My first Broadway show and I nearly fell asleep. An abominable vanity project for Liza, courtesy of Kander & Ebb (whom I otherwise love). It's a wonder it didn't ruin B'way for me forever.
Thom Pain (based on nothing) -- third rate Beckett Hurlyburly -- painfully interminable and self-indulgent King Lear -- Plummer and Brent Carver were quite good, but every other aspect was pedestrian Donkey Show -- pointless Stomp -- just not my kind of show Dance of Death -- Ian McKellan and Helen Mirren were undone by Sean Matthias' lifeless direction Kiss Me Kate (revival) -- lacked spark Phantom of the Opera -- weak repetitive faux gothic romanticism Cats -- found it bland and superficial (and I was 13) The Fantasticks -- I know it ran for 40 years, but the cast I saw was sub-high school level Closer Than Ever -- too precious by half, I left at intermission All Over -- I adore Albee and Rosemary Harris and Michael Learned, but man, did this show drag Alice in Bed (NYTW) -- Pretentious clap trap from Ivo van Hove Lydie Breeze (NYTW) -- Three and half hours of muted epic melodrama Steel Pier -- The very definition of monotony Wonderful Town -- not a drop of warm blood ran through the veins of this production Little Women -- was never crazy about the book either Sunset Boulevard -- had I not been with relatives, I'd have left at intermission Further Than The Furthest Thing (MTC) -- a blur in my memory
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
Hairspray Grease! (I saw it when Lucy Lawless was in it) Caroline, or Change Wicked (Yes, act I is WAY too long. I was there for stinking Opening night and at intermission my only comment was "could they please make it longer?") Brooklyn Thou Shalt Not (The minute she started her hanging the laundry ballet I zoned) All Shook Up Phantom of the Opera Forbidden Broadway: SVU (I agree completely with what popcultureboy said early in the thread. Mind you, I'd seen every show they spoofed when I saw it, so don't say it's because I don't see a lot of theater, I do.)
Edit: I'd say I was bored at Rent but I was too busy thinking it was complete and utter crap to get bored.
Community theater productions of Glass Menagerie and Oklahoma (Oh What a Beautiful Mornin' went on for like 20 minutes, and not even the hot Curly could save it)
High school production of The Crucible- A bunch of my friends were in it and I just told them I couldn't make it to it because I didn't want them asking me about parts in it. The guy playing John Proctor was the biggest jerk I knew, so I couldn't get past my personal feelings on him to even begin to understand his character or the play.
Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never
knowing how
I saw this God Awful musical called Puck's Potion that I would have left at intermission, but since I was chaperoning studnets I couldn't. Um...also not too crazy about Pirates of Penzance either time I had to see it.
When I was in San Fransisco in January, I saw a 18th century French farce called The Gamester produced by ACT. It was a nicely done production, but the translation was entirely in couplets (!!!). The rhymes varied widely in cleverness, and got awfully tiresome. It had such a singsong rhythm, and my attention began to drift off.
A regional production of Show Boat lost me somewhere in the second act, around the 10th time they sang "Old Man River." It's a great song, but, seriously, enough is enough.
"WHEN is the winter of our discontent?"
"NOW is the winter of our discontent!"
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There are more of these than I would care to remember. I'll limit my choices to professional productions.
I could not stay awake during "I Am My Own Wife," which I do not blame on the play, since many people I know loved it. It was just one of those days for me, try as I might to stay alert. To date, the only Broadway show I've walked out on (I waited for intermission): "Starlight Express." My favorite description of this silly musical is "the ideal show for people who thought "Cats" was too intellectual." "The Play About the Baby". I was angry as well as bored, and kept saying to myself, "This play is a crock!" And those poor young actors who had to get naked should have sued Albee for exploitation. "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" - even Graciela Danielle's choreography couldn't make it interesting. "Homebody/Kabul" - I liked the "Kabul" part, the second act, but the endless "Homebody" monologue put me out like a light in about ten minutes.
Okay, I've finally got around to organizing my list:
Oliver -- it was a community production. The horrid teen who played the artful dodger was tone deaf. Oliver himself was clearly going through puberty and his voice was cracking all over. He also talked in an acting voice that wasn't believable. Do you know what I'm saying? It was almost stillted. You just wanted to cover your ears whenever he spoke. In addition to those two horrid singers, the owner of the orphanage forgot all of his lines - clearly he didn't study them - and during "boy for sale" he forgot some of the lyrics and started going "la la la" and the audience - including me - started to laugh. He then blushed and ran off stage. The show stopped for a couple minutes. Apparentely, the rumor is that he threw up. I was stupid enough to see it a second time to try and give it a second chance. That was certainly a good choice. Oliver was sick that day and an understudy took over. The owner of the orphanage had rehearsed his lines (and songs) and he was more confident. The artfull dodger was still tone deaf, but better. Overall, it was BORING both times.
Sorry that was a huge review. ^^
Footloose - Another community one. Awesome singers! Boring show. The dialogue put me to sleep.
Fame (revival) - I was going for my b-day and it practically put me to sleep.
It's hard to put down anything else; it's all great
Honestly, all throughout Brooklyn. It was so bad that Trisky and I were counting songs until the end.
"... Still a little bit of your taste in my mouth.
Still a little bit of you laced with my doubt. Still a little hard to say what's going on..." Damien Rice
I have never really gotten bored during a show, though I was very confused when I saw RENT, well i was young, didn't know the sotry, the references....etc. Now, i absolutely love it!
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
To Kill A Mockingbird
I got bored during some parts of "The Producers". I agree with boatsintheghetto "The Producers" was a really funny show, but some parts were boring. I also got really bored at a college production of "Into the Woods" and "Sweeney Todd"(Both put on by the same college). "Singin' in the Rain" bored me to death as did "The Sound of Music"(Okay I only saw the movie of "The Sound of Music", but it was boring).
I usually don't get bored unless it's a very, very poorly done HS or MS musical. It’s very rare that I don’t get into a show, unless the acting/singing is so bad it takes away from it.
Oklahoma - it is kind of a boring musical, I only went to see it because I had just recently been in a production of it at school. That acting was only average and the costumes looked too much alike, it was hard to tell some of the men apart.
Ok, this last wasn‘t AT an actual show. And I don't know, am I crazy or is there some kind of Cats movie or video? I SWEAR I remember watching some of it at school. I was in middle school then and I don't know why, but our teacher put it in. I almost fell asleep. I thought it was one of the strangest and most boring things I had ever seen. So due to that I really have no desire to actually see the show live.
But seriously, is there a video or something? ....or am I just losing my mind at a young age??
It may sound blasphemous, it was the london production of 'Phantom'. I fell asleep, the one and only time in any show ever. I had seen it before but wanted to hear the new cast. The london version has become tired and slow, it needs a good kick up the arse and som of the staging needs to be changed. For a show that hasn't changed since it's opening in 20 years, you can't really be suprised that it has become tired and boring!