Taboo revival?

[Gmerchant123]

Posted: 1/27/13 at 2:09am

I know that Rosie REALLY wants to bring this back...but tbh I'm not a fan just curious about it.(it was actually one of the worst shows I've seen next to Dance Of The Vampires)

[vegas2]

Posted: 1/27/13 at 2:22am

There's a revival in London right now, and I really enjoyed it. Check the West End board for more comments.

[Vespertine1228]

Posted: 1/27/13 at 1:07pm

I saw the production in Brixton that's playing now as well. No matter which version you see, it remains a terrific 2-hour musical with a bunch of terrible junk piled on top of it.

I don't think it warrants a revival at this point.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 1/27/13 at 1:08pm

But I would pay full price for a concert reunion at Joe's Pub.

[little_sally]

Posted: 1/27/13 at 1:10pm

I would too, CapnHook. Taboo is one of my favorite scores.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 1/27/13 at 3:04pm

Does Ro really want to bring it back, or is the OP talking nonsense?

By the way, whatever happened to Rosie's plans to star in Babes In Arms?

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/27/13 at 3:32pm

Rosie is the reason it failed here. I loved it, and think it's not too soon for a revival. It didn't last long enough the first time to even count.

Taboo and DOTV are my favorites.

[Lloyd321]

Posted: 1/27/13 at 4:44pm

I like the Joe's Pub idea!

[ARTc]

Posted: 1/27/13 at 4:55pm

I had the good fortune to see Taboo on 3 occasions. Each time, I saw the show with different friends. Everyone, including myself loved Taboo.

I am not quite sure why Rosie is credited as being the reason for such a short run. I was under the impression that role went to Michael Riedel.

[little_sally]

Posted: 1/27/13 at 4:58pm

Rosie wasn't exactly in the public's good graces during its run. (Wasn't it around the same time she was being sued over her magazine and got that infamous haircut?)

[ucjrdude902]

Posted: 1/27/13 at 4:58pm

I actually think a reworked and scaled back could work.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 1/27/13 at 5:18pm

I liked the Broadway book that Charles Busch wrote. It was definitely more coherent and cohesive. I don't really understand why that version isn't being done in London. The show had a lot of problems on stage and off, but most of them were off.

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/27/13 at 5:55pm

I had a conversation with a friend of mine who was a principle in Taboo. They outlined to me what happened behind the scenes,
of course it's just one man's opinion, but the fault lay with Rosie as producer.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 1/27/13 at 5:57pm

Rosie was a reason why the show failed, but not because of BAD producing. In fact, she put in an amazing effort in cheerleading the show for the press. Her outrageousness is a turn-off to some (her gimmicks are along the line of Ken Davenport), but her passion and spirit was valued.

As the SHOW BUSINESS: THE ROAD TO BROADWAY documentary provided a glimpse into, Rosie was battling both a lawsuit and the press while trying to make TABOO succeed. There is no doubt that it negatively impacted the show, though even if all that mess wasn't going on, who knows if the show would have been received differently. The Boy George audience came. TABOO won over some of the theatre-going audience. It never did get the tourists, however.

It also had STRONG competition that season. It had to battle the hugely successful AVENUE Q, THE BOY FROM OZ, and WICKED.

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/27/13 at 6:02pm

Capn Hook are you aware of the changes and cuts she made? I remember some of the main complaints in the reviews and she was to blame for a lot of it.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 1/27/13 at 6:07pm

I'm not, actually. Any links?

I remember that there was some creative friction between Boy George and Charles Busch, and Rosie sided with Boy George. I also remember that Rosie was at one point going to step into the show (no clue what role she would play).

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/27/13 at 6:16pm

oy. I think when she steps into a show, it comes to a sudden halt. Thanks god she didn't step into Taboo,

No , I have no links because this was a private conversation I had with one person.

I'm resigning myself to "it's over" as far as Taboo goes. I loved that original cast in NY so I want to remember it that way.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 1/27/13 at 6:17pm

Loved Taboo, the original and Broadway versions, faults and all. (And by faults, I mean the books.)

The timing of the show, along with the Riefel assault, didn't help matters, in terms of sales. It definitely put the show in a harsher light when she already had her own public image headaches to deal with.

That said, I'd love to see Taboo in an off-Broadway house, like New World Stages. Or maybe even the Daryl Roth Theatre, and bring back some of the atmosphere of a club. I think some of the biggest problems was Broadway itself -- a lot of questionable decisions have to be made to help keep viable a ten million dollar baby, when it could've/should've been done on a smaller scale.

[JohnyBroadway]

Posted: 1/27/13 at 6:21pm

Weren't there crazy stories about Rosie's behavior, during the productions rehearsals? The Show business doc showed some great light on the show.

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/27/13 at 6:26pm

If Rose wants to support theater, I think she's more suited to be an investor in shows rather than producer.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 1/27/13 at 11:58pm

^^^ At this point in her career, I'd agree. But can someone like her do that without drawing attention to it? And in drawing attention, she'd want to make sure anything with her name is of her standard. It's an unfortunate cycle.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 1/28/13 at 12:13am

The show died because Rosie was the producer. It's a hard sell to a Broadway audience and when it started faltering, Rosie didn't offer any pricing discounts. She thought the show would sell on her name and Boy George's name, but it didn't.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 1/28/13 at 11:10am

The show was messy, but I thought it was beautiful, and always wished I'd had a chance to see it again. It's one of my favorite scores -- and one of the best of its decade, IMO. I'd love to see another stab at it; my dream for this show is actually an immersive, almost site-specific take on it. (And I still want - now even more than I did then - to see Raul play Philip.)

I clearly remember buying my (8th row orchestra) seat for like $50 with a discount code; I'm not sure how I could have done that if she didn't offer any pricing discounts, but okay.

Updated On: 1/28/13 at 11:10 AM

[WickedOne2]

Posted: 1/28/13 at 2:51pm

While I loved Taboo, I am hesitant about a revival. It needs to be done right. Euan Morton and Raul Esparza were phenomenal. I still get chills when I listen to Petrified.

[vegas2]

Posted: 1/28/13 at 3:16pm

Luv,

The Brixton revival is both immersive and site-specific. That's what drew me to the show. And I think it works really well.