Academy Award Winning Film ONCE Comes to Broadway in 2010/2011 Season — Page 3

My problem isn't with film-to-stage adaptations in general. It's in the recent ugly trend of adapting a film purely for its popularity. So very blatantly. Just looking for a "sure financial bet." These adaptations merely take exactly what you already know, add a few forgettable songs, and sell it to you as "a wonderful, expensive, artistic theatrical experience that you already know." When, in fact, it's nothing more than a touring arena ice show landing in a better Zip code.

Shows like 9 to 5, Shrek, Young Frankenstein, Saturday Night Fever, Footloose, Mary Poppins, Tarzan, Legally Blonde and others offer little more than a Xeroxed screenplay with so-so songs "forced" into them. Hell, they don't even trim the scripts. Many of them just add in the songs, which makes some of them clock in at around 3 hours. Tell me, does the story of "9 to 5" really take around 3 hours to tell?? Is it that epic?? No, it's not. It's just an unimaginative, paint-by-numbers approach to the source material. It's "banal" sold as "Broadway's best."

I don't mean they all have to be obscure films or non-mega-hits, but certainly the reason to adapt the following for the stage would be largely an artistic one, far more than trading in on an established popularity:

Sweet Charity
A Little Night Music
Passion
Nine
Grey Gardens

And sometimes popular films can be adapted (and I mean truly ADAPTED not Xeroxed) for the stage with a fresh, creative vision (like The Lion King).

So, I'm not tired of film-to-stage adaptations in general. Not all of them.

I'm tired of this modern trend of "Xeroxing" a popular movie for Broadway.

It sucks.

Oh... and I don't think "Once" falls into this category of "Ugh, not another one!" It wasn't that popular of a movie. So, I hope they will actually ADAPT it for the stage.

No more Xeroxing, please.

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Updated On: 10/16/08 at 10:07 PM

I absolutely agree, best. And I agree with your last post as well, fromage.

The intentions are important. Are they doing it for art or just to make a buck. The latter is often a disappointment.

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I'd be more interested in seeing film-to-stage adaptations of:

Say Anything
Somewhere In Time
Norma Rae
Defending Your Life
Babette's Feast
Fanny & Alexander
Eve's Bayou
The Joy Luck Club
The Remains of the Day
The Court Jester

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Updated On: 5/1/09 at 10:39 PM

Good point, Pegasus... I see it more as a "play with music," along the lines of Coram Boy.

I think this could be decent. We'll wait and see.

TOTALLY agree with Pegasus.

I know in terms of music, there might be some situations where like, the stories of aspiring songwriters might be ideal for on stage, since it'll be live, but for what ever reason, I just don't think it will work with Once. Like, Glen and Marketa just made it work so beautifully and I don't think I can see it anywhere else.

Besides, don't they already have Rooms? Not Off-Broadway or anything, but still.

I agree that this sounds like a terrible idea. The film is so small and intimate that retaining the elements that made it so lovely would make for a horrible Broadway musical, while getting rid of those would just be tossing everything that made the movie so charming and moving.

This seems unecessary and such a strange choice for a Broadway production. I just don't see the point. The film was what it was; leave it at that.


- "I'm tired of this modern trend of "Xeroxing" a popular movie for Broadway."

Me too.