Broadway Flops you love that everybody else hates- Page 2

[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.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 4:26pm

Give me The Addams Family any time, that original New York production for me was a joy and a half. I even love the revised production but hate that they cut “ Where did we go wrong “

[steven22]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 4:39pm

Big Fish, Tuck Everlasting, American Psycho, Lempicka, Days of Wine and Roses, Flying Over Sunset, The Prom, Swept Away, Escape to Margaritaville, Bright Star, If/Then, Sideshow, Hands on a Hardbody, Ghost, and Tarzan. 

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 5:58pm

Chaz Hands said: "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.."

Promises was such a massive critical and commercial hit when it premiered, that I have a hard time placing it here even if it's rarely revived, but I do think it's a better show than its given credit for.  The revival made so many mistakes, casting, the interpolations which make no sense, and Ashford's desire to lean into the 1960s in a superficial/camp way (and not even the late 60s when the musical was set, but a Mad Men inspired early 60s) just ugh

 

[Chaz Hands]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 6:06pm

EricMontreal22 said: "Chaz Hands said: "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.."

Promises was such a massive critical and commercial hit when it premiered, that I have a hard time placing it here even if it's rarely revived, but I do think it's a better show than its given credit for. The revival made so many mistakes, casting, the interpolations which make no sense, and Ashford's desire to lean into the 1960s in a superficial/camp way (and not even the late 60s when the musical was set, but a Mad Men inspired early 60s) just ugh

i agree with everything you said! i wouldn’t consider the original production a flop, but now whenever the show comes up in conversation, i feel like a large majority of people consider promises, promises as a whole a flop because of how poor the last revival was.

 

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 6:08pm

I'd like to add my two cents to those folks who also love The Wedding Singer and American Psycho.

I’m obsessed with musical theatre pastiche scores.  There’s just something weirdly magical about a show that commits—really commits—to sounding like it belongs to a specific time or genre. Not in a parody way. More like it got dropped out of a time machine with a fully formed record collection and the confidence to match.

Take The Wedding Singer. That score doesn’t just nod at the '80s—it throws on a powder-blue tuxedo and crashes the wedding. Every song feels like it’s pulling from a real moment on the radio. “It’s Your Wedding Day” has that bright, synth-poppy energy that could’ve easily opened for Huey Lewis and the News. “Let Me Come Home” is basically Journey, if Journey had been slightly drunk and very emotional. And “Somebody Kill Me”? That thing is soaked in post-breakup rage—like Adam Sandler channeling Billy Idol through a karaoke mic at 2 a.m. The show just leans all the way into the big hair, the bigger drums, the ridiculous earnestness. It doesn’t wink—it feels.

Now swing over to American Psycho and it’s a completely different beast. Still the '80s, technically. But this time we’re not in mall pop territory—we’re deep in the world of slick, expensive suits, glassy eyes, and synth lines that feel like they’re judging you. Duncan Sheik didn’t go for nostalgia here; he went for aesthetic precision. There’s Depeche Mode in the bones of this score. There’s New Order’s chilly cool, and something a little more obscure and weird too—like the darker corners of late-'80s club music. “You Are What You Wear” plays like the Pet Shop Boys got lost in a fashion house murder fantasy. “Selling Out” feels like a Wall Street anthem wrapped in neon lights and existential dread.

It’s fascinating, really. Both shows use pastiche to anchor themselves in the same decade, but the way they sound couldn’t be more different. The Wedding Singer is all heart, hairspray, and open arms. American Psycho is detached, deliberate, and dangerous.

 

[quizking101]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 6:45pm

I’m on team WOMEN ON THE VERGE

It was wonky, wacky, and campy as hell. Did it have issues? Hell yes. But was it a pure joy to watch Sherie & Patti fight each other with gazpacho and Laura singing the best patter song written for theatre in the last 20 years? ABSOF******LUTELY.

I was 17, freshly out of the closet, and that was the first CD I ever bought for my first car. I can still sing Laura’s song by heart.

[Zeppie2022]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 6:49pm

"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."

OK, will just disagree. I will note she received "Drama Desk Award" nomination (Outstanding Actress) for her performance in "Bandstand".

[Melissa25]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 6:55pm

I just loved Lempicka. That score!

 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 7:04pm

Melissa25 said: "I just loved Lempicka. That score!"

THIS! (And I won’t forgive them for cutting “Stillness,” either.)

[nmartin]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 8:09pm

I'm dating myself here.

I loved (I mean LOVED) The Rink.

The score, the set, the cast, the EVERYTHING!

[RunnyBabbit]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 8:46pm

To Be or Not to Be. I think I liked everything Jan Maxwell did (she and Marc Kudish made Chitty Chitty Bang Bang worth seeing on repeat). My mom and I went to see it twice because we laughed so much the first go round.

I also loved the original Seussical and The Drowsy Chaperone.

[DAME]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 8:50pm

I also loved The Rink.  

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 9:17pm

I'm gonna throw Ghost into the conversation. Is it basically a moment for moment adaptation of the movie? Yeah, sure. But what a score! I also feel like back then that show got torn apart for the use of screens being one of the early shows to make heavy use of them in the set and now it's kinda common practice.

[matineeidol2591]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 9:44pm

Bridges of Madison County for me. Saw it initially and really didnt like it. Ended up seeing it 4 more times including closing night and fell in love. Kelli OHara was astonishingly good. Feel like the show has alot of potential to be impactful in an intimate, in the round setting where the cast surrounds the action REALLY watching it and judging it. Maybe actor musicians too. The show has its fair share of issues but that score!!

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 10:30pm

I think Seussical and The Wedding Singer are two of the best scores of the 21st Century.

I don't love the score to Groundhog Day but man did I have a great experience at that show.

I always like to throw Steel Pier into the mix here too, which is flawed for sure, but an underappreciated Kander & Ebb score.

[fray3]

Posted: 3/31/25 at 11:04pm

Whistle down the wind

[HugoP]

Posted: 4/1/25 at 1:06am

Not sure if "everyone else hates" it, but I think GROUNDHOG DAY is just fantastic-- love the score and loved the Broadway production (saw it several times and each time it brought me to tears).   

I also liked THE PROM and TUCK EVERLASTING, two shows also mentioned on this thread.   

The only show being mentioned frequently below that I really did despise was AMERICAN PSYCHO.

[dearalanaaaa]

Posted: 4/1/25 at 2:58am

I think "Bad Cinderella" is this for me. It's probably the hardest I've laughed in a Broadway theater, and I'd seen it 3 times in it's short run. I still listen to some of the songs to this day. It's so absurd that it's enjoyable. Andrew Lloyd never misses (Yes, even I can enjoy a few songs from Love Never Dies as well).

I think Tammy Faye was fine. I don't have a major issue with it because I didn't grow up in that era, and it just feels over the top and bizarre enough I'd love to get tipsy and see it one more time (saw it 2 times). I like "Heritage USA/God's House" and "If you came to see me cry" to this very day.

I find it funny the prompt is "flops everybody hates" and then there's lots of repeats or shows with cult-ish followings (American Psycho + Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson), but at the same time I suppose if everybody hates it nobody would name the show. Gonna check some of y'all recommendations out! 

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 4/1/25 at 6:24am

fray3 said: "Whistle down the wind"

I get the most pushback from people when I tell them how much I loved Whistle Down the Wind in the Gale Edwards production in London--which I actually saw just because I knew about its troubles in the Hal Prince version that never got to Broadway and wanted to see a flop (it had just opened in London when I moved there.)  So my expectations were low, but I really loved the production (well... the Southern accents aside.)  But this is also where it's hard to call something a flop--technically it never made it to Broadway, the Gale Edwards production was VERY different from the Hal Prince version anyway (which I've only seen on video but was more of a book musical and didn't have the racial element, surprisingly, among other differences.)

It's not helped that the then more family friendly revised, low production values Bill Kenwright UK tour was the version that then toured the US.  But the Edwards version by West End standards of the time was a minor hit running a bit over 2 and a 1/2 years and turning a profit.

[Lot666]

Posted: 4/1/25 at 7:37am

The mentions of Whistle Down the Wind reminded me of another ALW shows that I loved, but didn't last very long: The Woman in White.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 4/1/25 at 7:37am

Zeppie2022 said: ""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."

OK, will just disagree. I will note she received "Drama Desk Award" nomination (Outstanding Actress) for her performance in "Bandstand"."

And? OP is still welcome to their opinion.

[binau]

Posted: 4/1/25 at 8:00am

matineeidol2591 said: "Bridges of Madison County for me. Saw it initially and really didnt like it. Ended up seeing it 4 more times including closing night and fell in love. Kelli OHara was astonishingly good. Feel like the show has alot of potential to be impactful in an intimate, in the round setting where the cast surrounds the action REALLY watching it and judging it. Maybe actor musicians too. The show has its fair share of issues but that score!!"

I saw the show once with a cheap rush ticket - I remember the marketing was all kinds of wrong at the time (the cartoon red slats) but I thought I'd give it a chance. WOW. Back at the hotel room I had that stirring feeling inside that I had just seen something magical, and I don't think my feelings have changed. Truly one of the best modern scores I've ever heard, and if there is something that comes close to the magic and craft of Sondheim in his peak this was it. Plus some STUNNING leading performances, especially from Kelli O'Hara who had her Alice Ripley in next to normal, Bernadette in Sunday moment etc.. that was seen by far too few people. 

I saw the show again when Trevor Nunn directed it at an 'intimate' venue in London (The Menier Chocolate Factor - famous Merrily we roll along, Little Night Music, Sunday in Park export house etc.). Jenna Russel played Kelli O'Hara's role. It was awful - as much I love Jenna she couldn't sing the score like Kelli. The sizzling chemistry between the leads wasn't there. The set was clinking and clanking around all the time ruining the intimacy. Jason Robert Brown was there and I wondered what he thought. Needless to say the production didn't have any further life.

I watched a bootleg again recently of the OBC and it was truly stunning. I think the show and even the production were treated very unfairly at the time.

[Melissa25]

Posted: 4/1/25 at 8:18am

I think more people love Bridges than hate it. I am always on the lookout for any production of this show since it is my most favorite score. Nothing seems to be on the immediate horizon in the Northeast but a pal is traveling to see at the Tampa Rep in late April. I saw it twice on Broadway and both iterations that Hunter Foster directed at Axelrod and Bucks County, all superb. Just love this show.

[Kad]

Posted: 4/1/25 at 9:16am

While I didn’t love Bridges- I think there’s a lot of fat on that score and show that should be trimmed away- there are absolute gems in the score and the chemistry between O’Hara and Pasquale was positively electric.