Biggest broadway flop — Page 2

Here's a link to the Smithsonian.com's list of the 10 biggest Bway flops.

It's chronologically organized.

Pipe Dream
Kelly
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Via Galactica
Rocky Horror Show
Bring Back Birdie
Into the Light
Carrie
The Civil War
Taboo
Link

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This conversation is always interesting. Industry perception versus public perception. You ask the average tourist/non-industry theatergoer, and they'll tell you that something with a long run is a "hit". Or, even more sujectively something people seem to "like". Or how many awards it has won.

They don't care about investments, LLCs or how much the weekly nut may be. To them, "Spider-Man" is a hit. It's been on Broadway for over a year.

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Don't forget the huge flops that never even made it to Broadway:

Prettybelle
Hellzapoppin'
Miss Moffat
We Take the Town
Zenda
The Pink Jungle
The Baker's Wife....

Many others.

"You ask the average tourist/non-industry theatergoer, and they'll tell you that something with a long run is a "hit". Or, even more sujectively something people seem to "like". Or how many awards it has won. "

Good point Billy.

And play wise (ie non musicals), since plays are almost always less expensive to stage, they'll never be up there with some of the massive musical flops.

But I think your point deserves some thought even though I get why most people on here classify a flopas anything that loses money. If something had a long run on Broadway--it does give the average goer the idea that it was a hit, and I think that does matter for... something.

Clownaround
Lolita, My Love
Rachael Lily Rosenbloom...etc
Little Prince and the Aviator
Senator Joe

Notorious and expensive bombs all.

Truckload and Alice come to mind.

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With Spiderman, because of extremely high initial costs it is possible it could run for 20 yrs making a profit every week and yet never recoup its costs. And still be the biggest flop in history.

I think it was 500 performances in fact

Wouldn't the actual biggest Broadway flops be the ones that we're so bad they closed out of town? The Mambo Kings comes to mind.

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"I think it was 500 performances in fact"

That number seems pretty high for Mandelbaum's book/criteria. Assuming 8 performances a week 500 puts the show at running over a year. While many shows can still run for over a year and still lose money, they are usually not viewed as the spectacular flops that were being chronicled in Not Since Carrie.

Mandelbaum's measurement was under 250 performances, but the majority ran far less.

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A notorious never opened musical....
The first half goes over the story and the story behind the story...sort of.
Rachael WIll Never Be Forgot!