Truly Original Broadway Shows

[RyToast1]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 10:43am

OK, so after reading the post on the Beauty & the Beast revival hopes, it got me thinking...how many shows on Broadway right now are original? Not a revival. Not based on a movie. Not based on a book. Not based on a recording artist's song catalog.

I went to the show listings on Broadway.com and made a list. Now, let's discuss. I've put a note next to the ones I know about, but if I'm wrong, or don't know something, put it up!


A Catered Affair
A Chorus Line-revival
Avenue Q
Billy Elliot-movie
Chicago-revival
Cry-Baby-movie
Curtains
Grease-revival
Gypsy-revival
Hairspray-movie
In The Heights
Jersey Boys-jukebox
Legally Blonde-movie
Mamma Mia!-jukebox
Mary Poppins-movie
Passing Strange
Rent-an opera
South Pacific-revival
Spamalot-movies
Spring Awakening-play
Sunday in the Park with George-revival
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
The Color Purple-book & movie
The Lion King-movie
The Little Mermaid-movie
The Phantom of the Opera
Wicked-book
Xanadu-movie
Young Frankenstein-movie

A Bronx Tale
August: Osage County
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof-revival
Come Back, Little Sheba
Is He Dead?
November
Rock 'n' Roll
The 39 Steps
The Farnsworth Invention
The Homecoming
The Seafarer
Thurgood
Top Girls

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 10:51am

AVENUE Q is a parody of Sesame Street.

CATERED AFFAIR is based off a movie of the same title.

CURTAINS is completely original.

IN THE HEIGHTS is completely original.

PASSING STRANGE is completely original.

SPELLING BEE is partially based off a documentary called Spellbound.

PHANTOM is based off a play.

BRONX TALE is based off a movie of the same title.

Updated On: 1/20/08 at 10:51 AM

[zooxanthellae]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 10:55am

The Phantom of the Opera is based off a book by Gaston Leroux

[Deycallmemimi2]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 10:56am

Chaz did A Bronx Tale, off broadway as a one man show, they adapted the movie from the show.

[emmadny]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 10:59am

LION KING is HAMLET
Little Mermaid is fairy tale by H.C.Anderser

[winston89]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 11:04am

The 39 steps is based off a Hitchcock movie of the same name.

Posted: 1/20/08 at 11:06am

Spelling Bee is based off a play calld C-R-E-P-U

Oh I can's pell it. It was a play though.

Not that there is anything wrong with that.

[roseaddams]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 12:41pm

A Chorus Line is original, but some of the material came from interview sessions with Broadway dancers of the time.

Grease is original.

Gypsy is based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee.

Spelling Bee is based on the play C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E, which, I believe, was original.

[george95]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 12:44pm

I'd just like to point out that a show being original does not make it automatically better by any means---not even William Shakespeare's plays were "original".

[Smaxie]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 12:55pm

You know, as it developed, C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E became 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. It had one or two productions in its play form, but it's not as if it had made a big impact as a straight play before becoming a musical.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 12:59pm

CHICAGO is based on the same-titled play by Maurine Dallas Watkin.
SOUTH PACIFIC is an adaptation of the short stories from TALES OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC by James A. Michener.
I think in terms of musicals, only A CHORUS LINE, PASSING STRANGE, IN THE HEIGHTS, GREASE, AVENUE Q and SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE are not adaptations of any other piece.
AVENUE Q is a parody but the story itself is not adapted from any work, it'd be like saying that THE DROWSY CHAPERONE is not an original musical because it parodies/pay homage to the Broadway musicals of the 20s/30s.

[RyToast1]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 3:04pm

I wasn't saying that shows that are truly original are superior, I was just pointing out what seems to be a lack of creativity on Broadway these days.

it makes me appreciate shows like In The Heights though!

[Smaxie]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 3:10pm

Ray, as WannaBe mentioned, Curtains is also an original piece.

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 3:17pm

"I was just pointing out what seems to be a lack of creativity on Broadway these days."

Just because it may be an adaptation does not necessarily mean it is any less creative.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 3:20pm

True. My Fair Lady, Oklahoma!, Cabaret, Carousel, A Little Night Music, etc., are in no way any less of an achievement for being adaptations from other sources.

[RyToast1]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 3:21pm

True, but it really, really seems to be getting out of hand these days.

It seems every new musical they announce is based on a movie. I know that's not the case for all new productions, but the overall majority.
Updated On: 1/20/08 at 03:21 PM

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 3:25pm

Updated On: 5/8/09 at 03:25 PM

[RyToast1]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 3:27pm

I agree that it's hard to do something truly original, but Broadway seems to be so commercial anymore with all the movie musicals.

That was just the point I was trying to make.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 3:31pm

But original musicals in the Golden Age were similarly few and far between. Novels and plays were more often the sources. Now, we're leaning more toward movies. Even so, there have been numerous original musicals in the last few years - shows like Urinetown, Avenue Q, Caroline Or Change, Drowsy Chaperone, Curtains and the upcoming Passing Strange and In the Heights - right alongside Recent Hit Movie: The Musical.

Updated On: 1/20/08 at 03:31 PM

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 3:33pm

I am 100% all for original shows, but let's be accurate here.

The original shows playing "right now" are Avenue Q, Curtains, In The Heights (soon), Drowsy (just closed), Passing Strange (soon), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (closing as I type), A Bronx Tale, August: Osage County, Is He Dead?, November, Rock 'n' Roll, The Farnsworth Invention, The Seafarer, Thurgood, and Top Girls. That's 15 "completely orginal" shows. FIFTEEN!

(And that's not including shows like Rent, which many do consider to be "original"; after all, it is certainly not a conventional adaptation- the show is more "inspired by" La Boheme than anything else. If the Pulitzer awarding committee thinks it's original enough to win, I think we should.consider it original...)

I picked a random year to type into IBDB for today's date (January 20), and found out that on January 20, 1975, only 9 SHOWS were completely original. What about this day on 1985? 10 SHOWS that were completely original. What about a more recent year? IN 2000, THERE WERE 3 ORIGINAL SHOWS playing on this date.

To sum up:
1975: 9
1985: 10
2000: 3
2008: 15

I don't understand why people always bemoan the present "uncreative, revival- filled" state of Broadway today. Broadway is not dead. There is not a lack of creativity. This is a very healthy season, with a great number of shows playing, and a good deal of them are "original".

I personally prefer original shows over revivals. I personally prefer original concepts over "based on a movie or songbook" concepts. But there are room for all types of shows on Broadway, and each one can yield wonderful, artistic, successful productions.

If we discouraged all "unoriginal" work, we'd never have had several of the most exciting, groundbreaking musicals and plays of recent years: Light in the Piazza, Spring Awakening, Metamorphoses, Grey Gardens, Company revival, I Am My Own Wife, etc.

[RyToast1]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 3:36pm

Infinite,

Thank you. What you said has opened my eyes so much more.

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 3:36pm

I mean, look at the musicals that have won the Best Musical Tony throughout the years that were adaptations and/or based on other work.

KISS ME, KATE - loosely based on The Taming of the Shrew
SOUTH PAIFIC - Based on James Michener's novel
GUYS AND DOLLS - Based on Damon Runyon's short stories
THE KING AND I -Based on a book
WONDERFUL TOWN - Based on a play
KISMET - Based on a book
THE PAJAMA GAME - Based on a book
DAMN YANKEES - Based on a book
MY FAIR LADY - Based on the play by George Bernard Shaw
THE SOUND OF MUSIC - Based on memoirs
A FUNNY THING...FORUM - Based on ancient Greek plays
HELLO, DOLLY - Based on the Thorton Wilder pay
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF - Based on short stories
MAN OF LA MANCHA - Based on the novel
CABARET - Based on a play
APPLAUSE - Based on a film
THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA - Based on a play
COMPANY - Based on unproduced George Furth plays
A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC - Based on a film
RAISIN - Based on A Raisin in the Sun
THE WIZ - Based on The Wizard of Oz
ANNIE - Based on a comic strip
AIN'T MISBEHAVIN - Based on songs
SWEENEY TODD - Based on a play
EVITA - Based on a biography
42ND STREET - Based on a novel and film
NINE - Based on a film
CATS- Based on poems
LA CAGE AUX FOLES - Based on a film
BIG RIVER - Based on a novel
THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD - Based on an unfinished Dickens novel
LES MISERABLES - Based on a novel
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA - Based on a novel
JEROME ROBBINS' BROADWAY - Based on previous shows
CRAZY FOR YOU - Based on previous shows
KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN - Based on a novel
PASSION - Based on a novel
SUNSET BOULEVARD - Based on a film
RENT - Based on an opera
THE LION KING - Based on the film
FOSSE - Based on previous work
THE PRODUCERS - based on the film
THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE - Based on the film
HAIRSPRAY - Based on the film
SPAMALOT - Based on the film
JERSEY BOYS - Based on preexisting songs
SPRING AWAKENING - Based on a play

Here are the only completely original musicals to win the Tony:

THE MUSIC MAN
REDHEAD
FIORELLO
BYE BYE BIRDIE
HOW TO SUCCEED... - Based on a How-To Book, but its actually all original
HALLELUJAH, BABY!
1776
A CHORUS LINE
CITY OF ANGELS
THE WILL ROGERS FOLLIES
TITANIC

Updated On: 1/20/08 at 03:36 PM

[Not Barker, Todd.]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 3:38pm

I agree with InfiniteTheaterFrenzy. But I also think we need to teach young musical writers that the musical form is one in which they can create their own story, and that they don't always have to adapt something directly. But dosen't mean I think we have to bemoan the adaptations.

[SpellingBeeFan4Ever]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 3:40pm

Titanic is based off real events.

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 3:41pm

So are 1776 and Fiorello, which just makes the list of originals even fewer.