Originally Posted By Dabob2 How could I have forgotten another notorious flop (circa 1981), that a friend of mine was actually in: Marlowe. A would-be rock musical on the life of, yes, Christopher Marlowe. Inspirational lyric: You're a seventeenth century man! With a twentieth century mind! My friend was in the chorus and she told me "Dave, I'm happy for the work. But if this lasts as week I'll be amazed." She wasn't far off.
Originally Posted By leemac <<If you're a Martin Short fan, you should go see it. >> I am. It is a guilty pleasure I guess! How were the musical numbers? I think Shaiman wrote them all if I recall.
Originally Posted By actingforanimators Man this topic brings back a flood of good “bad theatre†memories. I saw “Carrie†closing night. I was working on another show that had costumes being built in the same shop and they gave me comps. That costume shop built great stuff, including a prom dress that could be washed out each night and never look like it had seen an ounce of pigs (stage) blood. The terrycloth robes and towel/head wraps for the girls locker room scene were built at a cost of $1500 apiece...! Actually, I have to say that Betty Buckley as Carrie's mother was absolutely amazing! She was brilliant, and was capable of making heart-breaking and chilling sense out of some idiotic lyrics, but then she's gifted with singing from the phone directory. I also saw “Smile†(middling boulevard fare), and a wonderfully awful little musical that opened off-Broadway at the old 2nd Avenue Theatre (now, sadly a multiplex cinema) called "The Chosen" about a couple of Jewish boys on the lower east side of Manhattan whose central conflict was that one was Reformed Orthodox and the other was Hassidic. It starred Rob Morrow (from “Northern Exposureâ€) and one song including an all Hasidic little league team who sang the lyric "We're gonna' beat 'em, cuz we're the Hasidim." “Nick and Nora†(which was truly a mess, but Joanna Gleason and Barry Bostwick did their level best…I mean they WORKED hard and still it was horrible) has a very special connection to Disney – the show’s Company manager, Jim Pentecost, produced Disney’s “Pocahontas.†But the absolute best of the worst of all was, without a doubt, the two-night short lived "Into the Light" a musical about the Shroud of Turnin starring Dean Jones. Singing Vatican Cardinals, tap dancing monks and nuns, a little boy, and his imaginary friend played by (drum roll please…..) a mime! Opening night was absolutely mind-numbing in how beyond bad it was. The audience looked like that shot from the original "The Producers" with everyone staring at the stage, mouths agape in utter disbelief. It was legendary in how bad it was – truly legendary. DLDUG - when you say Faith (Prince) was "caught up by a cloud into Heaven..†I’m not clear on what you mean unless you think she’s dead, which I know she’s not (unless I spoke to a ghost recently) but I think you’re alluding to something else…help me. (Sorry I’m so dull.)
Originally Posted By DlandDug I was just making cruel sport with how over-the-top the reaction to Faith Prince's Guys and Dolls performance was. To hear some tell it, she was simply translated directly to heaven...
Originally Posted By DlandDug Actually, I loved the Forbidden Broadway duet between "Nathan Lane" and "Faith Prince." "Sue Me" became "Chew It" ("I see scenery and chew it, chew it...") in reference to both performers' shameless overacting in G&D.
Originally Posted By actingforanimators Thanks for the clarification.... Doh! (You'd think someone as sarcastic as I am would clue in on that...sorry) I thought Faith was very good in Guys and Dolls, but I thought she was genuinely angelic in "Bells are Ringing" which sadly closed fairly quickly. And the best thing I ever saw Nathan do was Death in "On Borrowed Time." He was incredible.
Originally Posted By DlandDug Since I live in California, I haven't seen that many shows on Broadway. I have managed a few strange nights, though. I saw Bernadette Peters walk through Annie Get Your Gun. I saw Mandy Patinkin's baffling turn in The Secret Garden. And I saw Grand Hotel with Cyd Charisse.
Originally Posted By leemac Not being a musical fan at all the only one I can say was truly awful was Lloyd Webber's Whistle Down the Wind. Ghastly.
Originally Posted By LindsayC [Not being a musical fan at all the only one I can say was truly awful was Lloyd Webber's Whistle Down the Wind. Ghastly.] I thought Chess in Swedish was your least favourite... (not to mention Mamma Mia in Swedish too...!)
Originally Posted By TheRedhead <<Actually, I loved the Forbidden Broadway duet between "Nathan Lane" and "Faith Prince.">> The CD features Brad Oscar as Nathan Lane. It's funny that his impression was so good that he'd eventually do the same hammy gags replacing Nathan Lane in "The Producers." I have seen too many awful musicals. My worst memory was a revival of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." The poor actors couldn't even muster the strength to care. They would exit the stage defeated, totally out of character. It was sad, actually. Most musicals are bad because they so lazily rip off "Phantom" or Les Miz." "Jane Eyre" and "Cyrano" should be locked up. My absolute favorite mess was a little show called "Abbie's Song," which played at City Center in NYC. Oh how we laughed. Paul Sorvino sang a nine minute song, and you couldn't understand a word. Then two kids climed a tree in their tap shoes, and the whole time you dreaded the impending cutsey tap number. I thought it was the longest show I'd ever seen, until my friend reminded me that we left at intermission.
Originally Posted By lesmisfan Hey les mis is a great show! take it back j/k! but out of curiousity, why do think les mis was a rip off. same with phantom, i love those two shows and would like some insight from the other side.
Originally Posted By irishfan I was under the impression tht TheRedhead meant that most show's rip off Les Mis, and not the other way round.
Originally Posted By TheRedhead ^^^Yeah, what that guy said! But that is the nicest thing I'll say about "Phantom" - it didn't rip anything off.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN It didn't?? I thought it was based on the old "Phantom of the Opera" movie from the 1930's....
Originally Posted By leemac <<I thought Chess in Swedish was your least favourite... (not to mention Mamma Mia in Swedish too...!)>> There is such a thing as so bad that you block it from your memory. Mamma Mia falls into that category in English let alone Swedish! You know I actually quite enjoyed Chess!
Originally Posted By actingforanimators Lee, there's a serious difference between "quite enjoyed" and knowing all the lyrics to One Night in Bangkok, (and in more than one language, so I hear...!) <:-0
Originally Posted By BlueDevilSF >>You know I actually quite enjoyed Chess! << I rarely have absolutes, but Chess is my all-time favorite musical.
Originally Posted By LindsayC {I rarely have absolutes, but Chess is my all-time favorite musical.} So have you seen the Swedish version (or the DVD of it)? Where they added some great songs - now I haven’t been keeping up on the progress of its return (I’m currently more interseted in Kristina)- but I do think it is on its way back in this revised version. I have always loved the music of Chess, and saw its original London production in the 80’s, then I saw it in Swedish - I wonder though if it is one of those shows that works better as a recording than as a show itself.
Originally Posted By BlueDevilSF ^^^ Nope, I haven't seen it yet. A friend has the DVD, but until I get a computer with a DVD drive, I won't be able to see it. I do have the CD, though. I've seen two productions: the U.S. touring version (when I lived in St. Louis) and an in-concert version that was staged in San Francisco in '01. Of the two, I far preferred the latter. I think it's a far-from-perfect work, and even though it's so very flawed, I can't help but be drawn into it. I keep hearing news of the Swedish version coming to the U.S., but I think its time has long passed. It will never grow beyond the cult status it has.
