The best show you've EVER seen... that flopped.

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 5:46pm

What's the best Broadway show you've seen (on Broadway) that didn't make it? I'm curious as to what some of them were like.

Personally, I remember "Into the Light" (the shroud of Turin multi-million-dollar show in the '80s starring Dean Jones) very fondly. No, it wasn't Piazza, Les Mis or Sweeney Todd... but it had gotten so much bad press going into it, I had extremely low expectations. It was much better than i thought it woudl be. Dean Jones was really good, and I was very involved with the story and the characters. It died on the vine pretty quickly. Anybody else?

Updated On: 9/13/05 at 05:46 PM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 5:47pm

Jane Eyre - Absolutely gorgeous show.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 5:49pm

The Bernadette Gypsy revival.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 5:49pm

AMOUR

[hot_brdwy_diva]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 5:50pm

I second Jane Eyre

[SorryGrateful]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 5:51pm

Wicked. I mean, it had so much potential, but no one gave it a chance.

[WonderBoy]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 5:54pm

Gosh, there are SO many.

LEGS DIAMOND
SIDE SHOW
THE LIFE
BIG DEAL
ONCE ON THIS ISLAND
DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES
TRIUMPH OF LOVE

[angelic1]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 5:55pm

I tend to like the "bad" shows, so I second Amour, and add Taboo. I know everybody hated it, but I thought it was interesting, fun musical theater. (The fact that Raul Esparza was in it might have contributed to my fondness though...oh, Petrified, what you did to my poor little heart.)

[SorryGrateful]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 5:56pm

You saw Big Deal? I did a paper on it for a college class. Do you have any details that you could PM me? I'd love to hear anything about it, as there's not a lot of info on it.

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 6:00pm

I would also like to add "Smile" in... the beauty pageant musical by Howard Ashman and Marvin Hamlisch. I loved everything about it. And it limped along on "faint praise" for about 3 months before closing its doors.

[hearthatstrue]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 6:02pm

Even though most really disliked it, I absolutely adore Little Women. And I love Seussical too. I thought the score was really infectious and energetic. I still wish I saw Taboo. What a cast.

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 6:04pm

Ragtime

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 6:10pm

Angels In America
Porgy and Bess
Sweeney Todd
Sunday in the Park with George
Caroline, or Change

Updated On: 9/13/05 at 06:10 PM

[erniesgirl96]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 6:12pm

Dance of the Vampires

[YankeesFan175]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 6:19pm

i saw a local high school production of Once On This Island and i LOVED it. the one thing i thought that was really cool was that Agwe was played by a girl, and her rendition of Rain sent shivers up my spine.

[Kringas]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 6:23pm

Side Show

Big (Shoot me. I liked it)

[C is for Company]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 6:24pm

Absolutely second Little Women. A lot of shows I have heard too that are flops I love as well. What deems a musical a flop? What the majority thinks. Well as musical theater fans, we know what the minority is and public opinions usually mean nothing to us anyway

[GYPSY1527]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 6:26pm

All my favorite shows are technically financial flops!

Gypsy 2003 Revival
Sweeney Todd
Caroline or Change
Ragtime
Wonderful Town- w/ Donna
La Cage Aux Folles Revival

Updated On: 9/14/05 at 06:26 PM

[PJ]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 6:26pm

My favorite show that I've seen that flopped was Little Women. When I listen to the cast recording, I have such fond memories of the show and Sutton. I truly loved this production and wished it would have been better advertised.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 6:27pm

A flop is a show that does not recoup its initial investment. The term has nothing whatsoever to do with the artistic merits of the show or how long it runs. If it doesn't turn a profit, it's flop -- and some of the greatest shows ever written were flops.

[Miki]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 6:28pm

Gotta agree with Once On This Island & Smile. Island was definitely the stronger of the two shows (one of my all-time favorites) but Smile had such a strong book & some really catchy songs. Not certain what happened there.

[aegeusrocks]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 6:29pm

I second:
Ragtime
Once on this Island
Jane Eyre
Caroline, or Change.

Also, (so shoot me) Brooklyn (ducks under computer desk).

Margo, Angels in America flopped in what sense?

[blaxx]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 6:33pm

Jane Eyre was so well done...
Being in the right city, theatre and time has a lot to do with it, I'm sure

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 6:33pm

Baz Luhrmann's La Boheme.

[aegeusrocks]

Posted: 9/13/05 at 6:35pm

Well, I'm glad Angels broke even eventually. It deserved to.