Worst Musical of all time?- Page 5

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 10:12am

If not for Japanese tourists, it would have closed much earlier than it did.

Because the show was only a long-running hit on Broadway? Did the Japanese tourists follow the years of national tours around the US as well?

[eperkins]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 11:05am

I second Scandalous. I think it makes a lot of the shows listed here look great by comparison.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 12:03pm

While many of the shows listed here may have been bad, most of them had some redeeming quality, especially the ones that were recorded and/or videotaped.

I am telling you, In My Life, is probably the worst Broadway show ever. The show was beyond redemption. It was so bad, nobody even wanted to secretly tape it. And as soon as the lights went down, all the ushers left the building and never came back.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 12:15pm

^I've seen a bootleg video of In My Life. So someone did want to tape it.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 12:20pm

I own a naughty version.

[Hackasaurus_Rex]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 1:40pm

I am curious about all the hate for "Cats." I am genuinely asking, and not fishing for snark but for a real discussion. What do you hate about the show? What is it trying to accomplish that it isn't? I feel based on what they wanted to achieve the creators not only hit the mark but exceeded it. They wanted to put up a visual poem about cats. Whether that was worth turning into a musical is one discussion but based on what the intention was it feels very successful (as opposed to say, Memphis, which IMO attempted to present the sound and feel of Memphis soul but never really had any songs that matched the power of that genre. Maybe I view "bad" differently. I personally try to judge art based on what it is trying to achieve and how successfully it achieves THAT. Following my own logic, Cats does a fine job. But I'd love to hear some thoughts.

Updated On: 6/23/14 at 01:40 PM

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 1:50pm

^ I'm not a fan of Cats at all, but I totally agree with you.

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 1:54pm

I am a CATS fan, as well, and the one thing I always hear from people who show disgust when I say it's one of my favorites is that it has no plot. UHH.....

[Hackasaurus_Rex]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 1:58pm

I also acknowledge that my avatar is an ironic nod to Cats, so to be clear... I think the show is silly and insane that it ever existed, but I think because it was a show that when I was a kid kind of blew my mind I have a little soft spot for it. Plus, it still has maybe the best logo of any bway show in history... the T-shirts were legendary... everybody wore them... like Hard Rock Cafe shirts back then.

[little_sally]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 2:16pm

Scandalous is the only musical I've ever fallen asleep during. What a disastrous waste of time, money, and talent. I think it's the first time I've ever been embarrassed for a cast.

But I do think The Addams Family is the worst musical I've seen. I can't recall feeling so angry at a show as I was at that one.

Updated On: 6/23/14 at 02:16 PM

[haterobics]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 2:17pm

Darius: I love the Nutcracker. You know when I was a kid I was always afraid of the dancing mice. Now I'm a cat.
Sterling: His therapist is ecstatic.

[Whatshisname]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 2:26pm

Good Vibrations!

Was...Pretty Bad!

Updated On: 6/23/14 at 02:26 PM

[hushpuppy]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 2:33pm

This thread certainly is a lot of fun!

I saw some legendary flops, such as THE CAPEMAN, HOME SWEET HOMER, THE WOMAN IN WHITE, THE ACT (yes, a show with Liza was a dud), SCANDALOUS, ONE NIGHT STAND (which I kinda liked, but it closed in previews) and some big hits that I detested (CATS, POTO, TITANIC, LES MIZ, JEKYLL & HYDE).

But the only 2 shows I ever walked out of were LEGALLY BLONDE and URBAN COWBOY, so those would get my personal votes as the worst.

(BTW: If anyone out there loves good theatre dish about flop shows, Ken Mandelbaum's 'Not Since Carrie' is must reading)

Updated On: 6/23/14 at 02:33 PM

[broadfan327]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 3:08pm

Scandalous is the worst Broadway musical that I have seen as well.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 3:19pm

The 2009-2010 North American tour of '101 Dalmatians'. 'First Wives Club' follows closely behind it.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 3:22pm

I saw the first preview of In My Life. Although it was astoundingly bizarre and awful, it's one of the most fun nights I've ever had in the theater. I was never, ever bored. Plus, I sat between Margo Channing and iflitifloat, two posters I dearly miss.

Of what I've seen in my life, The Red Shoes was the most astonishingly boring mess I've ever slogged through.

[tazber]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 3:30pm

Welcome to the Club.


I like the score to a large extent (huge Cy Coleman fan), but the show is so bad you have to wonder what they were thinking.

[Alessio2]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 3:37pm

I don't know if either of these is the worst musical of all time, but the worst musicals I have seen on Broadway were The Capeman, and Brooklyn...just AWFUL

[Brian07663NJ]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 3:52pm

The problem with a tally of the number of votes for worst musicals is that Cats ran for 7,485 performances? So by far it has the best opportunity to have those who dislike it. Now consider a Frank Wildhorn musical like Civil War which ran for 96 performances. It isn't possible to accumulate enough "votes" for any "worst musical" because "worst musicals" are never open long enough to garner enough of a crowd.

BTW - Cats is just a simple target that everyone enjoys jumping all over.

- Dance of the Vampires
- Big
- The Wild Party
- Squonk
- The Green Bird
- We Will Rock You
- The Capeman
- The Woman in White

* I saw all of those I listed and I am sure my list could easily continue for many more before Cats would be even remotely near being listed.

[Steven9]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 4:47pm

Cats isn't the WORST musical of all time, but it is one of my least favorites. It has a good score, and choreography, but other than that, it was an extremely overrated musical. It really did not affect my emotions whatsoever...the subject material wasn't enough in my opinion to spark any sympathy for the "characters" Sure, you can feel bad for Grizzabella...but I didn't. All I thought was "Oh that's a pretty song she's singing." A lot of Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals are overreaching. He is a talented composer, but sometimes, gets in over his head. Evita is his best musical in my opinion, great subject material, fantastic leads (OBC Of course) and a rollicking, memorable score and songs. I feel Webber tries too hard to match his success with Phantom. Cats was pre-phantom, but even so, did not need to be made, and is extremely overrated with its "quality."

[KnewItWhenIWasInFron]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 5:15pm

I'm sure I missed a lot of terrible stuff -- especially in the rock musical age -- but "Martin Guerre" is probably the worst I've seen. Lotsa talent but mind-numbingly bad. And has no one mentioned "Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark?" I've never wanted to leave a show more.

Updated On: 6/23/14 at 05:15 PM

[Unknown User]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 8:02pm

A Catered Affair
Cats
Leap of Faith

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 8:29pm

What about LOVE NEVER DIES? It has a few passable tunes, but the lyrics leave a lot to be desired and the plot is complete rubbish. Pretty much pointless.

[haterobics]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 8:40pm

I think Cats is the easiest example of a popular, long-running, successful show that many people think is bad. As opposed to Scandalous and others, which was just bad and closed early. So, by the very nature of its long run, more people had the opportunity to see and dislike it.

I made the mistake a few years ago of going to the whatever anniversary tour of Cats, and having not seen it for a few decades thought, "Hmm, I remember some songs, but can't recall much of the story or any of the dialogue." Guess I didn't forget anything.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 9:12pm

All Shook Up. The only show I walked out on.

Yes! I would have left but I was seeing it for a college course requirement.