"Paper Moon" starred Gregory Harrison and Ebersol. After Paper Mill, it was announced for Bdwy which never happened.
"Arthur" premiered in Chicago in 1990 with Greg Edelman in the title role and Carolee Carmelo in the Liza role. This is where they met and went on to do the national tour of "Falsettos".
The biggest not to make it to NY in the past 10 years is Tommy Tune's "Busker Alley" or whatever you want to call it.
Mr. Tuttle, thanks. I was still driving myself crazy trying to remember if Ebersole had something to do with Paper Moon.
Speaking of Tommy Tune The revival of Bye, Bye, Bridie with him and Ann Reinking never came in.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/27/05
BARBARY COAST which played in Calgary and never saw the light of day again.
Jerusha Bromley
Walpole, Mass.
Updated On: 7/2/05 at 01:33 PM
Saturday Night.
One of Sondheim's earliest shows.
Was shut down when the lead producer died.
though i love Sondheim to death, i'm not sure i love Saturday Night... it has its good moments but i don't think its actually that good
(yet this comes from someone who willingly listens to Closer to Heaven)
Tune's Birdie was never ment to go to Bdwy. It was always designed to be a road show only. While it proved a hit on the road and producers wanted to bring it in, Tune said no.
You may also remember that Tune received his Tonys for "Follies" from the Birdie stage in Seattle.
Yes...I was there!
What about HOT SHOE SHUFFLE?
Oh, and THE RHYTHM CLUB.
Up Against It
Still waiting for Maurice Hines rap version of "Alice in Wonderland" called YO, ALICE!. He swore up and down that it would make Broadway.
Come to think of it, there was a musical called ALICE starring Debbie Allen in 1977 that didn't make it to Broadway, either. Obviously it was a shameless attempt to copy the success of THE WIZ. (Saw Debbie Allen in a poster of it. One of the UGLIEST logos ever!)
Let's not forget BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S. David Merrick closed it before it arrived on Broadway despite its huge advance.
There was also the failed Bea Arthur tuner A MOTHER'S KISSES, and Angela Landsbury's flop PRETTYBELLE as well. Neither made it to Broadway.
Broadway Star Joined: 7/13/04
Saturday Night has played off-Broadway, and has two cast albums, so although it was indeed once lost, it would count as a "found" show now.
Someone else mentioned "Bring Back Birdie", which also doesn't really count as a "lost" musica, since it had a (very short) Broadway run. I saw it, actually,and it was pretty ghastly.
Chita doing a "country and western" number says it all.
Updated On: 7/2/05 at 05:06 PM
I didn't know that Hot Shoe Shuffle was ever intended for Bdwy after its run at TUTS (?).
Wasn't the Debbie Allen Alice musical called "Never Jam on Monday" or some weird name. I don't think it was called "Alice".
And let's not forget the kings of "intended for Broadway"..Schmidt and Jones. "Collette", "Grover's Corner", that little girl on the wire show at Goodspeed.
"my drama teacher told me about a sequel to bye bye birdie called bring back birdie witch ran 4 proformances on broadway and then closed"
I saw "Bring Back Birdie" and four performances were too many.
I had forgotten about Colette with Diana Rigg. I think Robert Helpmann may have been in that too.
Another disaster was the musical "Angel" which was based on the play "Look Homeward Angel". That one ran for five performances and was another one that I saw and thought that it actually ran too many performances.
Micki (Don't Bother Me I Can't Cope)Grant take on Alice In Wonderland And Never Jam Today
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
Broadway is strewn with the scores and libretti of musicals that went no where.
There's a reason these shows stopped dead in their tracks.
Sometimes yes & sometimes no
Swing Joined: 6/20/05
I remember that Cy Coleman once played a number from a developing musical on a Tony Awards broadcast. Was the number "13" part of the title?
Broadway Star Joined: 12/31/69
There's a line in PIAZZA that goes....
"...the best survey of the facts is time..."
With that in mind, let's ask this question.
What shows were initial flops, or went no where, but by 10 years after their orignial performances were discovered to be lost musical gems?
It's my understanding that both The Golden Apple and The Human Comedy are exceptional.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
THE GOLDEN APPLE is exceptional.
It was a huge critical success in its original producition downtown. It did not fare so well with the uptown Broadway audiences. Score, book and lyrics are quite brilliantly concieved, in my opinion.
Unfortunately, it has gone nowhere.
Only two off off Broadway productions in Manhattan in the last 30 years.
Another was We Take The Town
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