Stand-by Joined: 1/8/12
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/30/08
LEAP OF FAITH. A good show buried under a mountain of inexplicable production choices.
Featured Actor Joined: 8/2/05
"LEAP OF FAITH. A good show buried under a mountain of inexplicable production choices."
Amen (pun intended). The score is really good (I love Lost and Rise Up, in particular), and the cast was phenomenal. But the book made no sense, the choreography was lousy, and the set was bare. I saw the LA pre-Broadway run, which had a lot of flaws, but it still may have been better than the "fixed" version that made it Broadway.
Is Ragtime considered a flop, since it did not recoup? If so, that is my top pick. Otherwise, Caroline, or Change.
The Life
Other flops I enjoyed more than I didn't: Passing Strange, The Capeman, Side Show (original), Passion, Dance Of The Vampires, Taboo, Thou Shalt Not, Steel Pier, LoveMusik, Urban Cowboy, In My Life, Triumph Of Love, Big, The Goodbye Girl, Sweet Smell of Success, Amour, A Class Act, Kat And The Kings
Flops I didn't enjoy much about: Marie Christine, The Wild Party, Parade, 13, The People In The Picture, Taller Than A Dwarf, By Jeeves, [title of show], Saturday Night Fever
Best show that never transferred: Radiant Baby
Unquestionbly, CHESS. Though I was very moved by BIG FISH...
Updated On: 6/3/15 at 02:42 AM
A TIME FOR SINGING - Tessie O'Shea
HOW NOW, DOW JONES - "Anthony" Roberts and Bernda Vaccaro sing "Live a Little"
GOOD NEWS - wonderful score, despite changing he dexDe to the 30's
GREY GARDENS - listen to it regularly
PRETTYBELLE and DEAR WORLD - both for Angela Lansbury
Featured Actor Joined: 11/19/13
Bombay Dreams!
I saw it in London, where I guess it was a hit. I understand that when they re-tooled it for a "American" audience, it flopped. Loved the music. Shakalaka Baby!
"LEAP OF FAITH. A good show buried under a mountain of inexplicable production choices."
The Ahmanson try out was actually not a bad show. It needed some minor fixes and a little trimming. I even thought Brooke Shields was pretty good.
I don't know what went on in with the creatives between then and Bway, but what ended up on stage at the St. James was awful.
It's one of the most confounding re-writes I've ever seen.
And I'm a big fan of the score. I really wanted this to succeed.
ETA: Oops, I just saw jwsel just posted almost this exact same thing.
Great minds....
I also have a soft spot for The Life, Little Miss Sunshine, The Sweet Smell of Success
Without a doubt: The Scottsboro Boys.
Loved it, loved it, loved it. I don't ever remember being upset by an untimely closing as I was by this. The people against had no idea what they were protesting.
It was brilliant; it was eye opening; it broke my heart. (Then it closed)
I enjoyed Chaplin, and Tarzan!
Agree with Chaplin
As far as Tarzan, I felt Cheetahed.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/30/08
I actually enjoyed the L.A. production of LEAP while understanding some of the shortcomings. But re-writes are supposed to fix problems, not compound them. And the fact that they dropped two of the best songs between LA and NY? That is, as Ken W. would say, "a puzzlement."
Was IMPRESSIONISM a flop, with Jeremy Irons and Joan Allen? If so, that.
I loved every minute.
Some of my favorite shows are flops:
Grey Gardens *(only one I saw on broadway)
Bonnie & Clyde
Catch Me If You Can
Shrek
I really enjoyed: Big Fish, Rocky, Bullets over Broadway (but what was he thinking with that ending?), The Last Ship
Was "Passing Strange" a flop?
Updated On: 6/3/15 at 10:48 AM
I never thought of Grey Gardens as a flop, but I guess commercially it was.
So I have to add that to my list. It's one of my faves.
I loved The Pirate Queen. I still listen to the OBC frequently.
Big Fish.
CHESS.
But I also love
Leader of the Pack, Saturday Night Fever (Orfeh was the BEST!) and I hate to admit it but I somewhat enjoyed "Thou Shalt Not"
Featured Actor Joined: 5/10/13
Taboo (brilliant)
Dance of the Vampires (so much silly fun)
Good Vibrations (jaw droppingly bad)
Carrie (saw it when I was 10 years old in Stratford)
Gone With the Wind (London, head scratchingly bad)
Bad Girls (London, loved it)
Rent Remixed (London, so so bad)
American Idiot (brilliant)
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