Books you feel could be made into a musical...- Page 3

[SweeneyPhanatic]

Posted: 2/11/08 at 8:16pm

I've been thinking about "The Exorcist" for a while. Originally, I intended to approach it in a style like "Carrie": total camp, but unlike "Carrie," "Exorcist" was to embrace this campiness and not take itself seriously. Some song titles I'd thought of for this version were "I'm Gonna Piss on You," "Let Jesus F**k You,” and "Compels You." The more I watched the film and read the novel, the more I realized that there was the potential for something legit, and I changed my approach to the material. Now I envision a show which starts with either a very lush "Light in the Piazza" type score, or a score similar to any classic Broadway musical. As the show goes on and the Demon begins to take hole, the score takes on more and more pop and rock influences, finally bursting at the seams in the second act with a huge rock number for the final confrontation between the Priests and the Demon. As the show wraps up, the score begins to resemble what it was at the start of the show, but still with the slightest rock influence, a reminder of the scars the Demon left on Reagan and her mother forever. Some song titles I've played with include "Rags," "Lost," "Let HIM," "You Must Help Her," and "The Power Compels You."

Maybe I'm insane, but I think it could work!

[adamgreer]

Posted: 2/11/08 at 8:20pm

I have always wondered why there hasn't been a musical version of The Great Gatsby yet. It could have its "big" moments (imagine a big dance number about Gatsby's big summer parties) and its poignant moments (the scene in the hotel room is one of my favorite bits in all of literature).

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/11/08 at 8:24pm

"I have always wondered why there hasn't been a musical version of The Great Gatsby yet."

I think because the material is so good that you really can't capture it. The Redford-Farrow movie just didn't capture how good the book is.

[nitsua]

Posted: 2/11/08 at 8:40pm

I've always wanted a The Picture of Dorian Gray musical.

Wasn't there a rumor of one?

[Glory]

Posted: 2/11/08 at 8:45pm

A Patch Of Blue please!

[Dancin Thru Life]

Posted: 2/11/08 at 8:56pm

"The DaVinci Code" could be AWESOME!

Think of the number of people who read the book and saw the film! That would make for one hell of a large audience who would want to see that!

[lakezurich]

Posted: 2/11/08 at 9:11pm

One of my childhood favorites, Roald Dahl's "The Witches"

Updated On: 2/11/08 at 09:11 PM

[deadparrot]

Posted: 2/11/08 at 9:12pm

I'm currently reading "The Ladies' Paradise," by Émile Zola. It could make an interesting show, lots of relevancy even thought it was written over a century ago.

[george95]

Posted: 2/11/08 at 9:45pm

J.D. Salinger has always been against any dramatizations of "Catcher in the Rye" for the same reason that Holden hated most plays and movies---a "phony" would have to act out his words, which would be too painful for him to watch or deal with.

How about "The Chocolate War" or "The Secret Garden" or one of Wendy Williams autobiographies might work in a campy sort of way.

[Gobstopper]

Posted: 2/11/08 at 9:52pm

"Has anyone read "The Perks of Being a Wallflower?"

Um, yes, yes I have. (points to icon) haha, I don't know though I think Perks is too internal too really work as a musical.

"The Secret Garden"

That already happened and it was amazing.

Posted: 2/11/08 at 10:21pm

givesmevoice, you're right! I just looked online, and in 2006, the musical Rebecca opened in Austria. Wow, I wonder if that will ever make its way over here.

Everyone has such good suggestions! I completely agree with-

Circle of Friends
Neverwhere (could be the most hilarious thing ever)
I Capture the Castle
The Chocolate War (But only if they make it as dark as it deserves to be. I would be devestated if they didn't do Cormier justice.)

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 2/11/08 at 10:22pm

I agree with gobstopper, I worked on "Perks" for 2-3 years off and on and just couldn't find a workable angle.


I've think that "Thirteenth Tale" could make an interesting, workable musical.

[commasplice]

Posted: 2/11/08 at 10:26pm

"The Turn of the Screw" is already an opera by Benjamin Britten. I don't think it can be approved upon."

Oooh, fantastic!! Thank you for the heads-up; I'm going to check that out now.

nitsua, The Picture of Dorian Gray was turned into a musical, called Dorian. It played in CA in 2004 with Max von Essen as Dorian and was workshopped for a few years before that, but I don't know what's happened to it since then, and it doesn't look like the website has been updated since then, either - http://www.dorianthemusical.com/

[Boq101]

Posted: 2/11/08 at 10:35pm

Cat's Cradle!

just picture it!

[Glitter and be Gay]

Posted: 2/11/08 at 10:58pm

This should go in one of the Disney threads, but instead of adapting their animated musicals, they should adapt one of their popular non-musical movies. Like Freaky Friday. Which was based on a book, so it does fit in this thread.

I second whoever posted The Devil Wears Prada.

And I love The Lush Life by Douglas McEwan, a deliciously camp fictional memoir about a delusional Joan Crawford wannabe that whores herself up the Hollywood ladder but never gets past the second rung. But she coulda been a contender! If not for the booze and the drugs and the gay husbands and her complete lack of talent.

[d811990]

Posted: 2/11/08 at 11:01pm

I love the Gatsby idea.

Ive also been thinking A LITTLE PRINCESS by Frances Hodgson Burnett would make a great musical.
anyone else think so?

[musicallover2008]

Posted: 2/11/08 at 11:07pm

I have to ask, Giver:The Musical, Are you kidding? I just finished designing sound for the play version of "The Giver" and after reading the book again, and reading what Lois Lowery said about "The Giver" it is important that music is not part of the play until the end when Jonas hears it. The Giver is the only one who has heard music and he doesn't share that memory. That is part of the beauty of "The Giver." For that, "The Giver" as a musical would be a terrible idea and defeat the purpose of the whole story.





Sorry about the rant.

[george95]

Posted: 2/11/08 at 11:12pm

no thats a good point.

[nate2]

Posted: 2/11/08 at 11:17pm

All But My Life would be an amazing musical drama. I would LOVE to see Jurassic Park be made into a musical...if Spider-Man can be made into a musical, why not Jurassic Park...even though it never will lol.

[crzyray]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 12:24am

well i'm actually in the process of writing a play for the "shadow children series" it's based on the first 3 books, The opening is actually of Nina as an older lady and the story is told by her to her Granddaughter. There's a lot of symbolic things i've done with the opening that i really like and think will make this show work. I showed it to my friend and now he's starting to write music for it, so we might just turn it into a musical... but yeah, point is i think the shadow children series (especially the first 3 books) would make a good show (whether it be play or musical)

[TheatreFreak05]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 12:38am

even though I am the one who posted "The Giver" I agree with you completely. actually when I was reading the book I thought of it more as a play than a musical anyway. I didn't know they actually have one

[musicallover2008]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 12:46am

The play was written by Eric Coble and has a very strong script. Also it was commissioned by the Oregon Children's Theatre.

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 12:57am

When I read "Devil in the White City", I found the story of the architect and the city itself to be much more interesting than the serial killer. Possibly because the writer was so genteel with that part of it.

For a while I felt that Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff" could be a modern opera, but that came from watching the movie. When I read the book, it didn't sing to me. After that I gave up on the idea because it felt to me that the person who wrote the screenplay had done most of the hard work and it would be like I was stealing answers from his test paper. If you know what I mean.

[overthemoonboy]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 1:12am

Apparently, there is a Tuck Everlasting musical. Andrea Ross, ALW's little prodigy, starred as Winifred.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=BT7a17mbuuo

Also, there was a Dorian Gray musical called Dorian. As you can see from the cast list, a few well knowns were in it!

http://www.dorianthemusical.com/main.html

Mind you, neither of these have played Broadway.

[PUPPETMAN]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 1:16am

Pride and Prejudice has already been done as a musical using Jane Austin's first choice of a title - First Impressions