FLOP! The Best Songs from the Worst Musicals

Every now and again a Fringe show comes up that is captivating from start to finish and FLOP! The Best Songs from the Worst Musicals is one of those shows!

Gleaned from seemingly hours of research and lived experience, Arthur Hull takes us on a tour of some of Broadway and the West End’s lows, and finds the gem in each show that didn’t quite make it, or was a total flop!

Hull’s show is more than this though, it is a tribute to the countless actors, technicians and promoters who have poured their time, talent and often money into vehicles that then flopped financially or artistically. As he wisely notes, whether a show is a hit or a flop, the same amount of work is needed, but these people never get recognition for their efforts.

Set in an intimate Fringe venue, The Spiegel Velt, and with only two keyboards, an illuminated sign and Arthur’s little black box of tricks, Hull keeps us entertained and laughing for sixty minutes, no mean feat!

He takes us through many musicals including Babes in Arms, Carrie the Musical, King Kong the Musical, Scandalous, Love Never Dies (or ‘Paint Never Dries’), Grease 2, Spiderman-Turn Off the Dark, Moby Dick and Diana the Musical.

Hull’s goal is not to belittle these musicals, but to find the musical ‘gem’ or ‘gems’ in them and remind us that every musical theatre production has at least one redeeming feature.

As an audience, we are drawn into his world and his experience, particularly at the Edinburgh  Festival, meeting his idol Tim Minchin, a meeting that clearly shaped his musical career.

He has an infectiously cheeky personality and can get a laugh with just a look. There is a genuine warmth to his performance rarely found in Fringe shows of this genre. He also has a voice that can span a wide range of genres with a pianistic talent to match, not to mention his programming skills on the keyboards.

Highlights for me were - the use of audience participation, particularly the Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber references – his impersonation of the Queen in Diana the Musical, and the Cats section. As he says, the musical Cats was certainly not a flop, but the movie definitely was, and contains some basic errors. His explanation of the ‘simple’ storyline had me in stitches!

He finishes his show with a tribute to a personal favourite show that was far from a flop, The Producers, and sings Max Bialystock’s big number The King of Broadway from Act 1.

FLOP! The Best Songs from the Worst Musicals is a ‘must see’ at the Adelaide Fringe. If you are a fan of musicals, you will love it, and if you are not, you may very well be at the end of the show!

Barry Hill OAM

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