6. Carrie The Musical (1988)
Before the 1999 in-name-only sequel, the 2002 TV movie and the 2013 remake, Kings debut novel reached the screen in 1976 courtesy of Brian De Palma and screenwriter Lawrence D. Cohen. Nominated for two Oscars, the pictures success wasnt exactly lost on Cohen, who began shaping the material into a musical. This proved to be a bad idea. Transferred to Broadway at a cost of $8 million (more than De Palmas film cost to produce), the production was compared to the Hindenburg disaster by critic Frank Rich, who lambasted its faceless bubble-gum music and uninhibited tastelessness. He has a point. Act II opens with Out For Blood (which was presumably performed unplugged), a song and dance number about the slaughter of a pig. The show opened on May 12, 1988, to widespread derision, with boos heard from the audience during the curtain calls. Critics were predictably scathing, and the financial backers, fearful of losing the shirts off their backs, pulled out three days later. After 16 previews and 5 performances, the show closed, resulting in what the New York Times called the most expensive quick flop in Broadway history.