Which shows did you really want to like, but... — Page 3

Matilda: I was soo pumped to see this show. Everytime I saw a commercial for it, I was giddy. Then I saw it and was completely disappointed.

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time: Everyone was raving about it, but it just wasn't for me. I thought they had some amazing set and lighting designs though.

Doctor Zhivago: I really was hoping for this to succeed. I went into the theatre wanting to love it. Unfortunately it left me underwhelmed.

This season I really really wanted to like Side Show & It Shoulda Been You but I left feeling "Why did I just pay for that?".

"BIG FISH".

I loved the movie like nobody's business and I worship Norbert Leo Butz but the actual musical left me a little nonplussed. It just seemed too boilerplate for a musical about dreams/gusto.

I really thought I would love "In the Heights" cause I had fallen so in love with the cast recording, the livliness, the quickness of the lyrics, the awesome harmonies and the plot driven songs and while there was a lot I liked, I found it sort of all over the place and not focused and the actual storyline sort of mundane and not horribly exciting. I wanted more of Usnavi and Vanessa's story and less of Benny and Nina.

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy it but I didn't totally love it and oddly enough it plays out much better to me as an album. Maybe someday a scaled down revival might center it more..

Two shows of note-- CAROLINE, OR CHANGE and A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE... . I admire them, but I just can't wrap my head around 'em in totality.

I won't hate you. There are elements of CAROLINE, OR CHANGE I really like a lot, but as a whole, I just "admire it." And I feel so guilty. I've felt that way about a lot of Jeanine Tesori's work, though I thought VIOLET worked very well as a one-act.

On the other hand, Tesori knocked my socks off with FUN HOME.

Book of Mormon.

I actually saw it via video, and not live. Everyone was raving about this show: How funny it is, and how it got raves, and how it got Best Musical. And I knew about the humor and the blasphemerous jokes in it, so I knew what I was getting to. And I'm sorry, but I didn't enjoy BoM at all. I only laughed one time (the audio was great) and it was fine for the first 10 minutes and it went really downhill when it got to Africa. I think it was a little too offensive and racist to Africans. (FYI I'm a Christian, but I didn't mind Hasa Diga Eebowai that much because of story reasons. Plus, that song is so damn catchy). I thought it was disturbing that the audience was laughing at some of the jokes like the raping babies one and the African stereotypes. I didn't even saw Act 2. Sorry, it wasn't for me. Just overrated.

Adams Family:

A local theatre did this last year and I was thinking about auditioning for the show. I love the soundtrack, so I thought this would be great. Again, I saw it via video and gosh, am I glad that I saw it before auditioning. I thought it was awful. I don't know if it's because I never saw the show, but man, it was really bizarre and over-the-top. And it's too bad because the show helped me get through recovering from my back surgery, back in 2012

There's another show on the top of my brain that I'm forgetting

Titanic was one of my biggest disappointments. I loved the score going in to it. I had the cast recording and listened to it frequently. Then I saw the original national tour in Chicago. The book really killed it for me. The show was a snooze fest.

I also saw the Doyle production of Sweeney Todd in Chicago. The staging was awkward, David Hess was horribly dull in the title role, and I still have no idea what the deal was with that damned white baby coffin. Most of the rest of the cast was sleepwalking through their roles. Judy Kaye was great though, and so was the guy playing Toby. This production almost made me question why I love Sweeney Todd so much in the first place.

Sting in The Threepenny Opera in D.C. (prior to Broadway). We were trying to choose between it and Gypsy with Tyne Daly and went with Sting. We did end up squeezing in Gypsy though as well!). But, there was nothing about that Threepenny Opera that we enjoyed.

We Will Rock You in London. Initially was not interested. Then started hearing good things about it. And its long fun seemed to indicate it should at least be fun. Then got a recommendation from someone who usually doesn't like theatre. So, against better judgment, we went. Oops.

Man of La Mancha with Raul Julia and Sheena Easton in San Francisco. I had raved about the show to my bride. I'm lucky I'm still married. The show is almost wiped from my memory.

^^^Very true.

And like you, I went into Gentleman's Guide with little or no knowledge of the show. A friend and I were planning a trip to NY last summer and it wasn't so much on our itinerary. When it won the Tony though our interest somewhat peaked. We decided to see it (even though I still wasn't thinking I'd get into it). Turns out I really liked it a lot.

When I saw Les Miserables back in the late 80s, I wasn't sure I'd dig that either. Thought I might be bored with it. Turns out, like so many, I liked it a lot.

Conversely though, another friend and I were talking about Urinetown last week at dinner and it got me thinking of shows that I had heard great things about prior to seeing them, but then found myself not so enthralled by the show. Urinetown was one of those shows that just didn't resonate. My friends and I actually left at intermission. Just not into it, even though I had heard great things about it.

At any rate, the purpose of this thread was not to focus on negativity as one poster suggested. It was simply to see which shows didn't live up to your expectations, and which exceeded them. Which is why I added that second part of the question, so as to not focus only on the negative critiques.

Not that I consider this a thread of negativity anyway. Simply more critiquing of shows. Nothing wrong with that.

After all the professional critics aren't always positive, so it only follows that a board like this isn't always going to be roses and sunshine.

Thanks for the responses, all.

Urinetown was already brought up but that was one occasion where I went into a show expecting to absolutely adore it because I love dark and quirky musicals....and then left completely underwhelmed.

I didn't hate it but what hurt it for me surprisingly enough was the score. There a couple of good songs but otherwise none of it stayed with me. I think what saved it was its Book and it did have a strong ensemble.

Thoroughly Modern Millie was a reverse by situation because I went in expecting to not like it but ended up liking it. I do think the show is flawed at times and the pacing is off at times but when it was on, it was on. Despite having some pre existing songs, there was enough original and also catchy and/or beautiful music that made me w

I wish it had won Score.

In the end, part of me thinks I need to revisit Urinetown.

Others include:

SPAMALOT: I really wanted to like it but I was never the biggest fan of The Holy Grail in the first place. The cast did fine, particularly Sara Ramirez and Christopher Seiber but as a show, I found to be extremely messy with only a couple of moments that shined.

THE LION KING: Someone else mentioned the opening moments, which those are stunning and yes the whole show is stunning to look at but beyond that, I have never been part of the Lion King fan club. Julie Taymor had a genius vision with this show and her Tonys were richly deserved but in terms of emotional resonance and material, I have some solace knowing both Book and Score went to Ragtime, which was the true winner in my eyes that year.

American Idiot. I still enjoy listening to the cast recording but when I saw it I just thought it was overwhelmingly stupid.