What Broadway record was set by the play "Moose Murders"?

'Moose Murders' had the shortest run (one night in 1983) and is legendary among flops on Broadway. The New York Times's Frank Rich commented that there would now 'always be two groups of theatergoers in this world: those who have seen Moose Murders, and those who have not ... A visit to Moose Murders is what will separate the connoisseurs of Broadway disaster from mere dilettantes for many moons to come.... I won't soon forget the spectacle of watching the mummified Sidney rise from his wheelchair to kick an intruder, unaccountably dressed in a moose costume, in the groin.' In an end-of-season review, he described Moose Murders as 'the season's most stupefying flop—a show so preposterous that it made minor celebrities out of everyone who witnessed it, whether from on stage or in the audience.' The New York Post's Clive Barnes said that it was "so indescribably bad that I do not intend to waste anyone's time by describing it.' He commended Eve Arden for leaving it before it opened and commented: 'Some people have all the luck.'

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18 Comments

William Laughlin

George Oliver Prince, Springtime For Hitler was a success; completely opposite of all expectations. That was the problem. The producerrs were counting on a flop for the over-sold production.

Rob Farr

It’s infamy is legendary ... by the way, what is a ‘surtitle’? ....

dmarkc

Those at the one show were considered minor celebrities, like witnesses to the Hindedburg disaster. One critic was quoted, “I will not identify the cast pending notification of next of kin.” Too funny.

Nodmirt

Is surtitle a misspelling of subtitle?

Howard Groopman

Many years ago (like about 100), a Broadway play opened called "I Am a Camera." (It later would form the basis for the hit show "Cabaret.") A NY theater critic wrote a review in only two words: No Leica.