Blazing Saddles The Musical

[darquegk]

Posted: 3/15/10 at 8:30pm

Well, BWW has finally confirmed it.

I don't think it's such a bad thing- there can never be too many musicals, new or otherwise. Besides, look at Brooks's film career; though some argued that he wore out his welcome when his films began recycling the same old schtick, after some time passed we were able to see that those films ARE genuinely funny, and that he is quite good at what he does.

Will Blazing Saddles be a great, genre-changing musical? No, but it'll be a pretty good, old-fashioned Broadway farce, which only Brooks seems to want to write anymore, anyway. It will live forever in community theater... at least those lucky enough to have at least one black leading man.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/15/10 at 8:38pm

You know, I love Mel Brooks, really, but:

"I don't know - if I did it, I wouldn't rush to New York with it because the Times would say: 'Oh dear, oh dear, another movie converted and transmogrified into a musical...The Times was only lukewarm to 'Young Frankenstein,' but you know, everybody else was hot - some of the greatest reviews I ever got."

Really?! REALLY?! The Times wasn't "lukewarm", it was an outright pan. And it wasn't too far off from the other major reviews, either.

[BrianS]

Posted: 3/16/10 at 3:44am

I've said it before when this came up and I'll say it again. I can't imagine the N-word working in ANY form in this show, much less the way it is in the film. And we all know how well the farts in Shrek went over.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/16/10 at 3:49am

I wonder what the logo will look like.

[minicko88]

Posted: 3/16/10 at 4:26am

Mel Brooks is a genius... plain and simple. His movies will be treasured throughout times. He is one of the only people to ever win at least one of the 4 major awards (an emmy, tony, academy award, and grammy). On stage, the Producers was fantastic... I think they tony awards proved that. Young Frankenstein was good, but it kept getting compared to the Producers. Noone really gave it a chance, but I found it to be hysterical. I am glad he is doing another musical. Maybe he can fix the problems he had with the financing and ticket sales that he dealt with during Young Frankenstein. You can bash the guy all you want, but he is truly an iconic genius. Go ask the Kennedy Center...

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/16/10 at 7:03am

We can also thank him for the concept of "Premium seating".

[DryMartini]

Posted: 3/16/10 at 8:09am

I think the humor might be hard to translate to the stage. I personally love the film, but it makes its point through being brutally un-PC. Jokes about rape and the N-word might not land the way they do in the film.

[JMPlayer6]

Posted: 3/16/10 at 9:17am

For what it is worth, my opinion:

(1) After "The Producers", when I looked at all the other Mel Brooks films, I always thought that "Blazing Saddles" would be the next best one to turn into a musical. Not "Young Frankenstein"---which I enjoyed to a degree, but ...
(2) I can easily see this being a very good musical. The proof is in the execution. We shall see.
(3) As for premium seating: everyone harps on premium seats. To me, this is classic economics: supply and demand. If they can charge extra and there are people willing to pay extra, why not go for it! (I have ever only gone premium once.)

[DryMartini]

Posted: 3/16/10 at 10:49am

I wonder if he'll use his usual team for this. Stro, Meehan, etc. Of course, it sounds like it's in very early stages.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 3/16/10 at 11:08am

I know I'm in the minority, but I thought Young Franeknstein (at least in terms of score, I haven't seen either) was a VAST improvement over the Producers.

That said, I fear for a Blazing Saddles musical...I think it's just tooooo unPC for today's world.

[tazber]

Posted: 3/16/10 at 11:13am

I loved YF's score also. Which surprised me b/c I really didn't like any of the music from The Producers.

My favorite gag from Blazing Saddles is the scene in the wide open desert where everyone is lined up for miles at a single toll booth.
Hilarious on film, but not theatrical.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 3/16/10 at 11:31am

Looking back the humor was dated though of course it was so shocking back then. Cleavon Little and Madeline Kahn still shine, however. There's totally going to be a song involving the campfire scene which is kind of mortifying. But that being said I think a large part can translate well but I hope there is some new life rather than the people who have worked previously with Mel. Let's forget about the flatulence for a moment: How are they going to work Mongo punching a horse to the ground?

Young Frankenstein wasn't bad, it was not a masterpiece but I think the good cast made up for whatever it lacked. Though between the two films I always take Young Frankenstein.

[jasonf]

Posted: 3/16/10 at 12:14pm

I can't even begin to imagine how they'll pull off the end of the movie when the whole thing breaks down - it's just such a MOVIE thing.

What's next -- "SILENT MOVIE: THE MUSICAL!"?

[BroadwayBound115]

Posted: 3/16/10 at 12:28pm

Kristin Chenoweth as Lily Von Shtupp...attack me!

[WOSQ]

Posted: 3/16/10 at 4:33pm

This does not sound like a good idea to me. I think the script, which is scattered to begin with, does not immediately lend itself to musicalization.

The basic question: how will the addition of song and dance tell this story better?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/16/10 at 5:01pm

Zzzzzzzzzzz...

[Brick]

Posted: 3/16/10 at 8:15pm

At a screening of Young Frankenstein, the film, Gene Wilder commented on Brooks and YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, the musical. He said he really didn't think it needed to be turned into a musical and the film was superior, however he realized how much it meant to Mel and that he needed things like this to keep him going since Anne had passed.

And that shut me up forever on the subject.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/16/10 at 9:08pm

If it ever happens, I want to see :

1. Who plays Mongo?
2. How the farting scene is handled.
3. What about the horses?
4. Will the ending be changed?

[bk]

Posted: 3/17/10 at 1:43am

IF it ever happens.

"Noone really gave it a chance, but I found it to be hysterical."

Who is Noone? Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits? Surely you don't think "no one" is spelled noone, which is, BTW, one of the most frequent misspellings on the Internet.

[bk]

Posted: 3/17/10 at 1:46am

Ah, I see - I've now read the article. He's written TWO songs and no adaptation. So we can discuss this again in about three years, should he ever finish it. A remark in the Canadian press does not a finished musical make.

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 3/17/10 at 1:46am

yeah i'm with tazber... i loved the score to YF... i thought it was a vast improvement over The Producers... but that's just me... i can't wait to see the show when it comes up to LA

[Upland]

Posted: 3/17/10 at 7:48pm

I say give it a shot. I was not a fan of YF either, but Brooks clearly has an audience for the right vehicle and if he gets the right cast, he can potentially bring something exciting to Broadway.

[DryMartini]

Posted: 3/17/10 at 8:02pm

Let's face it, everything below the waist, is kaput.

[don logan]

Posted: 3/18/10 at 11:58am

They'll change the ending to the cast running into a broadway show instead of a movie theater

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/18/10 at 12:06pm

I will admit that Young Frankenstein's score was a bit of an improvement over The Producers. It did have a bit more flavor in it music, but the lyrics still left much to be desired. Regardless, an improvement over Producers is not saying a whole lot. Both scores are almost completely forgettable to me and I'm not looking forward to more of the same.