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Original poster

What's the worst musical you have ever been to?

647 replies

Sonolanona · 03/08/2023 21:52

I love musicals, and DS2 who has autism is obsessed so we go to as many as we can. We've seen Cats (not the film!) 7 times, JCSS 7 times, Blood Brothers, Les Mis, Evita, Chicago , Cabaret..and many others. (JCSS is my personal favourite)

Today we went to We Will Rock You.
OMG.
It was cringingly awful. Even if you love Queen, it was still so bad. Worst 'plot' and dialogue ever, the choreography was...interesting and it was played for cheap laughs and smutty out dated jokes, headed by Ben Elton who cannot..and should not..sing.
Never again!!!

OP posts:
bryceQ · 04/08/2023 12:00

I hated book of Mormon, totally vile jokes about raping babies.

Mrsjayy · 04/08/2023 12:03

@CoffeeWithCheese I saw Hamilton In June and it was the best thing I have ever seen everything about it amazing !

DesdamonasHandkerchief · 04/08/2023 12:06

mildlydispeptic · 04/08/2023 07:14

I know this is a "worst of" rather than "best of" list, but I've heard great things about Groundhog Day.

I saw Groundhog Day on Wednesday. Can't say the music was memorable (maybe I should have listened to the cast recording before going) but the staging, comedy and mist of all the leading man were outstanding.
Sadly it closes on the 19th August but I would recommend it to anyone who can get into London and fancies an outstanding show.

Interested in this thread?

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Theatre
Whoknowswhere · 04/08/2023 12:11

Viva Forever. What a way to lose 2 hours. Utter drivel set on a bloody houseboat.

Newuser75 · 04/08/2023 12:26

Medusaismyhero · 03/08/2023 22:34

@Thally thank you - he's a character that's for sure! Maybe next year for Hamilton - thanks for the Disney+ tip too. I'll get him to watch it (maybe after London though 🙈)

My son loves history too and saw Hamilton for his ninth birthday. He loved it! He has seen Matilda too but preferred Hamilton.

peachgreen · 04/08/2023 12:26

Whoknowswhere · 04/08/2023 12:11

Viva Forever. What a way to lose 2 hours. Utter drivel set on a bloody houseboat.

My late DH worked in theatre and always ended up with a weird Stockholm Syndrome affection for the shows he worked on – he’d be defending Shrek and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory if he was here! – but even he couldn’t find anything forgivable about Viva Forever.

DesdamonasHandkerchief · 04/08/2023 12:39

I've seen a lot of musicals and haven't seen one I've really disliked.

Favourites are Hamilton & Les Mis. Cabaret with Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley was outstanding too.

Ones that were seen once & I wouldn't want to see again are Phantom, ALW's Cinderella, Wicked, Billy Elliot, Miss Saigon, Mama Mia.

I generally don't like films made into musicals so would give Dirty Dancing, Pretty Woman etc a wide berth anyway but have enjoyed Moulin Rouge and as mentioned above Groundhog Day in the West End recently.

This thread has made me put Operation Mincemeat and Come From Away on my must see list!

SayNoToCamping · 04/08/2023 12:44

It's not the worst but I don't get the Hamilton hype. I haven't seen it in person and have no intention of doing so but I watched the recorded version and hated it. I'd listened to the soundtrack before and hated that too but thought that I'd give it another chance. It didn't work.

peachgreen · 04/08/2023 12:55

Good choices @DesdamonasHandkerchief ! I enjoyed Come From Away a lot, and Mincemeat is outstanding.

CantFindTheBeat · 04/08/2023 12:59

newnamethanks · 04/08/2023 11:32

If you're touchily offended by The Book of Mormon, you have missed the whole point of it.

What is the point, @newnamethanks?

Phos · 04/08/2023 13:04

Rent - utter drivel, you don’t do that to La Boheme

meatbaseddessert · 04/08/2023 13:07

Peony654 · 03/08/2023 21:54

Book of Mormon, we thought it was appalling, so offensive

Came on to say I fucking hate musicals.

Book of Mormon however was fucking amazing. Saw it twice in fact.

Bsmirched · 04/08/2023 13:27

EileenBrysonsTeabags · 04/08/2023 06:33

@Bsmirched someone turned Carrie into a musical?
OMG! Does Steven King know? Oh man I would love to see that so badly. Was it hilariously awful? Please please tell me more.
was Carrie at a full climax of a song, arms outstretched as the blood rains down?
Was there dancing too?

Im actually sat here giggling at the thought of it.

I was only 16, so it was 35 years ago, but I think hilariously awful pretty much covers it. There was A LOT of blood and red lighting I seem to remember. I think I might have blocked it out...

LilacpointMummy · 04/08/2023 13:37

newnamethanks · 04/08/2023 11:27

Son of a Preacher Man,. Advertised with many mentions of Dusty Springfield, the absence of any reference to her or her music was noticeable. The brief time I suffered through it underlined the unsuitability of pulling people off the telly to put them on stage for the first time in their life. Produced by Craig Revel Horwood. In a long life of theatre going, I've left at half time for two productions. This was one of them.

I think Craig needs to stick with choreography - his direction of Strictly Ballroom was dire and interesting that he was involved in this too.

UsedtogodownNevins · 04/08/2023 13:44

Come From Away. Never been so bored. I couldn't help thinking the lack of an interval was to stop people leaving..

DrMadelineMaxwell · 04/08/2023 14:04

I've always loved Joseph but the renewed version has been ruined. Casting kids for some of the main characters (Potipher and some of the brothers etc) has really taken away from the rich harmonies the adult singers pulled off so well. I watched it with a 😠face and wont watch it again.
Jason D was pharaoh and bloody hell he milked his part to the max.

Rent is brilliant. Junkyard is not well know but just amazing. One of the best I've ever seen. I'd pay a LOT to have the soundtrack.
I liked but wouldn't rush to watch Cats and Book of Mormon or Wicked again in a hurry.

maddiemookins16mum · 04/08/2023 14:07

Talking of Musicals and CRH, we went to see Annie last week, not my first choice but my great niece was very keen (and loved it). CRH was Miss Hannigan, it just made me miss Paul O Grady even more (he would have been in the role).

EvenlyDetermined · 04/08/2023 14:24

We saw CRH in Annie on tour a few years ago and enjoyed it but he's better as a traditional panto dame. Have also seen Lesley Joseph play Miss Hannigan and she was brilliant, I do like Annie.

I agree about Joseph, not so keen on the new version with children taking named characters and Jason D's voice has certainly seen better days. Sheridan Smith was too big a personality for the narrator, I like her but the narrator should be a narrator not a full character.

buzz91 · 04/08/2023 14:26

@DrMadelineMaxwell agree, some of the songs just weren’t what they should be with the kids singing them, or them having to swap the characters round.
What really put me off though was trying to figure out which character Alexandra Burke was supposed to be singing as as she sang multiple parts while rushing round very pregnant (impressive but distracting, I was a few months gone and tired watching her)

Treaclemine · 04/08/2023 14:28

A student production a colleague and I were roped in to zsee out of politeness. (What were they doing doing a production at the same time as teaching practice?) This thread has brought back the earworm. Aargh! It was the Christian Union, searching for salvation. Or something.

dapsnotplimsolls · 04/08/2023 14:36

I've just booked a ticket to see a local production of Grease tonight - we'll see!

I think with some musicals, it's worth knowing some of the background first - when I went to see Les Mis, I googled the plot the night before. If I ever see Hamilton, I'll do the same.

dapsnotplimsolls · 04/08/2023 14:39

MrsMitford3 · 04/08/2023 11:20

We may have seen that same production!! Have seen in the past and it was brilliant. This casting felt like ppl from CBB's were having a go or something.

Might be a controversial opinion but whilst I def like colour blind casting I struggled as if for example Eponine was a white child how she would grow up to be an Asian woman. Just made it all the more confusing-I do understand difficulties with casting children re working hours etc but you could hear the audience asking each other who ppl were constantly.

I love threads like this-so many differing opinions-
here are some of mine-

Loved Wicked and SIX. One of best ever was The Girl From the North Country.
Saw 7 Brides for & Brothers at Regents Park OAT and it was fantastic ignoring all of the incredibly un PC elements of the story

Hated Cats. Loathed Phantom but not a big ALW fan at the best of times.
Saw Kinky Boots with a big family group and was incredibly meh. Lead was good and the rest utterly forgettable. Including all of the songs.

Now I want to go to a show!!

Show quote history

It might well have been the same one - adult Cosette was played by a Black British actress though, not Asian. Young Cosette was played by a white girl. The actress playing Fantine stuck out like a sore thumb - she was singing as if she was on X Factor or similar. The others were great.

swimminginthesun · 04/08/2023 14:40

@dapsnotplimsolls I agree. They aren’t always easy to follow if you miss a lyric or two.

That said, I went to see Wicked having heard none of the songs and knowing only that it was the story of the Wicked Witch of the West. I had no issue following it and am surprised by how many people say they couldn’t understand what was going on.

unfor · 04/08/2023 14:42

@CantFindTheBeat Spot on about Book of Mormon, I wish they would do a rewrite as there are so many brilliant things about it, but the depiction of "Africa" is mortifying.

JenniferAllisonPhillipaSue · 04/08/2023 14:49

Opened the thread ready to say "We will rock you" only to find it's the OP! Absolutely horrendous, it's the only time I've walked out of a theatre mid-show