What is the worst production you have ever seen on Broadway? What is the worst show?- Page 3

[tacotheatrelover]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 4:09pm

Wicked.

[Symsyd]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 4:24pm

Cats and King Kong.  But Cats edges out King Kong because I did love that Ape.  

[Jarethan]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 4:49pm

I am older than a lot off people on this board.  At some point, I stopped seeing shows if I thought I was going to hate them; in the last 15 or so years, I never considered getting tickets for If/Then, Jagged Little Pill, American Idiot, Fela, Lempicka, a Strange Loop, the David Byrne shows, and a lot of others with some vocal admirers.

Back when I lined in Manhattan and saw anything, I saw a lot of truly rotten shows.  The worst ever might have been Dr. Jazz, but we left after 40 minutes, so it is possible that it got better.

The highest echelon of rottenness includes:

• Alice, the most boring show I have ever seen, despite having Meryl Streep in the lead and being seated in the second row.
• Agamemnon, directed by a then very hot Andre Serbian.  It was visibly fascinating, but the performance was performed in Ancient Greek and the style of acting was intentionally over the top.
• The Leaf People, included in a single season the Public Theatre did at the Booth Theatre.  Agony.
• Onward Victoria, the first musical about the Suffragette movement.
• Passion…maybe tied for the most boring show ever
• Fosse…totally pretentious from beginning to end.
• Aspects of Love…I shudder to think about it

In more recent years, I HATED, I.e., bottom 1-2% of everything I ever saw:

• Harmony (actually made me angry because I felt it was so manipulative…it didn’t earn any of the tears shed)

[two ladies tickets]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 4:50pm

The Velocity of Autumn. 

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 5:11pm

Of the three dozen-ish shows I’ve seen on Broadway and on tour, the worst was Bullets Over Broadway. It had its moments, and a stacked cast, but they all deserved a better show. 

[Dreamboy3]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 5:13pm

With apologies to Christopher Durang, Sex and Longing was really really tortuous. 

I guess I had blocked out some truly awful shows that others have posted about. And I’ve excluded off broadway given the OP — otherwise In Transit and Women on the Verge would surely have been on my list. And a very obscure play from the 80s called Waltz of the Stork. 
 

The Philanthropist truly was awful. The Play that Goes wrong I hated within two minutes. The Rose Tattoo with Marisa Tomei. And from this season, Uncle Vanya. 

Updated On: 5/19/24 at 05:13 PM

[scripps]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 5:17pm

BentleyB said: "“But “Burn This” I couldn’t run out of the Hudson fast enough along with several other audience members at intermission. I fell asleep at least 3 times in act 1."

I saw Burn This the summer day there was a blackout that closed most shows but not this one! Oh, lucky me! I refuse to watch Adam Driver in anything since this travesty. I stayed for Act 2 because I have had a crush on David Furr since I spotted him in the ensemble of Cymbeline at LCT but it was an absolutely hellish experience.

 

Updated On: 5/18/24 at 05:17 PM

[TNick926]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 5:28pm

After all these years, it is still "Moose Murders".  My friend and I were given free tickets by a connection at New Dramatists for a late preview.  

My friend stood up and bellowed at intermission, "This is an outrage to the theater!" and stormed out.  I refused to leave until I saw Act 2, to see if it could get any worse.  Oh, it did!  Somehow Holland Taylor survived this epic pile of horse ****!

[KarenValentine'sheadband]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 6:18pm

On Your Feet - Just a sad sad show. My hope was high for it but it fell hard. 

 

The last revival of Oklahoma. WOW! What a pretentious borefest. 

[spicemonkey]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 6:18pm

Among those still playing: A Beautiful Noise - cannot wait for it to close so ANY new show can take the Broadhurst

 

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 6:36pm

uncageg said: "The one show I just could not sit through, and left at Intermission, was "Soul Doctor"."

At least that show introduced us to Amber Iman. But that's literally the only positive thing about it. And I'm jealous you left at Intermission. I definitely should have done that.

[ChiDoc]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 6:48pm

The thing I return to often when thinking about “worst productions” is: what is the show aiming for? I saw the tryouts of both The Devil Wears Prada and Paradise Square in Chicago, and while I had major issues with both, there was a difference in their ambitions. Paradise Square wanted to be a 10/10 show, even if it was only hitting 6/10 for me; alternately, Devil Wears Prada might have been about a 5/10 of show, but it only seemed to be aiming for 5/10. So even though I don’t think Paradise Square and DWP were on their face too different in terms of quality, I regard DWP with such disdain, whereas I saw PS four times in Chicago (and a fifth in NYC… sue me!) and still consider myself an apologist.

Beyond that, Flying Over Sunset baffled me, and the Oklahoma! revival did not translate to tour well at all.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 6:52pm

TNick926 said: "After all these years, it is still "Moose Murders". My friend and I were given free tickets by a connection at New Dramatists for a late preview.

My friend stood up and bellowed at intermission, "This is an outrage to the theater!" and stormed out. I refused to leave until I saw Act 2, to see if it could get any worse. Oh, it did! Somehow Holland Taylor survived this epic pile of horse ****!"

Opening night was originally set for February 7, 1983; it was pushed back to February 22 following Eve Arden's immediate departure during previews.  The play was on hiatus from February 2 to February 10, 1983 while Holland Taylor was cast and rehearsed giving her barely a week to learn the entire play. The play closed on Opening Night. 

[Kad]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 6:52pm

The first answer that comes to mind was the revival of The Gin Game with James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson. A dull, twee play, poorly staged and designed, and featuring a Jones who was barely a shadow of his formidable self- who could barely stand and was reciting lines. I left at intermission. 

But I have to say, having to sit through fringe festival shows, entire off-Broadway seasons, and bottom-tier semi-professional regional theater for work drastically altered what “bad theater” meant to me. I’ve certainly seen Broadway productions I haven’t liked, but even the worst Broadway show is at least competent. I’ve seen productions that have legitimately given me an existential crisis because of how totally inept they were. 

Updated On: 5/18/24 at 06:52 PM

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 8:53pm

Back To The Future 

Cyrano The Musical 

Hamilton 

Ghost 

 

[Falsettolands]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 9:18pm

Between "In Transit" and "Suffs"

[inception]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 9:39pm

I guess the nice thing about not being able to see everything is that by the time I get to NY the worst of any season has closed; or enough people have posted early reports that I know what to avoid.

I do wonder about some of the choices people have made... Hamilton... Aladdin?  Really?

There is so much more out in the world in the way of truly terrible theatre to be experienced compared to almost anything found on Broadway.

[cmorrow]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 9:41pm

In 1987, I saw a play by John Pielmeier called Sleight of Hand, about a depressive loser who is an aspiring magician. The playwright was hot at the time because he'd written Agnes of God, which ran for over a year, but this play was the pits. We considered leaving at intermission, but hoped Act Two might be better. It was worse. Really inept, like a sloppy rehearsal.

One of the friends with me knew the lead actor, Harry Groener. We went backstage afterwards, and he said: "You should've called me, I'd have warned you!" Bizarrely, standing just behind us, waiting to get his playbill autograped, was Larry "Bud" Melman of the David Letterman Show.

Sleight of Hand played only nine performances. I'm surprised it lasted that long. The best thing about it was the poster.

[Robbie2]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 9:53pm

Both in 2012 Leap of Faith - Raul Esparza &

Scandalous - Carolee Carmello 

AND

A Catered Affair 

A Strange Loop

Be More Chill 

In Transit

Chicken & Biscuits

Updated On: 5/27/24 at 09:53 PM

[binau]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 9:54pm

inception said: "I guess the nice thing about notbeing able to seeeverything is that by the time I get to NYthe worst of anyseason has closed; or enough people have posted early reports that Iknow what to avoid.

I do wonder about some of the choices people have made...Hamilton...Aladdin? Really?

There is so much more out in the world in the way of truly terrible theatre to be experienced compared to almostanything found on Broadway."

Yes haha. I think what I love about NYC is you can usually expect anything to be professionally performed and presented. No matter how much we might argue about the details or recognise variation in quality especially writing it’s not like other places where you can actually see things that are not even to a professional standard. But I do kind of love that the standards are so high in NYC. It’s the most incredible place for theatre I’ve ever seen globally. Especially musical theatre. 

[KitKatBoy24]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 9:58pm

In Transit, Disaster, Getting The Band Back Together, current revival of The Wiz

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 10:34pm

Broadway

Bullets Over Broadway

Saturday Night Fever

 

Tours/Regional

Legends!  with Joan Collins and Linda Evans (Toronto, 2006)

Josephh & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat - (Pantages Theater, LA, 2014) starring Ace Young and Diana DeGarmo from an early season of American Idol.  It was easily the worst thing I have ever seen - although first time seeing that show

Updated On: 5/19/24 at 10:34 PM

[hork]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 10:50pm

VernonGersch said: "

Joesph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat - (Pantages Theater, LA, 2014) starring Ace Young and Diana DeGarmo from an early season of American Idol. It was easily the worst thing I have ever seen - although first time seeing that show"

Ah, yes, I also saw that at the Pantages and yes, it was the worst thing I’ve ever seen. 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 5/18/24 at 11:02pm

You mean SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER not Saturday Night Live 

You mean LEGENDS not PRIVATE LIVES

[DrMonicaDeMoneco]

Posted: 5/19/24 at 12:01am

Worst:

Lysistrata Jones (so bad so so so so bad)

Ghost (please no more sad songs… oh god she’s singing another sad song)

Jekyll and Hyde (I LOL’d waaaay too much))

Prymate