Why did 'Saturday Night Fever' fail on Broadway?

I remember when I saw the show, I thought it was fantastic. The cast seemed very strong from what I remember. But then when Tony time came around they were overlooked and wound up with nothing. Why did it not do as well as it should have. So many people love the movie.

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I totally agree. What I really loved about SNF is although it was ridiculous, it was truly fun and harmless. I saw it several times and I usually don't have the stomach for such shenanigans. Orfeh was incredible (ROBBED of a Tony nomination--how did she and Sherie Rene Scott of Aida get snubbed in favor of Ann Hampton Callaway and Laura Benanti of Swing again?) and Sean Palmer was a big improvment over James Carpinello in the lead in the show's second year. And I don't care what anyone says--Arlene PHilips' dancing was really great.

I saw it as well...it just did not work (at least for me)

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I loved it on Broadway and on tour. Richard Blake was great as Tony and much better than James Carpinello. Orfeh was also excellent as was Aileen Quinn (from the "Annie" movie) who played the same role (Annette) in the first National Tour. It was killed by the critics and the lack of Tony nominations but still lasted for more than 500 performances.

I have to admit I HATED it when I saw the non-Equity tour. The show had been trimmed, the mother looked younger than the son, the father was gone completely and the "orchestra" sounded very thin.

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James Carpinello was beyond hot.

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Updated On: 12/22/06 at 05:35 PM

so what ever happened to James Carpinello? SNF was the only broadway show he did according to IBDB. I guess he got married and left the business?

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.. and so is that movie he left to do.. lol.

Same goes for Matty Fresh.

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Was the title meant to be a rhetorical question?

Sylar, I see you're just snappy on every thread.

Saturday Night Fever failed (although, it ran far longer than many a recent failer) because they screwed up with the casting Period. As good as Orfeh was and I'll chime in about her robbed Tony nomination too, she simply didn't have a big enough role to justify spending over a hundred dollars for "If I Can't Have You". The rest of the time, you had to endure Carpinello croaking his way through the songs and looking like he was going to need oxygen after every big number ended. Still, it was thousands of times better than the still running "dance" show at the Wintergarden.