MERLIN - The Musical Flop...

[ljay889]

Did anyone get to see the 1983 flop MERLIN starring Chita Rivera?


On that infamous video site if you search "Chita Merlin" you can see the TV Commercial for the show from 1983, and it's hilarious. It looks like one big freak show. Also there is a performance by Chita as The Queen on the Merv Griffin show, and the song isn't that bad.

I wish they made a recording of it. It did get several Tony nominations including a nomination for Chita, so I imagine she was quite good in it.

But from the commerical it looks so hilarious. I would love to hear from someone who saw it.

[CastAlbumFan]

Didn't see it (I was only seven at the time) but I can tell you it was a poor attempt to give magician Doug Hennig another Broadway hit (After the surprise success of THE MAGIC SHOW). As for Doug's singing, let's just say all of his songs were cut before the Broadway opening.

Of course Chita was good (What show has she done that she DIDN't get nominated for a Tony? Besides MR. WONDERFUL?)

[BSoBW2]

I have I CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN stuck in my head. The staging looked pretty cool for it, though...with her cape and the people.

The orchestrations are so wonderfully '80's!

And Nathan Lane before he was the King of Broadway.

[Producer2]

I have "It's About Magic" in my head. What's even sadder is I can remember the commercial on tv in the 80's!

[Mattbrain]

It really does look like crap. Another show that belonged in a theme park.

[Yankeefan007]

Nathan Lane was in it, too.

[DottieD'Luscia]

I can still picture the marquis in my head (Chita's eyes). I think it played at the Mark Hellinger Theatre.

[ljay889]

Chita actually WASN'T nominated for West Side Story (suprisingly) and Bajour.

[purpleprince101]

parents saw it....and didn't really liked it....but they said chita's performance was amazazing...but they said that the theatre was very empty.

[Heybeenfood]

Purpleprince, I can see you inherited your parents bad taste.

[NathanLaneStalker]

I hear Nathan and Chita were good. I remember Nathan Lane saying in an interview "The thing about Doug Henning was that he could make the audience dissapear too!"

[D2]

I remember that I saw it, that Chita Rivera was the best thing in it, that it did indeed play at the Mark Hellinger Theatre, that it was very colorful, and some of the magic was astounding. Other than that I don't remember much - I don't even remember Nathan Lane being in it although I know he was.

[husk_charmer]

I've heard tell that after the Unicorn scene one night, Henning walked offstage and before they got his mike off you heard him say something to the effect of "The audience isn't getting it" and you hear several, including Chita tell him his mike is on.

[NathanLaneStalker]

Hahaha. Thats funny!

[Shakespearean]

Wow, there's a memory! Being a young amateur magician and newly declared technical theatre major back in 1983, going to see Merlin was a no-brainer. I loved the magic, loved the sets, but wasn't thrilled with the show as a whole. It seemed kind of choppy and cobbled together though I was glad Doug Henning didn't sing. Some of the tunes were catchy and the panther was fun. I loved Chita but had no clue who Nathan Lane or Christia Slater would become (there was no Psychic Friends network yet). had I known, I might have paid more attention just for the 'old greybeard I remember when' factor ! I was actually more impressed that it was produced by Ivan reitman, who gave us Stripes and Animal House (reference back to the I was a college student part of this post)and I had a lingering hpe of seeing Animal House become a musical. Ah to be young and... er... 'nuff said!

P.S. Some of the songs ended up on the 'Unsung Musicals II' album. Hrm, why do we still call them albums?

[TheSassySam]

Happy to bring back this ancient thread to show you this Chita Rivera performance and interview on the Merv Griffin show. Bless her, for trying her hardest to sell this show. 

https://youtu.be/QCCm-4DJoTw

Did anybody see Merlin? From my understanding, Frank Rich was tired of the delayed opening night, so he bought a ticket to go see the show and reviewed it. 

I wish there was a commercial cast recording released, I would love to hear the music... no matter how terrible it was. 

 

[Owen22]

I saw this on a college trip to NYC.  I don't remember much except this guy named Nathan Lane, on crutches (!) stealing every scene he was in (he played the comic son of the Evil Queen, Chita Rivera as the pre Authurian magician's arch nemisis).  I also remember a tiger "appearing" onstage but easily seeing how the trick was done...

[Jarethan]

ljay889 said: "Did anyone get to see the 1983 flop MERLIN starring Chita Rivera?


On that infamous video site if you search "Chita Merlin" you can see the TV Commercial for the show from 1983, and it's hilarious. It looks like one big freak show. Also there is a performance by Chita as The Queen on the Merv Griffin show, and the song isn't that bad.

I wish they made a recording of it. It did get several Tony nominations including a nomination for Chita, so I imagine she was quite good in it.

But from the commerical it looks so hilarious. I would love to hear from someone who saw it.
 

It is hard to describe how bad this show was.  It opened in a really crummy season -- we have been lucky for awhile now -- and didn't deserve any Tony nominations, including for Chita.  (Not to disparage her, but this is one of several shows for which she did not deserve the nomination she received.  She has had the unfortunate bad luck of being in some really bad shows (providing no good material to the performers) that opened in really bad seasons, allowing her to receive undeserved nominations, e.g., Merlin and Bring Back Birdie, off the top of my head, but I do think there is at least one more.  Since her Tony loss for Chicago was one of the greater disgraces in Tony history -- Donna McKechnie deserved to win featured actress, but not lead, especially given Rivera's performance -- I guess it all evens out.

Now, back to Merlin.  Doug Henning was a terrific illusionist, but he had zero physical presence (slight and skinny), zero charisma, a dull speaking voice, couldn't sing a note.  So, other than the tricks, there was a big void at the center of the show.  The writing was bad, but we'll never know how much that had to do with Henning's compete lack of any performing talent outside of magic.  I remember liking the costumes.  I don't remember Nathan Lane in the show, but I know he has referred to it in a very disparaging way.

 

 

[Dollypop]

Saw the show. Remember nothing about it.

[tomwsjr]

Ok, saw it while in high school and actually liked it.  Chita was out, I saw an actress called Spence Ford, who was terrific.  What ever happened to her?  Anyhow, I remember loving the costumes, sets, magic tricks, live animals, some catchy songs that I actually sung while walking out of the theatre (It's about Magic and I can make it happen), and I also distinctly remember Nathan Lane's performance, who stole every scene he was in.  Anyhow, I knew at the time it wasn't considered a "good musical", but for me it was a really fun time in the theatre!!!