Problem Shows that you Love

Posted: 2/22/07 at 11:20pm

This is an odd thread subject but it's been rumbling in my head (not a good sign) for a while now...

It strikes me that a huge majority of my fave shows are ones that are very hard to really make "work" in revivals or even in their original productions. I wonder if I like them all the more because they are challenging but flawed....

I'm talking shows like Sweet Charity, Zorba, Follies, Pippin (even), Baker's Wife (more flawed than some), Merrily We Roll Along, Passion, ANY LaChiusa, Closer to Heaven (I'm serious here), etc...

None of these shows IMHO are ones where everything sorta "works" like what magically happens with some shows--yet they capture my heart and mind more than most others...

E

[elvisitis1302]

Posted: 2/23/07 at 6:20pm

-Marie Christine
-Grind
-A Dolls Life
-Follies
-Merrily We Roll Along
-Nick and Nora
-Jane Eyre

The list goes on...

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 2/23/07 at 6:21pm

Oh, definitely Chess (I can't think of more of a "problem show") and Merrily We Roll Along.

[Katurian2]

Posted: 2/23/07 at 6:22pm

Throughly Modern Millie - such fun, such horridly hilarious cliches. I love it.

[sondhead]

Posted: 2/23/07 at 6:23pm

The Wiz

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 2/23/07 at 6:29pm

Jane Eyre
Sweet Charity
Jekyll and Hyde

[Mandi Moo]

Posted: 2/23/07 at 6:33pm

Seussical...

Posted: 2/23/07 at 6:35pm

Chess is a WONDERFUL example--and add it to my list too (wow I have a soft spot for shows by pop duos it seems...)

I know some of my choices like Sweet Charity or Pippin wouldn't be on most people's lists but have these shows ever had truly successful revivals? (Charity's somewhat successful 80s revival was basically a restaging so doesn't count) --Pippin even was a disaster in london which led to Chicago never getting a Fosse production there.

I'd like to give Jane Eyre a chance--it's always interested me...

[Rose_MacShane]

Posted: 2/23/07 at 6:42pm

Carrie. I'd like to see it staged in a deliberately campy, tongue-in-cheek way. Although it was pretty damn hilarious when staged earnestly.

[fairygodmother]

Posted: 2/23/07 at 6:43pm

i have lots!
seussical
follies
merrily we roll along
personals - i love some of the music! and i liked it when it came to the UK
the wiz - guilty pleasure!not the film tho! please
marie christine
i was looking at the ceiling and then i saw the sky - fringe at some of the recording, but some gives me absolute shivers.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 2/23/07 at 6:46pm

the Frank Wildhorn shows

[purpleprince101]

Posted: 2/23/07 at 8:17pm

agree on the wiz, suessical, and Carrie. I actually saw Carrie when i was little!

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/23/07 at 9:12pm

Dracula
Lestat
Follies
Scarlet Pimpernel
Civil War
So Long 174 th St

Did not see it but love the Grind score

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 2/23/07 at 9:15pm

Henry, Sweet Henry
Wildcat
Dear World
Prettybelle
I Love My Wife

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/23/07 at 9:19pm

SWEET CHARITY was not a problem show in 1966, and it wasn't a problem show in the 86 revival, also directed by Fosse. It was a hit both times. The 86 revival also won several Tonys.

The 05 revival was a problem production, mainly because it was Fosse-less, and had a ton of backstage drama. But though some think the book is weak, Charity is NOT a problem show. It's one Broadway's best scores. Updated On: 2/23/07 at 09:19 PM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/23/07 at 9:20pm

Agree on # 1/3 & 5 as I saw them & agree

Did not see Wildcat or Prettybelle but the score from Prettybelle is almost worth trying to revive this most un PC of shows

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 2/23/07 at 9:22pm

I should also add:

By the Beautiful Sea
Seesaw
Skyscraper

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/23/07 at 9:50pm

Dracula
Jekyll & Hyde
The Scarlet Pimpernel
Cyrano de Bergerac
The Woman in White
Seussical
Carrie
Bounce
Whistle Down the Wind
Bare
Candide
Little Women Updated On: 2/24/07 at 09:50 PM

[jv92]

Posted: 2/23/07 at 10:00pm

Follies, though not a hit originally, is one of the most perfect musicals ever written. Hardly a problem show.
My favorite problem show? I do love flops, if they're good. Merrily We Roll Along is pretty fantastic. I don't see how it flopped that badly, but again, the original production was, uh...strange.
Anyone Can Whistle. What a score, but what a book. It's funny how these great scores get tacked to ridiculous books that just don't work.
I love The Rink. Absolutely one of my favorite scores. Frank Rich was quite unkind to it and killed it, honestly. It was quite a show with quite a score, a book that had some problems, but not nearly as many as Mr. Rich thought, and a powerhouse performance by Chita Rivera.
There are several more of course. The Happy Time. Golden Boy. Some shows just don't catch on I guess. It's sad sometimes when they don't.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/23/07 at 10:08pm

Loved Follies & Golden Boy

GB deserves a revival but who would play the Sammy Davis role

[jv92]

Posted: 2/23/07 at 10:11pm

Brian Stokes Mitchell is too old, but I could still see him in the part.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/23/07 at 10:16pm

I think you need someone shorter & stockier

Someone in the Jamie Foxx mold

[ben1986]

Posted: 2/23/07 at 10:20pm

Chess

I dream of the day when the problems will be fixed and I'll get to see that title on a broadway Marquee again.

[Shakespearean]

Posted: 2/23/07 at 10:28pm

I would have to go with:

Chess (for the reasons mentioned)
Doonesbury (Gary trudeau was submitting new 'timely' material every week!)
Merrily We Roll Along (same reasons others have stated)
Avenue Q (I hate the thought of the PetsCo sock puppet starring in the Hackensack Community Players production)
Barnum (Too many cross-class skills required)

Posted: 2/24/07 at 12:15am

Ljay it was a mild hit in the 60s but not much after Gwen left--I sitll think Charity is a problem show--peoples memories of it are so strong because th eoriginal productionw as so good but it wasn't quite the hit some think, --and 80s revival won some awards but according to the Martin Gottfriend Razzle Dazzle book it lost a ton of movies and suffered a huge amount of probs. I love the show to death but it fits my definition of a problem show (prob even more so than Pippin which I also listed)