Posted: 3/6/16 at 3:15am
A lot of shows were ruined between their tryouts and Broadway runs, all I think about right now is Bonnie & Clyde, 9 to 5 and Catch Me If You Can. Anyone know any others?
Posted: 3/6/16 at 3:37am
Ouch! I don't know if I would call those shows "ruined"... But one show does come to mind even if it's only "off-Broadway".... Gigantic (Fat Camp). I went to a workshop last year and the show was absolutely perfect. Everyone in the audience was crying at the end and there was lots of chatter of a Broadway Run... Then Vineyard got there hands on it and changed the opening, cut the best song, and several hilarious characters, and added a weird and boring number for Leslie Kritzer that stopped the pace of the show... Worst of all they insisted on changing the name from the buzzy title (Fat Camp) to the less memorable GIGANTIC which will almost ensure the show is forgotten forever when Disney's GIGANTIC, about jack and the bean stalk comes out.
Sad day... They should have run the workshop version from early 2015.
Updated On: 3/6/16 at 03:37 AM
Posted: 3/6/16 at 3:58am
I don't think any of the above where there good in the try outs either, I think the more important question is why where they not fixed during the try outs.
Posted: 3/6/16 at 5:13am
rosscoe(au) said: "I don't think any of the above where there good in the try outs either, I think the more important question is why where they not fixed during the try outs.
"A Catered Affair" played in San Diego and FOR A YEAR there were comments posted about all the problems of the show. Some audience members were so angry they tried getting refunds (to no avail) -- but more than anything they WANTED to love the show, and posted their complaints in the hopes they'd be read by the creative time.
When it started previews in NYC all of the problems were still there. I know because I went online to see if there were any bad reviews from San Diego -- and I found all the year-old negative postings AFTER I had seen the show and was disappointed (though the music was beautiful).
I wish creative teams would realize that -- this is just my opinion, it's not a blanket statement -- most of the posters are people who LOVE theater and WANT to love every show they see. To ignore comments written by people who plunked down their hard-earned cash, didn't like what they saw, but think a show is salvageable and throw their two cents in in the hopes of helping -- how can they ignore what knowledgeable people take the time to write?
This is off-topic, but theater related -- I am guest hosting a radio program tonight from 5-8 PM on WFUV at Fordham U (it's 90.7 FM on terrestrial radio, wfuv.org online worldwide). I come from the folk music world, but I always try to include some theater songs when I guest host. I'll be playing some songs from a new musical called, "Mann . . . And Wife," also from "Daddy Long Legs," and although I don't play anything from "Bright Star," I talk about the show because I know fans of the station would love it -- and the recording from DLL includes Paul Alexander Nolan, who is terrific in "Bright Star."
Almost all the theater songs are in the last hour, between 7-8 PM (I also play two from "Hamilton" -- and I used comments from this site to guide my choices of what to play from that show (since I so far have not won the lottery. Yet.). I chose Satisfied and It's Quiet Uptown) -- so thank you to those of you passionate about theater enough to post your comments here. I find them extremely valuable.
Maybe it's naive of me to think that producers and directors should be paying closer attention -- I'm not part of the theater, just a fan, but businesses often spend thousands and thousands of dollars to quiz 'focus groups' about their products to get a handle on what the consumer wants. These chatboards are so interesting -- maybe creative teams ARE secretly reading them.
"
Posted: 3/6/16 at 6:10am
I think the problem is, no one has the balls to stand up to any one and say this is not working. I was one of the few who loved The Addams Family, but that show had major issues, and even after the broadway run they still listened to no one. Apart from taking out what was one of the better songs, "Where Did We Go wrong".
King Kong in Australia is a perfect example, very little was changed between the first preview and opening night and they where asking people on the way out of the theatre and most answered that there needed to be more Kong, but it fell on deaf ears.
Posted: 3/6/16 at 7:02am
Leap of Faith was good in it's tryout. It just needed a few easy fixes.
Instead it got completely re-written and was the worse for it.
Posted: 3/6/16 at 12:47pm
I far preferred the version of "Bring It On" that debuted in Atlanta to the post-Broadway National Tour version. Wouldn't say ruined, but I did enjoy it considerably more.
Updated On: 3/6/16 at 12:47 PM
Posted: 3/6/16 at 1:27pm
What about Lennon? I saw it twice in San Francisco, and didn't get to on Broadway -- but from what I saw and heard and what I heard from friends, it didn't change for the better. I thought it was in pretty good-to-great shape when I saw it (beginning and end of the run).
Posted: 3/6/16 at 1:44pm
Dear World got poor reviews in Boston, but was much better than NY. The Each Tomorrow Morning number was goosebumps gorgeous in Boston, and neutered in the transition. All magic was squeezed out. I still enjoyed it in NY, but it the same.
Posted: 3/6/16 at 1:59pm
I saw, what I believe was, the first staging of Jekyll and Hyde at the Alley Theater in Houston and it was quite good. There were some second act problems and some pacing issues, but it seemed to me to be in great shape. I saw a second staging, also at the Alley, a couple of years later and it was not nearly as good. It had been tinkered with significantly and seemed much less focused and more gimmicky. By the time it got to Broadway, it was a big mess, in my opinion. And Linda Eder grew more and more bored-looking in her role over the years.
Updated On: 3/6/16 at 01:59 PM
Posted: 3/6/16 at 3:59pm
Wonderland, even though it wasn't perfect, they basically re-wrote the whole show between the tech run at the Straz Center and Broadway not for the better, and the scars show. Though it was better in the Houston run before the second run at Starz Center.
There never was a great version, but it got worse for Broadway.
Posted: 3/6/16 at 4:01pm
The show that comes to my mind right away is Triumph of Love. We saw it three times in Boltimore and twice stayed for the conversation with the creative team. Once it moved to NYC we were devistated to say the least from what was on stage. Who wasn't on stage for our performance and apparently for most of its very brief B,way run was Betty Buckley. I guess that should of been our que when Buckley jumped ship when the show moved to NYC.
Posted: 3/6/16 at 5:12pm
The revival of On a Clear Day... Don't know what happened between the Atlantic Theater workshop and the move to B'way, but boy, oh,boy, did it stink up the St James -- and the workshop was kind of delightful.
Posted: 3/6/16 at 10:12pm
Tazber, I second the vote for Leap of Faith which had much tomrecommend in tryouts, but really took a wrong turn on move to Broadway
Posted: 3/6/16 at 10:22pm
I'll third the vote for Leap of Faith. It was very entertaining before they did whatever they did to it between LA and Broadway.
Posted: 3/6/16 at 10:28pm
I have to vote for Leap of Faith, too. They had a small number of physical production and possibly casting issues in L. A. and solved them by taking out the good songs, complicating the physical problems and making everyone in the cast unsympathetic.
Posted: 3/6/16 at 10:41pm
The Visit - terrific at Goodman and Signature directed by Galati and choreographed by Reinking, ruined in Williamstown on the way to Broadway. Also, Little Shop of Horrors - amazing cast and hysterical in Florida tryout, before firing most of the cast and bringing a new director for Broadway.
