Badly Titled Shows

[ObiHave]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 10:36pm

Just interested in opinions of shows that have suffered from titles that were nebulous or could stand a new marketing strategy. "Redhead" seems an obvious choice. While the title is relevent to the piece, neither it or the poster indicate what the show is really about.

[chewy5000]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 10:50pm

Urinetown

[2ndBalcony]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 11:00pm

Thread killer. After you've said "Urinetown", nobody else can say a word.

PS, I love Urinetown! - personal note: I was in NY trying to get in to see Wicked just after it opened. Yeah, right. While I was glumly walking back to my hotel, I saw this black theater with a totally obnoxious name. Well, WTH. I went in, and it was AWESOME!!!! I've seen Wicked many times since, but never enjoyed it as much as Urinetown on Broadway. And I did buy the Urinetown Bottled Water at the refreshment counter. Yum!

[My Oh My]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 11:01pm

Love Never Dies

[Almira]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 11:23pm

Think MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET is an awful title.

JELLY'S LAST JAM makes me think of smuckers.

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 11:35pm

I don't see why Urinetown is a bad title. I think humor is implied in the title. Also, the title sounds like "you're in town", so when you read the title, it adds to the humor.

[inick122492]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 11:37pm

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dram-coat... too wordy

[BroadwayGuy12]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 11:40pm

AwesomeDanny, I believe the posters who listed URINETOWN were including it because the title is actually mocked within the show for being so odd.

[My Oh My]

Posted: 7/3/10 at 11:45pm

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

[JMPlayer6]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 12:38am

Personally, I always thought that "Watching the Children Play in the Park on a Sunday Afternoon When the Thunderstorms Theatrened and the Nannies Ducked for Cover" was really just a very bad name for a musical.

[mallardo]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 2:57pm

Yes, Urinetown is in fact a great title - Little Sally's claims to the contrary. But I sure agree the Love Never Dies is an awful title.

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 3:13pm

I never wanted to see Sunday in the Park With George because the title sounded so dumb to me... then I heard what it was about and was intrigued, and now I love it. But by the title alone, I never would have had anything to do with it.

[Pippin]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 3:27pm

Ragtime- Brought to you by Tampax.

Pippin
Half a Sixpence
Subways are for Sleeping
1776
Bklyn

[Mark_E]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 3:27pm

"The Drowsy Chaperone"

Funny Show, Iffy Title

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 3:27pm

An example of combining an ambiguous title with artwork that gives absolutely no idea of what the show is about:



No wonder the show couldn't find an audience

[tazber]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 3:44pm

Chu-Chem
Gutenberg! The Musical
Welcome To The Club
3 Guys Naked From The Waist Down
Cry For Us All
Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?
How Now Dow Jones
Lunch
Now Is The Time For All Good Men
Zanna Don't

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 4:10pm

"The Will Rodgers Follies" always bothered me.

It seems like the had a better, longer title in mind, but couldn't afford to pay for all the words...

[Stage Door Sally]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 5:53pm

I loved Urinetown, but it was badly titled. I know people who wouldn't go because of that.

Yeah the story pokes fun at the name, and so did the advertisements for it. I don't think it helped much in drawing a crowd though. Shame.

I also think The Play What I Wrote is a stupid-sounding title, but it suited the show which was quite silly.

[backwoodsbarbie]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 8:19pm

I am obsessed with the show, but "Sondheim on Sondheim"...really?

[matty159]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 8:27pm

I don't know so much as these two are bad so much as wordy and confounding...though to their credit, I remember them well:

Four Baboons Adoring The Sun

Observe The Sons of Ulster Marching Towards The Somme

[aasjb4ever]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 9:14pm

I am obsessed with the show, but "Sondheim on Sondheim"...really?
sounds like a filthy porno...I kinda want to see it

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 10:41pm

But Never Jam Today

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 7/5/10 at 11:43am

Rent

[singtopher]

Posted: 7/5/10 at 12:53pm

Enron...at least for american audiences.

[Dancin Thru Life]

Posted: 7/5/10 at 2:37pm

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES.

I often wondered how many people avoided it because they assumed it was performed in French?

Even most people who like the show cannot promounce the title properly.