#26
Posted: 6/2/15 at 4:56pm
Most of the musical flops we see we enjoy
How could I forget Bombay Dreams. Shakalaka Baby
Poster Emeritus
Best Flop You Ever Saw — Page 2
#27
Posted: 6/2/15 at 5:00pm
I've actually seen quite a few flops I enjoyed...
[TITLE OF SHOW]
13
RAGTIME (revival)
LEAP OF FAITH- not a brilliant piece, but it certainly didn't deserve the vitriol hurled at it.
CHAPLIN
BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY
IF/THEN
HONEYMOON IN VEGAS
"I shall stay until the wind changes."
#28
Posted: 6/2/15 at 5:01pm
To LYLS
Did not see the first 3 you list. Agree with the rest but Leap had the worst and cheapest looking set I have ever seen.
Poster Emeritus
#29
Posted: 6/2/15 at 5:11pm
I can't argue with that. The set design for LEAP was certainly lacking, but I thought the cast and score really elevated the inane book and the VERY colorful (not in a good way) set.
"I shall stay until the wind changes."
#30
Posted: 6/2/15 at 5:39pm
Chess--Dark (literally--the lighting design), inscrutably plotted, but David Carroll and Judy Kuhn were so great. Clocking in at over three hours at the preview I saw, it was quite a night of highs and lows. But the singing, not to be believed.
Adored so much of Steel Pier as well, although it had big big problems. The dancing and orchestrations were divine, and Karen Ziemba was a phenom, but saddled with the embarrassing "Running In Place" that was trying so hard to be Kander and Ebb's answer to "The Music and the Mirror". An angst-ridden dance solo for a belter, spewing longing and anger, with Ziemba convulsing and flinging herself around the set with all the fierce commitment she could bring and...it just was in the wrong show.
#31
Posted: 6/2/15 at 6:05pm
Big Fish, Bonnie & Clyde, and Bridges of Madison County, they deserved so much better than they got. So much better.
#32
Posted: 6/2/15 at 6:11pm
Well, just to be different, I'll start with one that no one has mentioned so far: "The Civil War" with music by Frank Widhorn. So in that vein, I'll add the J & H original. Others:
Side Show (revival)
Scotsboro Boys
Bullets Over Broadway
Follies (revival)
The Norman Conquests (a critical hit, best reviewed show of the season, no one went to see it.)
CZJ at opening night party for A Little Night Music, Dec 13, 2009.
#33
Posted: 6/2/15 at 6:19pm
To Raised
Totally agree with your choices.
Poster Emeritus
#34
Posted: 6/2/15 at 6:20pm
Caroline, or Change
Passing Strange
Scottsboro Boys
to a lesser degree:
Catch Me if You Can, Ghost, Rocky, and the last Little Shop of Horrors revival
#35
Posted: 6/2/15 at 6:25pm
Side Show revival
Catch Me If You Can (sure, it got the nomination but it got so much negative buzz and that baffled me).
And while it wasn't the greatest thing ever, I did like A Year With Frog and Toad for what it was.
#36
Posted: 6/2/15 at 6:32pm
Grey Gardens, hands down.
Those Blocked: SueStorm. N2N Nate. Good riddence to stupid! Rad-Z, shill begone!
#37
Posted: 6/2/15 at 8:51pm
Thanks Roxy. Kind of you to say.
CZJ at opening night party for A Little Night Music, Dec 13, 2009.
#38
Posted: 6/2/15 at 8:58pm
Rocky, I saw 2x Would have been more if it hadn't close so soon and I have to plan a trip from Iowa!! Love the cast recording and listen to it still.
#39
Posted: 6/2/15 at 9:15pm
Either Bullets or the Side Show revival, both are in my top 5 favorite musicals.
#40
Posted: 6/2/15 at 9:55pm
If/Then was certainly not a flop. Ran for way longer than I expected and now it's touring.
The Scottsboro Boys is the best flop I have ever sen.
#41
Posted: 6/2/15 at 9:58pm
Dance of the Vampires no contest. I loved Taboo, In My Life, Dracula, Lestat but Dance was one incredible hot mess of theatrical fun. Michael Crawford's entrance in the flying coffin, The Act 1 finally when the jaw-bridge lowered the over the top everything made this special
#43
Posted: 6/2/15 at 10:19pm
Lestat, I absolutely loved this show! I am so sad that they never released the cast recording they made! I always wonder why they spent the money recording it and never bothered to release it! I saw Lestat 4 times including opening night! I got a balcony ticket for around 30 from TKTS for opening night, I guess that was not a good sign for the show!
"I'd rater be nine peoples favorite thing, than a hundred peoples ninth favorite thing"
#45
Posted: 6/2/15 at 10:43pm
It would be easy to choose FOLLIES (original), but that seems too easy. Though it was a commercial failure, it was certainly a success d'estime. And time has made it a classic.
So I'll go with a show I loved that many others despised: PASSION.
#46
Posted: 6/2/15 at 11:00pm
I saw it too. Paid $5.00 from a birthday present and went with a friend. Sat in the third or fourth row of...the orchestra at Box office prices!!! Previews were heavily discounted, half price. (Note: I doubt there is any inflation as bad as theatre prices, certainly for hit shows that don't need to resort to TDF et al). I loved it and still remember major parts of it, which is amazing. It was just fun, the score was terrific, Lesley Ann WArren was a delight, and the sets were incredible...I remember a reviewer referring to them as very Kabuki.
But my all-time favorite was Darling of the Day, which ran a total of 32 performances after opening night, fourr 4 times as long as Drat! Patricia Routledge gave one of the warmest performances that I have ever seen...the audience loved her. Not on Your Nellie was to this day one of the biggest show stoppers I ever saw.
Finally, in the mega flop category, I also loved The Grand Tour, The King of Hearts, and Dear World (it had moments of brilliance that compensated for some tough spots, including the tile number, which -- as enjoyable as it was -- was plain stupid...by that time, it was just assumed that Jerry Herman had to have a title song that everyone sung at the top of their lungs...it made no sense, even though I enjoyed it). Also, Cry For Us All, the first musical after Man of La Mancha forum that creative team. To this day, I can hum half a dozen songs from it, even though I have never heard them again. The set was also nothing short of amazing.
#47
Posted: 6/2/15 at 11:07pm
Saw all 3
After Darling, went backstage and had a long talk with Price who was very accessible and quite friendly. Back than, this was possible Now it is unruly mobs outside the stage door.
Poster Emeritus
#48
Posted: 6/2/15 at 11:37pm
Did you like Darling or do you think I am remembering through rose colored glasses (I still listen to the show 8 - 10 times a year.
#49
Posted: 6/2/15 at 11:37pm
Did you like Darling or do you think I am remembering through rose colored glasses (I still listen to the show 8 - 10 times a year.
#50
Posted: 6/2/15 at 11:48pm
It kind of struck me like an imitation My Fair Lady type of English show. The score was quite good . It deserved a better fate.
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