Favorite Broadway Musical Flops?- Page 2

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 7/9/17 at 11:34pm

Passion, Bridges of Madison County, Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown, Parade, Caroline, or Change, and Grey Gardens.

[yfs]

Posted: 7/9/17 at 11:37pm

I'll second Caroline, or Change. That one's a masterpiece. 

[justoldbill]

Posted: 7/10/17 at 12:17am

Put me in jail and third-degree me, but I'd kill to see ANYA.

[asoftplacetoland]

Posted: 7/10/17 at 12:41am

What went wrong for Amelie? I found the soundtrack to be pretty enjoyable. 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/10/17 at 1:05am

What went wrong for Amelie? I found the soundtrack to be pretty enjoyable. 

Yann Tiersen composed the soundtrack, he didn't compose the score for the Broadway musical.  His score for the 2001 film is gorgeous.  

NOTE: Soundtracks are recordings of film scores.  Cast Recordings are recordings of stage productions.  

 

[asoftplacetoland]

Posted: 7/10/17 at 1:35am

Sorry, my bad. Hopefully you still got what I meant. 

[Whateverjsays]

Posted: 7/10/17 at 8:20am

American Psycho. I was absolutely in love with the show. 

[Addipia94]

Posted: 7/10/17 at 9:42am

I actually really enjoyed Bonnie & Clyde. There are some really great songs in that score.

Updated On: 7/10/17 at 09:42 AM

[jtishere]

Posted: 7/10/17 at 10:01am

Completely agree about the recent On The Town revival. That show was SUPERB. 

And Passion and Anyone Can Whistle are probably two of Sondheim's best and most underrated scores. 

[Dave13]

Posted: 7/10/17 at 10:14am

Finding Neverland 

Addams Family 

[bwayandstuff]

Posted: 7/10/17 at 11:09am

I loved Bright Star and also loved that I didn't have to wake up super early in the morning to get a rush ticket. It obviously had its issues but I loved the music and Carmen Cusack was amazing.

I'm not sure if Bandstand is considered a "flop" but I also really enjoyed that this season!

The Bridges of Madison County is up there too.

[JennH]

Posted: 7/10/17 at 11:26am

Smile. It's a sweet gem, imperfect as it is. I'm also biased as I've been in it lolz. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/10/17 at 11:52am

Without a doubt, The Scottsboro Boys.   Absolutely fell in love with it.   So disappointed to only be able to see it once.

[coreman009]

Posted: 7/10/17 at 12:39pm

IN TRANSIT: One of the most creative things I've seen and the entire cast was stellar, singing almost 90 minutes straight

BRING IT ON: Lin-Manuel's music and Alex Lacamoire's orchestrations were brilliant, and there were amazing stunts

Not sure if this counts yet but...BANDSTAND: It's so meaningful with two leads who are sensational and Welcome Home is a hit, but I don't know how long it'll last

[Bette's Turban]

Posted: 7/10/17 at 12:47pm

Harrigan n Hart.  Audiences were loving it till the reviews came out.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/10/17 at 12:56pm

Without a doubt, The Scottsboro Boys.   Absolutely fell in love with it.   So disappointed to only be able to see it once.

Lucky that someone was wise to capture it and an excellent quality video exists of the original Broadway production so seek it out.  I'm sure its not impossible to locate.  

God bless these people who take that risk and film these flops or else they'd be lost forever as many aren't filmed for the Lincoln Center Archives.  

[Bette's Turban]

Posted: 7/10/17 at 1:02pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "Without a doubt, The Scottsboro Boys.   Absolutely fell in love with it.   So disappointed to only be able to see it once.

Lucky that someone was wise to capture it and an excellent quality video exists of the original Broadway production so seek it out.  I'm sure its not impossible to locate.  

God bless these people who take that risk and film these flops or else they'd be lost forever as many aren't filmed for the Lincoln Center Archives.  

 

"

You are so right Brody.  I am so grateful it exists.  

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 7/10/17 at 4:26pm

Though they may not have recouped their investments, I wouldn't consider these 2 as flops as they did have nice healthy runs and LEGALLY BLONDE not only generated a reality series but was filmed and aired on MTV. 

Failure to recoup is precisely what defines a "flop".

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/10/17 at 4:50pm

Failure to recoup is precisely what defines a "flop".

If this is the criteria then hundreds of legendary musicals were flops.  Hundreds of legendary musicals ran for years AND never recouped their investments - but are now regarded as classics and performed globally yearly.  

[davp]

Posted: 7/10/17 at 10:24pm

Whistle Down the Wind, which never made it beyond it's DC pre-Broadway run to the Martin Beck Theater (where the marquee was already up).  The story may have been a bit out there, but I think it's one of Andrew Lloyd Webber's best scores.

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/12/17 at 12:36am

Caroline or Change. A masterpiece. 

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 7/12/17 at 9:48am

I concur with the score to Anyone Can Whistle. Some amazing stuff in there. Same with Merrily We Roll Along. And from this season...

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 7/12/17 at 10:01am

Agree with Merrily We Roll Along. One of Sondheim's strongest scores. "Franklin Shephard Inc." is one of my favorite songs in the musical theater canon, period.

Shuffle Along

Groundhog Day (because let's face it, it;s not long for this world)

 

[smallworld]

Posted: 7/12/17 at 10:41am

Breakfast at Tiffany's. The score is fun and it's a shame it didn't ever pan out. I do hope that someday, it is revised and at least released for amateur productions.

Others:

Prettybelle

Lolita, My Love

American Psycho

Mata Hari (another one I'd like to see revisited - the original was truly victim to disastrous direction and a medicore leading lady)

Carrie, of course

 

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 7/12/17 at 2:10pm

If this is the criteria then hundreds of legendary musicals were flops.  Hundreds of legendary musicals ran for years AND never recouped their investments - but are now regarded as classics and performed globally yearly.  

Correct.  Just because a show flops on Broadway doesn't mean it automatically falls into obscurity.  It means the production didn't recoup its initial investment.  But the definitions of "Flop/Hit" have been around for a very long time and noted on BWW (and elsewhere) a few dozen times, at least.  This is a wonderful thread on the hit/flop status of shows that received cast recordings (though it stops in 2009).