Bio-Musicals: Why So Many "Oldies" Acts & Not More "Classic Rock" Ones?

As great as shows like Jersey Boys & Beautiful are, I often wonder why producers/show writers don't start venturing into the world of "classic rock" for their next shows. (I think of acts like The 4 Seasons, Neil Diamond, Carole King & Bobby Darin as "oldies" ones, as iconic as they are.)

Considering the sucess of movies like Bohemian Rhapsody & Rocketman, why are they not trying to tell the stories of acts like Elton John, Queen and their comtemporaries on stage? - The closest we've seen is Stereophonic, and they haven't really admitted to the Fleetwood Mac aspect or MJ. And, both of those shows have been doing really well. 

Imagine if they got the rights to tell the story of The Beatles' early days or The Eagles rise to superstardom. For something a little more comtemporary, they could tell Eddie Van Halen's story, about him coming to America from The Netherlands, falling in love with the guitar & going on to become an innovative icon! I feel like those stories would translate to the stage just as well as the "oldies" acts and their stories. 

Updated On: 10/22/24 at 07:40 PM

I think it’s just a matter of audience. I’m not a fan of biomusicals in general simply because I can see the real thing. As some of these artists pass, the demand rises again and people become more open to loose interpretations of their work. For instance, Prince’s Purple Rain would’ve never materialized during his lifetime. 

Very few people have lives worth staging let alone using their music to do so.

If we're defining a "biomusical" as a show which tells the story of a musical artist through that artist's songs, I feel like we already have plenty of them. It's an inherently self-limiting form, since the score can only consist of a set of already-written songs, and the book must conform to an artist- or estate-approved story. Given these constraints, the very best of this ilk is not a great artistic achievement compared to even a mediocre original musical. 

The classic rock acts of the late 1960s to mid 1980s, the titans you’re thinking of: a good number of them either don’t have the musical variety and catalog depth to be good onstage (Bob Marley’s music is too groove oriented to be a classically structured musical), or they don’t particularly care to license yet (if Across the Universe could legally be staged, believe me, it would be).

The third option is the ones who are holding onto the rights for personal and professional reasons, like Alice Cooper (wants to eventually do a residency based on his old theatrical act) or Pink Floyd (the classic rock feud to end all classic rock feuds).

darquegk said: "The classic rock acts of the late 1960s to mid 1980s, the titans you’re thinking of: a good number of them either don’t have the musical variety and catalog depth to be good onstage (Bob Marley’s music is too groove oriented to be a classically structured musical), or they don’t particularly care to license yet (if Across the Universe could legally be staged, believe me, it would be).

The third option is the ones who are holding onto the rights for personal and professional reasons, like Alice Cooper (wants to eventually do a residency based on his old theatrical act) or Pink Floyd (the classic rock feud to end all classic rock feuds)."

Don't toy with me! I LOVE Alice Cooper & Pink Floyd and would shell out some SERIOUS money to see Welcome To My Nightmare or The Wall on stage...anywhere yet alone on Broadway. But, I also can't help but wonder how much demand there is to see shows like that on stage in 2024. (I mean, if Tommy only lasted 4 months or so...with it's Broadway history...would Welcome To My Nightmare or The Wall really fare any better?)

 

"If we're defining a "biomusical" as a show which tells the story of a musical artist through that artist's songs, I feel like we already have plenty of them. It's an inherently self-limiting form, since the score can only consist of a set of already-written songs, and the book must conform to an artist- or estate-approved story. Given these constraints, the very best of this ilk is not a great artistic achievement compared to even a mediocre original musical. "

I agree with you 100%. The other thing is they all follow the same formula for the most part. Artist comes out of nowhere to become huge success. Along the way, they have issues with "drugs/alcohol" or troubled relationships. Artist overcomes these problems and lives happily ever after, close curtain -lol.