Least Favourite Final Moment

[broadwaytbay]

Posted: 1/28/14 at 1:52pm

So going off the topic of all those wonderful final moments posted in the other thread, what moment is for you either anticlimactic, a disappointment or a let down at the end of a show?

For me, and this is only because I have recently worked on it, but the final number of Jason Robert Brown's "13" Brand New You, adds an unnecessary upbeat ending after the real finale A Little More Homework (one of many issues I have with the show/score).

So what else is out there that doesn't sit quite right in its final moments? Or has been corrected in a revival/remount?

Updated On: 1/28/14 at 01:52 PM

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 1/28/14 at 2:04pm

The last moment of Seminar, when Alan Rickman holds out the glass and goes, "You wanna be a writer?" and the protege takes it and drinks. Nothing over the course of the play indicated that he might not want to be a writer.

[madbrian]

Posted: 1/28/14 at 2:14pm

The ending of Hairspray. While 'You Can't Stop The Beat' is a terrific number, the inclusion of the Von Tussles isn't believable. The movie fixes it a little.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 1/28/14 at 2:30pm

The ending of Evita, it so anti-climatic the audience had no idea it was over.

[lambchop2]

Posted: 1/28/14 at 2:41pm

I've always disliked the overdramatic "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" in the very last bit of Miss Saigon. It always takes me out of the moment. I've seen a few productions where Chris just breaks down sobbing or looks up with an anguished expression and it's more effective to me.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 1/28/14 at 3:20pm

I admit that brief Evita epilogue mentioning the issues with her body going missing or whatever always seem to get a big "Huh?" from the audience.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 1/28/14 at 3:30pm

I love the ending on the cast recording, but on stage it leaves much to be desired. I always pictured an empty stage with just Eva and Che, with Eva walking away from the audience into the darkness. I think this could have worked very well with the recent revival's set. Che could have been on the second tier, and Eva could walk through the center door. Evita is one of my favorite shows, but I have always found the montage to be a letdown.

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/28/14 at 3:33pm

Oh, this is easy. BILLY ELLIOT. What a shame, the show ending with only Michael on the stage. The show is about Billy Elliot, and how he was able to reach his life's dream, even though family, finances, and politics were all working against him. The victory of the human spirit. And in the film, when we see Billy soar into the air and his father living this dream, moved me so that I will watch the film through its entirety just to witness that final scene.

it's not about Michael, who was also there to witness his friend's dream. The producers could have easily approximated that ending on stage.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 1/28/14 at 3:42pm

Eric,

Absolutely. It was like...what? But, I got to stare at Ricky Martin so...worth it.

Updated On: 1/28/14 at 03:42 PM

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 1/28/14 at 4:15pm

Jane, I actually avoided seeing BILLY ELLIOT for years because the film is a titch too sentimental and heavy-handed for my taste, and I imagined that musicalization would intensify the sap. Its ending is a good example of why I love the musical so much more than the movie. It's because the show doesn't send the audience out into the street with an image of Billy soaring through the air that, for me, makes it more poignant, touching, and a little sad. We've watched Billy struggle his way toward achieving his dreams, but the ending reminds us that he's just one person who's broken out of a depressed and depressing cycle. Michael seems to have an indomitable spirit at his young age, but he's got some hard times coming up, being who he is and where he is, just like Billy did, and to me, that final image expands the scope and breadth of the themes and re-orients the audience's perspective. I adore it and admire the show all the more for it.

[darreyl102]

Posted: 1/28/14 at 4:26pm

Musical Theatre and believability are distant relatives.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 1/28/14 at 4:29pm

Wicked. Elphaba popping out of the trap door is just flat out stupid, and her and Fiyero leaving OZ together just annoys me. Too much of a stretch. I thought the novel did it much better.

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/28/14 at 4:31pm

thanks growl. I couldn't agree less.

[AHLiebross]

Posted: 1/28/14 at 8:39pm

Usually, I post under my "nom de plume" (nom de guerre?) of PhantomPhan, but I was too lazy to sign out after editing a review and sign back in. So here I am, as grandmotherly me.

The final moment that I really disliked was in the "new" "My Fair Lady" tour, produced by Cameron Mackintosh, which I saw at the Kennedy Center probably in about 2008. The late Christopher Cazenove, who was in his 60's and overweight, was completely miscast, in my view. Instead, Higgins should be youngish and sexy as hell. (You've certainly read rants by my alter ego, PhantomPhan,on this topic). Perhaps because of the decision to downplay any physical attraction or love interest between Higgins and Eliza, the final moment of that version consisted of the two crossing their arms and facing off. Ripoff!

[jwsel]

Posted: 1/29/14 at 2:21am

The ending of Hairspray. While 'You Can't Stop The Beat' is a terrific number, the inclusion of the Von Tussles isn't believable. The movie fixes it a little.

-------------

Kinky Boots did the same thing, including the ex-girlfriend in the finale. Actually, it annoyed me that all the workers magically showed up in Milan. I know it was necessary to have a big closing number, but it made no sense in light of the plot.

[adam.peterson44]

Posted: 1/29/14 at 4:01am

Eliza going back to Henry in My Fair Lady instead of with Freddy as in Pygmalion always highly annoyed me.

[Comden Green]

Posted: 1/29/14 at 11:03am

I agree, Adam. Annoyed is the right word. Can't see any reason to be with Higgins. And, I would have taken Freddie in heartbeat.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 1/29/14 at 11:09am

I don't like how Phantom ends with the mob chasing him down.

[Comden Green]

Posted: 1/29/14 at 11:15am

Phreak, are there two kinds of people? book wicked people and broadway wicked people. I hated the book. loved the musical. and the ending, I know it is seen as cheesy broadway but I absolutely loved it. I could even justify it. as a kid (long, long ago) we were amazed when we discovered that, in the movie, the witch was caused to melt by using a trap door in the filming. brilliant. also brilliant that the trap door from the movie could be a part of the "true" story and was the method used intentionally by elphaba and fiero to escape forever. happily ever after. I was surprised and I loved it. I might even admit to a bit of a tear. so sue me.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/29/14 at 3:43pm

For me, Spring Awakening. I thought the final song sort of came out of nowhere and made absolutely no sense. Or maybe it just felt that way because I was so sick of being beaten over the head with the after school special message, I was comatose by the time the finale arrived.

Oh, this is easy. BILLY ELLIOT. What a shame, the show ending with only Michael on the stage.

I actually liked that. Michael and Billy ultimately supported and influenced each other. They were kindred spirits. I thought it made sense that when Billy leaves, we see a symbol of their friendship and positive influence. We are left with the feeling that Michael is the beginning of the legacy Billy leaves behind. I found it quite touching.

Posted: 1/29/14 at 10:37pm

The WICKED ending is a super cop-out, and as bwayphreak says, the ambiguous ending of the book is much more satisfying.

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/29/14 at 10:49pm

" We are left with the feeling that Michael is the beginning of the legacy Billy leaves behind. I found it quite touching."
Couldn't agree less.

Updated On: 1/30/14 at 10:49 PM

[Roscoe]

Posted: 1/30/14 at 10:01am

Madam Armfeldt's death in A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC. Silly, unmotivated, and absolutely pointless. It adds absolutely nothing to the proceedings except a bit of bogus profundity. Even Ingmar Bergman didn't kill the old lady off.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 1/30/14 at 11:10am

"so sue me."

you Wicked fangirls/boys are seriously so defensive and think everyone with a different view is attacking you.

[Comden Green]

Posted: 1/30/14 at 11:43am

phreak my comment was self deprecating humor. I had no sense of being attacked. did you think I was attacking you? I wasn't. just sharing my thoughts.

however, because I liked the ending of wicked, that, somehow makes me a "Wicked fan girl/boy?" that's quite an assumption isn't it?

sheesh.
Updated On: 1/30/14 at 11:43 AM