What are the worst broadway shows you have ever seen?
Chorus Member Joined: 8/13/13
I saw Brooklyn with Eden Espinosa on a 11th grade field trip. It was very cringe worthy and didn't do much to change what my pre-concieved notions about what musical theater was all about (this was my first Broadway musical). Luckily during my college years I opened my mind a bit and cannot get enough theater now.
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/24/14
If/Then. Followed close by A Tale of Two Cities, and Cry Baby
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
Plays: Mother/Hat, Jerusalem, Arcadia, Travesties immediately come to mind.
Musicals: Sweeney Todd, Passion, Marie Christine.
Molly
Passion
Cry for Us All
Aspects of Love
Late Nite Comic
Nick & Nora
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/2/10
The revival of Three Penny Opera... with Jim Dale, Alan Cummings and Cyndi Lauper among others...in 2006. It was nominated for best revival that year...obviously I missed something.
^There were only three revivals that year so it was pretty much nominated by default.
Chorus Member Joined: 3/20/12
Lysistrata Jones. No question. I've seen shows that have ranged from bad (On a Clear Today), to just flat out boring (Arcadia, and more recently, Violet), but no show has ever made me angry about the time and money that I wasted like LJ
I just didn't get Side Show, and it was a shocking experience in the theater because others in the audience were clearly overwhelmed and overjoyed with it.
"Lysistrata Jones. No question. I've seen shows that have ranged from bad (On a Clear Today), to just flat out boring (Arcadia, and more recently, Violet), but no show has ever made me angry about the time and money that I wasted like LJ"
The funny thing about that was...it's only Tony nomination was for Best Book of a Musical.
Updated On: 8/13/14 at 08:12 AM
Lysistrata Jones or Breakfast at Tiffany's.
I've probably seen about 1/100th of the shows everyone else has seen on Broadway so the only show that I've ever truly wanted to walk out on was the recent Romeo and Juliet with Orlando Bloom.
Broadway Star Joined: 12/31/69
I have been pretty lucky-most of the really bad stuff I've seen has been off-Broadway (Romantic Poetry, that workshop of A Second Chance (UGH-what a terrible show)), I think one of the worst Broadway shows I've ever seen was Jerusalem (I almost left at intermission-it was a piece of pretentious crap, IMO), and I wasn't in the If/Then camp.
Cyrano: The Musical
Buddy
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/21/06
[Title of Show}
Cyrano de Bergerac (with Jennifer Garner)
The Civil War (musical)
"Wonderland", 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the DarK" & "The Addams Family".
Updated On: 8/13/14 at 08:41 AM
Brooklyn, the Musical for me as well! At the point where the father sings about Vietnam and turns his guitar into a machine gun, I got a serious case of the church giggles and couldn't control them. I leapt out of my seat and ran for the bathroom to get myself together. Not my best moment, but I like to think that running for the hills was kinder than loudly laughing in the second row would have been.
Plays: JERUSALEM, LA BÊTE, and the revival of CYRANO DE BERGERAC (though the play itself is lovely)
Musicals: SIDE SHOW, PASSION, WONDERLAND, JEKYLL + HYDE, BONNIE AND CLYDE, and AMERICAN IDIOT
I saw "Getting Away with Murder" back in 1996. My friend was crazy about Terrence Mann and I figured, hey, Sondheim co-wrote it, how bad can it be? Well, I found out. Eek.
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/24/14
I forgot about Wonderland. Might as well throw in Bonnie and Clyde as well.
Copenhagen definitely. A number of characters moving chairs around going blah blah for a few hours. Many people left at intermission but the guy next to us was fast asleep when we left. This was one of the critic's darlings
Another was definitely Travesties. Walked out on it
Don't Play Us Cheap was the GWTW of bad shows.
ReNt , Cryano The Musical was beyond awful
Ditto for Rent
Another critic love fest for it.
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