Many of us are making our preparations for Thanksgiving, and since the day of family, friends, eating, parades, and football is coming fast upon us, this week’s Dress Circle (11/24 7:00 p.m.) will offer some “turkeys’ for the holiday. Those turkeys are musicals that didn’t run more than ten performances on Broadway, many through no fault of their own.
More than likely, our most notable musical is “Anyone Can Whistle” which ran for only nine performances after opening in 1964. Sondheim’s score is excellent as always, but Arthur Laurent’s book about an uptight nurse, corrupt mayoress, mental institution, and a fake religious miracle left audiences and critics confused and overwhelmed.
We’ve also got two songs from the sequel to “Bye Bye Birdie” entitled “Bring Back Birdie.” Running for only four performances in 1981, the show wasn’t meant for Broadway but was written for the community and regional theatres where the original was just as big a hit as it was on Broadway. Even the talents of Chita Rivera and Donald O’Connor couldn’t get audiences to buy tickets.
“Rags” is another musical with an incredible score that suffered from an unfocused and rambling book. “Rags” too ran for only four performances after opening in 1986, and although the book has been reworked many times, it just seems that this story about immigration to and in the U.S. is just too sprawling to be contained in one evening.
Other shows included are “The Yearling,” “Mooney Shapiro’s Songbook,” “Oh! Brother!”, “Drat the Cat!” (which is a good show that opened during a newspaper strike), and “1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,” another great score burdened by a failed book.
So. While you’re being thankful for all the things for which you’re thankful (For us, it’s Ted’s coming home after nearly four weeks in the hospital and rehab.), tune in to hear some very good songs from unfortunate vehicles.
