"In the win-or-lose world of mainstream entertainment reporting-where any middle ground is considered borrring-there are usually one or two movies per year that get a lot of gloating attention as giant flops. (Probably the most famous examples are Heaven's Gate and Ishtar.) Since theater has much less popular appeal these days, it's relatively rare that a stage work attracts similar publicity."
"There are some talents, however, so beloved that even (or especially) their flops get pored over obsessively by acolytes who seek to shore up their reputations. That's certainly the case with Schwartz's near-contemporary, late fellow composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim. And probably no Sondheim "failure" has been more doggedly revived and (while he was still alive) revised than Merrily We Roll Along, which only lasted 16 performances after opening on Broadway in late 1981."
Mainstream entertainment reporting highlights a few giant film flops each year, while stage works rarely receive comparable publicity. A recent media pile-on targeted The Queen of Versailles, an expensive Broadway musical starring Kristin Chenoweth that closed prematurely after poor reviews and likely heavy financial losses. Composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz enjoyed simultaneous success with Wicked while his show struggled. Some celebrated talents prompt obsessive attention to even their failures. Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along, which closed after 16 performances in 1981, has been repeatedly revived and revised. The musical remains beloved by insiders and generates excitement whenever another reclamation attempt is mounted.
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