#26
Posted: 9/15/22 at 2:14pm
"Margaritaville"
"The Wedding Singer"
What is the lowlight of your theatre going experiences? — Page 2
#27
Posted: 9/15/22 at 2:28pm
Watching Beanie make her entrance for the “You are Woman” restaurant scene in FUNNY GIRL. The reveal of that cheap-ass gold metallic ill-fitting dress and that sloppy mess of a wig… I knew the revival was going to continue to disappoint as it dragged on.
#28
Posted: 9/15/22 at 2:30pm
I've seen my fair share of bad shows, but the absolute worst was Dance of the Vampires.
A friend who lives in L.A. (I live in N.J.) was in town and we usually see shows together when he's in the City. He opted out of Dance of the Vampires and he went to see a show I had already seen for a Saturday matinee performance, so I saw the show on my own. We agreed to meet afterwards for our usual dinner and evening show together. We arrived at our agreed-upon meeting place around the same time.
Note that the show was universally panned and the critics were vicious.
"How was it?," he asked.
"Well," I said, "this is a rare time when I disagree with the critics."
"Really?," he said, looking at me in surprise.
Me: "Yes, I think they were too kind."
I usually say that a bad night in the theater is better than a good day fishing, but this show was one of the very few times I wish I was sitting with a tackle box.
Updated On: 9/15/22 at 02:30 PM
#29
Posted: 9/15/22 at 2:47pm
"Bitch, it's King Kong, yes, I'm King Kong " - Nicki Minaj.
I wanted to like King Kong so much going into it but I was very much tempted to leave at intermission.
I should’ve been Blac Chyna.
#30
Posted: 9/15/22 at 3:00pm
“King Kong” wasn’t good but the puppetry and the projections were enough to make it worth my time. That and Casey Garvin. *sigh*
#31
Posted: 9/15/22 at 4:00pm
Soul Doctor. To this day, I have no reasoning for why I walked into that theatre in the first place and especially why I didn't leave at intermission.
I still can't decide which line was worse: The rabbi getting fired and someone commenting "and another rabbi gets nailed" or "all you Hebrews AND She-brews!"
#32
Posted: 9/15/22 at 4:05pm
An amateur production of Mamma Mia! where all of the cast was off-pitch, were directed to overact and laughed their way through the songs. And of course, scenes from the movie illegally added in. Seeing such a brilliant score treated that way, and musical theatre being seen as something to laugh at, made me leave at intermission.
#33
Posted: 9/15/22 at 4:10pm
It is really comical to see the different perspectives. Some of the worst experiences people had evoked different emotions for me. In particular, this appliedcto the Daniel Fish Oklahoma, which was THE ONLY TIME I ever liked Oklahoma, and I loved it. I also enjoyed the King Lear, but I suspect that my second-row center seat had a big positive impact. I was seeing Glenda Jackson give a great performance, even if no one in the cast was on the same page as she was. I also loved Potus, as did the five other people who saw it with me.
I have 5 worst experiences ever.
-- Jimmy. The first show I ever left at intermission. The first act was as bad as musicals get.
-- Dr. Jazz. The first show I ever walked out of before intermission. I decided I had had enough when two morbidly obese prostitues came on stage in totally see-through tops. I decided to leave before intermission because two very late-comers needed to get to the middle of the row in which I was seating; I figured everyone else was already being disturbed, so why waste any time.
-- CATS! CATS! CATS! I hated this show before it even began. We were in really good seats, which was the problem. The performers were in the audience before the show began (I saw this in London...don't know if they kept that in, as I never saw it again). Well, a couple of cats started climbing around me and I was miserable. Then the show started; for me, it was worse that the 'prelude'. I have frequently described my reaction to Cats as 55 minutes of total boredom, followed by 4 minutes of goosebumps (Memory), followed by intermission, and then a repeat of Act 1...total boredom and 4 minutes of goosebumps.
-- The Leaf People. This was produced by the Public Theatre probably close to 50 years ago in a season they had at the Booth Theatre. The season was such a disaster that they never did a second season. I cannot begin to explain how bad this show was...I could not do the misery justice. We even stayed to the end, out of perverse curiosity. (As was Agamemnon below, it was not performed in English; I believe the entire 'language' was made up. They had 2 interpreters sitting in these pods above the stage, explaining what was going on. Moose Murders could not have been as bad as this show was.
-- Agamemnon. I think it was Agamemnon. It was directed by Andre Serban and played at the Vivien Beaumont; we were subscribers, and had loved his production of The Cherry Orchard. The entire play was performed in a foreign language...I have no idea whether it was a real language or a made-up language of ancient Greek. It was incredibly awful, one of those performances where that audience hardly applauds at the end and you leave the theatre feeling sorry for the cast. That was also the case with The Leaf People.
#34
Posted: 9/15/22 at 4:21pm
BAD:
- (Off Bway), Telethon, The Knife (Public),
- (Broadway) POTUS, Thou Shalt Not, Gary, Strange Interlude (Jackson), The Music Man (Jackman), Funny Girl (Feldstein), Are You Now, Glass Menagerie (Sam Gold's Prod)
#35
Posted: 9/15/22 at 4:31pm
The only shows I have left at intermission: Be More Chill and Tina.
The only show I ran out of at intermission: Burn This! I fell asleep during Act 1, a friend I brought fell asleep 3 times. At least 8 other people were walking out with us.
#36
Posted: 9/15/22 at 4:42pm
Beanie in Funny Girl. Just painful. Top of the list.
Gettin' the Band Back Together.
2020 West Side Story. Not for me.
An American in Paris. I was bored, sue me.
Leap of Faith.
#37
Posted: 9/15/22 at 4:48pm
Someone in a Tree2 said: "Seeing the Fish-revised OKLAHOMA held lowlight pride of place for several years. Watched the whole show from behind the standing double-bass player. Nothing could prepare us for the dreadfulness of the "ballet" that opened Act II."
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure the Fish production of Oklahoma wasn't revised. Wasn't one of the big things about it that all of the "freshness" came from directorial choices? I don't believe they changed the script any.
#38
Posted: 9/15/22 at 5:01pm
Hate to have a recency bias, but this past season was pretty punishing with Mr. Saturday Night, Funny Girl, POTUS, The Tap Dance Kid, Whisper House, and Thoughts of a Colored Man.
Worst of all time probably goes to a torturous Hedda Gabler at the Cutting Ball in San Francisco a few years ago.
#39
Posted: 9/15/22 at 5:12pm
Play: The Real Thing. It was my first Broadway play and after that it was a long time before I went to another play. Great cast. So underwhelming.
Musical - Pretty Woman. The only redeeming thing about it was Orfeh who I’d never seen prior. Otherwise it was the movie word for word with some songs thrown in. Such a waste of money (besides Orfeh).
#40
Posted: 9/15/22 at 5:55pm
I have to limit this to Broadway although the question doesn't but others seemingly do.
There are quite a few candidates for me, many of which have been mentioned, but I'll just add In My Life, Joe Brook's paean to himself. (It was also Groff's Broadway debut, which proves that no taint cannot be overcome.
#41
Posted: 9/15/22 at 6:35pm
Regional: Blood Brothers. The cast gave it their all, but it was the absolute worst piece of theatre I have ever seen. The music is atrocious, repetitive and annoying - and the show itself is a snooze fest. I will never understand how this gained as much popularity as it did back when it premiered overseas.
National Tour: Dear Evan Hansen. I have zero idea how the show got as popular as it did. The lead character is irredeemable in my mind, and the show itself is an absolute bore. I still question why I didn't leave at intermission - or before. It was awful.
Broadway - Miss Saigon (the revival in 2017). Performances were fine, but the set felt really cheap, the helicopter felt really cheap and there were moments and songs in the show that just fell flat. It wasn't my worst time at the theatre but as far as things I've seen in NY, this is it.
#42
Posted: 9/15/22 at 6:45pm
-Cirque Du Soleil’s “KA” (beyond the show itself, other people have mentioned hot theatres… there was a literal fire pit at the beginning of the show!)
-A pantomime version of “Cinderella” that was very poorly written AND had off-key singing (although in a way, it was so bad it was good).
-I was very disappointed the first time I saw “Chicago” on Broadway because I did not get the razzle dazzle I was expecting (and that was advertised at the time by a gleaming billboard in Times Square). I went back years later and LOVED it, because I knew what to expect.
#43
Posted: 9/15/22 at 7:29pm
From reading many of these posts, a lot of people have never actually been to a truly awful show.
...
#44
Posted: 9/15/22 at 7:33pm
In My Life
Thou Shalt Not
Fade Out/ Fade In when Carol Burnette was out and her understudy, Mitzie Welch was pathetic.
"Long live God!" (GODSPELL)
Updated On: 9/16/22 at 07:33 PM
#45
Posted: 9/15/22 at 8:29pm
The Rent 20th Anniversary Tour. As if the show wasn’t bad enough there were pauses for technical difficulties.
#46
Posted: 9/16/22 at 12:45am
Ben Platt in DEH. An overly mannered and affected performance that was beyond over-rated.
“I attended Gypsy last night with several family members that are staying at the same hotel . I walked them to the elevators and as I was leaving, Audra came in fast and this disgusting, huge, ogre of a man came blasting through the revolving door, nearly falling. He got extremely close to her, shoved a playbill in her face and said "I came alllll the way from Houston so you OWE me an autograph sister". Four security guards from the hotel staff immediately swarmed him until the cops arrived. It was horrifying and women have experienced this kind of illegal, terrifying behavior forever.
If you were followed back to where you were staying in the city OP, pretty sure you wouldn't call it "foolery" because it's not. It's felony stalking. Do better.
And I will NEVER be quiet regarding women's safety (especially by loser men in this thread) as this has happened to me and millions of other women as well. Enough..”
—-Sutton Ross, 8/16/25
“Pretty incredible coincidence that the night before this post was made, Sutton was allegedly not only at Gypsy, but ended up at the same hotel, managed to witness an incident that perfectly aligns with the topic at hand, stayed long enough to see how it resolved despite being with family members, and it wasn’t even the first thing she replied to this thread with- she only brought it up after she had been challenged by multiple members. ” — Kad, 8/16/25
#47
Posted: 9/16/22 at 5:24am
"I didn't care for the show" is not exactly an interesting tidbit. Let's hear about some real disasters, personal or otherwise.
#48
Posted: 9/16/22 at 4:06pm
Most Disappointing: 2021 Revival of Caroline or Change - This had been hyped to me for SO long, based on people who had seen the 2004 original run of it. I saw it in Jan of this year, and it's possible Sharon D Clarke was just ready to be done with this role, bc she seemed lukewarm at best. I shouldn't leave the show thinking Rose was the best character of it all. Overall, super underwhelmed.
Most Confusing: Girl From The North Country. - Critics loved this? Why? This show's plot was all over the place and had nearly all unlikable characters with few resolved ends. Also just seemed like Bob Dylan songs were just randomly shoved into places for no true reason, and the story having nothing to do with him. Couldn't BELIEVE this won Best Orchestrations Tony, especially against 4 far superior musicals. (Side note: when the character of Elias was murdered, only to "come back" and sing 'Duquesne Whistle', I, 2 of the friends I saw this with, and several people in the audience burst into laughter...so preposterous and ridiculous).
Worst: MacBeth (2022) I've left a handful of shows, disappointed or underwhelmed. This nonsense left me intensely angry. Thank goodness I was familiar with the play and had seen more than one version of it prior, because otherwise I'd have had ZERO clue what was happening (like a number of people who saw this did). I was (un)lucky enough to have seen this the night Sam Gold stepped in for the role of Lennox, and when I tell you the man was holding a mic and a script the whole time (and still flubbed several lines) and also speaking in a flat unaffected voice? Terrible. Daniel Craig was fine, but not great. Ruth Negga was the only saving grace and I felt awful for her that this had to be her Broadway Debut. Amber Gray left Hadestown for THIS?! Also....the soup. Dear God....the soup. They began making it 10min before the play began, and it stunk up the whole theatre of onions for the entire run. It contributed to nothing, and then the whole cast had to sit on the stage and eat it at the end (Daniel looked particularly miserable). I advised a number of people I knew to stay far, far away from this production. Garbage.
#49
Posted: 9/16/22 at 4:47pm
Moulin Rouge!
Be More Chill
Macbeth 2022
Cher Show
#50
Posted: 9/16/22 at 5:20pm
An American in Paris.
Jagged little Pill
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Frozen
Jagged little Pill
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Frozen
Tickets From $59
Tickets From $71
Tickets From $71
Tickets From $95