Transfers That Flopped
Transfers That Flopped
#1Transfers That Flopped
Posted: 12/29/12 at 10:28am
I was talking to a friend the other night about the "Matilda" transfer and somehow we got on the discussion of shows that planned transfers, there was a great deal of hype and then they flopped but we couldn't think of any.
Has there ever been a show from the West End to NYC and vice versa that was expected to be a hit and wasn't?
#2Transfers That Flopped
Posted: 12/29/12 at 10:32amThe first show that comes to mind is Enron. Hit in London (still running I think?) and an absolute flop in New York. My friends who did see it here loved it, but it was a sore spot for Americans, and so it goes.
#2Transfers That Flopped
Posted: 12/29/12 at 10:44amThe Woman In White Updated On: 12/29/12 at 10:44 AM
NOB88
Stand-by Joined: 10/21/06
#4Transfers That Flopped
Posted: 12/29/12 at 10:58am
Ghost
Hair
The Drowsy Chaperone
#5Transfers That Flopped
Posted: 12/29/12 at 11:04amPriscilla would be considered a flop here, yes?
sundayclothes2
Featured Actor Joined: 4/10/09
Mattbrain
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/23/05
#7Transfers That Flopped
Posted: 12/29/12 at 11:16am
Sister Act didn't recoup, did it
Definitely Taboo and Tanz der Vampire...oh I'm sorry, Dance of the Vampires.
SondheimFan5
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/10
#10Transfers That Flopped
Posted: 12/29/12 at 11:45pmDroswy didn't transfer, nor did it flop...
nasty_khakis
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/15/07
#11Transfers That Flopped
Posted: 12/29/12 at 11:47pmDrowsy transferred to the West End (with Elaine Paige) and flopped, big time.
metropolis10111
Broadway Star Joined: 7/28/06
#13Transfers That Flopped
Posted: 12/30/12 at 12:16am
Matilda...
Wait... too soon? I'm just calling it now, the US won't cling to this show.
#14Transfers That Flopped
Posted: 12/30/12 at 12:19am
Gotcha. Yeah, lots of musicals seemed to have flopped in the West End: Rent, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and The Producers.
And didn't Chess do well in the West End?
#15Transfers That Flopped
Posted: 12/30/12 at 12:56amDidnt CHICAGO and AVE Q not do as well in the UK?
--Aristotle
#16Transfers That Flopped
Posted: 12/30/12 at 1:01amIt's my understanding that Chess failed here and was a hit in the UK originally.
AEA AGMA SM
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/13/09
#17Transfers That Flopped
Posted: 12/30/12 at 1:03am
"Didnt CHICAGO and AVE Q not do as well in the UK?"
Well, if you count a run of 15 years as not doing well then yes, Chicago did not do as well over in London 
#18Transfers That Flopped
Posted: 12/30/12 at 1:05amAnd we cannot forget CARRIE. It flopped here after its transfer.
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#19Transfers That Flopped
Posted: 12/30/12 at 1:05am
Whistle Down The Wind - maybe it had to do with Boyzone not getting enough airplay on "No Matter What".
eta: WDTW played a few venues in the States, but never made it to Broadway even though they had a theater and publicity was already around NYC.
#20Transfers That Flopped
Posted: 12/30/12 at 1:57am
And of course both productions of Whistle that played in the US (Hal prince's and the later UK tour) were very different from Edwards' production (which I really enjoyed) in London.
Woman in White was hardly a huge hit in the UK (did it run a year?).
Aspects of Love of course did much better in London. Pippin was a huge flop in the 70s in London (Fosse never seemed to have a ton of success in London--when Chicago opened there in the 70s it wasn't even his production--and didn't do well).
#21Transfers That Flopped
Posted: 12/30/12 at 2:02amMovin' Out flopped in London.
#22Transfers That Flopped
Posted: 12/30/12 at 2:39amDid Blood Brothers ever recoup on Broadway? I know it ran 2 years here but it ran for decades in London...not exactly a horrible flop but not nearly as successful as the West End production.
#23Transfers That Flopped
Posted: 12/30/12 at 2:51am
Avenue Q ran for five years on the West End :) and I was just going to mention Movin' Out in the UK. Only two months. Ouch.
Fosse only lasted a year in the West End. Ragtime lasted less than. I know it was not a financial hit in the US, but it's a popular show.
#24Transfers That Flopped
Posted: 12/30/12 at 3:01amRagtime was a closed run though wasn't it, at the Donmar? Or was there an open ended West End run?
Videos