Soft spots for short-running or unliked musicals?

[Enjolras-the-jaw]

So, I was wondering, does anyone like any musicals that didn't do as well as stuff like Les Mis? I personally love the Pirate Queen (Mainly because Hadely Fraser is just awesome, and Love Never Dies, at least music-wise. Oh yeah, and the Adams Family is actually very funny, despite being nothing like the TV show.

[MmeBahorel]

Side Show! And we're getting it back, hallelujah!

One of my favourite shows I've never had the opportunity to see, and I am so, so happy I will finally get a chance, even if it will be a revised version.

I love a lot of small shows - James Joyce's The Dead, The Ballad of Little Jo, Parade, and Side Show are some of my favourite shows ever (The Ballad of Little Jo only ever got two productions that I know of, but the score is gorgeous and the story compelling and the lead is a fantastic female role). Side Show is the last one I haven't seen a full production of (Parade took me ten years). I also have a soft spot for the score of Killing Rasputin, but the book was apparently a mess (and you can kind of tell that from the synopsis), but I really think there's something to work with there even if it will never appeal to most audiences. The cast was amazing, and the thing was only produced at the Bridewell in London (tiny off-West End theatre), and they must have signed up because the roles were great and the score is great.

[Ulkis]

Does Love Never Dies count? I probably like it as much as The Phantom of the Opera itself. (Which makes it sound like I think it is the best musical evah but I'm just mildly fond of it.)

[Enjolras-the-jaw]

Absolutely! I put it as one of mine too.

[MllePatrie]

I really love Pirate Queen, I wish it stayed out longer. And the true Phan in me adores Love Never Dies (nothing to do with Ramin, I swear! Okay, maybe just a bit....) and I had a mini-fangirl attack when the UK tour was announced....

[MamzelleCombeferre]

Parade, A Minister's Wife, The Wild Party (Andrew Lippa Version), certain songs from Bare the Pop Opera, I Love You Because, Frankenstein, and several other off-broadway shows.

I also just discovered the musical Ordinary Days today, and I really like it.

[MmeBahorel]

Ordinary Days! "Fine" is one of my favourite songs ever

[MamzelleCombeferre]

I'm rather fond of Saturday at the Met and Life Story myself.

[Acaila]

Oooh I have lots of under-loved favourites.

Chess perhaps counts. It's second only to Les Mis in my affections. Unlike Les Mis on stage, I feel like Chess has never achieved its potential. Always said that if I won the lottery, I'd arrange a new production, probably with the master version of the script I made in the summer holiday aged 17 from 4 of the different versions I got hold of, a cast handpicked by myself, and possibly with me playing the lead

The Lord of the Rings musical was utterly amazing. I went because I figured I'd never get a chance to see it again (it was closing a week later), tickets were cheap and it would be an entertaining story. I was *convinced*, both as a Tolkien fan and as a theatre director, it was impossible to do it on stage. Boy was I shocked.... We went to a matinee, when I finished I bought everything I could get my hands on at the merchandise stand, and then considered trying to get tickets for the evening performance, it was that good. I was truly stunned by it. There were themes and aspects of the story I got watching the musical that had never really occurred to me on reading the book or seeing the movies, which I adore. The directing was really spot on, really engaging. Gollum was amazing! I mean, it's cool in the movies, but imagine it being done live without CGI or extra takes....incredible! And I adore the style of the music. The mixture of traditional orchestral, eastern and nordic folk creates something really otherworldly and I love the way each race has a distinct musical style. Truly one of the best theatrical experiences of my life.

I also love Drowsy Chaperone. It's the epitome of the warm fuzzies in a musical and it feels like a glimpse of my future! It doesn't have consistently strong songs I'll admit, but I love the post-modern style and the unashamed cuteness.

I have a strange fondness for the musical Time, which ran in London in the 80s. I never saw it myself, but my parents did on the same weekend they first saw Les Mis. I remember being fascinated by seeing the programme when I was younger and hearing my mum talk about how cool it was. I managed to get my hands on a copy of the concept album eventually, plus a photocopy of the script thanks to ebay and ....well....it's *really* bad. The script and lyrics are atrocious actually. But there's still something very likeable in there. A couple of songs are nice enough, and a few more are so bad they're good guilty pleasures. I like a lot of the staging ideas they used and I like the ambition to do a big crazy sci-fi musical with the holographic head of Laurence Olivier!

Lestat has the same problem, particularly in the lyrical department. It seems like Bernie Taupin thought musical theatre lyrics had to be grandiose, pretentious and utterly devoid of meaning. But I do like pretty slashy French boys (quel surprise!) and so I kinda like it.

A more obscure one that was well-liked but most people would probably never have heard of is Sunshine on Leith, a jukebox musical of the Proclaimers. I went along expecting a cheesy night of singalong, but it's surprisingly solid as a show. They handle a good selection of songs very well, and the CD contributed several of the most played tracks on my ipod. It's nice to see something Scottish in a musical too (since Brigadoon sure as hell does not count!). It's set in Edinburgh, where I used to live and is marvellously spot on about it. Wish I could have seen it when Billy Boyd of Lord of the Rings fame was in it! I'm delighted that there is a movie of it currently being filmed.

Of the more mainstream ones, I like Rock of Ages, We Will Rock You, Starlight Express and Cats, no matter how much they get slated.

[The Bricklayer]

I really like Quilters . It ran on Broadway for 20something performances before closing. It was nominated for multiple Tony Awards and won zero. It's one of those shows that needs to be seen multiple times to fully appreciate and understand what's happening.

Chalk another up for Love Never Dies, Drowsy Chaperone, Pirate Queen, and Chess.

[Gervais]

Can't judge LND, but I love 'Til I Hear You Sing, but have a special loathing place in my heart for Phantom of Manhattan: "Your son. Our son. Pierre." *stabs book*

I'm not sure if Addams Family and Next to Normal count, but they're not extrememly popular and I absolutely loved them. (Though both, I like the originals better than the Broadway versions. Thank God for YouTube.)

Another vote in the Chess pile, too. And Cats.

@Acaila: If you ever win the lottery, I would be glad to help with that imaginary Chess revival.

[Acaila]

Can't judge LND, but I love 'Til I Hear You Sing, but have a special loathing place in my heart for Phantom of Manhattan: "Your son. Our son. Pierre." *stabs book*

I'm not sure if Addams Family and Next to Normal count, but they're not extrememly popular and I absolutely loved them. (Though both, I like the originals better than the Broadway versions. Thank God for YouTube.)

Another vote in the Chess pile, too. And Cats.

@Acaila: If you ever win the lottery, I would be glad to help with that imaginary Chess revival.

Hehe I will sign you up for it. It should be reasonably Mis-friendly, seeing as I've decided on having Drew Sarich, Kerry Ellis, Philip Quast and Michael McCarthy in it!

Must get round to experiencing the Addams Family. I just found out Roger Rees is playing Gomez and he's cool.

[MamzelleCombeferre]

I just recently discovered Carrie the Musical, and it's become kind of a guilty pleasure show for me.

Also, I so want in on this Chess revival too!

[YoungStudentMarius]

Out of curiosity, as I've briefly heard tell of its existence, but know nothing whatsoever about the content of the show itself, what is Carrie, Zelle?

[The Bricklayer]

@Acaila: If you ever win the lottery, I would be glad to help with that imaginary Chess revival.

Can I jump on this team? I would love to be part of the imaginary Chess revival. The London concert was very sub-par to what the show is capable of being.