Favorite Short Lived Musicals?

[AADA81]

I'll add 2 more:

Sweet Smell of Success - great, smoky score and good story; John Lithgow and Bryan D'Arcy James were great, too

Catch Me If You Can - Yes, Aaron Tveit was bland and Norbert Leo Butz was over-the-top .... but the score was top notch and worked well with the story

[mattyp4]

I still have a soft spot for Taboo. Wish I could see it again. I still listen to the cast album a lot.

[jkstheatrescene]

I recently did a blog about this very topic!

 

https://jkstheatrescene.blogspot.com/2019/07/300-shows-favorite-flops.html

 

I'm glad (relieved?) to see that I am not alone on many of these!

[yankeefan7]

" Catch Me If You Can - Yes, Aaron Tveit was bland and Norbert Leo Butz was over-the-top .... but the score was top notch and worked well with the story "

My favorite was Kerry Butler singing "Fly Away".

[Hairspray0901]

Bright Star

[Mr. Wormwood]

Steel Pier
Groundhog Day
Catch Me If You Can

[Jarethan]

Not sure about The Scottsboro Boys (which was around that number), but the rest ran less than 100 performances:

— Drat! The Cat (8 perf)
— Darling of the Day (32 performance)
— The Scottsboro Boys
— The Grand Tour
— Maggie Flynn (60s)
— Cry For Us All / Who to Love (a week or so)
— Cyrano (Christopher Plummer)
— Shuffle Along
—

[CATSNYrevival]

How about Martin Guerre? I've been listening to the original cast album, not the later revised version, and the original is wonderful. I wish Cameron Mackintosh hadn't given up on reviving it. I'd like to see that one back some day.

[Demitri2]

SIDE SHOW  and its revisal

KING OF HEARTS

WILD PARTY (LaChiusa  version)

MACK and MABEL

THE BAKER'S WIFE

ANYONE CAN WHISTLE

 

[markypoo]

Going back more than 50 years:

Dear World

[Jarethan]

CATSNYrevival said: "How about Martin Guerre? I've been listening to the original cast album, not the later revised version, and the original is wonderful. I wish Cameron Mackintosh hadn't given up on reviving it. I'd like to see that one back some day."

It doesn’t sound as if you saw it.  I saw it in DC and can only say that it was one of the most boring shows I have seen in the past 20 years.  You were so bored by what was happening on stage that you didn’t even notice if the ending was any good.

[CATSNYrevival]

Jarethan said: "It doesn’t sound as if you saw it. I saw it in DC and can only say that it was one of the most boring shows I have seen in the past 20 years. You were so bored by what was happening on stage that you didn’t even notice if the ending was any good."

That was the revised version though. The second or third major rewrite as far as I know. The original London production was very different and the most recent staging at the Watermill Theatre in 2007 reverted back to a lot of the original material. Maybe I'm just a sucker for courtroom drama.

[Pashacar]

Hot Pants said: "SpongeBob Squarepants. The show was such a wonderful surprise. What could’ve been a soulless cash grab had so much care and effort put into it. The direction, the cast, and the music were all absolutely excellent. Not to mention, it introduced the world to Ethan Slater."

So well said! Miss it dearly.

I'd also add Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson to the mix.

[daredevil]

The Human Comedy--Music by Galt McDermott. Transferred from the public in April of 84. Really good score with great feeling.

[VivianDarkbloom2]

1. Side Show, original and revival (I like the score in the revival better)
2. Great Comet
3. Carrie (the good, the bad, I love it all!)

[BWAY Baby2]

I loved Victor/Victoria with Julie Andrews- I know it got dissed- but I personally loved it. Going back a million years- loved Flora The Red Menace- Liza's first BWAY show- and a flop- boy I loved that as a kid. Also a musical no one ever mentions- Skyscraper- Julie Harris was one of the stars- I loved it. Long, long time ago, I know. I also loved Parade- a very serious and engrossing look at racism in Georgia. I love serious musicals.

[PepperedShepherd]

GROUNDHOG DAY

[wonderwaiter]

I still can't listen to the cast recording of [title of show] without crying. 

[MemorableUserName]

WOMEN ON THE VERGE...  Saw it twice and almost went back for a third before it closed--wish that I had. It wasn't perfect, but it was far more fun and entertaining than the buzz around it said. Great score, great performances.

[qolbinau]

yankeefan7 said: "" Catch Me If You Can - Yes, Aaron Tveit was bland and Norbert Leo Butz was over-the-top .... but the score was top notch and worked well with the story "

My favorite was Kerry Butler singing "Goodbye"."

Lol, were you drunk? It was Tveit's character that sung "Goodbye". Kerry Butler sang "Fly, Fly Away".

 

[Colin852]

2 words: AMERICAN PSYCHO! (That opening number!!!)

[Jessryn]

Great Comet, Bright Star, Bandstand

[After Eight]

I so loved Georgy, Sophie, Hot Spot, The Student Gypsy, Darling of the Day, The Happiest Girl in the World...  these and so many others of cherished recollection.

[Kitsune]

Off the top of my head:

1. Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812. I saw it two times total, both of which were during its final weekend. Since then my boyfriend and I have become big Dave Malloy fans, and were lucky enough to see both Ghost Quartet and Octet.

2. Head Over Heels. I saw it four times in San Francisco, and three in New York. I'm sad it never found an audience, because HOH was pure joy to me.

3. Groundhog Day. See icon. This show is incredibly near and dear to my heart, and I'm thrilled that regional productions are now popping up.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Classics: RAGS, THE RINK, THE SECRET GARDEN (would that be considered short-lived?)

Recent: BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, GROUNDHOG DAY, GARY (I know, I know, not really a musical, but sort of...), also THE NANCE (see note above for GARY).