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What is the most obscure but brilliant musical you love? — Page 4

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#78

What is the most obscure but brilliant musical you love?

Posted: 4/18/10 at 1:46pm

How have I not heard of Romance in Hard Times?!?! I would love to know more about it.

I saw Song of Singapore in London and it was such a fun show. I was hugely impressed with the production and the incredibly talented cast.

I also love Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens. The writer is a friend of mine and I was lucky enough to see a production of the show in Edinburgh in 1999 and it was a hilarious sci-fi disco noir murder mystery camp-fest. The show has a rather large cult following in the UK, but has remained rather obscure in the US. Glitterboots saved my life!

Return to the Forbidden Planet remains one of the funniest and most ingenious musicals I ever saw in London and I could see how it beat Miss Saigon for the Best Musical Olivier award. I'm amazed it never found its footing in the US. Though the casting is the biggest obstacle (all the actors double as the band and trade instruments from song to song), I think it has the potential of being a Broadway hit. At least, the version I saw in 2001 (Return of Return to the Forbidden Planet) showed great potential. It was a HUGE crowd-pleaser.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
#80

What is the most obscure but brilliant musical you love?

Posted: 4/18/10 at 3:34pm

Anyone Can Whistle (perhaps not so obscure any more)
The Human Comedy (1984 Public Theater with a short run on Broadway) Some really nice music by Galt McdDermott. Not sure who is collaborators were, but Rex Smith was one of the leads.
#81

What is the most obscure but brilliant musical you love?

Posted: 4/18/10 at 4:18pm

KING OF HEARTS - loved this show which had amazing sets. It's staging was remarkable. Never understood why it closed so soon.

HIGH SPIRITS - my favorite childhood musical of all time. Not sure if this show turned a profit. The hilarious Bea Lillie and a ravishingly sexy Tammy Grimes could never be bettered.

FLORA THE RED MENACE - seeing a crowd pleasing Liza at 19 was worth it.

BAJOUR - not a great show but fun nonetheless. Chita and Nancy Dussault were wonderful.

Not so great with no redeeming factors:

A BROADWAY MUSICAL - a true flopperoo

PLATINUM - ghastly. Musical theatre at its worst.

RUNAWAYS - ran out at intermission.

LITTLE WOMEN - cheap. Lots of action took place off stage to defray the cost of additional sets.

TRIUMPH OF LOVE - an off Broadway type musical that never belonged on Broadway.

#83

What is the most obscure but brilliant musical you love?

Posted: 4/18/10 at 7:59pm

None of you have listed Floyd Collins yet? How bizarre! Maybe it's not really all that obscure? Being a theatre fan means I can never quite tell how well-known someone/something is. Just because many of my friends have never heard of something doesn't mean it's obscure; I'd be surprised if most of them have heard of, say, Sunday in the Park with George. XD

Also, what's with:
Example, what is the musical you mention when you're trying to impress people with your theatre knowledge?
?

Following on from my first para, I don't really need to dig that deeply if I want to give off the illusion of being knowledgeable to non-theatre people. And there is no WAY I stand a chance of coming across as knowledgeable among theatre people. Plus, y'know, what kind of s****y conversationalist talks to people with the aim of impressing people with their theatre knowledge by namedropping obscure shows? There's not really much scope for a proper person-to-person-and-back-again conversation if all you're doing is trying to show off about things that you know and they don't.
Notes from the Earlham Street Gutter
#84

What is the most obscure but brilliant musical you love?

Posted: 4/19/10 at 11:40am

"what kind of s****y conversationalist talks to people with the aim of impressing people with their theatre knowledge by namedropping obscure shows?"

So did you ever see Imagine This, Weez?
#85

What is the most obscure but brilliant musical you love?

Posted: 4/19/10 at 3:52pm

Triumph of Love was enjoyable on Broadway, but it was too small to succeed on Broadway. I had a good evening, but then, it was the first musical I saw on Broadway. (Side Show the next night (yay!), then Capeman the following (boo!))
With Irma you gotta do something!
#87

What is the most obscure but brilliant musical you love?

Posted: 4/19/10 at 5:48pm

I have to second 'The Robber Bridegroom'. It's still a pleasure after all these years.

'Madame Sherry' is another. Goodspeed did a production back in 1990 or so that was asolutely wonderful!

It's not obscure, but 'On the Twentieth Century' is still under the radar. Love it.

Saw 'The Hunting of the Snark' in London years ago, Scripps. I can't remember if it's underrated or not; I just remember the number about 'Cleaving the Beaver'. I don't remember anything after that.

#88

What is the most obscure but brilliant musical you love?

Posted: 4/19/10 at 6:59pm

Wanna know a musical of mine that is a guilty pleasure? Der Glockner von Notre Dame. I am glued to the music.
Whoever says money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to shop. - Bo Derek
#89

What is the most obscure but brilliant musical you love?

Posted: 4/19/10 at 8:03pm

I know I'll take a beating on this one but I really loved "A Catered Affair". Not necessarily obscure but short-lived. I loved the intimacy of the production and some, not all, of the songs.
The only review of a show that matters is your own.
#93

What is the most obscure but brilliant musical you love?

Posted: 4/20/10 at 3:27pm

Windy City can easily stand alongside Phantom and Miss Saigon as being one of the best musicals to be seen in the West End in the 1980s. Brilliant? Yes. Obscure? You tell me.

On The Twentieth Century is also brilliant. I'm not sure I'd classify it as obscure though.

And, yes, The Robber Bridegroom is brilliant and probably obscure - I've certainly never had opportunity to see it.
#95

What is the most obscure but brilliant musical you love?

Posted: 4/21/10 at 3:51am

Bat Boy; Bright Lights, Big City; Elegies: A Song Cycle, Great American Trailer Park Musical, Hedwig..., I would say that Passing Strange counts, Rooms: A Rock Romance; tick, tick...BOOM!, Lippa's Wild Party.
Into the Woods, Beauty and the Beast, RENT, Mamma Mia!, Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, Evita (with Julia Murney), Hairspray (with Paul Vogt), Peter and the Starcatchers (with Christian Borle), Lion King, Altar Boyz, Legally Blonde (with Lauren Zackrin).
#96

What is the most obscure but brilliant musical you love?

Posted: 4/21/10 at 10:09am

OK, folks, don't get silly. You can't call any of these shows even remotely obscure. Except to people that never go to the theatre or read about theatre.
Bat Boy
City of Angels
Hedwig
Passing Strange
tick tick boom
On the Twentieth Century
A Catered Affair
And many others mentioned here.
#97

What is the most obscure but brilliant musical you love?

Posted: 4/21/10 at 10:33am

Though it's not technically "obscure", it is certainly rarely performed and hardly in the forefront of people's minds when discussing musicals, I'd rank The Most Happy Fella as one of the best musicals ever written. A bold book that certainly pushed the envelope back in its day for musical theatre and a soaring lush score that borders on operatic. To me, it's Loesser's finest achievement.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
#99

What is the most obscure but brilliant musical you love?

Posted: 4/21/10 at 11:44am

The funny thing about Hello Again for me was the fact that the CD didn't really capture my attention. It wasn't until I performed in the show that I gained a huge respect for the work. The show is masterfully constructed and you don't get a sense of its true complexity until you can see/hear the full work. We performed the original version and I saw a production using the alternate Director/Actress scene, but I much prefer the original silent movie number.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian

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