Sporcle
Broadway’s Biggest Bombs
By Squann
July 10, 2026
What is the answer to this?
Record exec Ahmet Ertegun produced this show, written specifically for Bette Midler…who turned it down. Instead, Ellen Greene stepped in to play the title character, who goes from working in a Brooklyn fish market to being a Hollywood gossip columnist and having a nervous breakdown.
The Answer:
The show you’re describing is The Debbie Reynolds Show, a stage musical written by Bruce Vilanch and produced by Ahmet Ertegun — originally crafted specifically for Bette Midler, who declined. Ellen Greene ultimately took the role.
The plot matches exactly: a Brooklyn fish?market worker who becomes a Hollywood gossip columnist and spirals into a nervous breakdown.
This project is one of those deep?cut, semi?lost curios from the mid?1970s that pops up in Bette?adjacent lore
