Most Pointless Musical that is a HIT- Page 3

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 2:02am

Spamalot. Pointless and pretty bad, too. You know it's bad when the songs in the show you're seeing can't get songs from other mediocre shows out of your head. And the songs just make you want to actually boo.

~Steven

[bschneid76]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 10:45am

I thought this was suppose to be POINTLESS Musicals not, musicals we HATE. There is a big difference between Pointless and Hate. Cats is a pointless musical, although it has some good songs in it. Brooklyn (wasn't a hit) was pointless in the fact that the music was so loud, the plot made no sense at all, and I didn't care about any of the characters on the stage. Sure that would also go under the category HATE but it was Pointless too. Oklahoma isn't a pointless musical.

[WonderBoy]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 10:58am

I really cannot think of any show that does not have a point. Plain and simple, if it is entertaining then it's done it's job. Not to sound any more of a b!tch but threads like this are pointless and rather immature, yet I still cannot resist posting remarks like this in it.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 10:58am

I enjoyed bits of it, but I have to go with Spamalot. Pointless, and large chunks of it just aren't very funny.

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 11:02am

sweeneytodd2---I haven't seen the current revival of SWEET CHARITY, but if you really think it's pointless, there's a definite problem. I heard they changed the ending... and that could easily be the answer.

SPOILERS: At the end of the show as originally written, when Charity is dumped by Oscar, she hits rock bottom. However, she picks up the pieces of her shattered life and decides to move on, with great hope. The card at the end (above the stage?) reads: "And she lived HOPEFULLY ever after."

That's the point of the show: No matter how many times you get kicked... get up, move forward, and keep on hoping.

It's a nice point, and very romantic. But if they changed the ending of the current revival, maybe it IS pointless now.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 1:04pm

"Although many ppl hate them, Mamma Mia was the first to bring the fad to the attention of the public, so I think that's something."

That might be true for the US, but Return to the Forbidden Planet was the first jukebox musical in London to really gain public attention and earn a healthy run including successful tours, regional productions, worldwide amateur and professional productions and a West End revival.

Pretty much every show I've seen listed here has not really been "pointless" including Cats. Cats, while popular to hate for its lengthy run and worldwide success, was designed to feature its score, costumes, makeup, choreography and environmental staging. It was revolutionary when it opened and millions found it entertaining enough to sustain productions for over a decade worldwide. A show does not need a linear plot to have a point.

Probably the closest thing I've seen to "pointless" was Notre Dame de Paris simply because it took a popular story and attempted to stage it as a pop-concert/Cirque du Soleil experience using virtually no book or interaction between characters. It was just a parade of songs and acrobatics that tried to feebly try to tie-in the story of the Hunchback and most of the chorus vocals were lip-synced. The Civil War was almost as pointless, but at least it didn't rely upon an established story line. Though I didn't see Laughing Room Only, it sounded pretty pointless. Jackie Mason does his stand-up every couple of years on Broadway and has his own audience. I couldn't figure out why he wanted to venture into a musical vaudeville-esque show when he can't sing or dance and his audience has never needed a superfluous chorus.

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 1:12pm

Wow, I'm sorry CATS fell under the "pointless" category. I don't think the point was its sets, costumes or environment. As nice as they are... that's hopefully not the point of any show.

For me, at least the POINT of Cats is pretty simple and very meaningful:

"Even the most down-and-out among us deserves a shot at redemption and forgiveness."

[Miki]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 1:14pm

I'd have to say Beauty & the Beast. The movie was near perfection IMO I just don't know why they didn't leave well enough alone. The end result was a lazy, glorified Disneyland stage show.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 1:19pm

Well, OH CALCUTTA! was pretty damn pointless and it ran for a total of 16 years on Broadway.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 1:20pm

"Although many ppl hate them, Mamma Mia was the first to bring the fad to the attention of the public, so I think that's something."

That's definitely not something to brag about. Hopefully with the demise of Lennon and All Shook Up, this fad is over.

[worrell4077]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 1:58pm

Cats and Spelling Bee
________________________________________________________________
"Even though we're sitting down, we're giving you a standing ovation."
-The Producers
Updated On: 9/27/05 at 01:58 PM

[ally_kay_on_broadway]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 2:08pm

its funny cause i read the post title and thought 'oy...mamma mia' and then what do i see...lol

mamma mia. My friends loved it though...but i just couldn't seem to get into it

[mominator]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 2:14pm

For me it is Oklahoma (or to me and many others who did this show Nuke-lahoma!). Everything about this show is cardboard and pointless. But that is just my opinion, there are tons of people who love this show I am just not one of them. That is what makes Broadway a graet place there is always a show for everyone!
Now play nice!

[VivaBohemia]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 3:51pm

Can someone please define what exactly they mean by a "pointless" musical?

And I dont mean the actual definition of pointless...I can look in the dictionary myself.


For me, every musical has a point. Entertainment. Like others have said already.. if you were entertained, it did its job and therefore proved its point.

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 4:16pm

Merriam-Webster Online's definition...

[VivaBohemia]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 4:25pm

Thank you capitain obvious.

I was talking about what people meant by the word pointless.

Ya dig?

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 4:27pm

Chill, baby.

Just tryin' to help you out.

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 4:32pm

Cats.

Grease.

Oh, Calcutta.

Footloose.

I'm REALLY tempted to say the Lion King (yes, I disliked it), but the artistic vision behind it is the only thing that gives it any merit in my book.

So yeah, those four.

[VivaBohemia]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 4:34pm

Theres..something about footloose, not just the actual musical but the movie too that I cant get enough of.

Ah that 80's cheese!

Updated On: 9/27/05 at 04:34 PM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 5:05pm

best12bars - I think you confused what I consider the point of mounting a production of a show and the message of a show's story or book. I consider them completely different things. I don't think the point of producing Cats was to provide that particular message. I think the point of producing Cats was to feature its innovative use of design, Gillian Lynne's choreography and Lloyd Webber's score. The message existed in Eliot's preexisting poems. It could be argued that messages could be the point of some shows such as Hair or possibly Avenue Q, shows with a political, moral or religious slant, but I don't think that was the case with Cats.

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 5:06pm

Your "point" is well taken.



Edit: I also think that sometimes the creators' point (of a show) isn't what the audience ends up perceiving as the point. Ain't "art" grand?

Updated On: 9/27/05 at 05:06 PM

[farfrombway]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 5:27pm

Hi everyone I am new. Cats definetly. It's fun when your sitting in the theatre but when you get home and think about it. Pretty pointless. Then you can't get the songs out of your head for a week!!!

[DWalk]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 5:38pm

On the Record was a show I went into wanting to love...but didn't. It was like driving in a car and having someone change the radio station everytime a song you liked came on. This definitely was a pointless show...however, in keeping with the subject of this thread, I don't think it can really be called a hit, just the opposite.

[WonderBoy]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 5:40pm

Okay, as a former CATS alumni I have to say that if you go into CATS and come out thinking that it was pointless then you either have no brain/heart or you saw a very weak performance. Get over the spectacle of it all and look at how it comments on social structure, regret, forgiveness, etc.

[Hank]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 6:07pm

Mamma Mia. While the story may be a bit shallow, and some people may have had enough of the ABBA music,or never liked it in the first place, there are still enough of us fans around to keep this show going strong.
Well, the point is this: I love this show, and I don't care what anyone else thinks.