New Broadway Book: "Flop Musicals of the Twenty-First Century"

[TheSassySam]

https://www.routledge.com/Flop-Musicals-of-the-Twenty-First-Century-How-They-Happened-When-They/Purdy/p/book/9780367173326

 

This looks to be a modern follow-up inspired by NOT SINCE CARRIE and SECOND ACT TROUBLE, focusing on 10 shows from the past 20 years.

Here are the 10 shows:

 

1 Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark

2 Lestat

3 Urban Cowboy

4 The Pirate Queen

5 Rocky

6 King Kong

7 Escape to Margaritaville

8 Glory Days

9 Bullets Over Broadway

10 Dance of the Vampires

[nealb1]

The paperback is $45, with the hardback at $110?  That's a bit much.  I'll keep monitoring Amazon for when the price is lowered to something more reasonable. 

Looks like a great read.  I saw 6 of the shows listed.  "Margaritaville" will always remain #1 for me - the worst show I ever saw.  It was just so stupid.   "Bullets" was fantastic!  Loved it!

[TheSassySam]

 Can only say I've seen half of one. I saw Escape to Margaritaville at the Chicago tryout. Two hours before curtain, while waiting for my friend, I grabbed a table and a margarita pitcher for us at a restaurant. She showed up and immediately announced she was pregnant (and therefore, couldn't drink the margaritas.) I was never wasteful person, so I finished the pitcher and went to the show. I posted on instagram about having margaritas before the show, Broadway in Chicago commented on my instagram post, "Someone came prepared!"

Which, now, I realize was a warning.

[Jordan Catalano]

I got so excited until I saw the price.

[zainmax]

It seems to use a slightly different model than NOT SINCE CARRIE.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marchershberg/2020/05/31/new-book-explores-broadway-flops/
 

Academic prices are crazy, tho textbooks were much cheaper in my day!!

[ggersten]

So, Jason Robert Brown is represented only by Urban Cowboy?  This is not a comment on the quality of JRB's work. 

And Wildhorn escapes inclusion?  Again, not a comment on the quality of Wildhorn's music.

[uncageg]

Jordan Catalano said: "I got so excited until I saw the price."

 

Same. And it is only 108 pages.

 

[zainmax]

ggersten said: "So, Jason Robert Brown is represented only by Urban Cowboy? This is not a comment on the quality of JRB's work.

And Wildhorn escapes inclusion? Again, not a comment on the quality of Wildhorn's music."

Good point. Wonderland should be in there!!

 Would you include honeymoon in Vegas??

[joevitus]

I want Dance of the Vampires to have been better than it was given credit for. But I'm perfectly willing to accept it probably wasn't.

King Kong--to me--could work. There's nothing inherently wrong with adapting it or having a giant puppet. 

[North2009]

That price.

[Scarlet Leigh]

Oh. Oh I need this. But I can wait at that price. It will hit Amazon eventually. I need this just to see what they say about Dance of the Vampires in the book because.... woof. I spoke about my experience seeing that over in the "Shows That Now Live In Infamy" topic. So all I will comment here only the one thing that I think sums it all up.... Penis. Sponge. Joke.

For reference, here is the amazon listing for those wanting to watch for a sale price: https://www.amazon.com/Flop-Musicals-Twenty-First-Century-Happened/dp/0367173328/

[[e-mail]]

Hey there! It's Stephen Purdy here, the author of the book. I'm unbelievably flattered that this interests you guys. I just wanted to to say that I ALSO think the price is far too high and have been told that this price is just an initial price and that the price will come down once the book is released. Lets hope so. Also, there is bad info on Amazon and such about the length. It's much longer than 108 pages (it's around 220 I think.) Finally, the preface explains why the choices were what they were when choosing the shows to discuss. You're absolutely right, there could have been discussion about several of the Wildhorn shows, but expect to see those in future volumes (which we are planning!) Stay well, everyone and lets all pray we are back in the theatre SOON! 

[nealb1]

Thanks, Steven.  Really looking forward to it.  Yes, Amazon does lower their prices the closer the release date is.  Anything that is pre-ordered, will automatically honor the lowest price when it ships out.  

[AADA81]

Those other two books covered many shows that had my interest and attention.  After seeing this list, I'll wait until it hits the bargain bins.

[RippedMan]

I thought "Honeymoon in Vegas" - like "Something Rotten" - had a great first 30mins and then it all went downhill from there. I'm surprised it hasn't shown up regionally anywhere as it is a well-known movie title. 

I think the list is quite interesting given that a lot of them had a lot of potential but just didn't work. I'm in the minority but I loved a lot of "Rocky" - the staging was so cool, and the song "Raining" is just so gorgeous. 

[CATSNYrevival]

Was Thou Shalt Not non-profit or a commercial run? That one continues to fascinate me. With the source material and creatives involved it should have been a bigger success. Maybe that one will be covered in a later volume.

[bwayphreak234]

I devoured this book in less than 24 hours. I had a $10 Amazon gift card on account, which knocked the Kindle ebook down to around $20. This book is definitely worth the read - ten very thorough and interesting case studies full of facts and even some fun anecdotes. I really hope there are more editions to come!

[[e-mail]]

Stephen Purdy here: Oh my gosh bwayphreak234 I'M SO glad you liked it. We authors sit in our little cubby with a Diet Coke and a computer and write and it isn't until we get feedback like this that is so important to us. Thank you for reading it--I am truly appreciative!!!! Be well and safe! 

[Matt Rogers]

The price that comes up for me on both Barnes & Noble and Amazon is $150.00, and it says it is only 114 pages. What the hell????? I can get a good seat at an actual Broadway show for less than that. Someday. One day. Maybe.

[CATSNYrevival]

Matt Rogers said: "The price that comes up for me on both Barnes & Noble and Amazon is $150.00, and it says it is only 114 pages. What the hell????? I can get a good seat at an actual Broadway show for less than that. Someday. One day. Maybe."

Calm your tits and read the posts above yours.

[Matt Rogers]

CATSNYrevival said: "Matt Rogers said: "The price that comes up for me on both Barnes & Noble and Amazon is $150.00, and it says it is only 114 pages. What the hell????? I can get a good seat at an actual Broadway show for less than that. Someday. One day. Maybe."

Calm your tits and read the posts above yours."

My tits are quite calm, Snark Queen, but thanks for your concern. ?

[nyc623]

The hardcover book is 108 pages. It’s not a misprint. The online retailers are not mistaken.

[CATSNYrevival]

We’ve been duped.

[joevitus]

No editor seems to have caught--on the first page of the first chapter--that the title of a famous magazine is The New Yorker, not New Yorker (hypothetically, you can say "As was stated in the/a New Yorker article..." but that isn't the sort of sentence structure in which the error appears). Read what I could on the Amazon preview. It seems to be rehashing what a Broadway aficionado would know from other sources, not just transient newspaper articles but other works in book form. Not seeing a lot of new information, nor any real analysis of the shows themselves. Instead it seems a recounting of their troubled production histories. Not sure I see the value in the book.

Also, as it's published by Routledge, an academic press, I don't expect the price to come down much, even in paperback.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Indeed. In reading the chapter on DOTV, a lot of it seems to be rehashed from my write-ups on the subject, possibly with some new quotes mixed in.