The Silver Screen Oasis

Have you ever seen a theatrical production of a classic that had been so transformed by some well-meaning if misguided person that it is both hilarious and cringe-worthy at the same time? I once attended a revival of Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" with a cast played entirely by men, (not just Lady Bracknell, as is often the case). It was...um...odd, to put it mildly. The most feminine member of the cast may have been Lady Bracknell, who was played by a very petite but ferociously committed-to-the-role and rather talented actor.

As many of us familiar with NPR's This American Life program can attest, one of the most riotous productions of Peter Pan ever to be mounted can also provide some serious mirth (The first time I heard this while driving home from work, I had to pull off the road to stop laughing before continuing). An article arrived in my inbox today describing some benighted productions of The Bard that gave me quite a few chuckles. Hope you'll enjoy it too and add your memories of plays gone bad here:
http://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatr ... mentpage=1

I saw an incredibly boring staging of Macbeth at a theater in downtown Los Angeles about 20 years ago.

Don't get me wrong, I love Macbeth but this production was one of those ideas with a modern twist.

When Lady M. mounted her hubby for some simulated sex, we weren't the only ones hitting the exit.

Around the end of 1980's - I went to a play based on Jesus Christ Superstar and it was nothing compare to the movie that came out in 1973. It was so bad that me and my friends were shaking our heads in disbelief that there is nothing in the play that resembled from the movie.

I just can't believe that I spent $10.00 to see this play that only lasted 90 minutes of curtain time - and I was floored how cheap the costumes were. My parents wanted to see it too ... my own Mother loves plays and I told her forget this one by a long shot. Her best friend saw the play too at the same night that I saw it too; and when I told her about it - she could not believe a word I said about it and the following day her best friend called her and my Parents wanted to see it that night told her forget about it and the rest was history.

Many critics thought it was the worst rendering of Jesus Christ Superstar in their lifetime.

The music really makes that episode. It's terrible, but I laughed when he told about his friend falling twenty feet with a terrific thud, breaking both his ankles. Does this make me a bad person? I just couldn't help it.

While not an actual fiasco, this fits the criteria I think. I did a scene study freshman year for theatre class from Mourning Becomes Electra with several of my classmates. In battling O'Neill's notorious dialogue, we decided it was a southern play and used southern accents throughout. Needless to say, my theatre prof castigated us mightily in front of the whole assembled group (which contained every other class from freshman to seniors) for such poor judgment and failure to do our homework, finding out that in fact, O'Neill was from New England and based his plays here. It must have been hilarious!

I also watched a dance number, done by Larry Kert, in which the fly of his costume slowly descended a little every time he made a turn or leap. It was very suspenseful, since Kert had no idea what was happening as he flitted around the stage, continuing on and on. Minutes went by, and now the fly was wide open. People in the audience tittered and then outright laughed. Eventually, Kert must have noticed something was wrong, and he finished up the number realizing that the fly was down.. I wish I could remember what he said because it brought the house down it was so funny, such a play on words. The audience went mad, applauding him, so much so that he had to do an encore, of course this time zipped up. A brilliant save, the best I ever saw.

And just in case you want some more laughs, this is from NPR as well. It isn't from the theatre but it IS a fiasco. I pretty much pee my pants every time I listen to it.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-a ... act=2#play

Great stories, guys. Thanks for your descriptions.

I really wish I could have seen that dire production of MacBeth you saw Lynn, though the one with Peter O'Toole described in the original article from the Guardian seems to have been a classic disaster, too. It's almost enough to make me believe in the curse of "the Scottish play"--not to mention the curse of talented but seriously misguided actors who are given total control over a production.

When I was a teenager, the Great Lakes Theatre Festival here in Cleveland did a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream in SPACE. I just remember the men being dressed as astronauts and a vague Star Trek look. So dumb. This was in the early 80's. All I can think is that the director was inspired by the success of the Star Wars films.

eta: It may have been the Cleveland Playhouse, not GLTF...

Sandy K

Masha wrote:One of which I remember very little but which I will never forget the concept was a nude musical version of Julius Caesar. I do remember that it was performed in full only that one time and that no mention of it was made to the public.

Maybe it was just as well to keep that one quiet?

sandykaypax wrote:When I was a teenager, the Great Lakes Theatre Festival here in Cleveland did a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream in SPACE. I just remember the men being dressed as astronauts and a vague Star Trek look. So dumb. This was in the early 80's. All I can think is that the director was inspired by the success of the Star Wars films.

I wonder if the director had read or seen or heard about the famous Peter Brook production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the RSC, which looked as though it was influenced by 2001: A Space Odyssey? My sister saw it in 1970 and thought that the white box the actors played against kept reminding her of that movie, as well as The Twilight Zone episode about "Five Characters in Search of an Exit."

Why couldn't it have been Patrick Stewart in the nude?

The worst Macbeth I saw was with the usually reliable Pete Postlethwaite in the lead. I'm sure he would have been fine had he not been wearing what looked like a red dress ...

I saw The Importance of Being Earnest with all the roles done by two men, but that was a success, I thought.

The other turkey I can remember was Mother Courage at the National Theatre in London a few years ago. Again, not the fault of the actress in the lead (Fiona Shaw) but it was just terrible, all noise and poor staging.