In answer to the person who asked the question, it's Charles Strousse who is writing the music for "The Night They Raided Minsky's". He and Lee Adams wrote some songs for the movie. But, Adams wasn't working on the musical version. I think he was writing the new songs with Susan Birkenhead, or someone like that.
"Moonstruck" seems like a good idea for a musical, until you watch it and see that it practically is one already. And, are you going to use all of the opera arias that are in the movie? Or are you going to write new ones that sound like the old ones? Who do you think you are, Andrew Lloyd-Webber?
The most of the others don't sound too, too, too hideous. I could only see "Midnight Cowboy" working as a modern opera. As for "Rain Man"...well, we all know just how well "road trip" stories work onstage.
But, if any of them sounds like a total clunker, I would say that it would be "Thomas Crown Affair." I mean, how are you going to do the heist ONSTAGE?
It seems that for musical theater, to paraphrase Fran Leibowitz, an original idea is like original sin. Both happened a long time ago to people you couldn't possibly have met.
"A coherent existance after so many years of muddle" - Desiree' Armfelt, A Little Night Music
"Life keeps happening everyday, Say Yes" - 70, Girls, 70
"Life is what you do while you're waiting to die" - Zorba