Short Broadway Run? Saw It Anyway!

I'm sure we can all agree that we all have favorite shows that ran for far too short a time. And we probably all have seen shows that we can't believe ran at all. Over the years, I've seen plenty of short running flops. I got to see the notorious Glory Days before it came to Broadway. The same with Grind and Teddy and Alice. And I've seen plenty of shows on Broadway that were financial flops, many of those ran under 100 performances (I'll bet you have, too!).

Here are the 20 Broadway shows that I got to see with the shortest runs in descending order of number of official performances. Together, they have run a collective 574 performances, an average of 28.7 performances. One of them was a limited run; four were revivals; three I actually saw more than once; two I saw on Broadway and in pre-Broadway runs. Only five of them I hated completely.

Tuck Everlasting

• Smile (saw pre-Broadway, too) - Lunt-Fontanne Theatre - 11 previews, 48 performances - Featured Jodi Benson, Veanne Cox, Jeff McCarthy
• Patti LuPone On Broadway (limited engagement) - Walter Kerr Theatre - 8 previews, 45 performances - Featured Patti LuPone
• Mame (revival) - Gershwin Theatre - 7 previews, 41 performances - Featured Angela Lansbury, Anne Francine, Jane Connell
• Tuck Everlasting - Broadhurst Theatre - 28 previews, 39 performances - Featured Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Carolee Carmello, Michael Park, Terrence Mann

Wonderland

• Chronicle of a Death Foretold (saw it 3 times!) - Plymouth Theatre - 28 previews, 37 performances - Featured Tonya Pinkins
• Bonnie and Clyde - Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre - 33 previews, 36 performances - Featured Laura Osnes, Jeremy Jordan, Claybourne Elder
• Wonderland (hated it) - Marquis Theatre - 30 previews, 33 performances - Featured Janet Dacal, Karen Mason, Kate Shindle
• Shenandoah (revival) - Virginia Theatre - 15 previews, 32 performances - Featured John Cullum, Thomas Cavanaugh

The Times They Are A-Changin'

• Lysistrata Jones (saw off-Broadway, too) - Walter Kerr - 34 previews, 30 performances - Featured Patti Murin, Josh Segarra, Jason Tam, Alex Wyse, Barrett Wilbert Weed
• Jekyll and Hyde (revival, hated it) - Marquis Theatre - 15 previews, 30 performances - Featured Constantine Maroulis, Deborah Cox, Teal Wicks
• Scandalous: The Life and Trials of Aimee Semple McPherson (hated it) - Neil Simon Theatre - 31 previews, 29 performances - Featured Carolee Carmello, George Hearn, Candy Buckley, Andrew Samonsky
• The Times They Are A-Changin' - Brooks Atkinson Theatre - 35 previews, 28 performances - Featured Michael Arden, Lisa Brescia, Thom Sesma, John Selya

Dr. Zhivago

• Hands on a Hardbody (saw it twice!) - Brooks Atkinson Theatre - 28 previews, 28 performances - Featured Keith Carradine, Hunter Foster, Keala Settle, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Allison Case, Jon Rua
• Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (hated it) - Lyceum Theatre - 16 previews, 24 performances
• Doctor Zhivago (hated it) - Broadway Theatre - 26 previews, 23 performances - featured Tam Mutu, Kelli Barrett, Paul Alexander Nolan, Tom Hewitt
• Leap of Faith - St. James Theatre - 25 previews, 19 performances - Raul Esparza, Kendra Kassebaum, Leslie Odom, Jr., Jessica Phillips

The Story of My Life

• Getting Away With Murder - Broadhurst Theatre - 31 previews, 17 performances - Featured Christine Ebersole, Terrence Mann, John Rubinstein, Chuck Cooper, Nancy Opel
• The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public - Lunt-Fontanne Theatre - 28 previews, 16 performances - Featured Dee Hoty, Scott Holmes, Casey Nicholaw
• High Fidelity - Imperial Theatre - 18 previews, 14 performances - Featured Will Chase, Jenn Colella, Andrew C. Call
• The Story of My Life - Booth Theatre - 19 previews, 5 performances - Featured Will Chase, Malcolm Getz

#1913