Disappointing Broadway show(s) of this decade?

What, in your opinion, has been the most disappointing show/run of this decade? In terms of quality (you thought you'd like the show more than you did), or in terms of the actual run (you thought the show would do better than it did)?

For me, in terms of quality: I know some will disagree with me here, but Groundhog Day. It definitely had its charms, but I just expected so much more out of this show.

In terms of the actual run: The 2014 Side Show revival. Maybe I was just being naïve, but with the amount of hype this production was getting, I thought it would be a major Tony contender in its season. Also, I was lucky enough to see it, and I thought the production was just magnificent. Definitely one of the highlights of that season, for me. And it made Erin Davie and Emily Padgett both two of my favorite performers now.

So what are yours?

You choose Groundhog Day to pick on Groundhog Day? Shame. Every party has a pooper I guess.

greenifyme2 said: "You choose Groundhog Day to pick on Groundhog Day? Shame. Every party has a pooper I guess."

I know, I'm sorry lol. I just wanted to love it more than I did.

Call_me_jorge said: "In terms of quality, I’d say An American in Paris. Don’t get me wrong it has gorgeous dance sequences, but the book scenes are a chore to get through. As for length of run, that would be Fun Home. A best musical winner barely making it over a year. It deserved a longer run, I thought."

I completely agree on AAIP, especially during the first act.

ANASTASIA is a tick in the disappointment column for me, mostly because it felt unnecessarily long and almost sung-through, like a Russian Les Mis...

SHUFFLE ALONG was a hit in every way during the first act, but then the second act proceeded to tear it all down in a messy and unfocused fashion that just left a terrible taste in my mouth by the end.

ON YOUR FEET, I think, was a misfire in the fact that they overestimated the material they had to create a Gloria Estefan biomusical. If it was just a concert and dance-style revue with brief vignettes, it would have been much more effective. But 45 minutes spent on a bus crash? Shiiiiiiiiiiiittt,

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I agree that American Psycho was brilliantly staged, cast, and written, and was disappointed it didn't get more of a chance.

As for actual disappointments in shows:

Cats revival: This show is weird and non-sensical, but millions loved it for years, and at the time it was like nothing that had ever been seen before. This was a missed opportunity to reinvent/modernize this, love it or hate it, piece of music theatre history for today's audience. Leona who?

Cabaret revival: Again this show was revolutionary in it's last revival. It was lazy to just bring it back as is.

Bullets Over Broadway: Just not good at all. It made me mad that I was wasting my time watching it. I don't even know why, but no other musical has had that effect on me. And then the freakin bananas at the end? Really? Bananas?!

Spiderman Version 2.0: I saw the original Taymor vision of this production in the third or fourth week of previews. While there were some things that make you go hmmmmm, it was thoroughly entertaining and exciting to watch. Though it may have been a little off center from the comics and movies, it was unapologetic and the performers were selling it. The score was also exciting, especially Arachne's songs which, while lyrically tongue in cheek, rocked the theatre. Then somebody somewhere decided it all needed to change and they took a show that made you think and challenged what you knew of spiderman, and cut it all up and squished into the cookie cutter that critics said it should be... those same critics still bashed it and rightfully so. Many of the remaining pieces, without Taymor's complete vision, just seemed trivial or odd... and the life was sucked out of it.



And finally... though off-broadway, Carrie was a disaster. Why did they not embrace the camp of this piece??? The new songs were soul-less, and those without knowledge of the original score would not have been surprised that it had flopped. I would love to see the original score come back to broadway, set in the 80's (not ancient greece), with a director and choreographer who see it for what it is and don't try to make it into something it isn't. The push back of the split between the intensity of Carrie/Margaret material and the kitsch of the rest of the score, to me, magnified that the White's were truly outsiders, and the worlds don't collide musically until the destruction. Brilliant if you ask me.

The Promises, Promises revival.

Catch me if you can

Rocky

Bronx Tale

Leap of Faith

Someone in a Tree2 said: "Most of my picks are the exact INVERSE of the choices above.

THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY gets my vote for biggest box-office disappointment. A small cast, a simple set, and the most beautiful score then on Broadway should have ensured a much longer run."

This one often shows up on people’s “favorite flops list”, the tour running less than a year and hitting only 17 cities. I’m truly glad I got to see this one, and treasure the cast-signed window card I own from the tour (which was very different than the Broadway window card) that I wouldn’t have obtained had it not been from tips by some great folks here.

Updated On: 2/2/18 at 05:49 PM

Anastasia. Big fan of Ahrens & Flaherty and McNally, but it felt like they were all sleepwalking through it. The news songs failed to match the songs from the film. There’s even a poor man’s “Streets of Dublin”. And the staging, with those overused screens, looked like a theme park show to me. The entire thing get like t was created to please people who hate live theatre. There was no inventiveness to be found. I also found the actress playing Anastasia (who I liked in Carrie) to be dull and generic. I’m sure it will have a healthy run. I just wish more artistry and uniqueness was present.

In terms of disappointing runs, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and The Scottsborro Boys were the biggest heartbreakers for me. Two of my favorite theatrical experiences. Sad more audiences didn’t see them. Real works of art.

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David10086 said: "My big disappointment was in 2010 - which some may see as the beginning of this decade, or the end of the last decade - so I'm sticking with it! LOL

It was the revival of 'A Little Night Music'. I saw the production with Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch - and the complaint does not fall on their shoulders at all. (It was my first time seeing Peters on stage, and I was awe-struck by her performance...looking forward to 'Dolly'!).

It was the dreary sets, costumes, lighting, and awkward staging.This is a musical which deserved the best of the best to match the performances of Stritch and Peters, in all it's glory. Instead we got a skeletal washed out production."

Could not disagree more. Saw this 5 times. It was truly remarkable.

I LOVED the A Little Night Music revival - having seen a more 'lavish' production with a full-size orchestra and staging a few years after I terribly, terribly missed the intimacy of seeing the show at the Walter Kerr. We also had two very interesting casts (Zeta-Jones + Lansbury and Bernadette + Stritch). I don't think the casting was as perfect as the Follies revival for some of the supporting roles, and I must admit watching Stritch in the role was one of the most interesting but uncomfortable theatre experiences in my life (dropping lines, singing at a snails pace, not really attempting much character). But overall, I miss it.

I couldn't agree more at the Anastasia criticism. The show felt like it went for a million years but felt like the lead role's character was cardboard thin/shallow. It was just bizarre. I don't blame the actress - she just didn't have the material to work with (in terms of quality at least - what is so strange is she has a lot of stage time and music to sing. But to no effect).

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Rainah said: "in terms of reception/length of run, Comet. It truly wasn't the controversy that closed the show, the public just did not embrace it as much as it really deserved and they couldn't find their audience."

Yes, this is true, but it would not have ended that early if the controversy did not happen. Most importantly, it would not have ended the way it had, in a midst of a pointless controversy, to inflate some SJW's egos on twitter, that overshadowed the creative and original piece that it was. And for that, everyone involved in that production (and those who loved it) deserved much better.

Also, to answer this thread's question:

SPIDERMAN, SPIDERMAN
DOES WHATEVER A SPIDER CAN
SPIN A WEB ANY SIZE
CATCHES THIEVES JUST LIKE FLIES
LOOK OUT, HERE COMES THE SPIDERMAN