You know how when something really bad happens to you, someone says, “Hey, in a few years, you’ll look back on this and laugh.”
Well, that’s the theory behind the the award-winning concert series, It It Only Even Runs A Minute, which will celebrate its 9th incarnation on March 26th at Joe’s Pub.
Runs A Minute celebrates the flop, er, “underappreciated musical” by using some of the most appreciated talents the business has to offer. Dee Hoty, Kate Shindle, Julia Murney, Cady Huffman, David Shire, and Richard Maltby, Jr. are just a few of the names that will be sharing stories and songs from the aforementioned unmentionable musicals that had abbreviated runs.
Oh what the heck, they were flops. And they are funny.
What’s your favorite flop? Comment below (email subscribers click here) and one lucky winner will be going to see If It Only Even Runs A Minute 9 for free! (And let me tell you from having been to a few of the 1-8s, it’s a blast!)
Flop away! (And if you really enjoy flopsicals, then this book is a must read.)
(Got a comment? I love ‘em, so comment below! Email subscribers, click here, then scroll down, to say what’s on your mind!)
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74 Responses to The Sunday Giveaway: 2 Tickets to If It Only Even Runs A Minute 9
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High Fidelity!
Bonnie and Clyde!
Seussical!!
Lysistrata Jones… It was such a fun, original show!
Happy Town!
In 2009, my high school did a production of My Favorite Year. Then I went to IIOERAM 2 (I believe) and saw Evan Pappas, the original Benjy, perform Larger Than Life. That’s when it all came together for me. I was in love with the show from that day on.
whoops he actually sang the title song!
I am a fan of “It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s…Superman”!
Lysistrata Jones!
Cry Baby! Alli Mauzey stole the show & my heart!
Dear World! What a beautiful score. The Tea Party may be my favorite song ever.
Toss up between Seussical and Bonnie & Clyde. Both were such unique and wonderful shows.
Dance of the Vampires! Never have I laughed so hard at things that weren’t supposed to be laughed at. So bad it was almost good! Almost.
Bonnie & Clyde! At least we will be getting a cast recording soon!
Lestat!
Harry Connick Jr.’s Thou Shalt Not – talk about a waste of talent giving Debra Monk a stroke in the second act!
My first and last (so far) investment in a Broadway play was “Epic Proportions.” It had Ms. Chinoweth, whose picture I see on this site in the ad for “GCB,” in her debut. It closed after 8 performances. I didn’t even get to attend opening night, as I was traveling on business. Doubt if anyone remembers it.
Charlie and Algernon…just not the right stuff for musical theater…a bust!
Unfortunately I’m going to miss out on If It Only Even Runs A Minute 9 because I’ll be out of the city, but even though it’s a bit of a cliche, my favorite flop is definitely Merrily We Roll Along
All Shook Up! And look at the cast now: Cheyenne Jackson on TV, Nikki James with a Tony Award!
Lennon the Musical!
Taboo! It was fun and weird and great to see Boy George as Leigh Bowery.
The Civil War.
TABOO- I Loved that show!!
Merrily We Roll Along such a great score
Merrily We Roll Along such a great score
BARE!
Enron!
For me, it’s a tie between dance of the Vampires (great score, great sets, awful book) and The Wedding Singer (still can’t understand why so many hated it!)
Lysistrata Jones, definitely.
My Favorite Year
The original version of Carrie! Although the revival isn’t doing half bad now…
Scottsboro Boys. what a score. wish it had more of a chance!
SMILE. A fun satirical movie turned into a musical comedy. There’s a great score by Marvin Hamlisch and Howard Ashman.
MERRILY by a mile!
Merrily We Roll Along
CARRIE! Because it was enjoyable both as a campy, hot mess of a flop in the eighties and because the new version is just as enjoyable, but for different reasons (maybe this time around it won’t be a flop!)
This is a really tough choice because I study flops as a hobby! On most days, I’d say either Lolita, My Love or Prettybelle (1972 being my favorite flop season), but today I’ll mix it up and say Grind. One of the most interesting things about Grind for me is the original choreography. Apparently, in the Act 2 opening, the strippers danced to a number but instead of taking their clothing off, they burlesqued their clothing back on in what seemed to be self-defense. That idea is just so interesting to me- it was such a jumble of great ideas and over-production!
Cry Baby!
My Personal Favorite Flops (no particular order)
Sweet Smell of Success*
Big: The Musical
Passing Strange*
Is there life after high school?
reasons to be pretty (not a musical, but still)
High Fidelity
Parade*
*I am surprised and grateful that the Tony Voters actually gave these shows awards.
Some of my Least Favorite Flops
Xanadu
Grind
Leader of the Pack
Bonnie and Clyde
Wonderland
Glory Days! Saw it twice in previews… good thing too, because it didn’t make it past that!
Ha! Definitely Big: The Musical!
Don’t know if Catch Me If You Can qualifies as a flop. I don’t think it recouped. I was/is crazy in love with that show, like a torch song singer bemoaning the man that got away.
It’s a tie between HENRY, SWEET HENRY and CRY BABY. Saw the first one as an adolescent and absolutely loved it (for obvious reasons). CRY BABY had some of the funniest lyrics I’d heard in seasons, particularly “Screw Loose”; and the choreography, especially in the license plate number, was inventive and dazzling. Both deserved longer runs.
I Remember Mama because Richard Rodgers was there the night we were there and the whole audience sang Happy Birthday to him.
Godspell.
Assassins!
Gosh, I would love to see If It Only Even Runs… Last year, they interviewed the show’s organizers on a podcast I listen to–it sounds like a great idea!
The Baker’s Wife
“The Frogs” is my “favorite” flop. It ran for 92 performances which was 91 more performances then it should have.
I am a huge Nathan Lane fan but I wonder what he was thinking taking on this disaster!
I assume that Nathan wasn’t singing “Where Did We Go Right?” after he read the reviews.
Thou Shalt Not. They Shouldn’t Have.
Jumping on the Cry Baby band wagon! I still believe in the conspiracy theory that Brantley simply couldn’t give another good review after his absolute raves for Gypsy and South Pacific. If only it had opened at a different time in the season! Much, much funnier than Hairpsray. And I brought a load of non-theater people with me who still talk about how good it was!
Excluding the fantastic “flops” this year and limiting it to shows I’ve seen: The Story of My Life. Marvelous score, superb performances, and such beautiful simplicity in the storytelling. I remember leaving the theatre thinking “who needs helicopters, crashing chandeliers or flying monkeys? Give me a couple first-rate performers with a story to tell and I’m happy.”
Taboo was a wonderful, heartfelt musical beautifully performed and unbelievably underappreciated.
Farrah Fawcett (RIP) was in a show so bad it closed during previews … the title I’ve forgotten, and I’m sure they don’t mention it in heaven either … I do love former Miss America Kate Shindle, pick me please!!
Definitely, Carrie. I am sure this is true for others. In fact, I love the fact that EVERYONE today likes to claim they were actually in attendance during the initial run of 20 performances. Well, I was and it wasn’t half bad. Looking forward to the revival, just to see the new take…
Also not to jump on the Cry Baby bandwagon… BUT I saw this show twice and thought it was much better than Hairspray… I really did.. I was shocked it didn’t do well and everyone I know who saw it, said they enjoyed it… I don’t understand how it all works….but it was obvious something was just “not right”
oh well
Also surprised that The Blonde In the Thunderbird didn’t go past a month… I consider myself lucky to have seen Suzanne Somers on Broadway
I LOVED LOVED LOVED “Bonnie & Clyde”!!!!!
Only got to see it once and it was definitely not enough! I would have went back numerous times!
At least it will live on with a soundtrack, so I can listen to JJ, Laura, Melissa, Claybourne, Tad, etc. over and over again… cause remember “Dying Ain’t So Bad” and “You Love Who You Love”
*As far as a play, my FAVE was “Elling”
Denis O’Hare is just a BRILLANT Actor!!!
Sidenote: OMG have you seen “An Iliad”?! Mind-blowing!!!
This is also a great book: Second Act Trouble: Behind the Scenes at Broadway’s Big Musical Bombs http://tinyurl.com/6of3hlc
‘The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas Goes Public’ – It ran for 16 performances in May 1994. A sequel, I still can’t figure out why it wasn’t a hit
There are so many that I love from DEAR WORLD to RAGS.
Picking one…um…I guess CARRIE. A most magnificent mistake.
And the revival is pretty darn good too!
‘THE STORY OF MY LIFE’ was such a gorgeous show! Definitely my favorite flop. I was lucky enough to see their last performance on Broadway… which was, unfortunately, only their fifth performance on Broadway.
Urban Cowboy
Version 1.0 of ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark’!!
It may have been the hottest mess to ever hit Broadway, but at least it was hilariously bad and thus unspeakably entertaining…the infamous “shoe song” alone! I even miss the ‘Geek Chorus,’ lol…Julie Taymor dared to fail big, at least.
Ring of Fire
If you saw it, you’d know why!
bonnie and clyde–wasn’t that bad-but the tone of the show was totally off–it veered between showing the leads as likeable and pathetic….guess that’s why it tanked….
Carrie
My Favorite Year. There are so many hidden gem numbers in this show! I’m glad it at least got a cast recording.
Merrily We Roll Along…I loved the Encore’s Production – MJD
Shogun – The Musical
Obviously, THE GRASS HARP. With a cast including the likes o fBarbara Cook, Karren Morrow, Carol Brice based on a book by Truman Capote, with a beautiful score with standout numbers (Babylove Miracle Show, anyone?), this musical is entirely under appreciated.
The Utter Glory of Morrissey Hall
Hallelujah, Baby
I’ve never seen it but the Jule Styne score is just incredible. It starred Leslie Uggams and was about Black History through the ages. It even won the Tony that year for Best Musical. Why is it never revived? I could listen to the Original Cast album endlessly.
It wasn’t technically a flop but I definitely think it’s under appreciated: Raisin (the musical adaptation of Raisin In The Sun).
Merrily We Roll Along!
Even though I REFUSE to believe that it was a flop. 16 performances doesn’t mean flop… right?
Merrily forever!