Taboo - 10 Years Later- Page 2

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 3:34pm

The Broadway Production was a mess, a waste of so much talent on that stage. I never understand why a producer falls in love with a show than completely re-hauls it.
But the CD is heaven, Euan's work is masterful and heart touching.

[ARTc]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 3:41pm

The issue with Taboo was Michael Riedel. His coverage of the show in The Post was unfair and malicious. (He is a nasty piece of work.)

The show was wonderful. I agree that it might have been served by a club space and with today's focus on immersive theater, that would have been a great way to stage this show, but Boy George's score and Charles Busch's book worked wonderfully on the Broadway stage.

I disagree that the subject was esoteric and/or that Leigh Bowery was unknown. Who cares? There are tons of shows based on historical figures with people unknown.

We were all robbed when Taboo wasn't allow the chance to find its audience. As stated above, I blame Mr. Riedel.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 3:46pm

Soundtrack, taboo?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 3:47pm

"The issue with Taboo was Michael Riedel."

No, the issue was that the show was playing to less than 30% capacity and Rosie O'Donnell as producer refused to release tickets to the papering services and TKTS. There's a point where you have respect for your actors and fill the house any way that you can.

[Jane2]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 3:49pm

"I disagree that the subject was esoteric and/or that Leigh Bowery was unknown. Who cares? There are tons of shows based on historical figures with people unknown.

We were all robbed when Taboo wasn't allow the chance to find its audience. As stated above, I blame Mr. Riedel."

I disagree that the show was ruined by Riedel. Talk about esoteric. there are fewer people who know him than those who know Leigh Bowery.

The success of a broadway show depends upon its tourist appeal. Get on the itinary of the tourists, and you've got a hit.

No way Taboo could ever do that. Savvy New Yorkers don't make a show successful.

"There are tons of shows based on historical figures with people unknown. "

Can you mention some of them? I"m curious.

Updated On: 6/11/13 at 03:49 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 4:30pm

But, Jane, isn't saying that like saying that Rent is about sex and drugs and leaving it at that? I think that's a description that's asking people, particularly conservative theatergoers, to turn themselves off to the idea. Not saying those aren't all elements (of course they are!), but that feels like a description that might be followed by an unspoken, "Oh, you wouldn't like it." The key to opening up a niche show is looking at the bigger picture.

I don't think it will ever find a HUGE audience or be any kind of blockbuster, but I think it could find a decent one.

[Jane2]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 5:08pm

Hmm, let's see. The first time I heard esoteric in describing Taboo was among some people in the business whom I respected. I was wild about the show, but when I thought about it, I realized the percentage of the American public who were into that scene was pretty small. Rent may be in a different category because of the death of Jonathan Larson and the wild success the show found off broadway and Broadway. that didn't happen with Taboo. No wild success.

Whatever the reasons were for Taboo's failure, I'm 100% cemented into the theory of attracting tourists means hit. I came to that after observing the state of NY theater for such a long time.

anyway, we've all got our theories. Why some shows never make it remain a mystery that no one has been able to solve!

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 5:16pm

I think it IS esoteric (and that's part of what I like about it) but not so esoteric that opening it up is impossible. Ultimately the score is accessible, and sure, it's about very specific things, but there's also a lot of accessibility within those things. I think to universally assume a show is "too" esoteric is (a) to shortchange it, and (b) to condemn it to fail before you even try. You know?

The only reason I brought Rent up was because what you said reminded me of being young and having to explain to my parents, who thought I was too young for Rent, that it wasn't about sex/drugs/death; yes, it was "about" AIDS, yes, there were drugs -- but it's about love, community, art, etc. etc. Not because I think Rent and Taboo are all that similar, or because I think their ending up on Broadway were similar scenarios.

I also don't think what happened with Taboo's failure to succeed was *entirely* due to its subject matter, at all. It was a perfect storm of messy circumstances, and a show that needed a lot more work than it got on top of that. If all of the politics and publicity issues hadn't been there, who knows if it would have fared better. You could say no publicity is bad publicity, or you could say maybe it would have.

Ultimately I think we are saying two different things and potentially not meaning to. I am not saying Taboo would have been an easy (or even plausible) show to make a hit in terms of raking in hoards of tourists and getting it to run for ten years. By any means. I'm just saying it's not as niche-y as boiling it down to drug use and drag queens, and that -- call me idealist -- sometimes people can surprise you. I've seen that from looking at audiences, too.

Updated On: 6/11/13 at 05:16 PM

[Jane2]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 5:23pm

"I think to universally assume a show is "too" esoteric is (a) to shortchange it, and (b) to condemn it to fail before you even try. You know? "

Well, it was already tried and failed before anyone said it was too esoteric. So, no one was condemning it to fail. Just the opposite - I'm sure there were high hopes it would succeed.It was AFTER the fact that everyone was trying to figure out what happened and postulated that it may have been too esoteric.

And no, that may not have been the only reason it failed. I mentioned Rosie O' Donnell in my first post. She is thought to have been a main reason for its demise. In fact, some of the cast thought that.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 5:33pm

I meant in general. Which is why I said "a show," and not "as happened with Taboo."

It was AFTER the fact that everyone was trying to figure out what happened and postulated that it may have been too esoteric.

It's hard to say those judgments were only passed after the fact when the community was doing its post mortem and to figure out what went wrong, since those judgments are made every day on a smaller scale when theatergoers are deciding (not to) buy tickets. People were judging it based on any one of a million things way before the retrospective "what happened?"

I remember the buildup before it opened -- of course there were high hopes. But like I've been saying, I think there was a LOT more going against it than just its subject matter. But at this point I am just repeating myself. :)

Updated On: 6/11/13 at 05:33 PM

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 5:34pm

I said it before and I'll say it again... Worst pop musical to ever be written and produced on Broadway. That's why it failed. Not because of an irrelevant gossip columnist. Give me a break

[WickedOne2]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 5:38pm

While I thought the story was a bit of a mess, I loved the score and the cast was so immensely talented. I sat second row center and Raul's Petrified was astonishing. I also thought Euan and Jeffrey Carlson were brilliant. It's a shame Euan was competing with Hugh Jackman that year. His performance was deserving of a Tony.

[Jane2]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 5:41pm

"I said it before and I'll say it again... Worst pop musical to ever be written and produced on Broadway. That's why it failed. Not because of an irrelevant gossip columnist. Give me a break"

Yes, take a break headband!

[amoni2]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 5:42pm

It was just before it's time. The original "Rocky Horror Show" played a whopping performances and has gone on to play all over the world. As evidenced in "ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway", it was a bitch of a winter and theatergoer dollars were being spent on familiars known as Oz and a parody Sesame Street. The show should have opened in summer like "Hairspary" where it could have been promoted more effectively and should have been in Studio 54 which would have been dark by then. But I have no doubt, "Taboo" will live again and be appreciated for itself.

Posted: 6/11/13 at 8:12pm

OBC Namo. OBC. Thanks love.

[amoni2]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 8:39pm

correction...

The original "Rocky Horror Show" played a whopping 45 performances and has gone on to play all over the world.

[theaterfan862]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 8:42pm

I am obsessed with the Taboo cast recording but I never got to see the show.I don't know much about the story itself and I was wondering if someone can give me a detailed synopsis of the show. Thanks in advanced!

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 8:45pm

Headband had to repeat the same thing twice because nobody is paying him any attention, bless.

[Jane2]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 8:49pm

Well of course Rocky Horror, in its original incarnation, received raves. Lou Adler made the film, then came the shows again.

The raves of the original show helped, then everyone saw the film, and then they went to the show.

Taboo didn't receive the raves it needed to start the ball rolling.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 8:59pm

TABOO remains one of the best scores written in the 21st century.

Riedel's coverage of the show and all the other bad press it received is a reason to say why people may have been turned off to the show without giving it a chance, but that is not why it closed.

It was poorly produced. Rosie O'Donnell was distracted by her magazine courtroom battle. Boy George was needy. There was no hero to sweep in and rescue the show. It also didn't help that you had huge box office draws with THE BOY FROM OZ, WICKED, AVENUE Q, and even CAROLINE OR CHANGE which drew in the "artistic" crowd and the theatre-going crowd.

If it opened in any other season, it may have had a chance.

So much of having a successful show is out of your control. There is no way they could have predicted that there would be a perfect storm of hit-shows and courtroom drama with Rosie.

I would LOVE if they brought back the show. Even for a one-night-only concert at Joe's Pub.

[Jane2]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 9:22pm

If it ever came back and Raul and Euan weren't in it, I'd be heartbroken!

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 10:09pm

Also please remember its just the US production that was not successful, it had a good run in London and great reviews, it had a successful tour and it's recent revival extended multiple times. The 2 London productions though were very site specific. If they did the same Off Broadway I don't see why the show could not be a success.

Leigh Bowery was not the issue, I said the fact he was only really covered in depth in act 2 was a problem, it suddenly wanted you to care about someone you had barely met. I disagree that the mother charachrer in the UK version helped the show, I found her story awful (and Indipendent Woman was a dreadful song), Kim and Billy were bland as well, I thought getting rid of Kim and switching billy to Marcus on Broadway as well as adding in Nicola was a great move.

[theeatah]

Posted: 6/12/13 at 7:25am

The creative team likely agree - they replaced "Independent Woman" with a new song in the Brixton production called "You Don't Have To Work So Hard".

I disagree about the mother character. Liz McCartney may have sang the **** out of "Talk Amongst Yourselves", but it wasn't half as effective on stage coming from Sue, after a blow-up with Bowery, as it had been with Lyn Paul in the London production.

I still maintain that the biggest problem is the Billy/Marcus character. If the creative team were really ballsy, they'd rewrite the character as Jon Moss. It would be far more interesting to explore the real relationship, rather than that of George and a hanger-on.

[Hank]

Posted: 6/12/13 at 10:48am

I missed this show when it was around. The negative publicity and that somewhat horrific logo turned me off, but then after hearing the cast recording I could kick myself. There is no way a bad show could come about with that score, and I have since become a huge Esparza fan as well.
I would love to see Taboo have another go, perhaps with Roundabout at Studio 54.

Posted: 6/15/13 at 11:41pm

^ I agree. Probably one of the best broadway scores of the 21st century.

London has been able to enjoy its comebacks. But I wish someone did something about it in the US..

It's time.