Disappointments- Page 2

[inick122492]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 9:59am

Grease.

[matty159]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 12:39pm

I may get into trouble for this, but....not necessarily the show itself, but Alice's performance in Next to Normal was a HUGE letdown. I had seen the show at Arena stage and thought she was terrific. I saw the show again this past Friday and I swear she was flat the entire time...and thereby throwing everyone else onstage off when they were singing with her. I love the show, but her voice totally took away from the experience on Friday. Can't wait to see Marin.

[Blockhead24]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 12:58pm

^ I love Alice to death but I kind of feel the same way.

my list would be
Billy Elliot
Next Fall
[title of show]

[byebyebaby12]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 12:58pm

Avenue Q- Yeah, some things were funny. But I thought the puppet sex was a bit much. Also, I thought it was really dating it's self. I knew it was show that could not really be revived in 30 years unless it was going to be like "Set in the Early 2000's". Apparently I was right since the show is hurting from Gary Coleman's death.

Hairspray- I was hoping the movie was just a bad reputation of the musical. Some of it was fun, mostly the end. But yeah, just did not really enjoy it that much.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 2:18pm

Spelling Bee: I was expecting this show to be funnier than it actually was... I only laughed a few times throughout the show and just found it to drag on. I wasn't expecting anything mindblowing and spectacular, but I did expect to at least enjoy myself

Wicked: I will never understand all the hype surrounding this show and I thank my lucky stars everyday that Avenue Q got the TONY over this show. I think Wicked is entertaining, but there are so many flaws. The orchestrations are great, but some of the songs and lyrics are just plain bad. The biggest disappointment for me was the set. The set used the idea of the Clock of the Time Dragon from the novel, but referenced the clock once and it had no significance to the story.

Little Women: I love the music to this show and I listened to it a lot before seeing the show. After seeing the show, I decided that this is by far one of the dullest pieces of theatre I have ever seen. The show drags on way too much and a lot of the songs are unnecessary in my opinion.

Fiddler on the Roof: I saw this tour in San Diego last summer. I'm not sure why I was disappointed, but I guess i just expected more. I did not enjoy Topol's performance at all. I probably would have enjoyed the show a lot more if he had not been in it. I loved everything else about the show. Especially the sets and the three daughters.

[shrekster224]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 6:31pm

Wow, I was shocked to see that some of your disappointments were shows like Billy Elliot, Wicked, etc. I personally love BE and would see it over and over again. Wicked I do believe people fall in love with it because of the love of the story of Oz and the production as a whole. In the Heights I think is actually a very enjoyable show, even if it isn't *the* absolute best show ever.

[quizking101]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 7:12pm

God Of Carnage - I saw the Lahti/Potts/Smits/Stott cast and they were fantastic, but the way Yasmina Reza just simply cut off at the end left me confused. Did I miss something? I felt there was no resolution.

My mother had no problem with it as she kissed Jimmy Smits at the stage door...

[PastorErnst]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 7:59pm

The Color Purple
Movin' Out
Spamalot

[Andante]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 8:34pm

Billy Elliot- My roommate was obsessed with the show, and played it non-stop, so I was in an even more sour mood when we saw it on a break from school. I just did NOT enjoy the show, nor all the hype around it.

Wicked- It's just a big, flashy, multi-million-dollar production to me.

And I've said this before but In the Heights isn't my kind of show, either.

[brackett111]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 10:08pm

Avenue Q - to be fair, I got caught in a wicked downpour and was soaking wet and cold the whole time - but the monitors pissed me off, I thought the "purpose" stuff throughout was tedious and destroyed the momentum and sadly, it wasn't that funny - well, it was-the first time I listened to the cast album, but it was stale by the time I saw it.

Cry Baby - I hoped it would be somewhere near as good as Hairspray, but it was a disaster. I was bored to tears.

Saturday Night Fever - I at least expected to have a good time. Nope.

The Producers - I like the show, I saw it in Toronto and thought it was great, but in NY I saw Richard Kind as Max and Roger Bart in his first night as Leo. Roger could not remember his lines to save his life and Richard was a HORRIBLE max. The combination did nothing for me.

[shrekster224]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 10:24pm

It seems like the overall consensus is that you didn't like it because you went in with much higher expectations than the show actually fulfilled. I know a lot of boards are making fun of flipping the questions, but what are some shows that you went in either not expecting much or not knowing anything about, but then turned out to pleasantly surprise you?

For me, I think Memphis, the West Side Story revival, and Mary Poppins surprised me on how good they actually turned out to be. I went in not knowing much about any of them, with very little expectations, and came out of all 3 very surprised.

[CockeyedOptimist2]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 11:09pm

Shrekster, to respond to your new question, Next to Normal. Expected to hate it and was pleasantly surprised by it. I loved it. I didn't like Rent and wasn't really into rock musicals, more of a classic girl, so I really didn't think I'd like it. Next to Normal has become one of my favorite shows currently on Broadway and I just got back from seeing it for the 5th time tonight. I was also pleasantly surprised by Hair, in the same way.

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 11:55pm

To answer the new question, the first time I saw Next to Normal at Arena I went in knowing next to nothing about it and I don't think I've ever been hit as emotionally hard by a show (except perhaps Grey Gardens) the first time I've seen it...I cried through the end of act one and bits of act two and I was just so incredibly moved by it. I was also in the front row, which I think sort of...added to that. I felt like I was really part of the story and not just an outside observer...it was one of the greatest theatrical experiences I've ever had.

[into_the_woods2]

Posted: 7/5/10 at 12:33am

i think it's weird so many people are saying avenue q, because that show completely blew me away! i think it's all about what you've heard going into things, and going into avenue q i had heard good things but not raving things. i have since proceeded to rave about it...

on a similar note, i was not a huge fan of spring awakening. it was almost impossible to miss the insane hype surrounding it, and in turn i was very disappointed.

[wendilin622]

Posted: 7/5/10 at 11:50am

Billy Elliot
Bye Bye Birdie

[bryan2]

Posted: 7/5/10 at 11:56am

The Lion King
was bored with all the screaming and after the initial
opening I was bored with all the costumes

Rent I just never got it really..please someone explain how not paying rent to the owner of the building is to be comended?? I think I missed something

Les Miz ...left me Les Miz

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 7/5/10 at 12:02pm

Promises, Promises

I had issues with the casting but when I went to see it I went in with an open mind to give them a chance and see if maybe they would win me over. No dice. Hayes and Chenoweth didn't live up to the casting hype.

I also went in with an open mind in regards to direction and choreography. I knew beforehand that Ashford was going in a different direction in terms of choreography and I didn't have an issue with this as Rob Marshall did this as well for the 1997 Encores! concert staging but where Marshall succeeded with his own choreography Ashford failed and his take on the show's iconic showstopper, "Turkey Lurkey Time" was anti-climactic and in my eyes was ruined, the truncated orchestrations didn't help either.

The interpolated songs: "I Say A Little Prayer" and "A House Is Not A Home" made no sense in context with the show and were not only unnecessary but added nothing to it.

Katie Finneran came off too over the top and forced for her own good.

After patiently waiting for a proper Broadway revival of this show this production was just, in my humble opinion, ill conceived, mis-cast and missed it's mark. I was completely disappointed in it and I went to see it twice, hoping that maybe, just maybe I was a little too hard on it the first time. But no, this production just didn't do justice to this show.

A complete and utter disappointment.
Updated On: 7/5/10 at 12:02 PM

[winston89]

Posted: 7/5/10 at 12:22pm

To me I would have to say The Addams Family. I know that this is a show that didn't get the best popular reviews on this message board. However, there have been many shows that a majority of people on here hate/bash that I enjoy so that was something that I didn't focus on.

However, there was another force of persuasion that got me to go see the show. A friend of mine does theatre professionally and as a result got to go to not only the final dress but the first preview as well. Now, do keep in mind the fact that she hardly ever sees shows more then once due to the fact that she is someone who finds her time to be very valuable and as a result doesn't often see shows more then once regardless of how good they are. Considering the fact that she saw the show twice I figured it must be worth checking out because I know that she has high standards when it comes to theatre, and, like I said, I do know that she values her time.

After awhile of her gently nudging me to see it I finally went via student rush ( a very overpriced student rush I must say.) Sure, I did find some of the jokes funny. But, did I enjoy the show overall? No, in fact, I failed to see what it was that got her so into it that she was willing to see it two days in a row.

[Tori_Ann]

Posted: 7/5/10 at 12:46pm

Legally Blonde and the Grease revival.

I saw the OBC of Legally Blonde and honestly Christian Borle and LBB irritate me. I do really enjoy the cast recording though.

Grease was just lackluster in my opinion. It definitely didn't live up to all the reality show hype. It was just bland.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/5/10 at 7:05pm

Expecting more than I got:
Curtains (HATED IT)
La Cage (BOTH revivals, liked but didn't love.)
Everyday Rapture
Spamalot
[tos]
American Idiot


Got more than I bargained for:
Tommy
Titanic
BBAJ


I'm sure there are others....in BOTH categories!

[kc2]

Posted: 7/5/10 at 8:04pm

Disappointed: Addams Family. I bought tickets way in advance (I'm from the UK and try to plan trips early as they are rare), read the, um, "not so nice" things being said but figured given the quality of the cast it's at least going to be fun and worth a look. The whole show left me feeling frustrated by the waste and the what could have beens.

Pleasantly surprised: Wicked. I had sort of decided it was going to be in the Phantom box of everyone loves it, I hate it, overblown, overdone, big, colourful pile of nothing ... but I actually really enjoyed it. And would recommend others at least give it a try *gasp*. Something I never thought I'd say (I always found the score lacking).

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 7/6/10 at 9:16am

Wicked--I thought the second act was too overloaded with plot and the songs I thought would hit me hard based on the cast album (most notably "For Good") left me cold.

The Lion King--broken record. Told this story too many times. Amazing opening, unrelenting tedium afterwards.

Spelling Bee--I still liked it a lot, but I was put off by how self-aware it was. Too enamored of its own cleverness and wonderfulness.

The Producers--I know it's Mel Brooks, but I found it incredibly off-putting. Whether it's the Nazis or just the story in general, it's one of the few shows that's actually pissed me off.

Les Mis (revival) & Phantom--why do these shows, in various incarnations, endure? Great moments in both, but found both uninvolving and tedious.

And thanks for reminding me about "Gods of Carnage." I saw the final cast and thought they all did fine, but the story devolved into a can you top this secretathon that I found exaspereating and annoying. Updated On: 7/6/10 at 09:16 AM

[rjjn]

Posted: 7/6/10 at 10:42am

I was also disappointed with Next to Normal when I saw it, considering the hype. Some people treat it as a religious-like experience, and I didn't see that in the slightest. Though maybe it's because I saw it later in it's Broadway run, and not at the Arena.

Edit: I would also add The Lion King, but I'm giving the show some slack since I saw the touring cast.

Updated On: 7/6/10 at 10:42 AM

[Bwaynerd]

Posted: 7/6/10 at 12:44pm

west side story revival. thought it would be a WOW show but it was just ok