Flop Musicals Of The Twenty First Century

Flop Musicals of the Twenty-First Century offers a provocative and revealing historical narrative of a group of musicals that cost millions and had spectacular potential ... but bombed anyway. Stephen Purdy examines at length the production histories, which are all bound together by a common thread. The book focuses the lens on several seemingly infallible theatre creatives who weren’t destined to repeat their successes with the shows discussed in this volume. As such, Purdy grounds the discussion by examining what the legendary creators of Les Misérables, pop superstar Elton John, wunderkind Julie Taymor, and many others have in common besides being inspired storytellers of iconic Broadway musicals. The answer is that they also all created shows that, for one reason or a dozen, didn’t find an audience. Flop Musicals of the Twenty-First Century shares the story of what can happen when formidable creative teams of sell-out musicals attempt to re-create their success but miss the mark. This is an engaging book for students, practitioners, and fans of musical theatre that contains thoughtful observations about luck and creative differences, botched adaptations, and alienated audiences, all of which can determine the fate of a musical.

Flop Musicals of the Twenty-First Century offers a provocative and revealing historical narrative of a group of musicals that cost millions and that had spectacular potential...but bombed anyway. Unlike similar books on the topic which have taken a more truncated approach to telling the fascinating stories of these shows, Stephen Purdy chooses instead to examine at length the production histories of these shows which are all bound together by a common thread. In this volume Purdy focuses the lens on several seemingly infallible theatre creatives that weren't destined to repeat their successes with the shows discussed in this volume. As such, Purdy grounds the discussion by examining what the legendary creators of Les Miserables, pop superstar Elton John, wunderkind Julie Taymor and many others have in common besides being inspired storytellers of iconic Broadway musicals. The answer is that that also all created shows that, for one reason or a dozen, didn't find an audience. This particular volume shares the story of what can happen when formidable creative teams of sell-out musicals attempt to re-create their success but miss the mark. This is an engaging book for students, practitioners and fans of musical theatre that contains thoughtful observations about luck and creative differences, botched adaptations and alienated audiences, all of which can determine the fate of a musical.

Flop Musicals of the Twenty First Century offers a provocative and revealing historical narrative of a group of musicals that cost millions, were created by world-renowned writers and directors, and that had spectacular potential... but bombed anyway. Stephen Purdy asks the reader to consider what the legendary creators of Les Miseìrables, pop superstar Elton John, and wunderkind Julie Taymor have in common besides being inspired storytellers of iconic Broadway musicals? The answer is that they also all created shows that, for one reason or a dozen, flopped. This book shares the story of what can happen when formidable creative teams of sell-out musicals attempt to repeat their success but miss the mark. First-hand accounts from the cast members, backstage staff and the creative team, combined with a wealth of secondary sources gathered from press articles, reviews and critical commentary, offer an intriguing insight into the factors behind success and failure in the musical theatre business. This is a fascinating book for students and scholars of Musical Theatre that contains thoughtful observations about luck and creative differences, botched adaptations and alienated audiences, all of which can determine the fate of a musical.

Featuring contributions from over eighty original cast members, creatives, crew and audience members, Out For Blood pieces together the surprising, hilarious and often-moving inside story of Carrie The Musical to discover how this 'horror of a Broadway musical' lived, died and was subsequently resurrected as a mainstream success story. In 1988, following the success of its production of Les Misérables and in the wake of the commercial success of mega-musicals such as Cats, Phantom of the Opera and Chess, the Royal Shakespeare Company agreed to co-produce a musical based on Stephen King's Carrie, written by the team behind Fame. The result was one of Broadway's most infamous disasters. Plagued by technical problems, on-stage chaos and a critical savaging, Carrie would soon become the by-word for musical theatre flops. But thanks to the efforts of a vocal army of fans and the impact of bootleg trading and emerging online communities, the show reinvented itself as a mainstream success story with thousands of productions worldwide. Patching together memories, archive material and contemporary reports, Out For Blood dives into the origins and development of this infamous show and examines how a promising entertainment product can swiftly gain a notorious reputation, what makes or breaks a Broadway show, and how even the most unlikely of musicals can find its place in the hearts of fans around the world. Based on the hit ten-part podcast, Out For Blood will delight theatregoers, flop aficionados and 'Friends of Carrie' alike.

The Evolution of Horror in the Twenty-First Century examines the intimate connections between the horror genre and its audience’s experience of being in the world at a particular historical and cultural moment. This book not only provides frameworks with which to understand contemporary horror, but it also speaks to the changes wrought by technological development in creation, production, and distribution, as well as the ways in which those who are traditionally underrepresented positively within the genre- women, LGBTQ+, indigenous, and BAME communities - are finally being seen and finding space to speak.

20 Seasons: Broadway Musicals of the 21st Century catalogues, categorizes, and analyzes the 269 musicals that opened on Broadway from the 2000-2001 season through the 2019-2020 season. This book is the first to comprehensively examine the musicals that premiered on Broadway during this important historical period, which was bookended by the 9/11 terrorist attacks on one end and the Coronavirus pandemic on the other. It begins by exploring the historical context for the first 20 years of the 21st century and how this impacted American culture and theatre. Rather than chronologically, the musicals are then organized into categories based on their source material and whether they were original musicals or revivals, painting a detailed picture of the Broadway musical in first 20 years of the 21st century. Jukebox musicals, screen-to-stage musicals, revivals, and other original musicals are all covered, and each chapter ends with reading guides and discussion prompts. The book not only discusses what was produced, but by whom, uncovering the stark lack of representation for women and artists of color on Broadway musical creative and design teams. Additionally, the last chapter discusses the COVID-19 pandemic, the Broadway shutdown, and what happened to the Broadway musical during the shutdown, including the response to the Black Lives Matter movement in the summer of 2020. 20 Seasons: Broadway Musicals of the 21st Century will appeal to fans and scholars of musical theatre, as well as students of Musical Theatre, Musical Theatre History, American Studies, and Pop Culture Studies.

Twenty-First Century Musicals stakes a place for the musical in today’s cinematic landscape, taking a look at leading contemporary shows from their stage origins to their big-screen adaptations. Each chapter offers a new perspective on a single musical, challenging populist narratives and exploring underlying narratives and sub-texts in depth. Themes of national identity; race, class and gender; the ‘voice’ and ‘singing live’ on film; authenticity; camp sensibilities; and the celebration of failure are addressed in a series of questions including: How does the film adaptation provide a different viewing experience from the stage version? What themes are highlighted in the film adaptation? What does the new casting bring to the work? Do camera angles dictate a different reading from the stage version? What is lost/gained in the process of adaptation to film? Re-interpreting the contemporary film musical as a compelling art form, Twenty-First Century Musicals is a must-read for any student or scholar keen to broaden their understanding of musical performance.

Traces the American musical from its rich beginnings in European opera. This book talks about the infancy of the musical - the revues, operettas, and early musical comedies, as well as the groundbreaking shows like "Oklahoma!" and "Show Boat", with references to how history, literature, fashion, popular music and movies influenced musical theater.