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The best show you've EVER seen... that flopped. — Page 3

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#51

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

Posted: 9/13/05 at 8:10pm

I don't think Sondheim shows deserve special royalty, if they flopped, they flopped. Just because it's Sondheim dosen't mean it shouldn't be called a flop.

One of the most brilliant and genius composers EVER - Cy Coleman had his share of flops, but it dosen't make him any less brilliant.
#55

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

Posted: 9/13/05 at 11:48pm

caroline or change
you're a good man charlie brown (revival)
little shop of horrors (revival)
current revival or virginia woolf ( i am actually not sure if it flopped or not)
"At the opening night party, they had clowns on stilts, jugglers, a chocolate fountain, popcorn, hot dogs. [My son] looked at me like I had been holding back. Like, 'This is what you do?' I had to tell him, 'No, no, darling. Opening nights don't usually look like this.' It's usually a dark bar with a bottle of vodka." ?Chitty Chitty Bang Bang's Jan Maxwell plus i proudly share the title of the shortest member over the age of 10 with wickedrentq!
#56

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

Posted: 9/14/05 at 12:16am

Hal Prince who produced and directed most of those Sondheim shows calls them flops without embarassment -- if he doesn't have a problem then why should anyone else?

He has said he has been part of hits and flops and successes and failures. The first two are financial terms. The latter two are artistic ones. Some of the greatest "successes" in the history of theatre were flops. So what? That's often more of a reflection on the quality of the audience than the quality of the work -- if people are too thick to embrace and support genius, I wouldn't blame the artist for that.

"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie [http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/] "The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney

Updated On: 9/14/05 at 12:16 AM

#58

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

Posted: 9/14/05 at 12:22am

i really loved dracula too.

::partial thread jack...have flop shows ever been revived? or does that just scare producers away?::

it's just that i'd love to see all those shows i mentioned again.

Updated On: 9/14/05 at 12:22 AM

#60

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

Posted: 9/14/05 at 1:01am

Being a Southern Californian, I don't see every NYC show. But I'm there at least once a year, and have seen many of them over the past 20 years. I also catch out-of-town tryouts from Seattle to San Diego. I average about 25 professional shows a year. I'd overwhelming say RAGTIME. In fact the best show I've ever seen. This was the most emotional moving show I've ever seen. I've talk to many of those involved in the LA and New York productions and they seem to overwhelming say that it was one of the most rewarding shows of their careers. Unfortunately the costs involved in keeping the show alive were prohibitive. I look forward to see a major revival, although I don't think its too likely given the costs.
#61

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

Posted: 9/14/05 at 3:27am

Sweet Smell of Success-(I really liked it despite some of its foibles, I think it could be reworked...it had good, memorable music)
Wonderful Town (I don't care what people say about Donna, she was brilliant.)

and I also agree that Ragtime is one of the best "flops" ever to grace a broadway stage.
The key to the mystery of a great artist is that for reasons unknown, he will give away his energies and his life just to make sure that one note follows another... and leaves us with the feeling that something is right in the world. ~Leonard Bernstein~
#62

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

Posted: 9/14/05 at 6:08am

I think 'disappointments' is a worse term than flop - it infers that the show itself was a let down and audience expectations are not realised whereas most people realise that the word flop refers to the financial status of a show rather than the overall experience.

London flops I've really enjoyed:
Witches of Eastwick (naturally!)
La Cava
Our House
Ragtime
Romeo and Juliet - The Musical was pretty hilarious, but not for anywhere near the right reasons.
#67

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

Posted: 9/14/05 at 11:36am

First and foremost, FOLLIES - but I never saw the original production.

Sixteen Wounded
Sunday in the Park with George
Caroline, or Change
Jane Eyre
"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy." -Charlie Manson
#68

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

Posted: 9/14/05 at 12:06pm

All of Sondheim's shows...tho I never saw Bounce, so cannot call it a favorite.
BTW, I agree with Margo...a flop is a show that failed in a financial sense...and look at all of the brilliant shows that failed. Seems like Sondheim is in good company!

Non Sondheim favorites, Once on this Island and Side Show.

TRUE favorite, Carrie.
"Carson has combined his passion for helping children with his love for one of Cincinnati's favorite past times - cornhole - to create a unique and exciting event perfect for a corporate outing, entertaining clients or family fun."

"In Oz, the verb is douchifizzation." PRS

#69

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

Posted: 9/14/05 at 12:16pm

GRIND.
"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” ~ Muhammad Ali
#70

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

Posted: 9/14/05 at 12:24pm

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. >>>

I have shocked myself with my frequent obsession with Act 2 of Little Women, although I skip the Operatic tragedies and anything with Amy, I have listened to the cd over and over again.
BLAH BLAH BLAH
#71

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

Posted: 9/14/05 at 12:26pm

Sondheim's flops:
(number of performances - Assassins 101 Bway perfs not included)
#1 - Anyone Can Whistle - 9
#2 - Merrily we Roll Along - 16
#3 - Pacific Overtures - 193
#4 - Do I hear a Waltz - 220
#5 - Passion - 280
#6 - Follies - 522
#7 - Sweeney Todd - 557
#8 - A Little Night Music - 601
#9 - Sunday in the Park w/ George - 604
#10 - Company - 705
#11 - Into the Woods - 765
#12 - Forum - 964



"Carson has combined his passion for helping children with his love for one of Cincinnati's favorite past times - cornhole - to create a unique and exciting event perfect for a corporate outing, entertaining clients or family fun."

"In Oz, the verb is douchifizzation." PRS

#72

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

Posted: 9/14/05 at 12:36pm

Personally, I don't consider Bernie's GYPSY a flop...but that's just opinion.

I guess you could say the recent revival of INTO THE WOODS was a flop. But I loved it.
"I love talking about nothing. It is the only thing I know anything about." - Oscar Wilde
#73

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

Posted: 9/14/05 at 12:36pm

I would also add:

Caroline, or Change
Sweeney Todd
Sunday in the Park With George
Passion
Parade
Big (delightful show)
Once on This Island
The Secret Garden
The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Will Rogers Follies (I'm not sure if this recouped or not)
All You Need is Love (London)
Whistle Down the Wind (London)
The Beautiful Game (London)
Witches of Eastwick (London)
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
#75

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

Posted: 9/14/05 at 12:41pm

A Little Night Music, Company, Into The Woods and Forum were all hits and turned a profit during their initial Broadway runs.

I wouldn't count Do I Hear A Waltz -- Richard Rodgers wrote the score and Sondheim only wrote the lyrics (as he had for West Side Story and Gypsy).
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie [http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/] "The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney

Updated On: 9/14/05 at 12:41 PM

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