Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time

The other thread about shows people hated the first time, but loved/liked the second time got me thinking about the opposite. What are some shows that you really enjoyed the first time you saw them, but maybe did not like after seeing them again? Mine are...

The Humans

Dear Evan Hansen

 

Next to Normal. Loved it with Ripley the first time. Saw it with her understudy the second time. She was perfectly serviceable, but it became clear to me that the show needs a magnetic, powerhouse performer as Diana for it to really work. All of the flaws in the book and lyrics became more exposed without Ripley’s presence. I then saw it a 3rd time with Ripley in Seattle, and she was having severe vocal problems, making the show a chore to sit through. How I wish I could have seen it with Mazzie.

Updated On: 1/16/18 at 11:31 AM

Young Frankenstein I saw it with the original cast second row, and almost fell out of my seat I was laughing so hard....I saw it again in December 2008 after Foster, Martin, Mullally, and Fitzgerald left and sat in the dress circle and it felt like the longest 2.5 hours in my life. No offense to their replacements, but as the comedic side characters to Bart's straight man, Foster, Martin, Mullally, and Fitzgerald were able to hide the sup-par writing with their own comedic wits and physical comedy. Martin and Fitzgerald especially know how to milk an audience to every last laugh, and that's why they both became "marquee names" in their subsequent productions...

(Yes I know Martin was a sketch comedy legend from SCTV before Young Frankenstein, but I think Young Frankenstein helped relaunch her career . Fitzgerald's star has faded in the years since, but in the following years he was the breakout in Finian's Rainbow, and even had an entire production of Barnum being build around him. Uunfortunately that production flopped when it premiere at the Chichester Festival Theatre, which was when he started to fade)

bdn223 said: "Young FrankensteinI saw it with the original cast second row, and almost fell out of my seat I was laughing so hard....I saw it again in December 2008 after Foster, Martin, Mullally, and Fitzgerald left and sat in the dress circle and it felt like the longest 2.5 hours in my life. No offense to their replacements, but as the comedic side characters to Bart's straight man, Foster, Martin, Mullally, and Fitzgerald were able to hide the sup-par writing with their own comedic wits and physical comedy. Martin and Fitzgerald especially know how to milk an audience to every last laugh, and that's why they both became "marquee names" in their subsequent productions...

(Yes I know Martin was a sketch comedy legend from SCTV before Young Frankenstein, but I think Young Frankenstein helped relaunch her career .Fitzgerald's star has faded in the years since, but in the following years he was the breakout inFinian's Rainbow, and even had an entire production ofBarnumbeing build around him. Uunfortunately that productionflopped when it premiere at the Chichester Festival Theatre, which was when he started to fade)"

 

Fitzgerald is currently starring in Waitress, he's been in it since it started on Broadway and got a Tony nomination for the role! 

LOVED The Lion King the first time but unfortunately realized the second time that the wow factors for me were the big reveal moments of how artistically things were translated to the stage (example - the drought being a sheet slowly pulled through a hole in the center of the stage to show how the water disappeared.) Once you have seen it the first time it is no longer a wow that was cool moment. 

 

Something Rotten

The first time I laughed until I cried, thought all the inside jokes were marvelous, etc. The second time I was so bored and kept looking at my watch, wondering when it would end. I realized the book was awful and the jokes lose their humor very quickly. They're too cheap and easy that once you know they're coming, they're not at all funny. Book of Mormon, on the other hand, never gets old for me.

I agree with BroadwayConcierge about Mamma Mia. I saw it on Broadway in 2009 and it was great! I had front row seats, it was my 19th birthday, and I got to see the fabulous Carolee Carmello! I saw it again in July 2014 after they moved to the Broadhurst. The whole experience was lackluster, we were sitting on the extreme right side and the sound was way too loud, and the ensemble didn’t have any energy. The only redeeming thing about it was the three dynamos. Seeing Judy McLane as Donna, instead of Tonya, was really cool to see and Lauren Cohn was hilarious as Rosie. I wasn’t surprised when it closed a year later. I’m seeing my first regional production of the show in April and I am interested to see how it compares to the Broadway and touring versions. 

Book of Mormon for me. I saw it once on Broadway with the original cast and loved it, then twice more in the span of two years with friends when it began to tour. A majority of Book of Mormon's jokes rely on at least a little bit of shock value, so once you know what's coming they lose their punch.

I saw Dear Evan Hansen with Ben Platt and raved about his performance to my husband. I bought tickets for both of us for our next trip to NY and arrived at the theatre to discover that Mr. Platt was out sick. Michael Lee Brown performed the role and it was a completely different show; neither of us liked it.

Dear Evan Hansen

Loved it the first time I saw it. I laughed, I cried, I was in love with the music. I felt so unfulfilled after I saw it again 5 months later. Same cast each time w/ no replacements. I just felt like there wasn't anything terribly special about it besides Ben Platt's performance.