Another Opening, Another Flop
It’s not easy to open a show on Broadway.
Easily the most famous street in the world, Broadway runs up the length of Manhattan and is famous for the sights, sounds, neon lights, and numerous theaters that draw crowds of thousands night after night. Though we all know the big names like Wicked, The Book of Mormon, and The Phantom of the Opera, not every show goes on to be a hit. In fact, some shows are more famous as disasters.
Flops are defined as shows that play for fewer than 100 performances. As a comparison, Broadway’s current longest-running show, Phantom, has been playing for nearly 30 years with thousands of performances to its name.
From awful music to terrible scripts, or simply because of negative reviews and word of mouth, some shows flop even before opening night.
Source: wikipedia.org
Start the slideshow below to see the biggest Broadway turkeys of all time, and don’t forget to SHARE!
15. Merrily We Roll Along (1981)
Source: wikipedia,org
If you’re familiar with musical theatre, you might be shocked to hear that this show bombed when it first came to Broadway in 1981. With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by George Furth, the show only ran for 52 previews and 16 performances before closing its doors.
14. High (2011)
Credit: Mike Coppola/ Getty Images
This show about addiction was expected to deliver but failed miserably after 29 previews and only 7 regular performances.
13. Anyone Can Whistle (1964)
Source: wikipedia.org
Another cult musical that’s held in high regard today, Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim’s Anyone Can Whistle starred Angela Lansbury, Lee Remic, and Harry Guardino but only lasted for 12 previews and 9 performances. Shocking, no?
12. High Fidelity (2006)
Source: wikipedia.org
This show about a man exploring his past relationships lasted for only 19 previews and 13 performances before closing in 2006.
11. Via Galactica (1972)
Source: wikipedia.org
This trippy and futuristic tale was the first show ever to play at the Gerswhin (then called the Uris). It starred Irene Cara (Fame) as the narrator, but it only ran for 15 previews and 7 performances before closing.
10. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Source: wikipedia.org
This extremely famous cult classic was well received by critics when it premiered at the Belasco Theater in 1975. Unfortunately, it only ran for three previews and 45 showings before closing. That didn’t stop fans from loving it, and a movie adaption was made that same year.
9. Into the Light (1986)
Source: wikipedia.org
Who would have guessed that a musical about archaeology wouldn’t work out? Into the Light tells a fictitious story about the Shroud of Turin, and it also involves a mime as a child’s imaginary friend. Not surprisingly, it closed after 6 shows.
8. Bring Back Birdie (1981)
Source: wikipedia.org
Twenty years after Bye Bye, Birdie won the Tony for Best Musical, composer Charles Strouse tried to recreate the success with a sequel. Needless to say—and like most Broadway sequels—this didn’t work out. Even with Chita Rivera reprising her role as Rosie (with a Tony nomination to boot), it closed after 4 performances.
7. Kelly (1965)
Source: wikipedia.org
Inspired by the tale of Steve Brodie, who said he jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge and survived, Kelly was anything but thrilling for audiences, and it closed after 7 previews on opening night. It lost an estimated $650,000. Brodie may have lived, but the show certainly sunk!
6. Frankenstein (1981)
Source: wikipedia.org
When this show opened in 1981 after about 29 previews, it was the most expensive non-musical production Broadway had ever seen. Unfortunately, audiences would never see it again, because it closed on opening night.
5. Taboo (2003)
Source: wikipedia.org
Although Taboo played for 100 performances, it reportedly caused producer Rosie O’Donnell to lose all $10 million that she used to back the show. What a nightmare.
4. Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1966)
Source: wikipedia.org
Following the success of the movie, a musical version of Truman Capote’s novella was rapidly thrown together with a score by Bob Merrill (Funny Girl) and Abe Burrows (Guys and Dolls, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) editing the script, but the strange mixture of morbidity and nonchalance forced Merrick to make the following announcement after just four previews:
“Rather than subject the drama critics and the theater-going public—who invested one million dollars in advance sales—to an excruciatingly boring event, I have decided to close.” Yikes!
3. Dude (1972)
Source: wikipedia.org
Another show to lose $1 million was Dude, a chaotic and psychedelic show the saw both a director and choreographer resign, as well as the lead replaced shortly before going into previews, resulting in an incomplete revision of the script. Needless to say, it didn’t work out, and the show closed after two weeks.
2. Moose Murders (1983)
Source: wikipedia.org
This quirky murder mystery had such a bad first preview that Eve Arden walked out of her leading role. One critic wrote that the show was so bad, he didn’t even care to write about it. It opened and closed on February 22, 1983.
1. Carrie (1988)
Source: wikipedia.org
Perhaps the par for the course of all flops, Carrie attempted to resurrect the popularity of the 1976 film about a girl with telekinetic powers and an overzealously religious mother. Broadway diva Barbara Cooke played Carrie’s mother, but she left the show after a disastrous run in England. Even when she was replaced by Cats star Betty Buckley, the show closed quickly and lost a whopping $8 million.