Shows that missed their opportunity

What musicals do you think could have been really good, but ended up not so good?

For me, I think the Mystery of Edwin Drood could have been a fantastic musical if it wasn't the musical we have now, same with the King Kong disaster down under right now.

I'm asking opinion, and in my opinion The Mystery of Edwin Drood is a bad musical.

Even before I read any of the responses, Parade jumped to mind. I really liked the score. Overall, I liked the production but it seemed really choppy to me. It's difficult for me to explain but it really felt like I was watching a lot of separate scenes that were jammed together rather than scenes that flowed together well.

"I'm asking opinion, and in my opinion The Mystery of Edwin Drood is a bad musical."

I couldn't agree more, I absolutely hated it. Even Will Chase grabbing my hands in the lobby before the show started couldn't save it for me. I think Bonnie and Clyde could have been really extraordinary. And even though I enjoyed Big Fish, it could have been so much better. I can't quite put my finger on how they could have achieved that, though.

The Parade comment made me think about whether this is an issue of the *production* or the show (meaning the text/music) itself.

I find Parade very strong, and not being a huge Brown, I *love* his work on Parade. I saw the Hal Prince tour in Seattle which I understand made some big changes from New York, but it was effective for me.

There are shows I don't know, but still apparently missed their mark. ie while i think it's a herculean, and maybe often impossible task to adapt into musical plays by people like Tennessee Williams, William Inge's Bus Stop and Picnic were both adapted into musicals that didn't make it, and I think both shows probably could make strong musicals.

SIDE SHOW. An excellent musical that received generally good reviews but the producers did not know how to market a musical about carnival freaks. If David Merrick (in his heyday) had produced it, he would have made sure it was hit.

I'm with Kad. Drood is pretty terrific. Saw the original and the revival. Loved them both. I produced this not too long ago. Audiences loved it, actors loved it.


By the logic of the OP, couldn't ANY show be better if it were.....better?

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I think Breakfast at Tiffany's could have been a great musical but sadly we all know how that ended up.

I actually agree with the OP on 'Drood'. I expected to love it, the concept sounded original and great fun. Admittedly based just on a cast recording, I couldn't get into it. Not quite sure why; perhaps the whole 'distancing' aspect of the show-within-the-show worked against it (for me) in the end. I didn't care about the characters, and the show didn't seem funny enough or otherwise interesting enough to justify its existence sans emotional payoff. It seemed the lyrics were trying so hard to be verbose and clever that the characters' personalities and the importance/urgency of the circumstances being sung about got obscured by all the rambling and counterpoint - but again, generally not in a way that was funny enough to justify the loss.

Another example... Carnival? The story is actually rather weird and disturbing (yet potentially interesting IMO), but the way it is told is perhaps too conventional. I remember listening to the opening music - yes, judging a show by cast recording once again - and thinking it sounded suitably eerie, but then the music segued into the rousing chorus showstopper 'Direct from Vienna' and I was all, WTF?

And then there are those musicals based on interesting ideas that are just generally rubbish in all sorts of ways - Jekyll and Hyde; Metropolis; etc.

I assume you mean adapted material, otherwise there is no comparison of an opportunity to be made. I think Drood was great. Just my opinion, and I saw the original show on Broadway twice.

Other shows that got it right (and by "right," I don't mean "faithful," I mean the show succeeds on its own terms):

Ragtime (mostly, except for one too many power ballads in the second act)
The Lion King
Grey Gardens
The Light in the Piazza
The Producers
Hairspray
Phantom of the Opera
Cats
Oliver!
A Little Night Music
Sweeney Todd
Wicked
South Pacific
Guys and Dolls
Fiddler on the Roof
Cabaret
Sweet Charity
Nine
Grand Hotel
Hello, Dolly!
La Cage Aux Folles

Missed a really good opportunity:

Mary Poppins
Carrie
Little Mermaid
Sunset Boulevard
Willy Wonka/Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Nick & Nora
Little Women
Somewhere In Time
Dracula
Jekyll and Hyde

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