Quirky, obscure musicals?

[aces25]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 10:07pm

Hi there,
What are some quirky, offbeat, lesser known musicals that are some of your favourites?

[ARTc]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 10:11pm

Weird Romance
Censored Scenes of King Kong
Is There Life After High School
Boy Meets Boy

[chewy5000]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 10:24pm

Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death

[trentsketch]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 10:24pm

A Tale of Cinderella
Zombie Prom
Return to the Forbidden Planet
The Wind in the Willows (the megaflop with punk rock weasels)

[Cupid Boy2]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 10:29pm

Rachael Lily Rosenbloom (And Don't You Ever Forget It)

[darquegk]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 10:53pm

Reefer Madness
Little Me (which is about as fringe as mainstream gets)

I've written and staged a few musicals that are a little bit quirky and, as of yet, are obscure.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 10:54pm

THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM, which people either love or hate. Chalk me for the former camp.

[Nettik]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 11:14pm

JUST SO
THE MAGIC PEBBLE
ASSASSINS and THE FROGS are obscure outside of the theatre person realm

And this is a film musical, not a stage show, but WERE THE WORLD MINE.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 11:20pm

I agree with posters above about ROBBER BRIDEGROOM and IS THERE LIFE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL?

I love THE ROAR OF THE GREASEPAINT, THE SMELL OF THE CROWD (which wasn't so obscure in the 1960s, though it only ran about six months (IIRC) on Broadway).

And one of my favorite scores is that of LI'L ABNER, which has become obscure because the book is so dated.

[LuminousBeing]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 11:23pm

SMILE

[Wynbish]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 11:36pm

Phantom of the Country Opera

Not kidding

[darquegk]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 12:17am

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers- the stage version, anyway- can be either a somewhat dull musical romance or a sidesplitting comedy, depending on if you cast six hulking, hunky men as the six brothers, or six goofy young character actors.

It's plenty quirky either way though. Not a great classic musical but a few good songs and a whole lot of either eye candy or silly male bonding- the song where the men try desperately not to, um, indulge themselves while stuck in a barn is hysterical if done well.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 12:31am

FLAHOOLEY - a 1951 satire on big business about a toy company that manufactures a laughing doll. There's a magic genie, Bill Baird marionettes and Barbara Cook in there as well. Also Yma Sumac...
You can't get much more off-beat than this. The OCR (originally a very rare Capitol Records Lp) is out on CD from DRG. Well worth checking out.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 12:37am

I guess everyone's definition varies, but Assassins wouldn't fit for me--it seems to be one of the more performed Sondheim musicals, especially by smaller groups and universities, just looking at the Sondheim Review show listings alone. But outside of semi serious theatre goers it might count.

Love the Weird Romance suggestion--it's far from perfect but is a fun, two act Sci Fi musical with a good Alan Menken score. Speaking of, know some people hate it here, but I'm a big fan of Menken and Ashman's first show, God Bless You Mr Rosewater based on ther Vonnegut story.

I've seen two horrible versions of Seven Brides. I think what really makes the movie original--aside from endearing performances--is some of the best choreography Michael Kidd ever did. If you don't have strong dancers and choreography, there's no point.

(The same goes for Lil Abner and its great Kidd work, although I do like the score. Lil Abner is just so unrecogniable to most people under 40 or 50--at least in my experience--that that's why it went from such a very popular show among regional and amateur groups toone that is hardly performed--though much to my surprise I did meet someone a while back who did it 5 years ago in high school.)

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 12:45am

Oh, Brother! is quirky and has an excellent score.

[tazber]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 1:19am

Olympus On My Mind
A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine
Three Guys Naked from the Waist Down
Romance Romance

[BroomstickBoy]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 1:43am

Triumph of Love.

[undercoveractor]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 2:21am

Violet
Oh, Brother!
Das Barbecu
Love Life
Bed and Sofa

[lotiloti]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 6:10am

Moby Dick. Loved the show.Great fun.

[tazber]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 7:00am

HUGE Das Barbecue fan!

I love that show.

[hushpuppy]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 7:34am

A CLASS ACT
SUMMER OF '42

[FlowerChild67]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 6:19pm

The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown <3<3

[SFJeffry]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 6:23pm

Birds of Paradise (David Evans & Winny Holtzman)

[metropolis10111]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 6:27pm

The french musical of Starmania
By Jeeves is so much fun
Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens ( LOVE all 3 recordings of this)

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 6:28pm

Undercoveractor, I'll see your "Bed and Sofa" and raise you a "Goblin Market."

I saw it weeks after I moved to New York, lo, these many years ago, and I still remember every moment of it.