Legendary Flop Frankenstein

[rockfenris2005]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 1:11am

Hey! I was just flicking through a book and I saw it mentioned that one of the greatest flops ever was Frankenstein the Musical from 1981. Apparently, it opened and closed in a day! That's worse than Carrie. What was it like? Where can I find details? Search Engines are only giving me a new version with a song called "Amen" at the start

[rockfenris2005]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 1:13am

Some more flops I discovered:

Kelly
The Yearling (?)
Home Sweet Homer (?!)

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 1:19am

It wasn't a musical, but a play (with a bit of incidental music). It starred John Carradine, David Dukes, John Glover, and Dianne Wiest et al, directed by Tom Moore who directed the original Broadway productions of "Grease" and 'Night Mother."
http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=4087

[dry2olives]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 1:29am

There was also an awful musical version of The Bride of Frankenstein called "Have I Got a Girl For You", starring Semina de Laurentis and featuring Greg Jbara as the monster. Semina de Laurentes was fresh from just about stealing Nunsense as the original Sister Amnesia and this was going to be a big off-Broadway vehicle for her. She actually was sensational and got terrific personal reviews, but the material was just awful. Updated On: 9/23/04 at 01:29 AM

[rockfenris2005]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 1:35am

And what about Yearling, Home Sweet Homer and Kelly?

[morosco]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 1:44am

At the time, this was the most expensive non-musical produced. The special effects were, apparently, stunning.

[musicalfandukie]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 2:19am

i heard of the new version that suppose to come to broadway soon...i didn't realize there was already one that played. let's hope the new one isn't such a big flop.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 2:34am

The Frankenstein musical with the song "Amen" at the opening is awesome. You can download the songs on the website. I really like it. It hasn't played Broadway yet. "The Coming of the Dawn" is one of my favorite songs from ANY musical!

https://www.frankensteinthemusical.com/

[rockfenris2005]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 2:37am

THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!

Why are all the good musicals out of Broadway???

And all the crap ones ON Broadway????

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 2:41am

money.

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 7:19am

"Why are all the good musicals out of Broadway???

And all the crap ones ON Broadway???? "

Cats has the right answer... and tourists LOVE crap! I'll bet no more than a few tourists are going to the Musical Theater Festival, or went to the Fringe festival... Apparently, from reviews and such, there are some really good shows playing during this... and if i could spare the money, i'd see as many as possible... let's hope this is not a fluke, but an annual event from here on out...

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 11:09am

rockfernis - Which "crap musicals" are you referring to? The ones that are so inferior to Frankenstein the Musical? I have the recording and never made it all the way through. Where are all these good musicals you keep talking about? I'm familiar with Tanz der Vampire and I really like it (though the choreography needs a lot of work).

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 11:15am

I totally agree Joey. I'll never understand paying $60, $80, $100 for some of the crap shows that are playing on Broadway right now (I won't name any names lest I start a fight), when there are several excellent offerings in the Musical Theatre Festival -- starring Broadway performers in most instances -- where all tickets are $15. I'm seeing 5 shows in the Festival -- that's a lot of first rate entertainment for $75.

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 11:45am

Margo, i would love to hear what you think about the specific shows you are seeing, just because i love your insight...

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 12:28pm

I would love to see the Musical Theatre Festival if I was in NYC during the Festival. But I don't have that privelege. It doesn't make all current Broadway musicals crap, though. When I was there in July, I was willing to see Broadway or Off-Broadway, but Bare had closed and there were no other Off-Broadway musicals of interest at the time. If what I saw was crap, it was much better crap than most of the stuff I have seen in London or in Chicago. And I only paid full price for two shows. Most shows are discounted anyway.

Updated On: 9/23/04 at 12:28 PM

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 12:40pm

Mister Matt, i agree, "crap" is a bit strong... but there just doesn't seem to be anything creative and/or new on the boards right now... it just all seems so cookie-cut and bland... perhaps Brooklyn will break the spell... who knows? i think i may have to agree with rockfenris on this... there are much more interesting things going on off Broadway (and not just off-Broadway) and around the country, and probably even around the world... these are the shows i want to see... i'm also looking forward to these younger writers that will be (hopefully) coming (back?) to NY soon such as Adam Guettel and Michael John LaChiusa and Andrew Lippa and such... let's hear their voices!

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 12:46pm

"It doesn't make all current Broadway musicals crap, though."

No where did I say that all the shows on Broadway were crap -- there are several very good shows playing right now. There are also some pretty lousy ones that tourists flock to in droves. My point was that if one were to look beyond Broadway, one can almost always find plays and musicals running Off- and Off-Off-Broadway that are as good as, if not better than most of what Broadway has to offer, and at a fraction of the price.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 12:52pm

I thought Assassins, Caroline or Change and Avenue Q were quite refreshing changes from the norm. Even The Frogs was something out of the ordinary. Though two of them are closed, it wasn't so long ago that they left. The West End is in a much worse plight than Broadway and Europe has had little to offer other than the pop spectacles (Tanz der Vampire has been around for years). Keep your eyes open for The Light at the Piazza, Pacific Overtures, Threepenny Opera, and Jerry Springer The Opera (if it ever transfers). Spamalot and The Color Purple also sound promising.

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 1:25pm

we already have our tix for Pacific Overtures, and am looking forward to (in addition to much of your list, Matt) The High Yellow and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels...

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 1:28pm

I already have my tix for Pacific Overtures (I subscribe to Roundabout) and will be seeing Light in the Piazza (I also subscribe to LCT). I just saw Threepenny at Cocteau Rep a couple of months ago, so I may not bother with the Roundabout revival. Spamalot should be fun. Color Purple might make it here by next season. Jerry Springer won't be here before late 2005 at the earliest, if it comes over at all (it's having big problems financially in the West End -- it costs too much to run and ticket sales are soft; the price tag in New York could be in the $15 million range, so if it flops in London, it's doubtful for America). Bare (Dodger Stages), People Are Wrong (The Vineyard), Adrift in Macao by Christopher Durang, William Finn's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Second Stage), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Mambo Kings, et al could be promising. To say nothing of all of the non-musical plays that are coming in. We'll see.....

Updated On: 9/23/04 at 01:28 PM

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 1:35pm

i forgot about The Mambo Kings! Margo, do you know anything about this new show at Dodger called The Immigrant?

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 2:01pm

I just found this on playbill.com:
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/88010.html

[pab]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 2:13pm

Students at AADA back in the late 70s (I was one of them) used to get comp. tickets to a lot of shows in preview, so that the producers could fill the house. I've seen MANY shows that closed after opening night and Frankenstein was one of them. Some shows lasted a week or two but I can remember some major flops. Of course, there was some great shows that we saw as well, like Sweeney Todd and Ain't Misbehavin' but for the most part, there were a number of clinkers. I'm thankful that I saw them all, as it helped me, as a student, to start to be able to distinguish between what was good and what was crap.

Here is an example of one of the shows:

http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=4059

and this one lasted one night:

http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=3941

this one ran a little longer but I remember it being pretty bad:

http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=3831

Updated On: 9/23/04 at 02:13 PM

[SNAFU]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 2:28pm

A friend of mine, the late Peter Baird, worked on that doomed production of Frankenstein puppeteering the good doctor being chased by the monster on the frozen vista. He told me of the rather, how should we say....dead response the show got during curtain call.He said it was one of the worst feelings he had working in the theatre. They all new at intermission they were out of work.

[pab]

Posted: 9/23/04 at 2:42pm

I remember the one thing that I did like about that production and that was the sound. I had seen Treemonisha in The Palace Theatre a few years earlier and it was quite a difference when I saw this play. I remember feeling as if the theatre was actually shaking during some of the sound effects that were used. But alas, that was all that was memorable about that production.