Ideas for new musicals - based on plays or books- Page 2
Ideas for new musicals - based on plays or books
BSoBW2
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/8/04
#25re: Ideas for new musicals - based on plays or books
Posted: 5/7/07 at 11:03pmBecause that play already has music with it...
#26re: Ideas for new musicals - based on plays or books
Posted: 5/7/07 at 11:06pmi know, but expand that to an entire musical...
MerMaggieGalinda
Broadway Star Joined: 11/29/06
#27re: Ideas for new musicals - based on plays or books
Posted: 5/7/07 at 11:30pm
About Robin Hood, a musical production of it is being mounted in my state. Here's the article:
here
#28re: Ideas for new musicals - based on plays or books
Posted: 5/8/07 at 12:50amwhat about Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying" with a gothic southern-flavoured score by Adam Guettell?
Judy, Liza, Barbara, Bette, these are names I shant forget.
Color and Light
Broadway Star Joined: 10/23/05
#29re: Ideas for new musicals - based on plays or books
Posted: 5/8/07 at 1:15am
Has there ever been a musical version of The Great Gatsby? I can't recall one ever making it to Broadway, and I think it could be potentially interesting! Perhaps with LaChiusa behind the score.
Shel Silverstein's poems also have tremendous potential as musical material if you could find a good way to link them together. Sounds like it could be a blast, as long as the conceit behind it was strong enough.
I also recently read Colm Toibin's The Blackwater Lightship and think it could work as a low-key sort of show.
Stop looking at my charisma.
Updated On: 5/8/07 at 01:15 AM
#30re: Ideas for new musicals - based on plays or books
Posted: 5/8/07 at 1:22am
sorry for being a flake, I completely surpassed the "school assignment" part and was way too specific.
One of my favorite books Cannery Row was turned into the R&H flop Pipe Dream, but that has some potential.
My all time favorite "On the Road" seems pretty unmusical, but the characters have a lot to say and why couldn't they express it through song?
I'll think of some more.
Judy, Liza, Barbara, Bette, these are names I shant forget.
deadparrot
Featured Actor Joined: 1/2/07
#31re: Ideas for new musicals - based on plays or books
Posted: 5/8/07 at 1:26amI'd love to see a visual interpretation of The Poisonwood Bible, be it on screen or on stage.
#32re: Ideas for new musicals - based on plays or books
Posted: 5/8/07 at 1:33am
"Beautiful thing"
"The Chocolate war"
Once upon a time I used to play with toys,
but now I'd rather play around with teenage boys
cat4554
Swing Joined: 5/7/07
#33re: Ideas for new musicals - based on plays or books
Posted: 5/8/07 at 8:26am
It is a shame it cannot be based on childrens literature because I thought of tons being an elementary / special ed. teacher and a mom. I did like the idea of Robin Hood but that was a cartoon by Disney and many movies were done with that theme.
I looked to Hans Christian Anderson and came up with
The Emperor's New Clothes
The Little Match Girl
The Snow Queen
The Brave Tin Soldier
The Ugly Duckling
Then I searched my boxes of books in my attic and came up with
Jack and The Beanstalk
The Princess and the Pea ( I think that was done already)
The Owl and the Pussycat
Rumplestiltskin ( retold by Paul Zelinsky )
Goldilocks and the 3 Bears ( retold by James Marshall)
( my favorite book by him was Space Case)
Any book by Jon Scieszka - he retells stories tongue in cheek
like The True Story of The 3 Little Pigs or The Frog Prince Continued
and my all time favorite tongue in cheek : The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch.
If you want a pirate theme :
Edward and the Pirates by David McPhail
How I Became a Pirate by David Shannon
Too bad not childrens lit......they are a wonderful resource esp. all those tongue in cheek stories......they are a spoof like Spamalot.
Updated On: 5/8/07 at 08:26 AM
cat4554
Swing Joined: 5/7/07
#34re: Ideas for new musicals - based on plays or books
Posted: 5/8/07 at 8:26amUpdated On: 5/8/07 at 08:26 AM
Joelbeans
Stand-by Joined: 5/9/05
#35re: Ideas for new musicals - based on plays or books
Posted: 5/8/07 at 8:33amThere is a version of The Diary of Anne Frank, titled, Yours, Anne. I think it is wonderful, but most people don't like it. I did it twice, for a theatre group here in St. Louis. We did it for schools to bring their students that were reading the book for class so they could get another version of the story.
Colle
Broadway Star Joined: 2/13/06
#36re: Ideas for new musicals - based on plays or books
Posted: 5/8/07 at 9:13amI agree that it is a shame that it can't be based on children's literature, I think a musical version, or a play with some music, of "Martin the Warrior" by Brian Jacques would be pretty good. If that did happen, they should keep the arrangement of the "Noonvale" song the same as the cartoon series adaptation. The first book of the series "Redwall" has already been made into a children's opera.
ErinDillyFan
Broadway Star Joined: 7/14/06
#37It has been made into a movie
Posted: 5/8/07 at 10:48am"Under the Tuscan Sun" would make a nice musical. Would it remind too many of "Do I hear a waltz?"
Auggie27
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/13/03
#38It has been made into a movie
Posted: 5/8/07 at 11:25amTHE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST by Anne Tyler. A favorite, and every character could be translating into a different musical motif.
"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling
#39It has been made into a movie
Posted: 5/8/07 at 1:25pmAll Great Ideas Guys! - Thank you for all your help - yeah, its a shame that children's lit is off limits but those are the parameters for the assignment...keep the ideas coming!
#40It has been made into a movie
Posted: 5/8/07 at 1:58pm
Okay, as we know from Pipe Dream and Here's Where I Belong, Steinbeck doesn't adapt well to musicals. The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men are both operas and that's fine.
There is a musical movie version of The Women called The Opposite Sex, which is rather dull in comparison to the delightful original. There are two musicals based on The Diary of Anne Frank, and frankly, it's a horrific idea to make that material sing. A Servant of Two Masters is a terrific idea, as would be The Country Wife or any of those wonderful comedies. Not sure A Confederacy of Dunces sings either.
NYC Visitor and Broadway Fan
jordangirl
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/1/06
#41It has been made into a movie
Posted: 5/8/07 at 2:01pm
Thomas Hardy's "The Return of the Native"
Peter Moore Smith's "Raveling"
Experience live theater. Experience paintings. Experience books. Live, look and listen like artists! ~ imaginethis
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fishdancer23
Understudy Joined: 5/8/07
#42It's been made into movie but...
Posted: 5/8/07 at 2:14pm
the novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1990:
The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love
and Raul E could play one of the brothers!
jordangirl
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/1/06
#43It's been made into movie but...
Posted: 5/8/07 at 6:19pm"Blindness" could also be really interesting... Maybe...
Experience live theater. Experience paintings. Experience books. Live, look and listen like artists! ~ imaginethis
LIVE THAT LESSON!!!!!!
LIVE THAT LESSON!!!!!!
TheaterAddict7652
Broadway Star Joined: 2/7/06
#45It's been made into movie but...
Posted: 5/8/07 at 6:42pmWith the success of Wicked, I'm surprised that not any of Gregory Maguire's other books are being planned for musicalization. I think Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is a great idea for a musical.
There's a lot I am not certain of...
SDav 10495
Broadway Star Joined: 7/21/06
#46It's been made into movie but...
Posted: 5/8/07 at 6:44pmYou could always try a Two Gents kind of thing by musicalizing something by Shakespeare and giving it its own "flavor" (like Two Gents makes use of a lot of Latin and funk music)...obviously there are many possibilities with Shakespeare, especially his comedies.
"If there is going to be a restoration fee, there should also be a Renaissance fee, a Middle Ages fee and a Dark Ages fee. Someone must have men in the back room making up names, euphemisms for profit."
(Emanuel Azenberg)
americanboy99
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/27/06
americanboy99
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/27/06
#48It's been made into movie but...
Posted: 5/8/07 at 6:47pmI would love to see A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM musicalized in full.
#49It's been made into movie but...
Posted: 5/8/07 at 7:03pmOh, man. Syrup and Company, both by Max Barry, would be brilliant for a musical. Although, having another musical called "Company" with an entirely different premise might complicate things. Just a little. :-/
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