What Shows Were Great Surprises?

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 12:24am

To me the best example in recent years is SpongeBob SquarePants. The idea of turning SpongeBob into a musical sounds like the definition of a cash grab. But the way they did it resulted in a show with a lot of genuine heart, good humor, and excellent designs that was clearly made by people who love the source material. The music being done by so many different artists sounds disastrous, but not only are the songs good, the score somehow didnt feel like it was inconsistently going all over the place.

For an example going way back, Assassins is a truly crazy idea for a musical, but the end result is fascinating.

For another Sondheim show, I doubt many people wouldve predicted that show about a mad man cutting peoples throats and baking them into pies would become one of the most beloved and acclaimed shows of all time.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 7:46am

I have a few different "categories" of 

Be More Chill - I went into this expecting to HATE this. While I didn't LOVE it, I did enjoy it a lot for what it was.

China Doll - Based on the terrible word of mouth, I was expecting to be bored out of my mind at this. Instead, I found the play to be quite riveting, and I throughly enjoyed seeing Al Pacino on stage for the first time.

Grand Horizons - While this play was nothing special, I laughed a whole lot more than I expected to. The performances were also great all around too.

Linda Vista - I didn't know much going into this one, but it definitely exceeded my expectations. I loved a lot of the dialogue about relationships.

Junk - I went into this one expecting to be bored and extremely confused. While some of the financial stuff went over my head, I still found this to be pretty easy to follow and interesting. The fast pacing was also really interesting to watch.

The Children - The premise didn't sound very interesting, but this play was so engaging.

Time and the Conways - I went in expecting a typical Roundabout at the American Airlines snooze fest, but I actually ended up LOVING this. The story, design, and transitions/ transition music were all stunning. Plus, Gabriel Ebert's monologue at the end of the first act was one of the most beautifully delivered monologues I have witnessed.

True West - Just like the above, I expected a typical boring Roundabout revival. I ended up loving the chaotic and absurd story.

What the Constitution Means to Me - Probably one of the biggest surprises I have ever had in my years of attending theatre. I went in expecting a boring lecture, and instead I got a thrilling and engaging performance from Heidi Shreck. 

 

[TheGingerBreadMan]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 8:46am

Personally, I thought that Come From Away sounded terrible and I was sure that it flop. Well, I was so glad to be proven wrong. It’s a wonderful show and deserves all the success that it has had.

[Huss417]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 9:01am

Blood Brothers for me was a surprise. Put if off many times in London. It was a woman sitting on the plane who asked me if I saw it. This was prior to it coming to Broadway.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 9:20am

To me, "Moving Out" was a great surprise. Mixing Billy Joel songs with dancers to tell story of teenagers in the Vietnam War era was not something I would have ever imagined being on Broadway. It was one of the few shows I have ever seen on Broadway more than once.

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 9:32am

I’ll echo that I and a lot of my friends thought Come From Away sounded like a turkey, but boy was I glad to be proven wrong. One of my favorite new musicals in recent years.

I also remember everyone thinking Xanadu would be DOA.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 11:25am

" I and a lot of my friends thought Come From Away sounded like a turkey, but boy was I glad to be proven wrong. One of my favorite new musicals in recent years."

I absolutely loved that show. I remember wearing my "Come From Away" t-shirt at Disneyworld and several people coming up to me and saying they loved the show.
 

[TrChSpHa]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 12:30pm

I didn't expect to love Finding Neverland and Head Over Heels so much.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 12:55pm

On the Negative:

I expected to love Fun Home, based on my enjoyment of the score.  I hated it.  For me, I will acknowledge that I thought that CITS was the wrong theatre for it.  I just don't like looking at the back of people's heads for much of a performance.

I expected to love Hadestown.  Also hated it, not disliked, hated.

When we were supposed to see Bullets Over Broadway, I got sick at the last minute, and my wife went without me.  She LOVED it.  I saw a touring version a couple of years later, expecting to really enjoy it.  My dislike turned to outright animosity by the middle of Act 2.  The character played by Jennifer Tilly in the movie was so over the top obnoxious that I wanted to go on stage and tell her 'less is more.'

Sondheim shows I went in with the highest expectations, but really didn't like: Pacific Overtures, Assassins, and especially Passion.

 

On the Positive:

A thousand years ago, there was a production of LDJIN in Brookley with Jason Robards and Zoe Caldwell.  I got tix in advance.  Well it opened and got trashed by the critics.  And  there was a light snow the day we were to see it.  And we lived in New Jersey.  We debated not going (my preference), but ended up going.  And I loved it.  I will never understand what the critics were thinking, but it was my introduction to the play itself, I loved Zoe Caldwell (from Miss Jean Brodie), admired Jason Robards, and had a gresat time.  Luckily, the snow stayed light.

I went to see War Paint only because we had a free slot and I have liked  Patti Lupone in everything I have seen her in.  Not a fan of Ebersole, which was one of the reasons i never got tix.  Well, looking at Broadway Rewards, I discovered I could see it for free.  We sat 7th - 8th row dead center for free, which put me in a good mood.  I ended up thoroughly enjoying it, and really thought Lupone should have won the Tony that year (which I know is a sacrilege).  Not one for the books, but I enjoyed it beginning to end.

In 1974, the Andrews Sisters were in Over Here.  I went because I could get good TKTS tickets.  Expected nothing (we saw everything in those days).  I loved the show so much I saw it 5 times in the less than year that it was opened.  Recommended it to more people than normal, because I knew they'd love it.  Was so disappointed that it was not a big hit and I imagine I will never see a revival, even though it received excellent reviews.

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 1:02pm

I wasn't expecting much from The Prom, but it ended up being my favorite musical of the season.

[InTheBathroom1]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 1:02pm

Head Over Heels was so much better than it had any right to be. Family was just looking for a cheap show on a free night and ended up falling in love.

[Danielle0314]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 1:11pm

Ditto to Come From Away.

Ain't Too Proud was a surprise for me. Not my genre of music or timeframe of life, was Mom's choice of show, but I had so much fun!

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 1:22pm

I like Jarethan's structure, so:

Negative:

Detested most of GREAT COMET, including the set which got raves everywhere else, but for me was a complete fail in that it NEVER TRANSFORMED. A near total disaster of an afternoon. (The one saving grace was the letter a cute ensemble boy handed me at top of Act II saying, "I already have a father but could always use a daddy."

THE BOOK OF MORMON. Saw it in previews when it already had fabulous word of mouth (and we loved South Park, so...) Enjoyed the first 20 minutes, and loved "Turn It Off!" Everything else made us want to crawl under our seats. It felt to us so much like a show made for folks who hate Broadway. Also, we were surrounded by tween girls who shrieked over every curse word-- so there was a LOT of shrieking.

Positive:

HADESTOWN. Obviously not a fan of Rachel Chavkin (see above), and I usually prefer my musicals to have bigger casts and some spectacle in the design departments. Plus the scuttlebutt on BWW was generally big thumbs down on Reeve Carney. Let me tell you, we were in love with this show from first note to last, in love with the design, in love with the score despite the nonstop slant-rhymes, and PARTICULARLY in love with Reeve's heartbreaking moving performance as Orpheus. (Sorry, Jarethan...)

 

Updated On: 7/15/20 at 01:22 PM

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 1:42pm

Negative:

I hated Hadestown. Loved the young girls songs, but hated everything else and thought the staging was pretty boring and repetitive.

Pretty Woman should have been a smash, but it was one of the worst shows I’ve ever seen. Terrible design, terrible direction, terrible score.

Positive:

I actually really enjoyed Rocky! I thought the staging was inventive and love a few of the songs. “Raining” is such a gorgeous ballad.

[dianamorales]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 2:11pm

I saw the revival of Once On This Island early in the run (before the positive word of mouth began to spread) on a terrible, stressful, rainy day. I really didn't want to go, but I ended up having one of the best theatrical experiences of my life and I saw the show several more times over the run. I miss it all the time.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 2:31pm

One negative "great surprise" for me was Bat Out of Hell. I was hoping it would be campy fun-bad. Instead it was just plodding, dull-bad.

Also, I was very charmed by In Transit. I'd had a terrible week coupled with the fact that the friend who had planned to go with me when I won lotto ended up backing out at the last minute and didn't even try to help find someone else to take the other ticket. I'd mostly entered out of curiosity and because I liked many members of the cast, but I had pretty low expectations. A friend of a different friend decided to take my second ticket (she'd already seen it) and I ended up really enjoying the show and the company. It's not a brilliant show, but it certainly was there for me when I needed it.

[scripps]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 3:03pm

It was a Friday night and my friend had received comps to Roundabout's production of The Winslow Boy (then in previews). I said sure, it's free and if it was anything like previous Roundabout productions at the American Airlines Theatre, would be good for a nap. I really walked in blind and had zero expectations and the first 10 or 15 minutes didn't grab me but I remember getting more and more into the drama unfolding on stage and then Alessandro Nivola showed up and I was completely engaged with the play. My friend and I turned to each other at intermission and we were both like "This is great, who knew?!!"

Same friend loaned me her Billy Elliot album, said she saw it in London and couldn't wait for it to come to NY. I thought the cast recording was unbearable and I really can't stand kids on stage (or in general), but went to see it in previews anyway because it was the big, shiny, new thing in town. My jaded ass sat in the Imperial Theater and something happened during "Solidarity" when everything just clicked into place and I was fully 100% invested in the story. I wound up seeing the production three times.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 3:38pm

^ We first saw BILLY ELLIOTT in London with no prior knowledge. I can tell you that "Solidarity" was the sequence that made the hairs on the back of our neck stand up, it was so thrilling; showed us a way for musical theater to operate that no-one had ever thought of before! Like you, Scripps, we loved the rest of the evening and went back to see it 3 more times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 7:09pm

Someone in a Tree2 said: ...
 

Positive:

HADESTOWN. Obviously not a fan of Rachel Chavkin (see above), and I usually prefer my musicals to have bigger casts and some spectacle in the design departments.Plus the scuttlebutt on BWW was generally big thumbs down on Reeve Carney. Let me tell you, we were in love with this show from first note to last, in love with the design, in love with the score despite the nonstop slant-rhymes, and PARTICULARLY in love with Reeve's heartbreakingmoving performance as Orpheus. (Sorry, Jarethan...)

One of the great things about this board is that we don't have to agree, although a few people can be a little overbearing.  I have to acknowledge that I went into the show expecting to like it, because of the beautiful scene that appeared on the Tony's.  It was magical.  

Because of that, I dismissed the fact that I found Reeve Carney's performance grating on the OCR; and here is the conundrum re my assessment of his performance.  Not being particularly familiar with the Orpheus and Eurydice legend, although I did see the movie Black Orpheus 50 years ago, as well as a one-act opera and an operetta, I did not remember them and actually wondered why he was playing Orpheus as essentially Special Needs.  From subsequent reading, mostly on this board, I got the impression that Orpheus in the legend was a bit of a simpleton.  So, was Reeve Carney actually great in the role as written or gratings I felt?  Don't know the answer, but I do recognize that the issue for me is not black and white.

 

[A Canadian in NYC]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 8:42pm

I agree with OP that SpongeBob was a great surprise and a lot of fun!

Others I would add are:

She Loves Me I saw it right before it closed and I’ll be forever grateful that it extended. Pure bliss. I’ve re-watched it many times on BroadwayHD and still love it. What a fantastic cast!

Doll House Part 2 - I hadn’t planned on seeing it. I had a ticket to Hamilton that night which I gave to my daughter who joined me last minute. I really wanted her to see it. So I got a ticket to Doll House 2 and it was phenomenal. That was the first time I saw Laurie Metcalf on stage along with Jane Houdyshell Thoroughly enjoyed it.

[SweetLips22]

Posted: 7/16/20 at 1:02am

The reverse to a great surprise, surprised that I was so bored with Come from Away, and the 'clever' use of those chairs---NOT !

[theatreguy12]

Posted: 7/17/20 at 11:44am

Another vote for Come From Away.  Took a pass on it in NYC.    Wasn't much into the subject matter; even as an uplifting musical which I had heard it was, wasn't in the mood for any 911-themed musical.  Decided to catch it in LA at the Ahmanson when a friend won the lottery.   And it was a wonderful show.   So glad we saw it!

Bright Star.  Caught it on a whim, walking by the Cort.   Had been planning on just hanging in the city my last night before returning to LA but decided to grab a last minute ticket. I was familiar with it but I had seen like 8 shows so it wasn't on my list.  I loved it too.  Cusack was a phenom.

I recommend it to my friend when it came to LA on tour because Cusack was in it, and she put in for the lottery.  Won again.   She loved it too.   Especially Cusack.

The not so good....Urinetown....figured since it was so highly regarded on Broadway it was worth catching so saw it on tour.   Friends and I left at intermission.  BOM and Newsies....based on what I had heard and expectations about them as well, found them overrated. 

 

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 7/17/20 at 12:21pm

I saw the national tour of PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT and expected it to be a mess, but I had a blast! The songs were used really well and the book was very clever. Pretty good production levels for a national tour, as well. I had a similar reaction to HEAD OVER HEELS and THE PROM.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 7/18/20 at 11:20am

Xanadu.  Never did I expect such bliss from it. 

The recent Off-Broadway of Fiddler.  Having seen that show a hundreed times, nothing prepared me for how overwhelmed, delighted and moved I would be.

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/18/20 at 11:58am

The first that comes to mind is Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus. 

I had never seen Lane on stage and wanted to see him. Never had the chance for various reasons. The premise didn't really pique my interest but I went. So very glad I did. I actually enjoyed it more than The Ferryman.