Favorite Flop?

[JuneJune]

I feel like I'm the only one on this board that loved King Kong. It was incredibly cheesy and predictable for sure, but entertained me throughout and the puppet really was enough to keep me in awe.

[markypoo]

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[songanddanceman2]

American Psycho.

[songanddanceman2]

American Psycho.

[gibsons2]

JuneJune said: "I feel like I'm the only one on this board that loved King Kong. It was incredibly cheesy and predictable for sure, but entertained me throughout and the puppet really was enough to keep me in awe."

I loved King Kong too! So did my kids and their pre-teen and teen friends! 

 

[ACL2006]

[title of show]

Escape to Margaritaville

The Full Monty

Big Fish

[magictodo123]

Call_me_jorge said: "Home for the holidays....


In all seriousness:Bright Star, Shrek, and Parade.



"

? I still mourn Bright Star....Carmen Cusack was phenomenal. I loved that show so much! 

[Broadway Buddy]

Head over heels! And I love tootsie but it lasted longer than some of these on the list. But yeah... Tootsie

[joevitus]

Mister Matt said: "

Saw it right before it transferred from the Alley in Houston to Broadway. Matinee audience filled with people who had seen the show multiple times. I thought it was so god-awful and couldn't believe it was going to be a hit on Broadway. Turned out my disbelief was prophetic.

I saw it at the Alley as well and left at intermission. I heard they changed the set and costumes for Broadway, which could only have been an improvement. At the Alley, the set looked like the fall of Rome and the costumes were oddly contemporary with the occasional hint of the 1930s. With the exception of some of the lyrics, there didn't seem to be much about it that resembled the Civil War at all. I do wish I'd seen Svengali, however. If only for the cast."

The set was no set. They had a question/answer session after the performance I attended and addressed the intentionally contemporary looking costumes (save one that comes at the end of the show). I commented that the show seemed to go out of it's way to ignore why the Civil War was fought and to make it look like one more anonymous war where neither side was really wrong. The director got huffy and said the title of the show was The Civil War, not Historical Reasons for Fighting the Civil War. Loser. 

[trentsketch]

I have a soft spot in my heart for Amour. The score and the cast were wonderful and it was great to hear Michel Legrand's work performed live.

[Sushisake]

I have three favorites:

Dear World

Legs Diamond

Honeymoon in Vegas

[802AFM]

I don't see much but I loved Cry-Baby.  The license plate dance number sent me over the moon

[Mr Roxy]

To Sushi. Totally agree

Cannot comment on last 3 or 4 years as have not seen anything over that period but definitely can comment on anything prior to 2015

[Someone in a Tree2]

To Mr Roxy and Sushisake, thanks for the fond nod to LEGS DIAMOND, the last production on Broadway I worked on, night and day for 6 months. 

[CATSNYrevival]

Someone in a Tree2 said: "To Mr Roxy and Sushisake, thanks for the fond nod to LEGS DIAMOND, the last production on Broadway I worked on, night and day for 6 months."

I still think Legs Diamond has a good enough score to make a comeback someday with a new book and the right leading man.

[Someone in a Tree2]

^ I’m not convinced of that. It’s a show built around an essentially selfish gangster antihero with no happy romantic ending. The most charismatic guy in the world couldn’t make Legs lovable.

[joevitus]

Someone in a Tree2 said: "^ I’m not convinced of that. It’s a show built around an essentially selfish gangster antihero with no happy romantic ending. The most charismatic guy in the world couldn’t make Legs lovable."

That could easily describe Pal Joey.

[Impossible2]

The Great Comet

[David10086]

One of my most memorable flops was “Marlene” starring Sian Phillips - whom I love in everything. Show was OK but she was great. Should have lasted longer.

And if it’s in the flop category ( there’s disagreements still after 20+ years) : Sunset Blvd. Loved it.

[UsedToBeTheKing]

I love the proshot of Victor/Victoria. Part nostalgic feelings from watching it every day after school for a month in high school, and part appreciation for the cast. It was around a lot longer than most of these shows, but with less than 50% recoupment, terrible reviews, and the myriad of production issues I think it's fair to call it a flop.

[henrikegerman]

TRIUMPH OF LOVE

[bear88]

I'm the sixth or seventh person to say Great Comet. It flopped for a long list of reasons, including the fact that not enough people found it as wonderful as I did. It's the musical I wish had lasted for 2 or 3 years, and toured, so I could have seen many times - instead of just once. 

Honorable mention: I saw it in out-of-town tryouts, but Head Over Heels was great fun. Yeah, the musical was flawed but its charms were enough to get me to see it twice. (Taking the family to see it in a local production in San Francisco next month.)

 

 

[Pashacar]

For shows that just didn't recoup, Spongebob and Significant Other.

If we're talking real FLOP flops, Gettin the Band Back Together made me laugh harder than I ever thought it would, and probably harder than I ever had in a Broadway theater.

[Ledaero]

bear88 said: "I'm the sixth or seventh person to say Great Comet."

I know this has already been discussed earlier, but I would like to bring up the question again: What constitutes a flop in this conversation? I don't think financial flop is a good enough definition because the majority of shows don't recoup in general nowadays. Take for example a show like the Great Comet: by any fiscal definition this show was a MAJOR flop (recouping less than 20% of its budget), but the show ran for 11 months, garnered 12 Tony nominations in all major categories, and has a thriving fan base on the internet. I would never consider Comet a "flop," but I would consider it a financial failure. I would argue that a flop is a show that closes unexpectedly early after an extremely short run (less than 3 months?). Anyone agree or disagree, have further thoughts? Would love for this board to be more specific.


"

 

[Mr Roxy]

Someone in a Tree2 said: "To Mr Roxy and Sushisake, thanks for the fond nod to LEGS DIAMOND, the last production on Broadway I worked on, night and day for 6 months."

3 or 4 good numbers. Rest of score left me cold. Guaranteed if it were revived with Hugh Jackman in the lead it would be a smash hit