There is a decent show in there somewhere?- Page 1

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 4/8/20 at 7:14pm

I am thinking of flop shows, that could be a hit if the creativity was re thought out.

A good example is Tarzan, obviously the show is what it was on Broadway, but Haag been transformed in Europe. Same for Legally Blonde which was downsized for the West End and became a big hit.

Any other shows guys?

[Huss417]

Posted: 4/8/20 at 7:28pm

Steel Pier

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 4/8/20 at 7:34pm

Do you think Bright Star could have fallen under this category?

 

Also...I think Bandstand qualifies. 

[copskid949]

Posted: 4/8/20 at 7:47pm

I don’t understand the Legally Blonde thing. I’ve always liked it.

Anyways, Little Mermaid is a big example of one that’s already happened.

I honestly think Be More Chill has a LOT of potential to be great, but the campiness of the Broadway production really overshadowed the cool parts. The original production just feels much more earnest in its presentation, not some big event. It’s about an unimportant character, but the show as it was most recently presented carries a rock star vibe. It’s off putting for sure, but it looks like London’s marketing at least will scale it back a bit.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 4/8/20 at 7:49pm

Women on the Verge.

[MollyJeanneMusic]

Posted: 4/8/20 at 7:57pm

copskid949 said: "I don’t understand the Legally Blonde thing. I’ve always liked it.

Anyways, Little Mermaid is a big example of one that’s already happened.

I honestly think Be More Chill has a LOT of potential to be great, but the campiness of the Broadway production really overshadowed the cool parts. The original production just feels much more earnest in its presentation, not some big event. It’s about an unimportant character, but the show as it was most recently presented carries a rock star vibe. It’s off putting for sure, but it looks like London’s marketing at least will scale it back a bit."

From what I've seen of each production of BMC, the 2.0 (Off-Broadway) production seems like the best.  Enough tweaks to make the show better but not enough to overshadow the earnestness and humor.  By the time they got to Broadway, the characters seemed like caricatures yet the show's plot was taken too seriously, making the show seem like a bunch of angsty teenagers whining about life.  (And I am a teenager, so this isn't me being an older person who's "out of touch" with today's youth or whatever.)  The Off-Broadway production seemed more professional and upscale than the original but still maintaining that huge heart of the original production.

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 4/8/20 at 7:59pm

copskid949 said: "I don’t understand the Legally Blonde thing. I’ve always liked it.

Anyways, Little Mermaid is a big example of one that’s already happened.

I honestly think Be More Chill has a LOT of potential to be great, but the campiness of the Broadway production really overshadowed the cool parts. The original production just feels much more earnest in its presentation, not some big event. It’s about an unimportant character, but the show as it was most recently presented carries a rock star vibe. It’s off putting for sure, but it looks like London’s marketing at least will scale it back a bit."

I really liked BMC off-Broadway, and I knew someone who was working on the production. Last year I saw it with my parents on Broadway to support her. 

I fell asleep.  I don't know what happened, but something got lost in between Off-Broadway and coming to Broadway. 

[Plannietink08]

Posted: 4/8/20 at 8:00pm

Legally Blonde wasn’t downsized for the UK. It was the same production. 

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 4/8/20 at 8:29pm

Huss417 said: "Steel Pier"

I 100% agree. I wish someone would try to re-tackle that show with a new script and new vision. There's some gorgeous music but the book is a mess.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 4/8/20 at 9:53pm

Mack and Mabel comes to mind, though I don't find the book as problematic as everyone else seems to.  I'm still interested in seeing what Julie Taymor would've done with Spiderman.  Also any bio-jukebox musical, since most of the people that they're about do seem to have interesting lives but you wouldn't know that from the musicals that were made (imo it was all downhill after Jersey Boys with a minor uptick in Beautiful).  I also really enjoyed the Lightning Thief songs but I think the book decided to go with humor that was too broad and cheap, and they really could've scaled up many aspects of it while still keeping that scrappy charm.

[bwayobsessed]

Posted: 4/8/20 at 10:08pm

I feel like I’m going to get hate for this but: Camelot. I think there’s an interesting core story and some good songs. But at this point feels dated and meandering. I think if it got a modern (feminist) revamping it could be quite good.

[hork]

Posted: 4/9/20 at 11:53am

Chess, obviously.

[broadway86]

Posted: 4/9/20 at 12:00pm

bwayobsessed said: "I feel like I’m going to get hate for this but: Camelot. I think there’s an interesting core story and some good songs. But at this point feels dated and meandering. I think if it got a modern (feminist) revamping it could be quite good."

Totally agree.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 4/9/20 at 12:53pm

The Prom. The stuff with the high schoolers is really great, but I find the stuff with the Broadway actors to be completely insufferable.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 4/9/20 at 1:01pm

Agree re Chess in particular. Just not sure re M&M. The basic story is such a downer. They would have to only focus on part of the story, but songs would no longer work; give it a Pulp Fictuon telling (out of order, the dead guys are happy at the end of the movie because it is not the end of the story. I am betting it will never work.

Add Gigi for me and, much as I loved Bandstand, it could have been better, especially the way they wrote the mother’s role so broadly. Hallelujah Baby also comes to mind.

To restate, I think there are great shows in there for the ones I selected.

Updated On: 4/9/20 at 01:01 PM

[Loopin’theloop]

Posted: 4/9/20 at 5:32pm

Plannietink08 said: "Legally Blonde wasn’t downsized for the UK. It was the same production."

It was. The cast was reduced for one.

The big retool, that was cited as making it work better was that they focused more on Elle as a comic lead, than a belter who can do a bit of comedy. The show has always been an old fashioned musical comedy, at heart. Allowing Sheridan Smith to make Elle more in the mould of a Judy Holliday big warm hearted personality type, helped focus the show enormously.

[hak5]

Posted: 4/9/20 at 6:20pm

with a little tweaking and a completely redone Act 2 set, I believe Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would have been much better

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 4/9/20 at 8:45pm

hak5 said: "with a little tweaking and a completely redone Act 2 set, I believe Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would have been much better"

Gosh, just to build a little off this while I type up my own reply, that show was a shame because the West End show while still not great was a good base to build off of. It had good sets, it had good magic tricks (the reveal of Wonka at the factory and then his disappearance at the end were both INCREDIBLE), the Oompa Loompa costumes were pretty decent... it just needed some book work. It was like... they redesigned the Broadway production with the touring production in mind. As if they had no faith in it's chance on a New York Stage so rather than keep it big and impressive they trimmed it down from the start.
 

[joevitus]

Posted: 4/9/20 at 9:01pm

Saw Legally Blonde on MTV and thought it was cute. Nothing great but nothing really wrong. Enough of a lift to be above "dully mediocre." Having a "Greek" chorus was fun and "Gay or European" a nifty comic number.

Maybe Heathers should be listed here.

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 4/9/20 at 11:22pm

I have 2 that like I think about "what if" all the time with.

First one is Tuck Everlasting. Yes, it's a book that a lot of children read, but it's better then the overpriced children's theatre we got. There is actually a very DARK ending to the book involving Ma getting accused of murder and having to break her out of jail and such. I really felt like if they should have taken the material a but more serious, trimmed off the fat that was the obnoxious ever present chorus of random dancers in EVERY number, you could have devoted more time to a better ending that felt like it actually was a legit climax instead of just a rushed resolution.

Second one is Wonderland. I followed the development of the show thru all it's out of town tryouts and it really looked like they were working in each one towards something pretty decent. I was very excited for the show when it was coming in as the Alice as an overworked author heading into Wonderland after her neglected daughter is lured there first and her search for her daughter but finding something more along the way. It was interesting, it had a point. It still needed some work but all they had to do was improve upon what they had and tweek it. Naawwwwww scrap the idea that was already kinda working, make it allllll just a random nonsensical dream sequence-oh wait we need the daughter for these songs we already have written? Just find a random reason to get her there and then CUT the song anyway so having her there doesn't actually matter at all and make sure to explain nothing with logic cus it's Wonderland and make things way worse then it was even from the start of development. Those songs deserve SO much better then what it ended up being.

[thebookofwhizzer]

Posted: 4/14/20 at 10:30am

Obviously, Carrie. The 2013 version is great.

[BeNice]

Posted: 4/14/20 at 11:25am

The Color Purple.

I saw the expensive original productions on Broadway a couple of times and did not think it was great.

In this latest revival when John Doyle scaled it WAY back to one set and let Cynthia Erivo and (I saw) Heather Headley shine it was like a completely brand new show. I heard lyrics I had never heard before and the story was so so moving.

I was floored how it went from not on my radar to one of the best things I have seen in Bway.

[Lot666]

Posted: 4/14/20 at 1:33pm

chrishuyen said: "I'm still interested in seeing what Julie Taymor would've done with Spiderman."

Me too. I would still pay big bucks for a high quality recording of "Behold and Wonder".

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 4/27/20 at 3:37pm

I feel like The Addams Family could’ve been a great show, but the execution of both the Broadway and updated versions left a lot to be desired.

[HenryTDobson]

Posted: 4/27/20 at 4:16pm

Sister Act comes to mind. Not a terrible show by any means, but could have been so much better. Same goes for Memphis.