Broadway Flops you love that everybody else hates

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 2:20pm

I would like to start a new thread about Broadway Flops that you love but everybody else hates. I'll start with Cry-Baby:
 

Let’s be honest: Cry-Baby never got a fair shot. Critics brushed it off like it was some throwaway Grease-lite cash grab, but this musical is way smarter—and way nastier—than most of the crowd-pleasers clogging up Broadway. It’s a razor-sharp middle finger to the sanitized, sock-hop version of the '50s that keeps getting dragged out of the nostalgia bin. Underneath all the pompadours and pastel poodle skirts, Cry-Baby is delightfully deranged. It’s not interested in being tasteful. It wants to be loud, chaotic, and just a little bit gross—and that’s exactly why it works.

The lyrics are where the real genius hides. They’re filthy, fast, and unapologetically absurd. “Girl, Can I Kiss You With Tongue?” is both a ridiculous title and a perfect mission statement for the show—it’s bold, it’s shameless, and it knows exactly what it's mocking. Every rhyme snaps like a switchblade, and there’s actual craft beneath the camp. Musically, it bounces between rockabilly, doo-wop, and old-school Broadway belting with whiplash energy, and somehow, it all holds together. The score is tighter than it has any right to be, the hooks are criminally catchy, and the whole thing barrels forward like it just broke out of juvie.

If Broadway had any guts, Cry-Baby would’ve had a longer run. Instead, it’s one of those cult treasures you find way too late—and wonder why nobody told you it was this much fun.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 2:31pm

“Cry-Baby” is having a moment in London right now with a new production people are loving - I’m sad I won’t get to see it for myself. 

[Kad]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 2:36pm

I think Cry-Baby was a victim of bad timing and just came too soon after Hairspray.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 2:45pm

Big Fish is my most recent one.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 2:47pm

Tarzan. I really enjoyed the stagecraft, imagination, visuals, and the score. Also, Merle Dandridge on stage in anything is a plus 

Updated On: 3/31/25 at 02:47 PM

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 2:49pm

Women on the Verge. People tend to credit the score and some performances but little else, but I loved it. Saw it three times.

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 2:52pm

Big Fish and American Psycho. AP was a great show but ahead of its time (imho). Hope it’s revisited at some point.

[Chaz Hands]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 2:56pm

Promises, Promises and Tuck Everlasting for me.

The most recent revival of Promises was miscast, and they should’ve leaned more into the seriousness of the storyline versus playing most of it for laughs.

And Tuck Everlasting just opened in a crowded season, but that score and its message are beautiful to me.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 2:58pm

Cry-Baby is a fantastic show and way closer in tone to its source material than Hairspray. The late great Adam Schlesinger was a musical genius.

I've always really loved Tuck Everlasting. I think it got dismissed as a kid's show, but it was way more mature and moving than people gave it credit for. If there's a show from the 2010s that's bound for Encores, it should be Tuck.

I've also said it on this board before, but I think Groundhog Day is maybe one of the best IP adaptations ever made, and one of the few that is as good as it's source material, if not an improvement on it.

Updated On: 3/31/25 at 02:58 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 3:00pm

I am a huge fan of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. I don't know that it's hated, exactly, but it certainly was not as enthusiastically embraced on Broadway as it was the Public. I still saw it 3 times on Broadway (and 7 times at the Public).

[Lot666]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 3:03pm

I emphatically agree with both American Psycho and Groundhog Day, and I also enjoyed Bad Cinderella.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 3:04pm

Kad said: "I am a huge fan of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. I don't know that it's hated, exactly, but it certainly was not as enthusiastically embraced on Broadway as it was the Public. I still saw it 3 times on Broadway (and 7 times at the Public)."

I was listening to this a lot yesterday, randomly. I was going to say “BBAJ” and “American Psycho”, two Benjamin Walker musicals that deserved so much more love than they got.  

Also, “Groundhog Day” is one of the best musicals of the 21st century, so far. 

Updated On: 3/31/25 at 03:04 PM

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 3:04pm

American Psycho is the first one that came to mind for me. I missed the original “Killing Time” from the London recording, and generally think the score needs a couple more bops, but wow what a production. I hope we see that immersive production that’s been rumored for a while.

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 3:05pm

How to Dance in Ohio definitely had storytelling issues, but it was so unabashedly sincere and the cast so talented and likeable that I couldn't help but be swept up by its charm.

[musicthatmakesmedance]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 3:07pm

Definitely still mourning American Psycho.

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 3:15pm

American Psycho was a really fantastic production of above average material that did seem a little weird for Broadway but I'd imagine would have been at least a moderate success had it premiered any other season. 

I continue to be stumped that Groundhog Day flopped. Top notch material, top notch cast, and top notch production. You never know I guess.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 3:16pm

I'm a big fan of Bloody, Bloody as well.  But I'd have to say my absolute favorite flop (not hated, though) is Scottsboro Boys.   Just perfection.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 3:20pm

KJisgroovy said: "I continue to be stumped that Groundhog Day flopped. Top notch material, top notch cast, and top notch production. You never know I guess."

On some level, I understand why it flopped. It was a crowded season (in addition to competing with Hamilton from last year, we also had Great Comet, Dear Evan Hansen, Come From Away, Anastasia, and the equally under appreciated Bandstand), along with a general fatigue with movie-to-musical adaptations (the year after Groundhog Day, all four of the Best Musical nominees were based on movies or TV shows).

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 3:28pm

A favorite Broadway memory of mine is that first preview of “Groundhog Day” (the one where the set broke and they did act two a reading) when Rebecca Faulkenberry started singing “Playing Nancy”. The way the audience laughed at the opening lines and then slowly the smiles all kind of slowly dropped, realizing it was about much more than what it seems (like Nancy). Just brilliant songwriting and all the times I’ve seen it since, I really look forward to that moment with a new audience and seeing how they react. 

[Rentaholic2]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 3:37pm

I'm not sure if it was considered a flop, but I had such a great time at The Wedding Singer, and the score absolutely slaps. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 3:39pm

Second "Groundhog's Day." Just brilliant writing all around and staging and performances. It was such a solid year for musicals it just got swept under. I had many friends that scoffed at the show for being a "musical about a movie," but it was clearly more than that. Much like how I think "Shrek" is just so much more than a cartoon musical on stage. 

[AKarp2013]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 3:46pm

I will also say Cry-Baby. I adore the score and wish we had gotten a proper Broadway cast recording. I enjoy the one we got but it’s not well-produced, disjointed, and aside from a few moments doesn’t capture the energy the music requires. I’m blissfully hoping we can get a proper cast recording in the future.

Updated On: 3/31/25 at 03:46 PM

[darquegk]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 3:53pm

Disney On the Record! Technically a regional/national tour flop, but I love that cast recording so much. I think it works better as a record/cabaret revue than it did trying to be a semi-plotted jukebox musical. 

Unfortunately, Disney Theatricals apparently hates it.

[Zeppie2022]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 4:14pm

"Bandstand". Excellent music IMO which is currently not popular on Broadway. Fantastic dancing which won Tony award and really good performances by Corey Cott, Laura Osnes and Beth Leavel. Storyline probably just did not have a big "target" audience to let it run longer.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 4:25pm

Zeppie2022 said: ""Bandstand". Excellent music IMO which is currently not popular on Broadway. Fantastic dancing which won Tony award and really good performances by Corey Cott, Laura Osnes and Beth Leavel. Storyline probably just did not have a big "target" audience to let it run longer."

I also like the score for Bandstand, but I thought Laura Osnes really didn't work for that show (and it has nothing to do with her anti-vax nonsense). She has a nice singing voice, and it's effective in moments, but her acting was really really bland, especially in the book scenes.