Transfers That Flopped

[ucjrdude902]

I was talking to a friend the other night about the "Matilda" transfer and somehow we got on the discussion of shows that planned transfers, there was a great deal of hype and then they flopped but we couldn't think of any.

Has there ever been a show from the West End to NYC and vice versa that was expected to be a hit and wasn't?

[aasjb4ever]

The first show that comes to mind is Enron. Hit in London (still running I think?) and an absolute flop in New York. My friends who did see it here loved it, but it was a sore spot for Americans, and so it goes.

[ljay889]

The Woman In White

[NOB88]

Ghost?

[AC126748]

Ghost
Hair
The Drowsy Chaperone

[Kelly2]

Priscilla would be considered a flop here, yes?

[sundayclothes2]

Festen

[Mattbrain]

Sister Act didn't recoup, did it

Definitely Taboo and Tanz der Vampire...oh I'm sorry, Dance of the Vampires.

[ClapYo'Hands]

Enron closed a while ago in London.

[SondheimFan5]

Rebecca.

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Droswy didn't transfer, nor did it flop...

[nasty_khakis]

Drowsy transferred to the West End (with Elaine Paige) and flopped, big time.

[metropolis10111]

Taboo

[DEClarke]

Matilda...

Wait... too soon? I'm just calling it now, the US won't cling to this show.

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Gotcha. Yeah, lots of musicals seemed to have flopped in the West End: Rent, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and The Producers.

And didn't Chess do well in the West End?

[CapnHook]

Didnt CHICAGO and AVE Q not do as well in the UK?

[DEClarke]

It's my understanding that Chess failed here and was a hit in the UK originally.

[AEA AGMA SM]

"Didnt CHICAGO and AVE Q not do as well in the UK?"

Well, if you count a run of 15 years as not doing well then yes, Chicago did not do as well over in London

[DEClarke]

And we cannot forget CARRIE. It flopped here after its transfer.

[Gothampc]

Whistle Down The Wind - maybe it had to do with Boyzone not getting enough airplay on "No Matter What".


eta: WDTW played a few venues in the States, but never made it to Broadway even though they had a theater and publicity was already around NYC.

[EricMontreal22]

And of course both productions of Whistle that played in the US (Hal prince's and the later UK tour) were very different from Edwards' production (which I really enjoyed) in London.

Woman in White was hardly a huge hit in the UK (did it run a year?).

Aspects of Love of course did much better in London. Pippin was a huge flop in the 70s in London (Fosse never seemed to have a ton of success in London--when Chicago opened there in the 70s it wasn't even his production--and didn't do well).

[bwayphreak234]

Movin' Out flopped in London.

[perfectlymarvelous]

Did Blood Brothers ever recoup on Broadway? I know it ran 2 years here but it ran for decades in London...not exactly a horrible flop but not nearly as successful as the West End production.

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Avenue Q ran for five years on the West End :) and I was just going to mention Movin' Out in the UK. Only two months. Ouch.

Fosse only lasted a year in the West End. Ragtime lasted less than. I know it was not a financial hit in the US, but it's a popular show.

[EricMontreal22]

Ragtime was a closed run though wasn't it, at the Donmar? Or was there an open ended West End run?

[EricMontreal22]

Sweney Todd didn't do well in its initial London production