#51
Posted: 4/8/20 at 6:30am
For me this is a no-brainer - Thou Shalt Not (the only show I ever walked out of at intermission, along with about 20% of the audience!)
What Was The Worst Musical You Saw — Page 3
#52
Posted: 4/8/20 at 8:08am
I didn't know anything about "Thou Shall Not". Here's what I found in the Playbill Vault. What a cast! https://www.playbill.com/production/thou-shalt-not-plymouth-theatre-vault-0000009549
"Noel [Coward] and I were in Paris once. Adjoining rooms, of course. One night, I felt mischievous, so I knocked on Noel's door, and he asked, 'Who is it?' I lowered my voice and said 'Hotel detective. Have you got a gentleman in your room?' He answered, 'Just a minute, I'll ask him.'" (Beatrice Lillie)
#53
Posted: 4/8/20 at 8:15am
It's not Moulin Rouge since I saw it in Boston, not on Broadway. For B'way it would have to be the On A Clear Day You Can See Forever revival in 2011.
But if I saw MR on B'way it would be that
#54
Posted: 4/8/20 at 8:48am
Ain't Broadway Grand--a mostly forgotten Broadway musical from spring 1993 about Mike Todd. Debbie Shapiro Gravitte played Gypsy Rose Lee. Not at all memorable, though there was a song about brisket (yes the meat) and I think the show ended with a sing-along that no one joined in on. Felt sorry for the cast.
#56
Posted: 4/8/20 at 9:47am
There have been so many! These are MY responses; no flame wars, please.
"Finding Neverland"
"Moulin Rouge" a waste of some great performers
"Matilda" might have been good but I couldn't hear any of the lyrics
"Nick & Nora"
"King Kong" a waste of a great puppet
"Be More Chill" one great song and some promising performers
"The Prom" insulting and cliche characterizations
"War Paint" another waste of performers; one great scene
"Newsies: the Musical" better title: "Newsies: the energetic young dancers"
"If/Then" what?/when? Of course, Menzel was worth seeing/hearing
I'll stop. This could take a long time. Better to remember the best shows one's ever seen. Especially in these parlous times.
Updated On: 4/8/20 at 09:47 AM
#57
Posted: 4/8/20 at 9:49am
Ohhh, I left out "Spider-Man." No worst musical list can be complete without it.
#58
Posted: 4/8/20 at 10:08am
Hands down, Cher Show or Beetlejuice.
#59
Posted: 4/8/20 at 10:28am
"A Night With Janis Joplin" is my hands down winner because in almost 300 shows I've seen on Broadway and countless more regionally, it remains the only show I've ever walked at intermission on. Probably didn't help that a few months earlier I had seen a regional production of the infinitely superior "Love, Janis," which actually had a plot.
Updated On: 4/8/20 at 10:28 AM
#60
Posted: 4/8/20 at 11:29am
The Knife-with Mandy Patinkin--1987 at The Public Theater. Amazingly Awful!!
#61
Posted: 4/8/20 at 11:42am
All Shook Up was the worst I've seen but I also hated Spamalot and left at intermission. I also thought, other than the opening number, The Lion King was a bore and The Producers was sub-par. Yes, three of those won Tony awards but that doesn't mean they deserved them.
#62
Posted: 4/8/20 at 11:47am
rosscoe(au) said: "reNt is still one of the worst shows ever, if Larson hadn’t died it would never made it to Broadway or anywhere else.
What a ridiculous statement. Of course it would have. Its legions of fans didn't flock to it because the composer died.
#63
Posted: 4/8/20 at 12:09pm
PLATINUM - After her Tony win for FOLLIES, Alexis Smith starred in this unbelievably awful show. My favorite line though... Smith referring to Chita's daughter, Lisa Mordente, as "that little pigmy."
DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES - the only time in my theatre-going experiences that I wanted to shout out, "This is a total piece of crap" from the audience.
NEVER GONNA DANCE - amateur night on Broadway. Made the mistake of taking three other people to see this on my recommendation.
THOU SHALL NOT - major disappointment considering the people involved.
XANADO DO - one of the few shows playing during the stage managers strike.
THE MUSIC MAN - with a miscast Dick Van Dyke
THE GENIUS FARM - a pre-Broadway show that never made it to Broadway starring Marni Nixon and Johnny Johnston.
#64
Posted: 4/8/20 at 12:43pm
Add me to the list for the jaw-droppingly awful "Bodyguard."
#65
Posted: 4/8/20 at 12:50pm
NJGUY said: "The Knife-with Mandy Patinkin--1987 at The Public Theater. Amazingly Awful!!"
I was just thinking Broadway when I said "Big" but you are so right The Knife really is the worst thing I have ever seen. Side note. Was picking up my tickets at the box off ice for that nights performance. I asked the guy at the window if the show was as bad as I have been hearing. Hands me my tickets and says " It's Deplorable! Enjoy your evening." :)
"I hope your Fanny is bigger than my Peter."
Mary Martin to Ezio Pinza opening night of Fanny.
#67
Posted: 4/8/20 at 1:08pm
For me, Doctor Zhivago is probably the worst that I can think of. #2 is Scandalous. The book of Motown was awful, its saving grace was the music of course. I don't go out of my way to see shows if from what I read on here everything thinks the show is terrible.
I thought the second act of Bandstand was much better than the first act.
Updated On: 4/8/20 at 01:08 PM
#68
Posted: 4/8/20 at 1:31pm
Ima have to echo MOULIN ROUGE, periodt. Could not understand any of the hype. Although my parents (65 yos) *LOVED IT*
#71
Posted: 4/8/20 at 3:59pm
Growing up in Washington, DC in the 1960's,1970's and 1980's, I was fortunate to see countless pre-Broadway productions. Some of the worst include:PLATINUM (pointless and yes Alexis Smith was really bad), 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE (even then I said WTF), ARI (the musical of Exodus-UGH). In D.C., I also did see (pre-Broadway) the original Mack and Mabel and Sugar, both at The Kennedy Center, I sort of liked them as I was an impressionable teenager and was awe-struck by their production values, but by critics standards they were both meh.
Updated On: 4/8/20 at 03:59 PM
#72
Posted: 4/8/20 at 4:04pm
I like the score for Thou Shalt Not.
What made it so bad?
#74
Posted: 4/8/20 at 4:17pm
JBroadway said: ""Wonder.land" at the National Theatre in London - perhaps the worst piece of theatre I've ever seen, musical or otherwise."
I second that. It was truly absymal.
#75
Posted: 4/8/20 at 4:44pm
Just want to preface by saying if you love these shows, all power to you. I personally hated them:
Mean Girls, Beetlejuice, Matilda, and Mary Poppins.
Tickets From $59
Tickets From $71
Tickets From $71
Tickets From $95