Shows that ruined their chance to be revived

[mjohnson2]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 4:04am

Hello all,

Are there any shows that you think were revived (on or off-Broadway) that could have been really good, but squandered their opportunity and ruined a whole bunch of people's first experience with the show?

For me it was the revival of BIG RIVER, the 2008 revival of PAL JOEY, and the 2006 revival of THE THREEPENNY OPERA (oddly enough, all Roundabout revivals).

[15minutecall]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 4:41am

Your thread's title and your post have slightly different meanings. The Roundabout's '06 Threepenny didn't ruin the show's chance of being revived, since there was a star-filled one this season. The Roundabout's Big River revival was a success, so I don't think that squandered much. And I think people will continue trying to make Pal Joey work. I don't think the Roundabout's version of that one was so awful that people ended up hating the show. I have to admit, I found much to enjoy in all three. But maybe you could retitle this "Shows the Roundabout ruined for a generation."

[After Eight]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 5:24am

Flower Drum Dong (a travesty), Cinderella, Pal Joey, Bye Bye Birdie.

[Theatrical Landladies]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 7:03am

Definitely agree with FLOWER DRUM SONG and would add ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER which was a shocking adaptation!

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 7:53am

Possibly YAGMCB

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 8:09am

Totally agree re On A Clear Day . Beyond horrible

[StageStruckLad]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 8:33am

One more Roundabout stinker: the revisal of BOYS FROM SYRACUSE. Coming shortly after the triumphant Encores production of the original show, this one defied logic.

[TomSloan]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 8:49am

Godspell at Circle in the Square

[Sinfonian4life]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 8:55am

I just finished a run of BIG RIVER and I really like this show! I would love to see a another revival. It will be more fitting for off-Broadway as I don't think it was sell well at all. It is not a family show at and there too much competition for that already.

Although Roundabout is mounting a production on a smaller scale, I think the Shakespeare in the Park production INTO THE WOODS ruined the change for a large scale revival-at least for a while.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 11:47am

"Possibly YAGMCB"-- really? Really?

Out of the blue and with no context we're all supposed to know this acronym?

Yeah, I figured it out but still...

I'd say NINE-- even though I absolutely adored David Leveaux's revival, I know I'm in the minority.
And I found lots and lots to love in the PAL JOEY revival as well.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 12:43pm

I would love to show this thread to a Broadway producer just so he (or she) can revive most of these shows just to piss you lot off.

"I'd say NINE-- even though I absolutely adored David Leveaux's revival, I know I'm in the minority."

You mean the revival that won the damn Tony?!

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 1:28pm

How could that fantastic Big River revival have ruined anything that badly?!

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 1:31pm

I deeply enjoyed John Doyle's direction of Sweeney Todd but that concept definitely didn't work for Company.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 3:42pm

^ I have to agree that Doyle's revival of COMPANY was tragic...at least for me. HATED IT.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 4:24pm

West Side Story. When the gritty gang members are effeminate tiny men, when Tony belongs in a J Crew catalog, when Maria has more chemistry with a broom than her leading man...it's a really, really bad production.



Updated On: 7/11/14 at 04:24 PM

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 4:28pm

Perhaps not the revival, but the film version of NINE would likely turn a few people off from seeing the vastly superior stage show.

Posted: 7/10/14 at 4:31pm

This is exactly the type of thread that keeps me coming back here. Half-baked opinions shot off without a shred of logic to back them up.

Big River and Charlie Brown were both well-received revivals and even if they were not, a bad production of a show does not prevent it from being revived later.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 4:31pm

^^^. Yes, I didn't know much about Nine when I watched the movie. I only got through 30 minutes it was so bad. I'm glad to hear the stage version is a lot better.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 4:39pm

Sutton, it is SO MUCH BETTER! The movie pretty much took out the plot, threw out half the songs and threw the other half on some bizarre soundstage thing in Guido's mind. They tried too much to return to the original Fellini film, which is somewhat different.

It's sad that so many had such a dismal introduction to such a wonderful musical.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 6:19pm

The worst for me was Bye! Bye! Birdie! I was actually embarrassed for John Stamos during 'Put on a Happy Face' because he was so obviously uncomfortable, and the steps looked pretty simple to a dumb audience member. The entire production looked like it cost a dollar and a quarter, though clearly that was not the case.

I also think Little Me may just be too dated for a successful l revival, but it may just be me. I was bored stiff in the Martin Short version, even though he was terrific.

I think we need a hiatus from West Side Story, Into the Woods and, yes, Gypsy for an extended period...unless, of course, Audra or Kristin or Sutton or Idina decide to do Rose at something resembling the appropriate age...then I'd be tempted again.

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 6:22pm

Calm down, Tree: YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN. There, happy?

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 7:28pm

Does anyone think that Dreamgirls ruined its chances with that run at the Apollo a few years ago, and the national tour that followed?

[jnb9872]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 7:34pm

Don't forget the BIG RIVER revival is a unique case because it wasn't just Roundabout; it was the Deaf West Theatre revival that they brought to NY and it was a concept that was grafted on to BIG RIVER, to generally positive reception and goodwill. If anything, to go to the OP's original question ("ruined a whole bunch of people's first experience with the show"), that production most likely did literally the opposite. It introduced the show to a whole new audience who would not have seen it otherwise, no?

Updated On: 7/10/14 at 07:34 PM

[Musical Master]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 9:35pm

Bye Bye Birdie- The 2009 Roundabout prodution with John Stamos was a miscast and a bady designed disaster from start to finish that should've never come to existance, how dare you make Bill Irwin not funny? SHAME ON YOU!

Flower Drum Song- David Henry Hawng should never, ever, ever, EVER, touch another Rodgers and Hammerstein book for as long as he lives. Not to mention that the production was amazingly boring as all get out (thank goodness for Douglas Carter Beane's book for the 2013 Broadway Cinderella.)

On A Clear Day- What did I just watch? Was it even the same show???

Company- John Doyle's concept worked fine for Sweeney but this time, it was a dull funeral for me. I would want a revival that was directed by Bartlett Sher with choreography by Josh Rhodes, that's my dream revival anyway.

Actually the 2009 revival of Guys and Dolls was really bad. Updated On: 7/10/14 at 09:35 PM

[mjohnson2]

Posted: 7/10/14 at 10:29pm

jnb, I get your point and I still think that revival of BIG RIVER was horrible even without the whole deaf theatre thing that they had going on for them (which wasn't a problem). As far as my original question, I was talking about shows that were in prime position (time and creative team) but then squandered their opportunity and ended up with the show that got performed such as Pal Joey (has Stockard Channing, Martha Plimpton and Joe Mantello attached to it, along with a new book Richard Greenberg who did Three Days of Rain) The Threepenny Opera (had Alan Cumming and Jim Dale in it as well as one of the strongest source materials in all of opera/theatre history) and Big River (amazing show, Jeff Calhoun directing). These were shows that could have been great, but for various reasons ended up really bad.