Books to Musicals, what do you guys think?

Fried Green Tomatoes.. could be excellent! But I dunno how I'd feel without the original cast. (RIP Jessica Tandy)

I'm not familiar with the rest, except for The Leonardo Code. (I refuse to call it the DaVinci code, since that was not his name.)

I like her early work better than these past few years (except Titanic).

I accidently asked this on another thread... but has Breakfast at Tiffany's ever been dramatized?

Updated On: 6/9/06 at 11:08 PM

The Great Good Thing

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Fiction Writer, I'm 99.9% sure there was a musical version of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" back in the 70's starring Mary Tyler Moore. It flopped.

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I always wanted The Perks of Being a Wallflower to be a musical. Or a play.

my picks:

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - I think a lot of the NY appeal of this story would flock children and adults into it. Plus it has a lot of "i'm all alone sad and boo hoo" moments that could thwart some good songs (if done properly).

The Hours - I cannot express enough how much this could make for a funny funny funny musical.

Dancer From the Dance - It's about this gay farmboy who comes from WI and gets lost in the discos of NY in the 70's trying to find love. It's just trashy and tragic enough to work. (plus it's one of my favorite books ever)

and as for the ones mentioned....
i'm not sure how i'd feel about Fried Green Tomatoes though. i loved the book but feel like it the period points in it could come across as really hokey.

Although "Up The Down Staircase" by Bel Kaufman was made into a play, I think it'd be a fantastic musical. It's hilarious, but then it's also dramatic, which is perfect for a musical.

I always thought LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE would make a good musical. To quote the original tagline for the film version: "It's the passionate tale of forbidden love." For those who are unfamiliar with the book or movie, it takes place around the time of the Mexican Revolution and it centers around Tita, a young woman who, as the youngest daughter, is forbidden to marry because of some family tradition that says the youngest child will have to look after the parents in their old age. Pedro, the man she loves, decides to marry her older, unattractive sister so that he can be near Tita. Following the old adage "the quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach," Tita, as the cook of the house, makes the most splendid dishes that have a magical effect on him and everyone else. There's more to the story, but you should really read the book.

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Wendy Wasserstein's Pamela's First Musical would be adorable onstage... the theatre jokes [Betty & Cy Songheim? Mary Ethel Bernadette?] would be perfect for the NY crowd, but it would still offer a big musical extravaganza for the tourists.

I want Beth Leavel for Aunt Louise! Haha.

EDIT!
I've also been pushing for a musical or play of A Confederacy of Dunces. I can also see Sellevision onstage.

And to whoever mentioned The Giver as a musical, I agree. It'd be difficult to pull off, but I see it along the lines of a Sweeney-type experience: very dark and intimate with monochromatic lighting.

Updated On: 6/27/06 at 07:34 PM

Sideways Stories from Wayside School was a play here in NY, but I forget how long ago. I remember posting a thread on it. Posters hear have said that it was very cute/funny. One of my favorite books when I was younger.

Hope was Here is one of my favorite books of all times. I just borrowed it from the library. It would be an interesting musical, & I would want to see how that would turn out. ♥

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You should mention WICKED with LES MIS and PHANTOM.

I saw the Chronicles as a stage play once, and it was awful. And the Great Gatsby is too amazing/wonderful/excellent/perfect and shouldn't be ruined/tainted/destroyed by a musical.

I can't read WICKED anymore because my mind tries to put it togethr with the musical. Such a shame. If that happens with The Great Gatsby, I'm gonna be pissed.

So no. Leave Nick and Gatsby (I've forgotten his first name. Oops.) alone.

(But if it was a musical, I'd love to play Daisy, but I'm a boy so that might not work.)