What is the most obscure but brilliant musical you love? — Page 5

I didn't think City Center and NYCO technically counted as commercial Broadway productions, but it's not like the property is amongst the more mainstream high-profile Broadway musicals. There was a brief revival when the Michigan Opera production (televised on PBS) transferred and the scaled-down Goodspeed revival in 1992, but the show itself never seemed to rank as highly as it deserved. I think having to compete with West Side Story, My Fair Lady and Bells are Ringing during its original run put the show at a disadvantage. Is it really a community/summer theatre "favorite"? I've only seen two productions advertised in my area (one in Houston and one in Chicago) over the last 18 years. The production at Theatre Under the Stars in Houston in the 90s is the best production of any show I've seen them produce. And if it weren't for regular subscribers, I doubt they would have the attendance to last a weekend.

How much more "dues" do you propose it needs?

Funny how when Follies is discussed, that question is rarely, if ever, raised.

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I think people familiar with musical theatre are familiar with Fella, "Standing On The Corner," "Joey, Joey, Joey," "Big D," "My Heart Is So Full of You."

Which is why I said it wasn't technically "obscure". It is just mostly forgotten.

I don't get the Follies comparison. Are you saying that it, too, is obscure? Or it hasn't received the respect and success it deserves?

I'm saying staunch Sondheim/Follies fans pretty much always say it hasn't received the respect and success it deserves. Personally, I don't care for the show. But I do think when it comes to any art form, many of the most respected pieces of art were not popular, successful or respected when they premiered. Often, it takes a long departure from current fashions and trends to properly respect what had been formally dismissed by critics and the general public.

But no, I don't think The Most Happy Fella is "mainstream", at least not in terms of the general public, who are probably familiar with "Standing on the Corner", but have no idea it was from a musical at all.

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I couldn't agree more Mister Matt. Fella is not a part of the mainstream vernacular as Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed... Perhaps because it was never a movie? Perhaps because it is more often performed in opera houses?

That being said I love Follies, and it is definitely not obscure.

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