History TroubledProduction / Theatre

* ''Theatre/SpiderManTurnOffTheDark'', TheMusical take on [[ComicBook/SpiderMan the comic book]] and the Creator/SamRaimi movie adaptations, had a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man:_Turn_Off_the_Dark#History hard time just getting to its preview period]] on Broadway... whereupon things went FromBadToWorse. A few highlights include:
** It was greenlit shortly after [[Film/SpiderMan1 the first Raimi film]] hit theaters in 2002. Producer Tony Adams brought [[Music/{{U2}} Bono and The Edge]] to compose the music and they brought along director (and famous {{Prima Donna|Director}}) Julie Taymor. In 2005, Adams [[DiedDuringProduction suffered a fatal stroke]] just as the creative team were assembled to sign their contracts. Adams's producing partner, David Garfinkle, replaced him. Realizing his inexperience, Garfinkle left all artistic decisions to Taymor.
** Over the next few years, delays upon delays pushed the budget up significantly. By November 2010, the budget was projected at $65 million, meaning it would have to sell out for three years to break even. The same month brought its first preview ... which was twenty-four minutes late, had sets with missing pieces, and technical issues which forced the show to stop several times. At least one patron was quoted as saying " "I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel like a guinea pig tonight! I feel this was a dress rehearsal!" In the aftermath, the preview period kept getting extended, and finally theater critics had enough and wrote/ran reviews of the February 7, 2011 performance (which, had it not been pushed back ''again'', was supposed to be the official opening date)... most of which were [[http://www.avclub.com/articles/spiderman-turn-off-the-dark-terrible-or-make-it-st,51518/ scathing]].
** Its protracted preview phase was plagued with a few accidents [[note]]To the point that Creator/StephenColbert referred to it on ''Series/TheColbertReport'' as "Spider-Man: Notify Next of Kin"[[/note]]. On the first preview, Natalie Mendoza (Arachne) suffered a concussion from a falling piece of equipment; her replacement TV Carpio (who opened the show on its official debut) was injured in March, forcing understudy America Olivo to take over. Spidey stuntman Chris Tierney fell into the pit due to a mishap with his harness, while two other stuntmen suffered minor injuries in separate incidents. This got the show unwanted attention from such organizations as OSHA, Actor's Equity Association ... and parodies and mockery from ''Series/{{Conan}}'', ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', Website/TheOnion, Website/AVClub, ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'', even ''Series/SesameStreet'', and a RippedFromTheHeadlines episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent''.
** In response, the producers (finally!) panicked and brought in script doctors, along with having Bono and The Edge write new music. Among the revisions included eliminating the "[[GreekChorus Geek Chorus]]", demoting Taymor's CreatorsPet CanonForeigner Arachne from the BigBad to a supporting character and promoting the Green Goblin (who was supposed to die at the end of act 1) in her place. Taymor refused to go along with the changes and was either fired or quit. It finally opened in June 2011.
** In January 2012, the producers suggested that the show might periodically add new scenes and songs to encourage repeat customers. The cautionary tale continued to unfold: Taymor filed suit against the producers and Bono and The Edge, claiming that not only that she was unjustly fired but also that they used her rewrites afterward, without giving her credit.
** In August 2013, yet ''another'' performer was seriously injured during a performance.
** Then it was the ticket sales that fell to their doom; in November the show was confirmed to be closing in January 2014, with $60 million of the producers' investment due to be lost according to ''New York'' magazine.
** The producers initially intended to reopen the show in Las Vegas in 2015, but decided to launch an arena tour in 2015-16 instead. However, nothing came of it.

** Under Hands' direction, the production grew bigger and bigger. There were elaborate pyrotechnics, lasers, automated scenery and a gigantic "Staircase to Heaven" for the show's finale. But the crew was unable to douse Linzi Hateley, as Carrie herself, with fake blood without shorting out her microphone. Their solution was for Gene Anthony Ray and Charlotte d'Amboise, playing bullies Billy and Chris, to run on stage and dump a small bit of fake blood on Hateley. Hands also took a hatchet to the libretto, cutting much of the spoken dialogue to get to the songs faster. This unfortunately left things like, any explanation for Carrie's powers, completely absent. This also left the show's tone [[MoodWhiplash all over the place]].

** The show finally opened at full capacity on August 18, 2021, hyped up as the first opening of a new musical since the pandemic. Reviews of the West End production were positive, with particular praise going to the cast, though Norton speculated that at least some of the praise came down to overexuberance at being able to finally see a live musical on the West End again for the first time in over a year. Sure enough, as time wore on ticket sales declined, reviews (especially [[{{Foreshadowing}} from American critics]]) grew increasingly critical, and it only wound up nominated for one UsefulNotes/LaurenceOlivierAward (for Victoria Hamilton-Barritt as the Stepmother) in a year that, due to the pandemic, saw it face little competition. Lloyd Webber, by various accounts, [[PrimaDonnaDirector grew combative]] as criticism piled in, allegedly [[HostilityOnTheSet berating cast members]] to the point of leaving them in tears and causing some of them to consider [[TakeThisJobAndShoveIt walking out]] or even going on strike. When asked about the matter, he responded by denying the allegations but saying that "nobody has a right to be on stage" and criticizing the show's younger cast members in particular for thinking that they weren't in the "service industry" as actors (begging the question of what industry ''he'' works in, especially given [[{{Hypocrite}} how hard he fought to get theaters reopened]]).

** When the show finally opened, it was shredded by a negative critical and audience reception. Allen's lack of acting ability and his [[WTHCastingAgency unconvincing attempt at]] PlayingAgainstType bore the brunt of the critics' reviews. They also took umbrage with its style over substance approach. The show attracted an audience as a morbid curiosity. But it ended up closing on February 19, 1989, after 64 performances. The Nederlanders sold the Mark Hellinger Theatre to the Times Square Church, which turned it into its headquarters.

* The 1917 ballet ''Parade'' (not to be confused with [[Theatre/Parade1998 the musical tragedy about the death of Leo Frank]]) was the product of the surrealist team consisting of Creator/JeanCocteau, Music/ErikSatie, and Creator/PabloPicasso, who of course turned out a highly ambitious and experimental piece involving BreakingTheFourthWall, gigantic and highly restrictive costumes, and use of ordinary objects as musical instruments. Unfortunately, this was all a bit beyond what the general public was prepared for at the time (the word "surrealism" was actually created to describe it, and the style wouldn't catch on in the art world for another three years), and it received a highly polarized reaction, with half the audience giving wild applause, which was the only thing stopping the other half from throwing a ''Rite of Spring'' level riot (see the trope's music page), and they still loudly booed throughout the whole thing. Afterwards, Satie was enraged by a negative review by composer and critic Jean Poueigh and sent him a postcard calling him a "cul sans musique," an ass without music. Poueigh sued him over it and he spent eight days in jail, and during the trial Cocteau was beaten by the police for repeatedly yelling "cul."

* The 1917 ballet ''Parade'' (not to be confused with [[Theatre/{{Parade}} the musical tragedy about the death of Leo Frank]]) was the product of the surrealist team consisting of Creator/JeanCocteau, Music/ErikSatie, and Creator/PabloPicasso, who of course turned out a highly ambitious and experimental piece involving BreakingTheFourthWall, gigantic and highly restrictive costumes, and use of ordinary objects as musical instruments. Unfortunately, this was all a bit beyond what the general public was prepared for at the time (the word "surrealism" was actually created to describe it, and the style wouldn't catch on in the art world for another three years), and it received a highly polarized reaction, with half the audience giving wild applause, which was the only thing stopping the other half from throwing a ''Rite of Spring'' level riot (see the trope's music page), and they still loudly booed throughout the whole thing. Afterwards, Satie was enraged by a negative review by composer and critic Jean Poueigh and sent him a postcard calling him a "cul sans musique," an ass without music. Poueigh sued him over it and he spent eight days in jail, and during the trial Cocteau was beaten by the police for repeatedly yelling "cul."

** The FBI ended up arrested Hotton for unrelated charges of fraud, but, in a separate investigation, they provided concrete evidence that Abrams and his associates were indeed Hotton inventions. Had Sprecher perhaps been more diligent outright (or at least looked up "Mark C. Hotton" on Google), he may have found a trail of evidence implicating Hotton in fraudulent schemes dating back to the 1990s.

** In September 2012, Abrams was said to have died of malaria without having actually given Sprecher the promised funds. Oddly, there were no obituaries in British newspapers for Abrams, nor were any death certificates issued in his name. A spokesman for the Abrams estate refused to take calls and was using an email address that had been created only a month earlier.
** Before Sprecher could pull the plug outright on Broadway, another man, Larry Runsdorf, having read of ''Rebecca'''s post-Abrams troubles in a press release, offered to replace most of the missing funds on condition of anonymity. However, just before rehearsals were set to begin, Runsdorf's lawyers began receiving emails warning about the perils of investing in the musical. On top of anemic ticket sales, these emails warned that Abrams was a fabrication and that Hotton (and possibly Sprecher) were committing fraud. His anonymity compromised, Runsdorf pulled his money, and ''Rebecca'' was forced to cancel.
** The FBI ended up arrested Hotton for unrelated charges of fraud, but, in a separate investigation, they provided concrete evidence that, indeed, Abrams and his associates were Hotton inventions. Had Sprecher perhaps been more diligent outright (or at least looked up "Mark C. Hotton" on Google), he may have found a trail of evidence implicating Hotton in fraudulent schemes dating back to the 1990s.

** It wouldn't be until September 2023 that the English translation of ''Rebecca'' would debut in London. By then, Sprecher was on [[http://broadwayjournal.com/rebecca-producer-sentenced-to-five-years-of-probation-in-child-pornography-case probation]] for possession of child pornography.

* The now-cancelled Broadway production of ''Theatre/{{Rebecca}}'', as detailed [[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/25/theater/rebecca-the-musical-and-the-vanishing-act-of-its-investor.html here]] and [[https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2013/06/rebecca-musical-betrayal-fake-death here]].