MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING musical, featuring Burt Bacharach catalogue songs

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/30/24 at 11:52am

This has just been announced for the Ogunquit Playhouse this summer.

Any musical adaptation that chooses to use pre-existing songs just kind of makes me shrug...
 

My Best Friend’s Wedding
Thursday September 26, 2024 – Sunday October 27, 2024 
Book by Ron Bass & Jonathan Harvey
Based on the TriStar Pictures Film Screenplay by Ron Bass
Featuring the songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David
In association with Crossroads Live

My Best Friend’s Wedding is based on the wickedly funny film of the same name and features some of the most iconic pop anthems ever written by the legendary Burt Bacharach and Hal David, including I’ll Never Fall in Love Again, I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself, Walk on By, I Say A Little Prayer and What’s New Pussycat?. Fiery food critic Julianne Potter has always turned her nose up at romance. It’s the reason she broke up with her sweetheart Michael O’Neal.  When she hears he’s about to be married, she vows to win him back for good, but with perfect Kimmy in the way, it’s not as easy as she first thought. Can she derail her best friend’s wedding in time and keep Michael all for herself?

 

More info & the rest of their season: https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/MY-BEST-FRIENDS-WEDDING-World-Premiere-More-Set-for-Ogunquit-Playhouse-2024-Season-20240130

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 1/30/24 at 11:55am

I always thought this would be a cute story for a musical. But why a jukebox show?  Ditto to the new musical of MYSTIC PIZZA. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/30/24 at 12:02pm

Beats me. Unless the strategy is avoiding Broadway altogether and just focusing on touring and licensing, where "story you know + songs you know" could be more of a lowest-common-denominator selling point?

What's weirder about the MYSTIC PIZZA musical is that they fully scrapped another version with an original score by Melissa Etheridge, book by Sas Goldberg, & directed by Gordon Greenberg (which I believe had workshops). And then it was replaced with the Sandy Rustin/Casey Hushion jukebox version.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 1/30/24 at 12:08pm

Ogunquit seems to be churning these out.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 1/30/24 at 12:10pm

Seeing as this is Ogunquit Playhouse, can we expect Sally Struthers as Old Joe in Waitress, Madame Armfeldt in Night Music, and one of the mothers in "My Best Friend's Wedding"? ahahaha

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/30/24 at 12:15pm

RippedMan said: "Ogunquit seems to be churning these out."

It's good to be in the business of premiering new musicals. They get enhancement money to defray costs, they likely get a cut of future revenue, it gets national press exposure for the theatre, and it could win them a Tony down the line. But they have to be pretty middle-of-the-road titles since I doubt people summering in Maine want to go for, like...Days of Wine & Roses or A Strange Loop.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 1/30/24 at 12:24pm

Not saying it's good or bad but they seem to be churning out the direct-to-regional premieres. I don't see any of the new stuff they do going to Broadway or anywhere near.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/30/24 at 12:27pm

QueenAlice said: "I always thought this would be a cute story for a musical. But why a jukebox show? Ditto to the new musical of MYSTIC PIZZA."

One thought:  who good is writing songs right now that, based on their output, would go with the story.  I can’t remember the last show I saw that had a light melodious score with some memorable songs.  
 

I am not suggesting that there have not been some great scores…but light and melodic?

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 1/30/24 at 1:16pm

With Crossroads co-presenting this they are definitely using this as a tour launch.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/30/24 at 1:25pm

In terms of composers who can do "light & melodic"...

Matt Sklar & Chad Beguelin
I hope Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally will return to the theatre
Emily Bear & Abigail Barlow (Bridgerton musical) for up-and-comers?
David Bryan
Joe Iconis
Andrew Lippa (sometimes)
Marlow & Moss
The Kirkpatricks wrote one good score and one bad score

and then there's a separate category of "very busy and fairly high profile" --

Tom Kitt
Alan Menken
Shaiman & Wittman
the Lopezes
Jeanine Tesori
Tim Minchin

but for a catalogue show like this it's never a matter of not being able to find a composer. It's a deliberate choice to pull from existing songs.

Updated On: 1/30/24 at 01:25 PM

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 1/30/24 at 1:39pm

I think with My Best Friend's Wedding, it's specifically because the soundtrack was famously half Bacharach covers, including the dinner scene with "I Say a Little Prayer." Their motivation in going jukebox over original score may have been not to compete with the film's memory and lose.

[Chaz Hands]

Posted: 1/30/24 at 2:16pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "In terms of composers who can do "light & melodic"...

Matt Sklar &Chad Beguelin
I hopeBrandy ClarkandShane McAnallywill return to the theatre
Emily Bear & Abigail Barlow (Bridgerton musical) for up-and-comers?
David Bryan
Joe Iconis
Andrew Lippa (sometimes)
Marlow & Moss
The Kirkpatricks wrote one good score and one bad score

and then there's a separate category of "very busy and fairly high profile" --

Tom Kitt
Alan Menken
Shaiman & Wittman
the Lopezes
Jeanine Tesori
Tim Minchin

but for a catalogue show like this it's never a matter of not being able to find a composer. It's a deliberate choice to pull from existing songs."

My mind went right to Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner in terms of composers known for “light and melodic scores. 

[Fan123]

Posted: 1/30/24 at 3:24pm

This show was originally going to premiere in the UK starring Alexandra Burke a few years ago, but COVID put paid to that.

Regarding hypothetical composers for a non-jukebox version, I don't think she would do it given its similarities to 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend', but I could see Rachel Bloom writing a fun score for this story.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 1/30/24 at 3:31pm

fashionguru_23 said: "Seeing as this isOgunquit Playhouse, can we expect Sally Struthers as Old Joe in Waitress, Madame Armfeldt in Night Music, and one of the mothers in "My Best Friend's Wedding"? ahahaha"

In all seriousness, I'd be willing to put decent money on Sally Struthers playing Bobby's Mother in Crazy for You. 

[John Adams]

Posted: 1/30/24 at 11:42pm

g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "I think with My Best Friend's Wedding, it's specifically because the soundtrack was famously half Bacharach covers, including the dinner scene with "I Say a Little Prayer." Their motivation in going jukebox over original score may have been not to compete with the film's memory and lose."

I think you're exactly right about this, but I also believe it's the reason why the show will fail as a stage musical.

When these songs are sung by professional musical theater performers, all the "realness" of how and why they were used in the film will be lost.

The reason they worked so well in the movie was that they were sung by actors who were portraying non-musical characters. They appeared to be real people in relatable, spontaneous, situations. Their vocals were charmingly amateurish and ordinary.

To try and replicate that same naturalness from the movie, in a stage musical defeats the purpose of using professional singers in a musical. I hate the thought of the wedding rehearsal dinner scene ("I Say a Little Prayer") being ruined by turning it into a beautifully sung musical theater number.

Better to pay $3.99 to rent the movie on Amazon. Other than the cell phones, the rest of the movie still stands up very well, and all of those actors were in their peak physical forms. (They all still look good now, but HOLY COW, they were exceptionally beautiful back then...)

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 1/31/24 at 10:12am

g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "I think with My Best Friend's Wedding, it's specifically because the soundtrack was famously half Bacharach covers, including the dinner scene with "I Say a Little Prayer." Their motivation in going jukebox over original score may have been not to compete with the film's memory and lose."

I think this is likely the justification, but I don't know that this is a property that is going to be selling tickets based on huge nostalgia for it.  To me, the movie is enjoyable, and has a storyline that would potentially make for a good musical with an original score. I agree with John Adam's point that having musical theatre artists turn charmingly amateurish moments singing Bachrach songs into belted to the roof Broadway showstoppers will lose a lot of what made the film fun.