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The 5 Best Restaurants In Beirut

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Whether in the vibrant pubs, restaurants, bakeries and cafes in the Mar Mikhael neighborhood to the quiet, hidden-away spots serving authentic Lebanese fare, Beirut residents and visitors have lots to choose from.

While the hospitality industry has been hard hit by inflation and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are lots of great options when it comes to dining out.

Here’s a look at the 5 best restaurants for diners of all types in Beirut.

Em Sherif

With locations throughout the Mideast and, most recently, London, Em Sherif delivers authentic Lebanese fare. The Beirut location is nestled in the heart of Ashrafieh, Monot, and features first-class dining in a setting intended to evoke a luxurious Middle Eastern mansion.

Traditional taarab music, Ottoman mirrors and waterfalls add to the old-school ambiance. While there is a menu, the restaurant is renowned for its small plates, with a massive succession of 30 meze dishes. The cuisine features traditional fare, from tabbouleh to fattoush. The wine selection features native varietals and a wide variety of Italian and French offerings.

Chef Mireille Hayek, who has no formal training, oversees the Em Sherif restaurant group. She opened the first Beirut restaurant in 2011.  The restaurant features spaces for private events and a terrace for those wanting to partake in shisha.

Bedivire Eatery and Tavern

Located on Jean d’Arc Street in Beirut’s Hamra district, Bedivire Eatery and Tavern opened in August 2012 and features creative cocktails and delectable cuisine. It’s proven to be popular with locals and visitors alike.

The medieval motif delights patrons, who are likely to enjoy a host of drink options, known as “potions.” Samples include the “King Arthur (Irish whiskey, honey, lime and grapefruit) and the “Pendragon” (bourbon, Southern Comfort, apricot brandy, banana and strawberry).

The menu features traditional American and Italian fare, with a smattering of local cuisine. Entrees include burgers, pizzas, pasta dishes and sandwiches. The restaurant offers breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Babel Bay

Babel Bay’s location in Zeltounay Bay puts it in the middle of the popular destination replete with a marina, restaurants and shops. Opened in 2012, Babel Bay’s exquisite interior replicates the city’s shoreline and lays atop 7 sandstones, recognizing the city’s history.

The restaurant is known for being among the best for seafood in the city. The fresh fish display varies from day to day, featuring bass, mackerel, crab, shrimp and grouper among many others.

The hot mezza options include ample seafood choices, including octopus, shrimp and calamari prepared a la Provençale; and lobster, squid and seafood rolls. There’s also a broad selection of raw-fish dishes, included marinated salmon, mackerel and tuna and seasonal selections such as sea bream.

Mayrig

“Mayrig” means mother in Armenian and the Mayrig restaurant features Armenian recipes lovingly passed down from mother to daughter. Located in the city’s Gemayzeh quarter, Mayrig creates a homey feel, a place that is unrivaled for its Armenian hospitality, with servers and managers deeply attentive to their patrons.

The menu features items not seen at other restaurants in the city, with authentic Armenian dishes that include spinach, cheese or crispy beef dumplings, marinated veal or minced beef kebabs, and adventurous options like havgitov basterma, which features Armenian bread, thin cured beef and quail eggs.

Jai

Looking for Thai food in Beirut? Look no further than Jai. This spot gets rave reviews and features all the classic Thai cuisine. Rolls, dumplings and samosas can kickstart your dining experience.

There are curries galore, dhal makhana, pad thai and butter chicken as main dishes. You can also choose from banh mi, tandoori chicken or grilled coriander shrimp among the many sandwich options, or pho as one of several soups available.

Beirut has a vibrant culinary scene, giving you great options no matter what you’re craving.

How To Leverage AI In Your Side Hustle: A Beginner’s Guide

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) has come a long way in the last few years. What was once a novelty is becoming an integral part of our daily lives. Do you own an Alexa device or use chat boxes to interact with your favorite online retailers? If so, you’re already using AI. AI can also be useful in making your side hustle, your way of earning a little extra income, a lot easier. Below are a few suggestions on how to harness this power to make your side business more lucrative and efficient.

Leveraging AI for your side hustle

Nearly 40 percent of Americans earn extra money on the side by doing things like selling things online, offering services, renting out their homes or cars and/or freelancing. Since the object of a side hustle is to make money, you don’t want to have to invest a lot of money in the project. That’s where AI technology can be invaluable in saving you from having to pay an employee or outside contractor to help you. Below are a few suggestions. All of the tools we suggest are affordable on a limited budget. Most also offer a free trial period.

1. Automate your marketing

One of the best things that AI can offer you for your small side gig sales efforts is to automate your marketing efforts. This allows you to do more with the limited time you have available to devote to your side business. For example, AI can write email marketing messages for you and even target and personalize them to appeal to different segments of your customers. Tools like MailChimp and Cortex can be very useful for those working side gigs.

2. Offer “big company” customer service

It’s not expensive to install a chatbot on your e-commerce website and offer your customers answers to all but the most complex questions 24/7. Affordable customer relationship management (CRM) software can provide this service as well as help you manage other customer inquiries. Good, affordable CRM tools for freelancers and those working side gigs include Monday.com and Hubspot. 

3. Give your customers a better way to view your products

Another big asset of AI for small entrepreneurs is the ability to offer 3D virtual views of your products, turning your 2D drawings into 3D models. Tools like 3DFY let your customers view your products from all angles and better visualize what the finished product will look like.  

4. Use AI as your personal assistant

If your side hustle involves appointments, let AI keep your calendar for you. You can use this technology to allow customers/clients to schedule time slots for things like piano lessons, massages, online tutoring or landscaping. AI tools, such as Vagaro, manage your calendar and handle things like reoccurring appointments and rescheduling. Most tools also send out confirmation reminders, which reduces your rate of “no-shows”.

5. Help you communicate better with clients and customers

One of the challenges to freelancing or offering services as a side gig is keeping in contact with your customers while you are working your primary job or working for other of your side gig customers. AI platforms like Slack offer an affordable way for you to consolidate all of your communication methods, such as text, instant messaging, email and others, on one dashboard, so you never lose a message. The free version of Slack permits you to integrate up to 10 applications.

You shouldn’t view AI as this mysterious concept that’s only applicable to computer geeks and scientists. Use AI to your advantage in your side business by using this technology to help you better connect with customers 24/7, showcase your products and improve your marketing.

Can Word Collect make you smarter?

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Everyone wants to become more intelligent, but many intelligence-boosting methods are quite dull. Luckily, certain games make educational concepts more exciting. Word Collect, for example, is a free smartphone app that claims to train your brain. In this article, we’ll look at Word Collect and determine whether it can make you smarter.

What is Word Collect?

This free smartphone app gives you a series of letters and tasks you with using them to create words. It features over 1200 levels and awards you points each time you complete one. As you progress through the levels, they become more challenging. Still, most reviewers said they enjoyed the challenge.

Can Word Collect improve intelligence?

This game requires knowledge of the English language, but can it make you smarter? To better understand, we’ll look at proven brain-training concepts and determine whether Word Collect incorporates these methods.

Gamification

Gamification involves adding gaming elements to non-gaming tasks. This concept is widely used in the e-learning industry, as it’s seen as an effective way to enhance education. According to a study published in Smart Learning Environments, “[learners using gamification concepts] had a significant improvement in the quality of the submitted solutions.”

Word Collect gamifies traditional language exercises by incorporating points, levels, and rewards. This methodology can improve your overall engagement and retention. Still, it’s important to note your personality type may play a role in this method’s effectiveness. For example, gamification tends to improve introverts’ performance more than extroverts.

Problem-solving

Solving problems is generally good for healthy brains, whether you’re using letters to make words or doing math. According to Jessica Caldwell, Ph.D., neuropsychologist for Cleveland Clinic, “My idea about those types of word games is if you enjoy them and they’re giving you a challenge, so you can’t do it on autopilot, you really need to think about it, then it’s really serving you a good purpose in terms of supporting your brain health for life.”

The important thing is that the game continues to challenge you. Many say Word Collect gets pretty tricky as you advance through the levels, so it’s safe to say it fits the bill. Still, it’s worth mentioning there is competing evidence on whether word games can improve your intelligence.

Penny Pexman, a professor of psychology at the University of Calgary tasked with studying Scrabble players’ brains, says, “Scrabble players recognize words faster, especially in vertical orientation, but we didn’t find that those advantages transferred to non-Scrabble-related tasks.”

What’s the verdict?

Word Collect is an exciting game that challenges players to create words from groupings of random letters. As the game progresses, it becomes more complex, ensuring you stay engaged. Many of the concepts utilized by Word Collect suggest the game could improve cognitive function, but there’s no conclusive evidence on whether this is true. Still, games like word collect are sure to stimulate your brain while you play them, so if you enjoy it, there’s nothing wrong with devoting time to it each day.

5 Underused Literary Devices To Improve Your Short Stories

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Broadly defined literary devices are tools that writers use to express or evoke larger themes and guiding ideas in any work of fiction. They are often used as “shorthand” to make connections that might be painfully tedious or less powerful if they were fully spelled out in concrete language.

Although literary devices have been common throughout the ages in all forms of writing, their succinct and implied nature make them particularly useful in the composition of short stories and other creative works that have lower overall word counts.

With this in mind, read on to learn about five literary devices that can dramatically improve your short stories.

1. Metaphor

Metaphor occurs when to unlike things are presented as similar or the same. Although it abounds in all forms of literature, few people make proper, extensive use of metaphor in their writing. While it is relatively common for a writer to work a simple simile (such as Robert Burns’ “my Love is like a red, red, rose) into their work, an extended analogy (such as Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s wallpaper) is far less common. In her short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper” serves as an analogy for the oppressive social norms of the patriarchy. Although she never explicitly identifies it as such, Gilman’s descriptions of an imaginary women trapped beneath the yellow wallpaper communicates volumes about female repression in the short story.

2. Symbolism

Far wider in use and more culturally universal than a mere metaphor, a symbol is an object, image, or word that isn’t necessarily limited to a single implied meaning. A terrific example of symbolism in a short story can be found in the “Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe. After killing unnamed old man and hiding his body under the floorboards of the house that they shared, the protagonist and narrator of this short story is driven insane by a distinct thumping sound in the house that they both had shared. In light of the complex associations that humankind has long drawn between the heart and notions of love, togetherness, and morality, this supposed heartbeat infuses this rather brief tale with an outsized amount of extremely poignant symbolism.

3. Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing (previewing or hinting at key literary themes or narrative plot points relatively early in a work of fiction) may take a long time to pay off in a longer creative form like a novel. However, this payoff can be just as satisfying within the relatively compressed duration of a short story. Because it has precious little time to place a firm grip on a reader’s attention, a short story can foreshadow a future event within the first few paragraphs to create a compelling hook for the narrative and build suspense throughout.

4. Irony

The ample use of narrative twists in short story writing, makes them fertile ground for the use of irony. In particular, short stories often contain situational irony, which subverts expected outcomes for maximum reader impact and enhanced contextual meaning. Take O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi” for example. This widely read short story depicts a wife who cuts off her long hair and sells it to purchase a chain for her husband’s cherished watch. At the same time, her husband sells this watch to buy his wife a comb for her long hair.

5. Satire

Works of satire use humor or wit to ridicule influential and/or authoritative figures, institutions, and cultural ideas. Writers can use it to make powerful statements of inference that often stretch far beyond the limited lines of text in a short story. One of the most famous instances of satire in a short story is the central character of Mathilde in Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace.” Maupassant uses satire to point out the extremely destructive vanity of his protagonist as well as other members of the petty bourgeoisie.

How Does Ageing Affect Learning? The Facts About Neuroplasticity

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Not long ago, researchers thought the brain finished developing in adulthood. Lost brain cells wouldn’t be replaced. And “you can’t teach old dogs new tricks,” or so the story went. Cognitive decline was believed inevitable. But Science is revealing a more positive picture.

You can make new brain cells all the time. You can improve memory, learning, and thinking as you age thanks to “neuroplasticity”. But doing so isn’t a given.

What Is Neuroplasticity?

Neuroplasticity is the ability of the nervous system to alter and re-organize itself based on outside stimuli and internal input. This means the brain can form new connections, improve function, and even recover after injury (e.g., physical trauma, severe depression, epilepsy, or stroke).

The brain can adapt. It can learn and repair itself. And there’s no expiry date on this possibility. Neuroplasticity can be confirmed through imaging and substantial improvements in learning and other brain functions.

How Does Neuroplasticity Work?

The hippocampus continues to produce neurons through a process called “neurogenesis”. This can continue not only into adulthood but into advanced age. These “brain cells” move where they’re needed. They then build pathways in the brain that carry messages.

These messages could be anything from how to catch a ball to how to perform complicated mathematical calculations. When you learn something, you form a connection between these neurons. When you repeat that activity, you reinforce the connection.

That action can even become automatic through repetition. This is how professional athletes develop lightening fast reflexes. It’s how good and bad habits form.

That is why riding a bike feels second nature after you do it for a while. These neuron pathways are the physical structures that make learning possible. They form, dissolve, and can even re-route themselves.

How Can Ageing Impact Neuroplasticity?

As a general rule, younger people are more neuroplastic. But researchers aren’t sure if it’s due to the nature of the brain or the environment you live in. It’s probably both. But nature (natural aging) may not have as big a role as scientists once thought.

Just think about how much new stuff you had to learn every day from birth to around 25. As we age, we are no longer forced to learn constantly. You may have fewer new experiences. You have had the same friends for years. You don’t have any big exams to study for. You may not actively learn new things if you don’t have to.

You spend a lot of time re-enforcing the pathways you already have rather than forming new ones. 

So, you’re not forming as many new pathways in the brain as you once were. This may instruct the brain to stop producing so many new neurons because you don’t need them. This makes it harder to learn new things as you age. You may feel stuck in your ways.

Improve Neuroplasticity At Any Age

These activities have been shown to keep the brain learning and growing into advanced age:

  1. Always find something new to learn.
  2. Play video games. Don’t stick with one kind. Continuously learn new games and become good at them.
  3. Seek out new experiences.
  4. Start a creative hobby.
  5. Meet new people and spend more time with the people you love.
  6. Eat a healthy diet with lots of whole plants, nuts, and fish.
  7. Get enough sleep.
  8. Exercise regularly.
  9. Practice good stress management.
  10. Actively replace bad habits with health-promoting ones.

A Brief History Of Sudoku

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Sudoku is an international sensation. Pronounced Sue-Dough-Koo, the logic-based game has developed over 300 years. Learn more about the history of Sudoku as you enjoy the game. 

Swiss Origins of Sudoku

Leonhard Euler, an 18th-century physicist and mathematician, created an original version of Sudoku. He combined “Latin Squares” with “Magic Squares.” In Latin Squares, users filled a matrix or square with the Latin alphabet. In Magic Squares, users followed a mathematical formula as they placed numbers in a matrix with the same sum in each column and row. Euler’s combination functioned as a mathematical system used during statistical analysis. 

The Birth of Modern Sudoku

Over time, Euler’s pragmatic concept expanded into entertainment. Eventually, a French newspaper published some of the first puzzles in 1895. 

However, an early version of the game we play today is typically attributed to Howard Garns, an architect and freelance puzzle inventor from Indiana. He supposedly submitted a puzzle called “Number Place” to the Dell Pencil Puzzles and Word Games magazine. Published in 1979, this version incorporated the nine-by-nine grid and introduced the rules of placing the numbers one through nine in columns and rows without repeating any digits. 

Japanese Adaptation of Sudoku 

The game underwent further revisions in 1984. That’s when the monthly Japanese magazine Nikolist published “Suuji wa dokushin ni kaguru,” which means the numbers must remain single. This game included similar principles to the “Number Place” plus tweaks that affected its difficulty and visual appeal. 

In no time, the puzzle grew in popularity. It even gained a new name that combined the characters for the word number (Su) with the characters for the word single (Doku). The puzzle’s success occurred in part because the Japanese people could solve the numbers-based puzzles during long commutes. And numbers were easier to work into a grid, unlike crossword puzzles that were less compatible with the Japanese language.  

The World Expansion of Sudoku

Sudoku spread from Japan to the world thanks to Wayne Gould. While browsing a Tokyo bookstore in 1997, the retired judge from New Zealand discovered the game. He became a super fan and wrote a computer program that generated puzzles and rated their difficulty. 

Gould convinced The Times of London to publish a puzzle in 2004. Shortly after that, other newspapers, magazines and book publishers followed suit, including the Conway Daily Sun in New Hampshire. 

By 2006, the World Sudoku Championship began. The competition challenged individuals and national teams to complete the most difficult puzzles in the shortest time. 

Today, the game continues to evolve. For example, we can now play Sudoku online or through an app. And puzzle variations include colors, symbols, letters or words, designs like the jigsaw and the samurai, and numerous grid sizes.  

Why People Play Sudoku

From its origins as a mathematical formula, Sudoku has grown into a world phenomenon. It’s accessible to people of all ages, skill levels and nationalities. And the game appeals to our innate sense of order. It might even reduce stress and anxiety. Sudoku also stimulates our minds, which can boost our brain health, concentration and problem-solving skills. 

No matter where, when or why you play Sudoku, the game has come a long way. And its versions will continue to be around for years to come.

10 Ideas For An Easy And Cheap Night Out

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We’re all looking for ways to spend time that are interesting and engaging, and in many cases, we’re also all looking for ways to save money. Unfortunately, these two concepts don’t always intersect, especially if you’re looking for a night out on the town.

Fortunately, your evenings don’t always have to break the bank. Below, you’ll find 10 affordable (and often free) ways to enjoy an evening out of the house.

1. Stargazing

What’s the classic cheap date that is on every list? Picnics.

Well, stargazing is the evening version of the same thing. You can pack an evening picnic and enjoy being under the stars. You can look and see if you have any type of local observatory.

You can even take the stargazing seriously and try to join up with a local astronomy group.

2. Free Movie

If you’re in any kind of an urban environment, then you’ll probably be able to find instances of free movies. Sometimes, they will play at parks. They might otherwise be at local theaters or amphitheaters.

As a fun variant, you can go see a play or live local theater instead.

Discount movie nights might not be free, but they still save money and still have a place on this list.

3. Dancing at a Community Center

Again, you’ll have more options in urban areas, but you can go dancing. There are plenty of bars and clubs that might not be cheap options, but you can look for dancing nights at community centers and senior centers that are usually free or fairly cheap.

You can also look around the area for dance lessons. They’ll often be inexpensive or even free.

4. Museums

Museums are typically inexpensive, and plenty of them are open for at least part of the evening. You can browse the museum, learn something in the process, and have plenty of fun.

5. Volunteering

A night out doesn’t have to be strictly entertaining. Instead, you can volunteer at any number of causes or nonprofits in your area. You can feed the hungry, work with animals, or do whatever work really speaks to you. It’s potentially a more fulfilling way to spend your evening, and it’s rarely an expensive prospect.

6. Camping

Camping is traditionally a free way to spend an evening. That said, camping isn’t actually always that cheap, once you consider equipment, campground fees, and everything else. But, if you already have equipment, it can be a budget option.

If you don’t want to invest, you can trade in a night of camping for an evening walk. You can go for a nice nature walk, or you can walk around downtown or anywhere else you find interesting.

7. Street Entertainment

This is another idea that works best in urban environments. You can take in the often free entertainment that is on the streets of downtown or other populated areas. Many cities have local street artists of many varieties. You might even be able to catch a free show or concert in public areas.

8. Local Sports

Professional sports are notoriously expensive. But, you can enjoy a sporting outing that is inexpensive by staying local. If you have local semi-professional teams, it’s a good place to start. You can also check out college or even high school sports.

9. Game Night

Play board games. Or karaoke. Or anything comparable. If you’re determined to get out of the house, then rotate hosting with your friends, and as long as it isn’t your turn, you won’t be staying in.

10. Casual Sports

You can play casual sports that don’t require any expertise. These include bowling, darts, and billiards, to name a few. They won’t always be free, but they’re often affordable, especially if you take it easy on drinks and snacks while you’re out.

Are You Taking Your Local Town For Granted? 5 Tips To Uncover Hidden Gems And Make The Most Of Your City

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It’s easy to think that the grass is always greener on the other side — that in order to discover new things to see or do, you must travel afar. But the truth is that the city you live in is probably home to many interesting gems hidden right beneath your nose. The following are 5 tips to help you find those treasures and to take advantage of all that your city has to offer. 

# Social Media

You can find a slew of hidden gems in your town simply by using hashtags while searching social media sites such as Instagram and Facebook. For example, if you live in Huntersville, North Carolina, you can search #Huntersville on Instagram, and pictures that people have taken in the area of interesting sites, events, or businesses will pop up. You can then click on the pictures that interest you to learn more about that particular site or business. 

Join Online Couponing Sites

You may not use online coupon sites — such as Groupon in the United States and the United Kingdom and Scoopon in Australia — but it’s still a good idea to sign up for one of these sites. Why? Because they send out daily emails about special deals on activities and events in your area. It’s an especially good way to discover new restaurants or services, since many of them use these sites to introduce their businesses to the public. 

Check Local News Listings

Most newspapers and online news sites have listings for local events, such as festivals, art shows, and workshops. You can also Google your town’s name and the words “Local events.” This will pull up a list of interesting and fun activities occurring in your area on a day-by-day basis.

Join a Meetup Group

Meetup is an online site where you can find groups of people who share your interests and/or are interested in finding new things to try. Currently, Meetup has groups in more than 179 countries. The following are just a few examples of the types of groups that can be found in many towns:  

  • New resident groups. For people who have just moved to an area and would like to connect with others at various get-togethers and events
  • Hiking groups. A great way to find new trails to explore. Some groups also do urban or historical walks, which can be an excellent way to discover hidden gems in your area.
  • Social groups. These groups are typically divided by demographics — such as for singles, families, or for certain age groups. Social groups will typically meet at local restaurants and breweries or attend events as a group.

Go for a Walk

It’s easy to miss so much about your own city when you’re speeding through it in a car. To really get to know your town, you need to park your vehicle and go for a walk. For example, visit your downtown area to do a little window shopping or dine in that small restaurant you may not have noticed before. Also, make sure to go for strolls through your local parks. Many contain statues, landmarks, or have visitor centers filled with historical information about your city.

5 Celebrities Who Flopped On Broadway And The West End

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Sometimes the stars who dominate the big screen can’t see to hack it on the Great White Way. The stage demands a different acting style than the screen. On stage, you’re always live, and you don’t get to take another take, much less dozens of takes. Some actors thrive under this challenge, while others can’t seem to make it work. Check out these five silver-screen stars who flopped on Broadway and the West End. 

1. Bruce Willis

In 2015, Bruce Willis joined Lauria Metcalf on Broadway in a stage adaptation of Stephan King’s Misery. Although Metcalf’s acting was brilliant as always, the action star failed to deliver. His portrayal of Paul Sheldon, an injured writer kept hostage by a psychotic fan, did not engage the audience. In films and even on TV, Willis has always known how to keep the energy rolling, but on stage, his acting was flat and passive. 

2. A. Pacino

A method actor, Al Pacino has been impressing critics since the 1970s. His most famous role is his Academy Award-winning portrayal of Michael Corleone in the Godfather, but he’s starred in dozens of films in his 50+ year career. He’s one of the few actors who’s snagged an Academy Award, an Emmy, and a Tony, but his two-time Tony wins came in 1969 and 1977. The last time he took to the stage in 2015, he was far from his earlier successes. 

In David Mamet’s the China Doll, Pacino couldn’t seem to remember his lines, and rumor has it that he used a teleprompter. Critics called his performance lurching, stammering, and hard to follow. Since then, Pacino has done a few films, and he’s ventured onto the stage in Pasadena, California, but he hasn’t been invited back to Broadway. 

3. Julia Roberts

Known for her vivacity, Julia Roberts makes the world smile when she’s on the big screen, but unfortunately, she forgot to bring her shine to Broadway. When she starred in the 2006 play Three Days of Rain, she seemed stiff and self-conscious next to her co-stars Paul Rudd and Bradley Cooper. Although she can breathe life into even the most static film characters, she seemed barely acquainted with the character she played on stage.

4. Shia LaBeouf

Actor, filmmaker, and performance artist Shia LaBeouf has been winning awards since he got his start as a child actor on the Disney Channel. He’s no stranger to in-person performances. With his performance art collaborative, he did an installation piece that involved standing in a Los Angeles gallery crying for six days while wearing a paper bag that said “I’m not famous anymore.”

But on the other side of the continent, La Beouf hasn’t had as much luck. In fact, his Broadway flop was so spectacular that he never even made it onto the stage. Cast in Lyle Kressler’s play Orphans, LaBeouf couldn’t get along with the show’s star Alec Baldwin, an actor who transitions beautifully from little screen to big screen to stage and back again. LaBeouf left the show before opening night, and a year later, he made headlines for disrupting a performance of Cabaret. 

5. Katie Holmes

Katie Holmes is known for being sweet and engaging, but on Broadway, that wasn’t the case. In 2012, she played the sister in Theresa Rebeck’s play about a man who comes home to visit his sister and ailing father. Although critics noted that she seemed a little more comfortable on stage than her last Broadway attempt in an Arthur Miller play four years earlier, her performance didn’t get much love. Critics called it a shrill, one-note performance. 

The Real Life ‘Producers’? The 5 Worst Major Musicals Of All Time

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In the Producers, down-and-out producer Max Bialystock and his accountant Leo Bloom cook up an idea to bring on investors, produce a Broadway flop, and pocket the money. Committed to absurdity, they put on a show called ‘Springtime for Hitler” and hilarity ensued. While most real-life Broadway flops are unintentional, they’re often absurd, and for most theater fans, they bring this classic musical to mind. Check out these five Broadway musical flops. 


1. Thou Shalt Not 


Thou Shalt Not was an ambitious piece of theater. It was an adaptation of French writer Emile Zola’s 1867 novel Therese Raquin and featured music from Harry Connick Jr. The play explores what happens when you break the sixth and seventh commandments. But apparently, audiences didn’t want a play about murder, adultery, and tap dancing. Ironically, Susan Stroman directed this play right after having great success with a production of The Producers, but the success didn’t translate. Thou Shalt Not went dark after just 85 performances. 

2. Urban Cowboy


Urban Cowboy followed the story of a young country boy who moves to the city to work at an oil refinery. He spends his nights at a honky tonk, where he meets a young lass who can’t decide if she wants his hard-working cowboy boots and an ex-con’s shoes under her bed. The music comes from country legends like Chalie Daniels and Clint Black, but unfortunately, the show flopped. The characters were undeveloped, the jokes were dumb, and although the soundtrack featured country classics, it wasn’t enough to get anyone’s foot tapping. 

3. Dracula


Adaptations of old horror novels have done well on Broadway. In fact, just before launching Dracula, its composer Frank Wildhorn had great success with his adaptation of the old classic Jekyll & Hyde. However, that success didn’t bleed into this vampire musical. Dracula sings about being lonely, but it doesn’t come across as authentic. Instead, critics said this stage production felt like an unnecessarily long Meatloaf video, and they called it a dunderheaded pseudo-romance. 

4. Lennon

From Buddy Holly to Bruce Springsteen and many stops in between, the jukebox musical is a popular mainstay on Broadway, so a show about Lennon was sure to be a hit, right? Unfortunately, not. The 2005 musical Lennon only made it through 49 performances. The script turned Lennon into a saint, and it heavy-handedly used a 70s storyline to comment on current events. Even people who purposefully go out to see flops weren’t impressed. They wanted a car wreck, but as critics said, the motor didn’t even seem to start. 

5. Lestat


Based on Anne Rice’s infamous vampire Lestat and featuring a score written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Lestat was designed to delight fans of the vampire musical, but instead, it sucked ticket prices out of their wallets and failed to impress. Critics called this show maudlin and over-filled with kitsch. While Rice’s vampire novels and countless film adaptations have done well with these characters, this show flopped after just 39 lackluster performances.