Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time
Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time
#1Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time
Posted: 1/16/18 at 8:34am
The other thread about shows people hated the first time, but loved/liked the second time got me thinking about the opposite. What are some shows that you really enjoyed the first time you saw them, but maybe did not like after seeing them again? Mine are...
The Humans
Dear Evan Hansen
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#2Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time
Posted: 1/16/18 at 11:09am
I'm not sure if I went from ever loving a show to actively disliking it. I know for sure that nearly any show I've seen multiple times the flaws (big or small) become much more evident.
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#3Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time
Posted: 1/16/18 at 11:31am
Next to Normal. Loved it with Ripley the first time. Saw it with her understudy the second time. She was perfectly serviceable, but it became clear to me that the show needs a magnetic, powerhouse performer as Diana for it to really work. All of the flaws in the book and lyrics became more exposed without Ripley’s presence. I then saw it a 3rd time with Ripley in Seattle, and she was having severe vocal problems, making the show a chore to sit through. How I wish I could have seen it with Mazzie.
"Broadway...I'll lick you yet!"
Updated On: 1/16/18 at 11:31 AM
#4Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time
Posted: 1/16/18 at 11:56am
The movie version of Les Mis, if that counts
#5Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time
Posted: 1/16/18 at 12:16pm
Young Frankenstein I saw it with the original cast second row, and almost fell out of my seat I was laughing so hard....I saw it again in December 2008 after Foster, Martin, Mullally, and Fitzgerald left and sat in the dress circle and it felt like the longest 2.5 hours in my life. No offense to their replacements, but as the comedic side characters to Bart's straight man, Foster, Martin, Mullally, and Fitzgerald were able to hide the sup-par writing with their own comedic wits and physical comedy. Martin and Fitzgerald especially know how to milk an audience to every last laugh, and that's why they both became "marquee names" in their subsequent productions...
(Yes I know Martin was a sketch comedy legend from SCTV before Young Frankenstein, but I think Young Frankenstein helped relaunch her career . Fitzgerald's star has faded in the years since, but in the following years he was the breakout in Finian's Rainbow, and even had an entire production of Barnum being build around him. Uunfortunately that production flopped when it premiere at the Chichester Festival Theatre, which was when he started to fade)
BroadwayConcierge
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/24/15
#6Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time
Posted: 1/16/18 at 12:34pmMamma Mia! in its final years on Broadway. I still love the show itself and consider it a guilty pleasure, but the production felt very tired after so many years. It was like a chore to get through when I revisited it.
#7Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time
Posted: 1/16/18 at 12:39pmI didn’t HATE it, but I was very underwhelmed the second time I saw Hamilton. It just felt so tired the second time around. The first time I got to see Joshua as Burr, who was phenomenal. The second time I saw Jin Ha as Burr and he had no stage presence whatsoever. It also didn’t help Ari Afsar had gotten significantly worse vocally.
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Jarethan
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/10/11
#8Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time
Posted: 1/16/18 at 1:37pm
Have to admit that I did not like Hamilton nearly as much the second time, this despite having much better seats than the first time (which ever very close and very far to the side). I did see the original cast the first time, which absolutely did make a difference. The second time I saw it, I was much more aware of how busy everything was -- I said in another post that I thought it was over-directed, and that detracted from my enjoyment.
Also A Chorus Line. I have always thought that ACL was overrated, but there was a steep drop from first viewing to second.
All-time: The Wiz. Loved it the first time, just after it became a hit, i.e., performers on fire, audience very wuchthe same. The second time I realized that it was a real tough trip...the score is really miserable, minus Ease on Down, If You Believe, and maybe Home. I was bored stiff the second time.
More recently: One Man, Two Governors. The second time I saw it was in a different production, without James Corden. I went from loving it to almost hating it. Why: one reason. The person who played Corden's role seemed more like a child molester. Corden could take the raunchiest piece of material and somehow still project innocence. This person could not, and that destroyed it. I might add that the other person seemed quite talented...just not for that role.
Memphis: I saw it the day after it surprised everyone by getting some excellent reviews (and even the bad ones found good things to say. The cast was pumped...wanted to go out and prove that the reviews were deserved. The audience was pumped because they were smart enough to get tickets before it became a hard ticket (which never really happened). In any event, it was terrifically entertaining, and the cast was uniformly excellent. The second time, it was almost weird, mainly based on Chad Kimball's evolving and almost embarrassing performance.
The Lion King...the first time, you are so impressed by Julie Taymor's set pieces that you don't get bored. The second time, once The Circle of Life is over, there are a lot of rough patches.
Emmaloucbway
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/16/11
#9Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time
Posted: 1/16/18 at 1:48pm
bdn223 said: "Young FrankensteinI saw it with the original cast second row, and almost fell out of my seat I was laughing so hard....I saw it again in December 2008 after Foster, Martin, Mullally, and Fitzgerald left and sat in the dress circle and it felt like the longest 2.5 hours in my life. No offense to their replacements, but as the comedic side characters to Bart's straight man, Foster, Martin, Mullally, and Fitzgerald were able to hide the sup-par writing with their own comedic wits and physical comedy. Martin and Fitzgerald especially know how to milk an audience to every last laugh, and that's why they both became "marquee names" in their subsequent productions...
(Yes I know Martin was a sketch comedy legend from SCTV before Young Frankenstein, but I think Young Frankenstein helped relaunch her career .Fitzgerald's star has faded in the years since, but in the following years he was the breakout inFinian's Rainbow, and even had an entire production ofBarnumbeing build around him. Uunfortunately that productionflopped when it premiere at the Chichester Festival Theatre, which was when he started to fade)"
Fitzgerald is currently starring in Waitress, he's been in it since it started on Broadway and got a Tony nomination for the role!
#10Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time
Posted: 1/16/18 at 2:33pm
Wicked. For me, I think I was overwhelmed (in the best way possible) by the sheer spectacle the first time around, but the flaws in both the book and the score became glaringly apparent seeing it the second time. I wouldn't go so far as to say I dislike it but now it falls more into the 'meh' category as far as I'm concerned.
"You drank a charm to kill John Proctor's wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!" - Betty Parris to Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller's The Crucible
Brian07663NJ
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/21/06
#11Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time
Posted: 1/16/18 at 3:14pm
LOVED The Lion King the first time but unfortunately realized the second time that the wow factors for me were the big reveal moments of how artistically things were translated to the stage (example - the drought being a sheet slowly pulled through a hole in the center of the stage to show how the water disappeared.) Once you have seen it the first time it is no longer a wow that was cool moment.
a-mad
Featured Actor Joined: 8/25/11
#12Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time
Posted: 1/16/18 at 3:22pm
I first saw Miss Saigon in Seattle in the newly-renovated (at that time) spectacular Paramount theater. The entire evening was breathtaking - the theater, the setting, the music, the spectacle... it was mesmerizing.
I saw the show about two years later in NYC near the end of it's run to a half-full theater, and it felt tired. There were still thrilling elements, and I will always love the music and the experience of "my first time" but it lost a bit of its' lustre.
MyLife
Broadway Star Joined: 12/2/06
#13Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time
Posted: 1/16/18 at 4:12pm
Something Rotten
The first time I laughed until I cried, thought all the inside jokes were marvelous, etc. The second time I was so bored and kept looking at my watch, wondering when it would end. I realized the book was awful and the jokes lose their humor very quickly. They're too cheap and easy that once you know they're coming, they're not at all funny. Book of Mormon, on the other hand, never gets old for me.
#14Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time
Posted: 1/16/18 at 7:13pm
I thought Wicked was fantastic and clever and funny and beautiful the first time I saw it. Second time... eh.
Interestingly enough neither was on Broadway - 1st was in LA, second in London.
Broadwaygirl202
Stand-by Joined: 8/11/13
#15Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time
Posted: 1/16/18 at 7:43pm
I agree with BroadwayConcierge about Mamma Mia. I saw it on Broadway in 2009 and it was great! I had front row seats, it was my 19th birthday, and I got to see the fabulous Carolee Carmello! I saw it again in July 2014 after they moved to the Broadhurst. The whole experience was lackluster, we were sitting on the extreme right side and the sound was way too loud, and the ensemble didn’t have any energy. The only redeeming thing about it was the three dynamos. Seeing Judy McLane as Donna, instead of Tonya, was really cool to see and Lauren Cohn was hilarious as Rosie. I wasn’t surprised when it closed a year later. I’m seeing my first regional production of the show in April and I am interested to see how it compares to the Broadway and touring versions.
AntV
Broadway Star Joined: 12/23/12
#16Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time
Posted: 1/17/18 at 7:57am
Something Rotten and School of Rock
Two shows that rely on comedy and loud upbeat songs so they were highly enjoyable the first time, but upon second viewing the weak scores and books are more evident.
elephantseye
Stand-by Joined: 2/14/17
#17Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time
Posted: 1/17/18 at 8:34am
Book of Mormon for me. I saw it once on Broadway with the original cast and loved it, then twice more in the span of two years with friends when it began to tour. A majority of Book of Mormon's jokes rely on at least a little bit of shock value, so once you know what's coming they lose their punch.
#18Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time
Posted: 1/17/18 at 9:37am
I have seen Wicked more times than I care to admit (have a daughter with a slight addiction to it) and have been over and under whelmed based solely on the leads.
I agree with something rotten- LOVED it the first time, enjoyed it (but not nearly as much) the 2nd time.
#19Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time
Posted: 1/17/18 at 9:43am
I saw Dear Evan Hansen with Ben Platt and raved about his performance to my husband. I bought tickets for both of us for our next trip to NY and arrived at the theatre to discover that Mr. Platt was out sick. Michael Lee Brown performed the role and it was a completely different show; neither of us liked it.
"Michael Riedel...The Perez Hilton of the New York Theatre scene"
- Craig Hepworth, What's On Stage
VotePeron
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/2/13
#20Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time
Posted: 1/17/18 at 10:35am
I "enjoyed" Dear Evan Hansen and the music enough the first time at Second Stage to visit it again in previews on Broadway, but it became abundantly clear how morally corrupt the story and character is, it took all enjoyment of the show away from me. Sure, the show is entertaining and a tear-jerker, but I very much dislike sitting through a show trying to root for a character I despise.
bwayandstuff
Stand-by Joined: 5/5/16
#21Shows you loved the first time, but disliked the second time
Posted: 1/17/18 at 11:15am
Dear Evan Hansen
Loved it the first time I saw it. I laughed, I cried, I was in love with the music. I felt so unfulfilled after I saw it again 5 months later. Same cast each time w/ no replacements. I just felt like there wasn't anything terribly special about it besides Ben Platt's performance.
