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My Favorite Flop

My Favorite Flop

Bobby Traversa and Kristina Miller-Weston

"My Favorite Flop" celebrates the fabulous failures that furnish Broadway's fathomless files. Come geek out with hosts Bobby Traversa and Kristina Miller-Weston as they discuss their favorite musical misses and misfits on this new Broadway podcast.
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Top 10 My Favorite Flop Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best My Favorite Flop episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to My Favorite Flop for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite My Favorite Flop episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

My Favorite Flop - The Curse of the Longacre: Part II
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03/22/22 • 31 min

It's time to break some legs and keep that "M" word out of your mouths, kids, because Bobby and Kristina are back with Part II of The Curse of the Longacre (dunn, dunn, dunn!!!) to discuss 2013's First Date on Season Two, Episode Two of My Favorite Flop.

ABOUT THE CURSE OF THE LONGACRE

In theatrical history, baseball and Broadway have not been very compatible companions. There are two theories about this animosity. The first is that more theatre tickets are bought by women than men and that women are not overly fond of the sport. The second theory centers on the legendary Curse of the Bambino.

In 1916, a Broadway producer and theatre owner named Harry Frazee bought the Boston Red Sox. He was an avid baseball lover, but he made a fatal error. In 1920, he sold Boston pitcher Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. The Red Sox didn't win another World Series for over 80 years (they won in 2004), leading fans to believe the team was under The Curse of the Bambino. To add insult to injury, when reporters asked Frazee why he sold the immortal Babe Ruth to New York, he replied that he wanted the $125,000 to produce a Broadway musical. The show turned out to be the hit No, No, Nanette, which further enraged Boston. Legend has it that since then, no Broadway show about baseball could succeed. And many haven't.

Of course, there have been notable exceptions that have defied the infamous curse: the most famous being the 1955 smash hit Damn Yankees, starring Gwen Verdon. But even this show started with a jinx. The musical's initial artwork featured Verdon garbed in a drab baseball uniform, and tickets were not selling very well. When producers changed the cover photo to Verdon in sexy black lingerie (after all, she did play a tempting seductress in the musical), the box office suddenly responded. The show won seven Tony Awards and ran for 1,019 performances.

Harry Frazee also famously built Broadway's Longacre Theatre. At first, the large theater was home to a series of hit shows, but after the infamous Baseball trade, it began to struggle. Many plays and musicals have premiere there over the years and the flops have outnumbered the successes. Sometimes the theater stands empty for long periods of time as Broadway producers are notoriously superstitious and it is considered by some to truly be a cursed house and they would rather not mount their show at all than to risk mounting it there.

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My Favorite Flop - A Current Affair

A Current Affair

My Favorite Flop

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08/03/21 • 48 min

"It's time for a cheer-up song" because hosts Bobby and Kristina are finally back after an extended intermission to discuss 1978's A Broadway Musical on the act two opener of My Favorite Flop.

ABOUT A BROADWAY MUSICAL

Based on the real-life experiences of the creative teams' journeys working on the original Broadway productions of The Wiz and the musical version of Golden Boy, A Broadway Musical tells the story of a sleazy white theatre producer's attempt to adapt an African-American writer's serious play as a commercial stage musical. The musical features a book by William F. Brown, music by Charles Strouse, and lyrics by Lee Adams.

Following a dismal October–November tryout with Helen Gallagher and Julius LaRosa at the theatre in the Riverside Church in Morningside Heights, the producers fired most of the cast and creative personnel, including director/choreographer George Faison. Gower Champion was called in to rescue the Broadway-bound production with only a month to go, but he feared that the show's defects were too serious to remedy and insisted on receiving a "Production supervised by" credit only. After 14 previews, the Broadway production opened and closed the same night at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on December 21, 1978. It lost $1 million.

The creators hoped that the backstage story about the making of a musical would cash in on the success of A Chorus Line as well as the popularity of the black-themed musical, including Brown's own The Wiz, which was still running at the time. But Brown's much-criticized book failed to capture any of the socially-relevant subject matter in a serious way and instead became a clichéd spoof of show business lawyers, idealistic young playwrights, glitzy Las Vegas performers, blue-haired matinée ladies, and the black-themed musical itself. The Wiz proved to be Brown's only success.

Original Broadway Cast

  • Warren Berlinger as Eddie Bell
  • Gwyda DonHowe as Stephanie Bell
  • Irving Allen Lee as James Lincoln
  • Larry Marshall as Richie Taylor
  • Anne Francine as Shirley Wolfe
  • Jackée Harry as Melinda Bernard
  • Tiger Haynes as Sylvester Lee
  • Reggie Jackson as Louie
  • Patti Karr as Maggie Simpson
  • Christina Kumi Kimball as Kumi Kumi
  • Robert Melvin as Junior
  • Martin Rabbett as Jake
  • Larry Riley as Lonnie Paul
  • Albert Stephenson as Big Jake
  • Alan Weeks as Stan Howard
  • Sydney Anderson as Richie Taylor's Lawyer
  • Gwen Arment as Rehearsal Pianist
  • Nate Barnett as Policeman
  • Michael Gallagher as Richie Taylor's Lawyer
  • Jo Ann Ogawa as Richie's Secretary
  • Loretta Devine as Smoke and Fire Backup Singer
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My Favorite Flop - Three Card Capote

Three Card Capote

My Favorite Flop

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08/31/21 • 79 min

"So here we are again", "talkin' in tongues" and proving "one man is not enough" as hosts Bobby and Kristina discuss ALL THREE musicals based on the literary work of Truman Capote on episode fifteen of My Favorite Flop: 1954's House of Flowers, 1966's Breakfast at Tiffany's, AND 1971's The Grass Harp.

ABOUT HOUSE OF FLOWERS

Based on the original short story by Truman Capote, House of Flowers tells the story of two neighboring bordellos that battle for business in an idealized Haitian setting. The musical features music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Arlen and Truman Capote, and a book by Capote.

In the early 1950s, Truman Capote became involved in the performing arts. He was approached by producer Saint Subber to adapt his recent story, "House of Flowers", as a musical play for Broadway. Much of the writing was done in the Italian fishing village of Portofino; but Capote and Jack Dunphy found time to travel to Switzerland and Paris before turning to America, where Capote met again with producer Saint Subber and continued his work in the musical.

After a Philadelphia try-out, the show opened on Broadway on December 30, 1954 at the Alvin Theatre and played for 165 performances. The director was Peter Brook. The cast included Pearl Bailey, Diahann Carroll, Juanita Hall, Ray Walston, Carmen de Lavallade, Alvin Ailey and Geoffrey Holder (who also provided a section of choreography). Although the show received generally poor reviews, the dance-rhythm infused score has been praised for its mix of blues and calypso.

There was an unsuccessful Off-Broadway revival in 1968 at Theater de Lys. In 2003, there was an Encores! production, starring Tonya Pinkins and Armelia McQueen as the battling bordello madams and Maurice Hines as Captain Jonas, the smuggler. The virginal Ottilie was played by Nikki M. James, and the mountain boy, Royal, was played by Brandon Victor Dixon. Roscoe Lee Browne played the voodoo priest, Houngan.

ABOUT BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S

Based both on the 1958 Truman Capote novella and 1961 film of the same name, Breakfast at Tiffany's tells the story of a free spirit named Holly Golightly. The musical features music and lyrics by Bob Merrill and a book by Abe Burrows, which was rewritten in previews by legendary playwright Edward Albee.

The original cast included Mary Tyler Moore, Richard Chamberlain, Sally Kellerman, Larry Kert and Priscilla Lopez. The production was designed by Oliver Smith, directed by Joseph Anthony and choreographed by Michael Kidd with assistance from Tony Mordente, and produced by David Merrick. Despite the impressive list of collaborators, the project never gelled. The show underwent constant and massive changes in its script and score during out-of-town tryouts. The original book by Abe Burrows was seen in Philadelphia, then scrapped completely, and Edward Albee, an unlikely choice, was hired to re-write before a Boston tryout. Burrows was the original director but left when Albee was brought in. He was replaced by Joseph Anthony. On a daily basis, the cast was given new material hours before curtain time, and the piece was overly long, running nearly four hours. Burrows's departure resulted in low morale among cast members, and Moore was convinced that Merrick planned to fire her soon after opening night.

Its original title, Holly Golightly, was changed when it started previews on December 12, 1966, on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre. Despite a healthy advance sale and much audience anticipation, it closed four nights later without having officially opened. Merrick placed an infamous ad in The New York Times, announcing that he shut down the production "rather than subject the drama critics and the public to an excruciatingly boring evening."

In 2013, the musical was revived for the first time, using Burrows's book, under the title Holly Golightly, at the 200-seat Lilian Baylis Studio at Sadler's Wells Theatre in London, as part of Ian Marshall Fisher's "Lost Musicals" staged concert series. One reviewer wrote: "the show never seems to come alive [and though] worth excavating out of interest in the form, it is not clear whether it is stageworthy."

ABOUT THE GRASS HARP

Based on the 1951 novella by Truman Capote, The Grass Harp tells the story of an orphaned boy and two elderly ladies who observe life from a tree. They eventually leave their temporary retreat to make amends with each other and other members of society. The musical features music by Claibe Richardson and book and lyrics by Kenward Elmslie.

The initial 1967 tryout of the musical was performed by Trinity Square Repertory Company at the Rhode Island School of Design auditorium, in Providence, Rhode Island. Directed and staged by Adrian Hall, the cast included Barbara Baxley as Dolly Heart Talbo, Carol Brice as the black maid Catherine Creek, C...

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My Favorite Flop - Fascinating Foreign Women
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08/17/21 • 65 min

It's time to grab a "window seat" and be on your best "model behavior" as hosts Bobby and Kristina discuss 2017's Amélie and 2010's Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown on episode fourteen of My Favorite Flop.

ABOUT AMÉLIE

Based on the 2001 French film of the same name, Amélie tells the story of a shy waitress who decides to change the lives of those around her for the better while struggling with her own isolation. The musical features music by Daniel Messé, lyrics by Messé and Nathan Tysen, and a book by Craig Lucas.

Following out-of-town tryouts at Berkeley Repertory and The Ahmanson, the musical finally opened to mixed reviews on Broadway on April 3, 2017. Despite praise for its cast and design elements, many critics found issue with the score, and the show struggled at the box office. When the show failed to receive any Tony nominations in an extremely competitive season, the show closed on May 21, 2017, after 27 previews and 56 regular performances.

A substantially transformed production, with new orchestrations, an expanded repertoire of songs, and new staging in the actor/muso style, opened on the West End in December 2019, at the Other Palace. Critics praised its improvements on the Broadway version, with The Guardian describing it as "a triumph of adaptation" "high on imagination", while The Daily Telegraph lauded the "wonderful, wistful evening" it made. It was nominated for three awards at the 2020 Laurence Olivier Awards: Best New Musical, Best Original Score or New Orchestrations, and Best Actress in a Musical.

Original Broadway Cast

  • Phillipa Soo as Amélie
  • Adam Chanler-Berat as Nino
  • Tony Sheldon as Dufayel/Collignon
  • David Andino as Blind Beggar/Garden Gnome/Anchorperson
  • Randy Blair as Hipolito/Rock Star/Belgian Tourist
  • Heath Calvert as Lucien/Adrien Wells/Mysterious Man
  • Alison Cimmet as Amandine/Philomene
  • Savvy Crawford as Young Amélie
  • Manoel Felciano as Raphael/Bretodeau
  • Harriett D. Foy as Suzanne
  • Alyse Alan Louis as Georgette/Sylvie/Collignon's Mother
  • Maria-Christina Oliveras as Gina
  • Paul Whitty as Joseph/Fluffy/Collignon's Father

ABOUT WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN

Based on the Pedro Almodóvar film of the same name, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown tells the tale of a group of women in late 20th-century Madrid whose relationships with men lead to a tumultuous 48 hours of love, confusion, and passion. The musical features music and lyrics by David Yazbek and a book by Jeffrey Lane.

Following a series of workshops in 2009 featuring Salma Hayek, Jessica Biel, Matthew Morrison and Paulo Szot, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown opened on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre on November 4, 2010. The production was a limited engagement that was scheduled to end on January 23, 2011, but due to low grosses and ticket sales, closed early on January 2, 2011. At the time of closing, the show had played 30 previews and 69 regular performances.

A West End production, also directed by Bartlett Sher and starring Tamsin Greig, Jérôme Pradon, Haydn Gwynne, Anna Skellern, and Willemijn Verkaik opened at the Playhouse Theatre on January 12, 2015 for a 20-week run, and subsequently extended its run, but it was ultimately announced that the production would close on May 23, 2015. Greig and Gwynne were nominated for Best Actress in a Musical and Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical respectively at the 2015 Laurence Olivier Awards.

Original Broadway Cast

  • Sherie Rene Scott as Pepa
  • Patti LuPone as Lucia
  • Brian Stokes Mitchell as Ivan
  • Julio Agustin as Ambite
  • De'Adre Aziza as Paulina
  • Laura Benanti as Candela
  • Danny Burstein as Taxi Driver
  • Alma Cuervo as Woman in Cinema/Ivan's Concierge/Magistrate 2
  • Justin Guarini as Carlos
  • Murphy Guyer as Hector/TV Husband/Magistrate/Chief Inspector
  • Nina Lafarga as Woman at Train/Ana
  • Nikka Graff Lanzarone as Marisa
  • Yanira Marin as Ensemble
  • Sean McCourt as Man in Cinema/Doctor/Detective
  • Vivian Nixon as Ensemble
  • Mary Beth Peil as Pepa's Concierge/TV and Radio Announcer
  • Luis Salgado as Malik
  • Jennifer Sánchez as Cristina
  • Phillip Spaeth as Ensemble
  • Matthew Steffens as Ensemble
  • Charlie Sutton as Man at Train/Telephone Repairman
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My Favorite Flop - The Books You Claim To Have Read: Part I
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05/20/22 • 56 min

Because we all used CliffsNotes more often than we're comfortable to admit.

On Part I of The Books You Claim To Have Read, "the road goes on" as Bobby and Kristina discuss 2007's Lord of the Rings on Season Two, Episode 5 of My Favorite Flop.

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My Favorite Flop - One Night In Bangkok

One Night In Bangkok

My Favorite Flop

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05/25/21 • 72 min

"Nobody's on nobody's side" as hosts Bobby and Kristina discuss 1988's Chess on episode eleven of My Favorite Flop.

ABOUT CHESS

Set against the Cold War tensions present in the 1980s, Chess tells the story of a politically-driven chess tournament between two grandmasters, one American and the other Soviet Russian, and their fight over a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other. The musical features a book by Tim Rice, music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, and lyrics by Ulvaeus and Rice. A revised book by playwright Richard Nelson was used on Broadway and in some later revisions.

Lyricist Tim Rice had long wanted to create a musical about the Cold War. His first notion was to write a straightforward piece about the Cuban Missile Crisis, however, by the late 1970s, he had developed the idea to tell the story through the prism of the long-standing chess rivalry between the United States and the USSR instead. His initial hope was to begin work on the project after the international success of Evita, with Andrew Lloyd Webber joining him once again, but Webber declined. At around same time, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of the pop group ABBA were looking to break away from the band and compose something more significant for the theatre. After meeting in 1981, a new collaboration was formed, and work would soon begin on what would eventually be known as Chess.

Just like Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita before it, it was decided that Chess would first be released as a concept album. Hitting record stores in 1984, the album was a huge hit, selling millions of copies worldwide and garnishing critical acclaim. At the time, it was the most successful theatrical cast album ever produced and it was no surprise that a stage production would soon follow. The road to the stage, however, would be a troubled one.

After much turmoil, the original London production opened to mixed-to-positive reviews in 1986 and ran for three years. A much-altered version, however, premiered on Broadway in 1988 and survived only for two months. Despite that, Chess is frequently revised for new productions around the world, many of which try to merge elements from both the British and American versions, and there is constant talk of an eventual first-class revival. A West End revival played in London in 2018 for just over a month.

Original Broadway Cast

  • David Carroll as Anatoly Sergievsky
  • Phillip Casnoff as Freddie Trumper
  • Judy Kuhn as Florence Vassy
  • Marcia Mitzman as Svetlana Sergievsky
  • Harry Goz as Molokov
  • Dennis Parlato as Walter
  • Paul Harman as The Arbiter
  • Neal Ben-Ari as Gregor Vassey
  • Gina Gallagher as Young Florence
  • Kurt Johns as Nickolai
  • Eric Johnson as Harold
  • Richard Muenz as Joe
  • John Aller, Suzanne Briar, Steve Clemente, Katherine Lynne Condit, Ann Crumb, David Cryer, R. F. Daley, Deborah Geneviere, Paul Laureano, Rosemary Loar, Judy McLane, Jessica Molaskey, Kip Niven, Francis Ruivivar, Alex Santoriello, and Wysandria Woolsey as Ensemble
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My Favorite Flop - Everybody Says Don't

Everybody Says Don't

My Favorite Flop

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03/30/21 • 55 min

"See what it gets you" as hosts Bobby and Kristina discuss 1964's Anyone Can Whistle on episode seven of My Favorite Flop.

ABOUT ANYONE CAN WHISTLE

Described by theater historian Ken Mandelbaum as "a satire on conformity and the insanity of the so-called sane," Anyone Can Whistle tells the story of an economically-depressed town whose corrupt Mayoress, in an attempt to draw tourists, decides to create a fake "miracle" - which draws the attention of Fay Apple, an emotionally inhibited nurse, a crowd of inmates from a local asylum called "The Cookie Jar," and a "doctor" with secrets of his own. The musical features a book by Arthur Laurents and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.

Following a tryout period in Philadelphia, Anyone Can Whistle opened at the Majestic Theater on Broadway on April 4, 1964 to widely varied reviews (including negative notices from the New York Times and the New York Herald Tribune). It closed after a run of 12 previews and 9 performances and in the decades since its closing, it has not been produced on the scale of other Sondheim musicals; notable productions include a 1995 concert version at Carnegie Hall, a pair of stagings in London and Los Angeles in 2003 that incorporated revisions, and a 2010 concert staging for the Encores! program at New York City Center.

Its score, however, has become an acclaimed part of Sondheim's canon, and songs such as the title tune, "Everybody Says Don't", and "There Won't Be Trumpets" have been widely performed. The show is also known for marking the stage musical debut of Angela Lansbury.

Original Broadway Cast

  • Angela Lansbury as Cora Hoover Hooper
  • Lee Remick as Fay Apple
  • Harry Guardino as J. Bowden Hapgood
  • Gabriel Dell as Comptroller Schub
  • James Frawley as Chief Magruder
  • Don Doherty as Dr. Detmold
  • Peg Murray as Mrs. Schroeder
  • Arnold Soboloff as Treasurer Cooley
  • Jeanne Tanzy as Baby Joan
  • Harvey Evans as John/One Of The Boys/Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
  • Sterling Clark as One Of The Boys/Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
  • Larry Roquemore as George/One Of The Boys/Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
  • Tucker Smith as One Of The Boys/Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
  • Georgia Creighton as Osgood/Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
  • Alan Johnson as Telegraph Boy/Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
  • Janet Hayes as June/Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
  • Jeff Killion as Sandwich Man/Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
  • Eleonore Treiber as Old Lady/Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
  • Lester Wilson as Martin/Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
  • Susan Borree as Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
  • Eugene Edwards as Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
  • Dick Ensslen as Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
  • Loren Hightower as Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
  • Bettye Jenkins as Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
  • Patricia Kelly as Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
  • Barbara Lang as Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
  • Paula Lloyd as Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
  • Barbara Monte as Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
  • Jack Murray as Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
  • Odette Phillips as Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
  • William Reilly as Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
  • Hanne Marie Reiner as Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
  • Donald Stewart as Cookie/Townsperson/Etc
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My Favorite Flop - One Night Only

One Night Only

My Favorite Flop

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12/21/21 • 86 min

"Are you ready for tonight?" "Simple ain't easy" and this isn't "just another song" as hosts Bobby and Kristina discuss a whole bunch of Clopenings (shows that closed on opening night) on the season one finale of My Favorite Flop.

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My Favorite Flop - And I Was Beautiful

And I Was Beautiful

My Favorite Flop

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04/27/21 • 58 min

It's time to look "through the bottom of the glass" as hosts Bobby and Kristina discuss 1969's Dear World on episode nine of My Favorite Flop.

ABOUT DEAR WORLD

Based on Jean Giraudoux's play The Madwoman of Chaillot, Dear World tells the story of three mad countesses who deviously scheme to stop businessmen from drilling for oil in the Parisian neighborhood of Chaillot in an attempt to let the forces of idealism, love, and poetry win over those of greed, materialism and science. The musical features a book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman.

Dear World was a passion project of composer Jerry Herman who had starred as the mime character in a college production of the play. He had wished to adapt the piece earlier in his career, however, the rights were unavailable as they'd already been given to another team. After the massive success of both Hello, Dolly! and Mame, though, Herman was finally able to obtain the rights and work quickly began to reunite the team and recreate the magic of the latter.

The musical had a notably troubled road to Broadway that included three different directors and multiple changes to the script and score. Trouble continued during previews in New York and the show's opening was postponed several times. Finally, after impatient critics told the production they were going to review the show whether it officially opened or not, an opening night was finally scheduled for February 6, 1969, where it received mostly negative reviews and closed after 132 performances.

Originally conceived as a chamber musical, Dear World fell victim to a massive production that effectively overwhelmed the simplicity of the original tale. After the Broadway closing, Herman, Lawrence, and Lee rewrote the show for licensing, "putting back the intimacy that had been undermined on Broadway." In the late 1990s, playwright David Thompson revised the material for a possible revival for the Roundabout Theatre Company. While that production never came to fruition, it did lead to a series of future productions and further revisals at The Goodspeed Opera House, Sundance, and The York Theatre Company featuring performances by legendary leading ladies Sally Ann Howes, Maureen McGovern, and Tyne Daly.

Dear World finally had its West End premiere at London's Charing Cross Theatre in 2013 starring Betty Buckley, with direction and choreography by Gillian Lynne.

Original Broadway Cast

  • Angela Lansbury as Countess Aurelia
  • Jane Connell as Countess Gabrielle
  • Carmen Mathews as Countess Constance
  • Milo O'Shea as The Sewerman
  • Kurt Peterson as Julian
  • Pamela Hall as Nina
  • William Larsen as The Chairman of the Board
  • Joe Masiell as The Prospector
  • Ted Agress as The Juggler
  • Michael Davis as The Doorman
  • Miguel Godreau as The Deaf-Mute
  • John Taliaferro as The Peddler
  • Gene Varrone as The Waiter
  • Ty McConnell as The Busboy
  • Clifford Fearl, Charles Karel, Zale Kessler, and Charles Welch as Members of the Board
  • Nicole Barth, Bruce Becker, Toney Brealond, Jane Coleman, Jack Davison, Jacque Dean, Richard Dodd, John Grigas, Marian Haraldson, Tony Juliano, Gene Kelton, Carolyn Kirsch, Urylee Leonardos, Larry Merritt, Ruth Ramsey, Orrin Reiley, Patsy Sabline, Connie Simmons, Margot Travers, and Mary Zahn as The People of Paris
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My Favorite Flop - The Curse of the Longacre: Part I
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03/08/22 • 59 min

It's time to grab your cleats and jockstraps, kids, because we're back with a brand new season and this time our episodes are themed and paired! To kick things off, Bobby and Kristina will be exploring whether or not baseball and Broadway can actually coexist as they cover The Curse of the Longacre (dunn, dunn, dunn!!!) and then learn more about "the worst job in the world" as they discuss 2021's Diana, The Musical on the Season Two premiere of My Favorite Flop.

ABOUT THE CURSE OF THE LONGACRE

In theatrical history, baseball and Broadway have not been very compatible companions. There are two theories about this animosity. The first is that more theatre tickets are bought by women than men and that women are not overly fond of the sport. The second theory centers on the legendary Curse of the Bambino.

In 1916, a Broadway producer and theatre owner named Harry Frazee bought the Boston Red Sox. He was an avid baseball lover, but he made a fatal error. In 1920, he sold Boston pitcher Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. The Red Sox didn't win another World Series for over 80 years (they won in 2004), leading fans to believe the team was under The Curse of the Bambino. To add insult to injury, when reporters asked Frazee why he sold the immortal Babe Ruth to New York, he replied that he wanted the $125,000 to produce a Broadway musical. The show turned out to be the hit No, No, Nanette, which further enraged Boston. Legend has it that since then, no Broadway show about baseball could succeed. And many haven't.

Of course, there have been notable exceptions that have defied the infamous curse: the most famous being the 1955 smash hit Damn Yankees, starring Gwen Verdon. But even this show started with a jinx. The musical's initial artwork featured Verdon garbed in a drab baseball uniform, and tickets were not selling very well. When producers changed the cover photo to Verdon in sexy black lingerie (after all, she did play a tempting seductress in the musical), the box office suddenly responded. The show won seven Tony Awards and ran for 1,019 performances.

Harry Frazee also famously built Broadway's Longacre Theatre. At first, the large theater was home to a series of hit shows, but after the infamous Baseball trade, it began to struggle. Many plays and musicals have premiere there over the years and the flops have outnumbered the successes. Sometimes the theater stands empty for long periods of time as Broadway producers are notoriously superstitious and it is considered by some to truly be a cursed house and they would rather not mount their show at all than to risk mounting it there.

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FAQ

How many episodes does My Favorite Flop have?

My Favorite Flop currently has 30 episodes available.

What topics does My Favorite Flop cover?

The podcast is about Podcasts, Arts and Performing Arts.

What is the most popular episode on My Favorite Flop?

The episode title 'One Night Only' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on My Favorite Flop?

The average episode length on My Favorite Flop is 58 minutes.

How often are episodes of My Favorite Flop released?

Episodes of My Favorite Flop are typically released every 14 days.

When was the first episode of My Favorite Flop?

The first episode of My Favorite Flop was released on Dec 29, 2020.

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