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#76

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/8/20 at 4:48pm

So bad it was good:

THE BLONDE IN THE THUNDERBIRD. There are now a few clips of this travesty online- find Suzanne Somers' "Take Back Your Mink" if you dare. Truly a jaw-dropping mess that I only sat through knowing I could talk about it forever.

Just bad:

THOU SHALT NOT. Or, Thou Shouldn't Have. After sitting through this mess, the two theater-party ladies next to me summed it up perfectly: "They could have cut HALF of that!" "Yes, but which half?"

Dishonorable Mentions: RENT, LENNON, HANDS ON A HARDBODY

"What- and quit show business?" - the guy shoveling elephant shit at the circus.

#77

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/8/20 at 4:56pm

The WORST OF WORST (in order):

— Dr. Jazz
— Flashdance
— CATS
— 1600 Pennsylvania Ave

Second Tier (my first show was 60 years ago, so I have seen a lot of stinkers):
— Come Summer
— Onward Victoria
— Copperfield
— Jimmy
— Marilyn (Broadway Version)
— Her First Roman
— Mack and Mabel (painful to watch)
— Merrily We Roll Along (original version)
— Bullets Over Broadway
— What Makes Sammy Run
— Spider-Man
— Hadestown (Shoot me...I hated it)
— Fosse (Shoot Me again)
— Grind
— Big River
— Spelling Bee
— Alice (with Meryl Streep, no less)
— Spiderman

On the other hand, I loved MR, Oklahoma revival, Finding Neverland )flaws acknowledged) and Bandstand. I liked Thou Shalt Not

#78

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/8/20 at 5:40pm

On Broadway: BEETLEJUICE

I've seen many hundreds of shows, and something about how corporate and half-assed this was just rubbed me very wrong way.

Off-Broadway: JOAN OF ARC: INTO THE FIRE

Fortunately this one was in so-bad-it's-funny territory. I'll always remember some of the looks audience members were giving one another.

#79

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/8/20 at 5:51pm

Hard to pick the absolute worst, but my top three.

- The Lightning Thief

- A Class Act

- Guys & Dolls('09 revival)

A Chorus Line revival played its final Broadway performance on August 17, 2008. The tour played its final performance on August 21, 2011. A new non-equity tour started in October 2012 played its final performance on March 23, 2013. Another non-equity tour launched on January 20, 2018. The tour ended its US run in Kansas City and then toured throughout Japan August & September 2018.

#80

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/8/20 at 7:31pm

I think my grandmother and I saw "It's A Bird, It's A Plane It's Superman!" and walked out at intermission.

#81

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/8/20 at 10:04pm

...I would also like to add

Legs Diamond

Big Deal

Woman Of The Year

Smile

Uptown...It's Hot!

Bring Back Birdie

The Wiz (1984 Revival) ...even with Stephanie Mills it was bad.

Updated On: 4/8/20 at 10:04 PM

#82

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/8/20 at 10:59pm

Malinda5000 said: "...I would also like to add

Legs Diamond

Big Deal

Woman Of The Year

Smile

Uptown...It's Hot!

Bring Back Birdie

The Wiz (1984 Revival) ...even with Stephanie Mills it was bad.

How could i EVER have forgotten Smile.

#83

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/9/20 at 1:12am

hearthemsing22 said: "I think my grandmother and I saw "It's A Bird, It's A Plane It's Superman!" and walked out at intermission."

I adore the score and think the book is nifty, but I've never actually seen it performed. An older friend saw the Broadway production two or three times, he loved it so much. I understand Stephen Sondheim was a fan.

I think the worst show I've ever seen is possibly a late 80's revival of Sugar with Robert Morse returning to the role he originated (onstage, anyway). The only good thing in it was the dancing by the actor playing Spats--and even that went on for so long each time he came on, I was like "I get it, he can tap, but this is getting tedious. Stop." It didn't even have the saving grace of people without talent or some funny-awful design or direction choices. It was just tediously mediocre.

Updated On: 4/9/20 at 01:12 AM

#84

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/9/20 at 4:11am

The number of different shows I've seen on Broadway/Off-Broadway is limited, as I was really only able to start attending about 2 years ago. So out of that pool,

• The Prom
• Chicago
• Aladdin

Shout out to The Cher Show and The Office: A Musical Parody. For Cher, I'm just biased and don't take well to jukebox musicals, but my companion who wanted to see it had a blast, so that made the trip worth it. As for The Office, it was bad, but I went in with very very low expectations anyway, so it's not like I left the theater disappointed.

Updated On: 4/9/20 at 04:11 AM

#85

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/9/20 at 6:11am

I've blocked a lot of them out but I was just sorting out my Playbill collection so... Speakeasy. It was an off-Broadway show based on Alice in Wonderland that was godawful and also somehow 3-4 hours long. I've also seen plenty of disastrous NYMF shows.

On Broadway? Maybe Bright Star? It certainly had redeeming elements but the big "secret/reveal," the book, and most of the lyrics were incredibly stupid. I still had a good time but the more distance I get from it, the worse the material seems in hindsight.

I don't care what anyone says. I loved Good Vibrations, Doctor Zhivago, and The Cher Show. Maybe it's not what they intended, but I saw GV as a send-up of those 60's beach movies with an incredible cast. Zhivago had fabulous vocals and hilarious (to me) stage tricks and special effects. Zhivago is so bad it's good but also kind of good (unless you're talking about the acting). Cher was too long but there was some fun spectacle and it did get me emotional. I enjoyed War Paint. It wasn't a great show but it was fine. And the ticket price was well worth the Patti eye contact.

sppunk said: "Does the New York Summer Spectacular with the Rockettes count?"

Oof. I forgot about that. I saw the version with Danny Gardner and Kacie Sheik. It was... technically a show.

#86

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/9/20 at 9:51am

Sweet Charity at the Gateway Playhouse.

Bad lead actress, bad storyline imho, and boring as hell. Would have walked out but sat next to theater owner and didn't want to be rude.

#87

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/9/20 at 10:01am

BIG FISH-- Saw in previews. I really looked forward to seeing Butz, Baldwin and Steggart together in a Stroman-directed musical. So much talent wasted on such a mediocre show.

MOTOWN--Hated every second of it. Cynical, self-promoting Berry Gordy book. Still kicking myself for choosing this over the Pippin revival.

#88

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/9/20 at 1:05pm

hearthemsing22 said: "I think my grandmother and I saw "It's A Bird, It's A Plane It's Superman!" and walked out at intermission.

"I really enjoyed it, thought it had a fun score, appropriately silly story, great cast, terrific design. Got some excellent reviews. Thinking at the time was that theatre goers were not ready for a superhero musical. I seem to think it opened in a great season and got lost in the shuffle, but I could be wrong.

#89

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/9/20 at 1:25pm

FIRST WIVES CLUB in Chicago, by FAR!

#90

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/9/20 at 2:08pm

Got Tu Go Disco

Via Galactica

In My Life

By far three of the worst musicals I've seen on Broadway. Actually, they were so bad, they were sort of entertaining to watch.

If I had to go with boring, I'd include 13, Carmelina, and wait for this, Mama Mia.

The crazy part is that some shows I've enjoyed – even loved – were included on other people's lists.

ARTc3 formerly ARTc. Actually been a poster since 2004. My name isn't Art. Drop the "3" and say the signature and you'll understand.

Updated On: 4/10/20 at 02:08 PM

#91

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/9/20 at 2:12pm

Jarethan said: "hearthemsing22 said: "I think my grandmother and I saw "It's A Bird, It's A Plane It's Superman!" and walked out at intermission.

"I really enjoyed it, thought it had a fun score, appropriately silly story, great cast, terrific design. Got some excellent reviews. Thinking at the time was that theatre goers were not ready for a superhero musical. I seem to think it opened in a great season and got lost in the shuffle, but I could be wrong.

"

I think you're quite right. Also, while not trying to be campy (it arrived at almost the exact same time Batman premiered on ABC), it was an intentionally Pop Art approach to the material, and evidently this went over the heads of most audiences and critics. It got a reputation as a kids' show, and it flopped. Indeed, that was the reason its composer, Charles Strouse, initially didn't want to do Annie.

#92

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/9/20 at 2:36pm

In My Life was frustratingly bad. The show had one good song in it (I think I was called I Am My Mother's Son). The actor playing the angel sent by God to destroy two young people's lives for entertainment was trying like hell to make the show work.

Everything else was awful. The story was cruel and not funny. The rest of the score was bland to terrible. The production design featured a giant lemon because why not? The one character had Tourette's Syndrome and the first person to ever take an interest in his life other than his mother wound up developing a terminal illness (cancer? I can't remember for sure) because God (a character in the show wearing cruise wear) wanted to be entertained with some human drama.

I chaperoned a trip to that show because someone in my school's admin used to teach one of the actors in the show. I hate to think that was any of those students' first Broadway show. The only real highlight was a talkback with the actor and the students getting to come onstage and take a bow.

You know what I remember the most? The angel character had a prop cane with a decorative skull on top. That skull went flying at me in the audience during one of the scenes and the actor broke to make sure I was ok.

#93

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/9/20 at 2:40pm

I took this to mean original musical & not a bad revival..

Two that most probably have forgotten...

‘Metro’ (all in Polish set in the subway)

‘A Change In The Heir’ (JK Simmons debut & Judy Blazer) ran 23 performances

#94

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/9/20 at 2:56pm

On tour - Cats

On Broadway - Tina

#95

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/9/20 at 3:37pm

Avenue Q ( I get it was beloved by many . It caused an allergic reaction in me)

Thoroughly MOdern Millie as Forbidden Broadway put it "The Worst Best Musical EVER!" Left at intermission- didn't even have Sutton to redeem it.

The Bodyguard- free tkt. I always stay for the curtain call but was up and out the door the minute it was over.

The Capeman- Just NO

#96

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/9/20 at 3:50pm

A panto version of “Cinderella” that had the refrain “Cinderella, Cinderella, poor little refugee.”
Not a musical, but Cirque Du Soleil’s “KA” was painful to sit through.

#97

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/9/20 at 3:52pm

Something Rotten - sorry, I know that a lot of people on this board like it, but I absolutely hated it. It was a tour version so I didn't get to see the OBCR or anything.

The Lion King

All Shook Up

Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!

#98

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/9/20 at 4:12pm

On Broadway: Beetlejuice (it wasn’t terrible, but not a fan of the music)
Live show anywhere: Working
Film version of a live show: cats
Biggest disappointment of a Hollywood rendition of a musical: les Miserables
Worst musical I was a part of: Barnum (but I still had a really great time)

#99

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/9/20 at 5:38pm

On Broadway Pretty Woman. Such a waste of talent and my time and money. Although it was my first time seeing Orfeh perform, so that was a silver lining.

On tour - Rock of Ages. I don’t know if it would matter where I see this one - definitely not my cup of tea.

#100

What Was The Worst Musical You Saw

Posted: 4/9/20 at 5:38pm

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