edit: At least one person thinks that Dracula is going to be a big flop and it made me think of this topic. Any show you saw that ran only a few performances before it closed making you one of the few who actaully saw it? I saw the Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public a few years back. The audience had a great time at it and I seem to remember thinking that it wasn't THAT bad.
What about you?
shermanslave productions
Gorey Stories and Ballroom. I'm sure there were more and I will keep thinking about it.
I also saw The Visit and Bounce in Chicago.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
I saw Into the Light when I was in college. Just hideous. I'll never forget it.
I also saw another disaster- Shogun. I kind of enjoyed that one though. Dreadful choreography but amazing costumes and sets.
You saw the Visit? Who was doing it then?
Sherman-
So many people? We've heard from MAYBE 3-5 people who have seen it. If you want to start a topic off about flops, fine - but to tie it into a show that hasn't even played a week, is in my opinion, a bit crass.
Chita Rivera, at The Goodman in Chicago. Bounce and The Visit were incredibly lavish and just terrible.
Prymate.
And I liked it, too.
I didn't say I am thinking that Dracula is going to be a flop. I am going to see it on the 16th and can't wait to see it. I just read another post that said they thought it would flop and it made me think of this. Do pardon me.
BOUNCE, twice and am so glad I did.
My favorite, however was LEDGENDS with Mary Martin and Carol Channing. Read the book Confessions of a Mad Playwrite by James Kirkwood. It is a horrific story.
dame edna: royal tour.... not by choice. my aunt wanted to see it so she dragged me along. this is what i get for making her sit through shows i want to see. but yes. did not really find it funny at all.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Thou Shalt Not
Putting it Together (I know it wasn't loved, I don't know if it was considered a "flop" though)
ohh I saw Dame Edna on Broadway but I loved her
I saw "Putting It Together" the night after I saw "Minnelli on Minnelli".
Can you understand why I thought "Putting It Together" was genius?
I saw PIT twice, opening night and closing night. I actually enjoyed it. I wouldn't call it high art but I thought it was entertaining and the cast was phenomenal.
Broadway Star Joined: 7/25/04
bythesword - did you enjoy Tom Sawyer? Wasn't that a Sherman Brothers musical? I remember seeing the marques for it when I was there a few years ago but it had already closed. Didn't sound like my type of show but I love the Shermans' work so much.
~Jessica
Broadway Star Joined: 12/31/69
ROCKABYE HAMLET
The Minskoff Theatre
The Playbill is still around, I think.
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer wasn't bad. I could understand that it wasn't the most perfect musical ever made, but I don't see why it was considered to be a flop. There was some really beautiful music in it, such as the song given to the Aunt called "This Time Tomorrow."
I felt that it was just way too overshadowed. With The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and even Hairspray running at the same time, there wasn't much need for another musical that was kid friendly. Joshua Park and Jim Puolos (Tom and Huck, respectively) gave absolutely stellar performances. If you ask me, it would have been a lot more successful in a smaller theater. Being in the Minskoff was just too large for that production. A lot of people complained about the set, which I thought was perfect for the show because it had the appearance of kid like drawings. I think if it had been given a chance it would have been incredibly successful as a family show.
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/20/04
big - the musical.... crap!
Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public - closing night - a gas!
Rags - incredibly predictable, derivitave show - but some great performances.
Sweet Smell of Success - just didn't quite get it right...
Steel Pier - great performance from La Ziemba, great Stroman choreography, some marvelous music, wasted on an awful script, poorly directed.
I can't remember. Was THE RINK a hit or a flop?
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/5/04
"Dame Edna: The Royal Tour" was anything BUT a flop -- it was a HUGE hit here (playing 300 performances of near capacity business -- a rarity for a solo show), was honored with a special Tony Award and then played nearly soldout houses in cities around the country and around the world (and is one of the funniest shows I've ever seen -- an opinion shared by everyone I know, many of whom saw it multiple times and laughed till they cried). The new show "Dame Edna: Back With A Vengeance" opens in November and is one of the more anticipated openings of the fall season.
"Tom Sawyer" only ran for a month, lost its entire $10 million investment and was panned by every critic, so by any definition it was a major flop. I saw it for free and thought it was unremarkable in every way (except for a decent set design and the always reliable Jane Connell as the Widow Douglas). A completely bland, amateurish and mediocre work.
I'll also second "Steel Pier" -- a painfully boring show to sit through.
Also, I'm not a fan of "Sunset Booooooo- levard" (which was definitely a flop -- it lost several millions and almost bankrupted ALW's production company). Two good songs, but otherwise forgettable (and not in the same league as the classic film).
how about dance of the vampires. i also saw thou shall not, i was almost in tears(of laughter) seeing debra monk in a wheel chair.
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
Carrie: The Musical is my bragging rights musical of choice. That's right, Earthlings, fall to your knees before me! "Carrie, why won't they just call me CARRIE????" I was there. Very first preview. I didn't need no stinkin laser effects!
I also saw David Hwang's Face Value. It never even officially opened.
Can't believe you saw CARRIE! I lived right around the corner from the Virginia Theatre and had to go on a short one week tour. The play opened and closed in that exact week. I had already just missed it in London and so looked forward to it on Broadway. How was "Let's Burn the Dress Together"?
Though Betty Buckley played the mother on Broadway, if I remember correctly Barbara Cook played that role in London.
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