Record-breaking flop Oscar Wilde to be reborn Above the Stag?
In 2004, Mike Read’s Oscar Wilde proved to be a
musical monstrosity, closing after just one night at the newly re-opened Shaw Theatre.
to the London stage, revived at Victoria’s Above the Stag.
Oscar Wilde seemed
promising before the first curtain rose, with a well-known cast fronted by Peter Blake alongside Anita Louise Combe and Chris Corcoran.
Unfortunately, only five tickets in the 466-seat auditorium were sold for the show’s second night, and it was panned by the critics with the papers like the Evening
Standard calling it “a musical of exquisite awfulness.”
Although
Read lost “a small fortune” on the show, the DJ-turned-reality TV star was happy to be offered a record deal for the show CD. Its largest
number, Grief Never Grows Old, reached fourth place in the UK charts after being recorded by various artists.
In
hopes of a second chance at success, Read has decided to rework the
production for a March debut at Above the Stag, according to reports in the Daily Telegraph.
Previously,
Read had taken on my of the show’s creative duties, including directing. According to the
Telegraph, Read will now take a more hands-off approach, telling the paper: “There will doubtless be people who will
say I am mad to be doing this, but I am not producing or directing it
this time. I was doing everything last time, including being the PR man,
and I shouldn’t have been. That was unwise.”
Oscar Wilde’s 2004 flop was blamed on endless misfortunes; poor critical
reception, small box office advance, an unfit venue and poor sound
system. Now that the script has been carefully edited and the
show has been re-cast perhaps, a show once called “the worst
musical ever” in newsprint, can make a comeback.
