Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You? — Page 2

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#26

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/30/13 at 9:49pm

I really wanted to like it but it was such a mess. It just felt like the biggest, most bloated corporate mess to me. And I will never understand how they removed the fact that Glinda is the antagonist in the novel. Instead they turned it into two good girls who have a misunderstanding. And please do not get me started on the cheating ending. I think about it and it gives me flashbacks. I have never trusted raves around here for any other mega-corporate production again.
WORD, Namo! I adored the novel, but I found the musical to be an absolute mess. The book, the score, the design elements... It is a mish mash of overblown and cheap spectacle... If it would have stayed more true to the dark novel, this show could have been something extraordinary instead of an overhyped theme park musical.

"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "

#27

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/30/13 at 9:51pm

I cannot believe but I agree with NAMO re Wicked. It is an overpraised mess. I have no idea why this keeps running & better shows like Bonnie & Clyde close early.

Poster Emeritus

#28

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/30/13 at 9:56pm

Also - Lion King. So overhyped... I was so excited to see it live for the first time, but I walked out bored and clueless about the hype. Yes the design elements are cool, but other than that it was a total snoozed fest.

"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "

#29

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/30/13 at 10:00pm

I really did not like WICKED when it opened, and that was something one simply did not say on these boards at the time. (I think I still have the scars...) But I have to admit, it's grown on me. Yes, it's still a mess. True, it's not faithful to the novel in any sense beyond the superficial. But it's not a complete waste of time. For that, you'd have to wander down the street to SPIDERMAN.

http://docandraider.com

#30

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/30/13 at 10:05pm

Most recent revival of "Bye Be Birdie". Also, the original "Evita"..

The only review of a show that matters is your own.

#31

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/30/13 at 10:07pm

"I saw Wicked the weekend after it opened."

If only Elaine Stritch had been hired to play Morrible, the show would have had an entirely different feel to it.

She would have knocked that chirpy blonde into the orchestra pit and forced the producers to recast.

Then in rehearsals, every time Idina gasped for breath she would have yelled out "Wrong!"

Then she would've complained long and loud to the producers until they replaced Joel Grey like she did with Robert Morse in Show Boat.

Then she would have sidled up to Norbert Leo Butz and said "I likes a man who takes his time."

If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.

#32

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/30/13 at 10:10pm

Another vote for The Addams Family. Though at least I got to see Douglas Sills, which I'd been wanting to do ever since I first heard the Scarlet Pimpernel cast album. So it wasn't a total loss.

#33

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/30/13 at 10:11pm

"Also, the original "Evita"

Surely you mean the Evita revival? What was so bad about the original?

If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.

#34

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/30/13 at 11:02pm

The revival of West Side Story. I go to see it for free, so it wasn't a complete waste, but the whole thing just felt so lackluster. And I really hated the Spanish lyrics- I thought it was a novel idea, but used in the wrong places.

I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.

#35

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/30/13 at 11:07pm

Scandalous, for sure. The absolute worst show I have ever seen, bar none. And I have seen some pretty bad shows.

#36

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/30/13 at 11:36pm

Lion King.

I liked it, but not to the extent the masses did.

#37

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/31/13 at 1:33am

For that, you'd have to wander down the street to SPIDERMAN.

I would take Spider-Man over Wicked or Lion King any day.

"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "

#38

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/31/13 at 1:51am

Chess on Broadway (1988*). I loved and still love the original concept album and I liked but did not love the London production (the set was like nothing I had ever seen before on the stage and it helped one overlook the flaws of the production). The Broadway set was a drab collection of browns, grays, and beiges with colorless performances from the the three leads.

Updated On: 3/31/13 at 01:51 AM

#39

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/31/13 at 2:27am

Drood!!!

I expected to love it but it turned out to be a real snoozer in my opinion. The cast was great and I enjoyed the audience voting but the rest of it was a bore.

#40

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/31/13 at 5:45am

Hair - saw it in London and was bored. Seemed like a BFA Anthology. Also the air conditioning was off, and the sound was awful. Could not make out what they were saying.

"Observe how bravely I conceal this dreadful dreadful shame I feel."

#41

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/31/13 at 8:10am

The long awaited Promises, Promises revival which was in every respect first rate with one fatal exception: Chenoweth.

Many thought she was miscast and they may be right. But she could have at least tried to act the part. If she had, I for one am convinced she could have made Fran her own and even triumphed. If she had, the show would have been just about perfect.

Instead, she never attempted to convey an ounce of Fran's wistfulness or struggle, although at times she almost neared that in song. Not only did I never believe for an instant that this woman would attempt suicide. I had the nagging suspicion that Chenoweth hadn't even bothered to think about the fact that she was playing a woman who does just that.

It was as if she hadn't the slightest clue about acting; which, as we all know, she does.

#42

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/31/13 at 8:49am

>> I would take Spider-Man over Wicked or Lion King any day.

I am so sorry for you.

Bear in mind that I saw it before it went through the Major ReDirection, and what I saw was one of the most incomprehensible pieces of musical theatre ever mounted. I have no idea what drugs Taymor was taking when she assembled that mess, but I'd sure like to try them sometime.

And the fact that they turned it around says, I guess, a lot about what you can do when you're really desperate. But I cant imagine it having improved all that much... well, except for getting rid of the stupid song about the power of shoes... LOL

http://docandraider.com

#43

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/31/13 at 11:15am

Matilda. WTF?

#44

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/31/13 at 11:32am

I still consider RENT to be the worst thing I have ever seen in a Broadway theater. Fifteen minutes into that show and I was looking for an excuse to leave, but couldn't because my son was with me and he SO wanted to see it. My eyes were rolling at the ridiculousness of it all. How did that piece of crap win the PULITZER??? I can only attribute it to the death of the author on the night of the first preview.
More recently, I still don't understand all the hype surrounding MATILDA. The whole show felt so frivolous, yet people are constantly saying it will sweep the Tonys. If that happens, the Tonys will have lost all credibility.

#45

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/31/13 at 11:52am

WICKED, THE PRODUCERS, BOOK OF MORMON and last summer's Central Park INTO THE WOODS, totally ill-conceived production of a great show.

#46

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/31/13 at 12:24pm

Then she would've complained long and loud to the producers until they replaced Joel Grey like she did with Robert Morse in Show Boat.

WRONG!

Sorry, I hate when people rewrite history to suit their own agenda.

Morse was in rough shape on the opening/media night of SHOW BOAT in North york in October 1993. Missing lines, flubbing bits... at one point he looked as if he did not have any clue where he was. I saw the show again a few nights later and he was terrific as Cap'n Andy, but the damage had been done. Apparently some celebratory drinks reacted badly with medication he was taking. It was producer Garth Drabinsky who wanted Morse out before SHOW BOAT went to New York. Stritch had nothing to do with it at all.

Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!

I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com

#47

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/31/13 at 12:33pm

CATS, MEMPHIS and ONCE

#48

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/31/13 at 12:37pm

"Sorry, I hate when people rewrite history to suit their own agenda."

Calm down, it was meant as a joke.

If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.

#49

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/31/13 at 1:03pm

I'd say the 2009 tour of Miss Saigon and the recent tour of West Side Story

#50

Which Musical (Original or Revival) Was A major Dissappointment For You?

Posted: 3/31/13 at 1:12pm

The recent tour of "Jekyll and Hyde," which I saw at the Kennedy Center in DC, didn't do it for me. The cast is fine, but the story line is too simplistic in my view, and the music not particularly memorable. The projections in lieu of scenery were odd, too.

Also, almost every recent revival of "My Fair Lady" miscasts Higgins by placing a grandfatherly actor in the role. Higgins, originated by "Sexy Rexy" Harrison in his forties, has to be charismatic, good-looking, and young enough to set up a spark between himself and Eliza. My dream casting for Higgins would be Gerard Butler or Hugh Jackman. I can always hope....

You alone can make my song take flight.

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