.  And try to find the book. 

[The Other One]

Posted: 1/4/16 at 11:17am

This is going way, way back and, as this thread seems to be mainly about musicals, may not register with many of you, but "A Loss of Roses" surely falls into this category.  William Inge had never had a failure before, this play was originally set to reunite him with Shirley Booth (who quit out of town) and expectations must indeed have been high for it in 1959.  It flopped, closed after three weeks and Inge never had a successful play produced again, on Broadway or anywhere.  He did at least have one last success with the film "Splendor In The Grass" a year later.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/4/16 at 11:55am

To Hell

 

Maybe we need to lower the bar every once in awhile and stop being so deadly serious about everything. Rotten was just flat out entertaning..  For 2 hours, you forgot about all the B.S. in the world and escaped. We need more of it. Sorry, just an opinion. There should be room on Broadway for everything not just high brow stuff.

Updated On: 1/7/16 at 11:55 AM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/4/16 at 8:02pm

GavestonPS said: "I have no idea what they were thinking, Mr. R. Maybe, like the rest of us, they so badly wanted to like the show they felt betrayed.

SYou are probably right, but it did still receive 8 Tony nominations, including book, which makes the omission all the more amazing, since the book destroyed the show.  The score that likely took its place was A Letter To Queen Victoria, since the other scores nominated were for the best musical nominees other than M&M.  All I can say is UGH!  I actually saw one of the few performances only because I was given a free ticket.  I left after 30 - 40 minutes (Robert Wilson has always been for specialized audiences) because it was for me intolerable.  Score was the only nomination it got; I suspect the Tony nominations were trying to acknowledge a very highbrow effort.

M&M is one of the most perfect illustrations EVER of a show being ruined by its book.  Everything else was superior, and yet the show was one big yawn, because of the book.  I remember the show receiving one of the most pathetic curtain calls I have ever witnessed.  The audience barely applauded, even for Preston and Peters, both of whom were excellent.

 

 

Updated On: 1/4/16 at 08:02 PM

[Sertzo19]

Posted: 1/7/16 at 5:48pm

BroadwayConcierge said: "Mr Roxy said: "Honeymoon In Vegas especially after Papermill"

 

 

 

Well, that's a difference between artistic/creative expectations and commercial expectations. In terms of the show itself creatively, I had an absolute blast at Honeymoon in Vegas. Went several times. Loved it. In terms of commercial/box office expectations, obviously, it didn't pan out well—but how many people expected it to be a blockbuster?

 

"

I wholeheartedly agree! Honeymoon In Vegas may have been a commercial flop, but it was loved by most critics. I saw it with zero expectations, or real knowledge of the original movie and I LOVED it. The most fun I've had at a musical in years. I still listen to the soundtrack on the regular. 

[Sertzo19]

Posted: 1/7/16 at 6:00pm

The revival of Side Show quickly comes to mind. Directed by Bill Condon, re-written and loved by critics. Expectations were high and I was ready. I sort of enjoyed it, but it felt very empty and a lot of the actors seemed miscast. Even so, it was sad to see it fizzle out and die so quickly with how well-received it was by the critics. Lovely score, maybe in ten years the show will be revived again and finally be a hit. It's got all of the ingredients to be a hit, just needs a little trim here and there. 

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/7/16 at 6:15pm

Doubt Sideshow will ever see the light of day again which is indeed a shame.

Updated On: 1/7/16 at 06:15 PM

Posted: 1/7/16 at 6:41pm

Chess...