what is the most overrated musical of all time

[Jersey Girl2]

I will go with Cats.

[theatredk]

JERSEY BOYS AND MAMMA MIA

[Skip2]

MOST overrated? Hmmm...

Of all time?

It's between CATS, PHANTOM, INTO THE WOODS or BOOK OF MORMON.

CATS because it's just cats running around...nothing happens of interest.
PHANTOM because the ending is a ripoff. And
INTO THE WOODS because it's lots of energy/examination signifying nothing.
and BOOK OF MORMON because it's just not funny.

Which do you choose?

[broadwayfever]

Book of Mormon not funny???

I laughed through the entire show...as did the entire audience when I saw it.

[newintown]

Personally, I loved Book of Mormon; I can also accept that there are many who don't find it funny.

Chacun à son goût. You really can't argue someone into sharing your sense of humor.

[EponineAmneris]

The first thing that came to mind when I saw this thread was no musical is "over-rated."

There will be die-hard fans, mild supporters and "haters" of every musical that is, was or ever will be.

Say it with me: Theatre is subjective.

If you're talking only money, that is one thing. Audience popularity is another. Critical acclaim is yet another.

No musical is over-rated to someone who loves it and a musical is over-rated to those who do not like it.

[newintown]

Perhaps it would work better for you if you read "in your opinion" into any thread title that asks a qualitative question.

It already exists (in understanding), but sometimes some people just need to be reminded.

This thread would be titled "what, in your opinion, is the most overrated musical of all time?"

[Younger Brother]

Sweeney Todd
Not musical but production wise, the current Broadway production of Chicago.

[ggersten]

La Cage has won the Tony for Best Musical or Best Revival every time it has been produced on Broadway.
I've never seen any production, but that track record suggests the Tony voters view it as the best musical ever.

[qolbinau]

No it doesn't. It suggests that Tony voters thought it was the best musical of the 1983 season and best revival of the 2005 and 2010 seasons. (years approximate :P).

[chewy5000]

Glee

[Visceral_Fella]

Cats, I sat in my seat and I literally could not believe my eyes.

Also, while I enjoyed Spring Awakening, I didn't understand why everyone was making such a big deal about it. It was fine, but not worth the depression some went through when it closed.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Regarding Cats, it truly was magical when it first opened. The last time I saw it was '92 when I was dating someone in the cast, and by then, the show certainly was tired and wasn't the same thing I saw with its original cast.

My vote goes for The Producers. Didn't get the hype one bit, but I also saw a replacement cast.

[Patash]

Spring Awakening.

Billed as "break through". Huh? Such a new topic -- kids want to have sex and their parents don't want them to. Wow. How original.
Amazing choreography -- jumping on chairs.
A new sound -- Rent all over again.
So innovative. Audience sits on stage -- like that was never done before.

[newintown]

Re: Patash's post - I am also always surprised when people watch a re-hash of old stuff and call it "new."

I think it's because people believe that liking something "new" is smart and engaged and contemporary, but they have trouble liking things that really are new, so they really believe that old things are new, particularly if a publicist tells them so.

[Patash]

Yea. You got it.
I was also amused at the time at a critic's comment proudly raving about the very visable microphones used -- ala Rock Concert -- like it was some brilliant decision. Like there is supposed to be something clever and new about seeing the microphones even though modern technology allows us to hide them. And after it was already done in Rent? If I wanted to go to rock concert I would -- why must we be hit over the head with the mics as if that's where we are and not on Broadway?

[newintown]

Visible microphones were also used in original productions of Grease, Hair, Dude, Marlowe, and tons of other shows.

[Mister Matt]

I was also amused at the time at a critic's comment proudly raving about the very visable microphones used -- ala Rock Concert -- like it was some brilliant decision. Like there is supposed to be something clever and new about seeing the microphones even though modern technology allows us to hide them. And after it was already done in Rent?

I'm not a fan of Spring Awakening, but I did notice that they mics used in Spring Awakening were used with a very specific concept and with intention. Not to mention they were hand-held mics, unlike the ones in Rent. Apples/oranges.

why must we be hit over the head with the mics as if that's where we are and not on Broadway?

Because of the sound design, orchestrations and overall conceptual design of the show. Variations in sound design are like variations in visual design. Some shows have realistic sets, some use projections, others are minimalist. Personally, I didn't feel hit over the head by the use of mics in Spring Awakening, but clobbered with the metaphorical flowery lyrics and the after-school-special PSA message. I did like the lighting and choreography, however.

[Charley Kringas Inc]

I'll have to throw my hat in for My Fair Lady. Much of the score is wonderful, with the exception of "You Did It", which I find really grating, but it's married with a book that is both lazy for simply being Pygmalion, the play, with musical numbers (a play book can't be a musical book for a number of reasons, all of which make themselves present in My Fair Lady), and creepy. I've read every article and analysis I can get my hands on in support of Higgins and Eliza getting together and it still makes me feel nauseous, as if Christine had gone traipsing off with the Phantom.

[After Eight]

Oh, Charley!

"Much of the score is wonderful, "

"Much," you say?

Well, I guess it can in no way compare to the musical in which your namesake appears.

But then, what could?

[Mister Matt]

I used to feel My Fair Lady was a bit overrated. Mostly because I felt the score halted the book too often and the book scenes (as well as some of the musical numbers) were overlong. Until I saw the 2001 London revival. That production forever changed my mind on the material, which can be utterly charming and engrossing in the hands of the right director.

[ContinentalNettle]

Cats. Because it's just Cats.

Die hard fans will tell you it's based on the poetry of TS Elliot.

No.

Lies.

It's just a bunch of Cats.

[backwoodsbarbie]

The Producers, Cats, Hello Dolly

[Charley Kringas Inc]

After Eight: Cute. I love Merrily, but I don't think it's the greatest ever and I will recognize that my personal obsession with it is just that, personal. It has great qualities but will probably never come together into a cohesive whole (though I'd enjoy seeing it do that), which is its most significant setback.

And yes, much. Much of the score is wonderful, and I mean that in the best possible way. I think "On The Street Where You Live" is one of the greatest songs ever written for musical theatre (particularly so on the OBCR, where it comes sailing out at the listener like a sweet spring breeze). Admittedly my distaste for "The Rain In Spain" and, to a lesser extent, "I Could Have Danced All Night", come from over-exposure (I remember having a CD of Broadway hits with the latter on it as a kid that I listened to incessantly) but "You Did It" does just kind of grate on me. In a sense it's probably meant to, given Eliza's place in the scene, but it gets at me like something in my teeth (I also find myself sitting through "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face" with the a waiting-room level of enthusiasm).

Most of my reason for calling it overrated is just that I find the ending abhorrent. I like most of the rest of it, even if it bugs me that the book is simply Pygmalion with segments musicalized because it weirds the pacing (Mister Matt gives me hope that it could be successful in the right hands - my exposure to it is limited, after all), but I think the same of Pygmalion's altered ending.

[Emma White]

I love My Fair Lady as a musical but Audrey Hepburn does nothing for me in the movie.

I find Wicked really overrated, and I actually like it. Wicked got me into musicals and was my first favourite... But it's not as great as a lot of people think it is.

I quite like Cats, actually, once you get past the part where there's no plotline.

Merrily We Roll Along is pretty meh, although "Not a Day Goes By" is stunning.

[ClapYo'Hands]

"Merrily We Roll Along is pretty meh, although "Not a Day Goes By" is stunning."

Have you seen it?