Creative Team for CLUELESS: The Musical

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 7/24/09 at 2:09am

While I know word of the project's existence leaked some time ago, I just saw a casting notice for an upcoming reading of CLUELESS: The Musical that listed the complete creative team.

The creative team includes director Tina Landau (Steppenwolf's SUPERIOR DONUTS,) book writer John Dempsey, the music and lyrics duo of Stephen Trask (HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH) and Peter Yanowitz (from the band The Wallflowers,) and musical supervisor Kim Grigsby (THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA.)

Barry and Fran Weissler are the lead producers.

I'm certainly tired of all these film-to-stage musical adaptations, but this one actually seems to have some promise.

Updated On: 7/24/09 at 02:09 AM

[blaxx]

Posted: 7/24/09 at 2:41am

Why?

[dramarama2]

Posted: 7/24/09 at 2:42am

I know the movie is a classic, but the plot is very thin & light. I can't see it working. Hope I'm proved wrong.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/24/09 at 2:47am

If the project is entitled Cluess: The Musical, they ought to have Frank Wildhorn write the music and get Francesca Zambello to direct.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 7/24/09 at 9:22am

Karen Ziemba as Cher!

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 7/24/09 at 10:22am

Can't they just revive Legally Blonde? The plot concepts aren't all that different.

[i am the one]

Posted: 7/24/09 at 11:46am

This is highly unnecessary I feel.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 7/24/09 at 11:55am

Ooooh...it'll be nice to hear new Stephen Trask songs!

[Unknown User]

Posted: 7/24/09 at 12:02pm

Legally Blonde is to Clueless what Beet Soup is to an Orangutan.

I am glad to see Trask writing something new.

[Sauja]

Posted: 7/24/09 at 12:08pm

I have to say--the creative team is actually pretty promising. Not that that always ends up meaning anything. But there could be hope. My question, though, is how all of these movies get made into musicals and still no one has undertaken one based on Bring It On!

[B3TA07]

Posted: 7/24/09 at 12:19pm

WHY SHOULD I LISTEN TO YOU?! YOU'RE A VIRGIN WHO CAN'T DRIVE!

[B3TA07]

Posted: 7/24/09 at 12:30pm

Cher's saving herself for Luke Perry.
--
So like, right now for example. The Haitians need to come to America. But some people are all, "What about the strain on our resources?" Well it's like when I had this garden party for my father's birthday, right? I put R.S.V.P. 'cause it was a sit-down dinner. But some people came that like did not R.S.V.P. I was like totally buggin'. I had to haul ass to the kitchen, redistribute the food, and squish in extra place settings. But by the end of the day it was, like, the more the merrier. And so if the government could just get to the kitchen, rearrange some things, we could certainly party with the Haitians. And in conclusion may I please remind you it does not say R.S.V.P. on the Statue of Liberty. Thank you very much.
--
Dionne and I were both named after famous singers of the past, who now do infomercials.

[Pgenre]

Posted: 7/24/09 at 1:46pm

Doesn't Stephen Trask seem to be the LEAST likely person to musicalize this? Particularly in tandem with some ex-rockstar...

HEDWIG is the only truly rock and roll score post TOMMY, and probably the best rock score besides that PERIOD, and his work on CAMP and DREAMGIRLS was wonderful.

WHATEVER Trask writes I'll be interested to hear. It just seems a tad bizarre, no?

And Dempsey can write like nobody's business! THE FIX has some of the best and funniest books scenes I've ever seen.

Are there any other additional HEDWIG songs besides "Milford Lake"? Has Trask been working on anything else besides scoring for films? It seems like I haven't heard a new Trask song in a decade!

P

[little_sally]

Posted: 7/24/09 at 2:12pm

I think this could really work. I absolutely love this movie.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 7/24/09 at 2:59pm

"HEDWIG is the only truly rock and roll score post TOMMY"

Passing Strange surely fits the bill too.

[HVicQ]

Posted: 7/24/09 at 6:03pm

Just... why? It used to be interesting when movies became musicals. Now pretty much any movie ever made can become musicalized. I read Secondhand Lions is being adapted for the stage? Just...why? That movie wasn't even popular AS A MOVIE. Can't we get some original ideas and or musicals devoloped from say, a book?

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 7/24/09 at 7:03pm

Tina Landau is a very intellectual director. She's done great work but I just don't see her as the right fit for a light fluffy musical comedy. I would love to be wrong, but that's my initial feeling.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/24/09 at 7:32pm

It's totally time for an incest musical.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 7/25/09 at 10:45am

RANDOM: When I first listened to WICKED, I immediately thought two songs (with a few lyric changes) could fit in a CLUELESS musical if they'd made one instead. I could see Cher and Dionne singing "Popular" to Tai when they first meet, and I could picture Tai singing "I'm Not That Girl" about Elton (and Cher).

Updated On: 7/25/09 at 10:45 AM

[madophelia]

Posted: 7/25/09 at 10:57am

Can't they just revive Legally Blonde? The plot concepts aren't all that different.

Are you counting the lead actress having long blonde hair as a plot concept?

Clueless is a modern adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/25/09 at 1:20pm

Did Emma end up with her step brother?

[sally1112]

Posted: 7/25/09 at 1:47pm

madophelia I was just about to post those same words. Clueless comes from great source material not to mention the movie itself is charming. With the right score it could be a very fun musical comedy.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 7/25/09 at 1:52pm

Emma ended up with her brother-in-law.

Incidentally, I would hardly call Cher and Josh's situation "incest." For starters, they were technically STEP-siblings (no blood relation), and their respective parents weren't married for very long, anyway. Also, it's not like they grew up as brother and sister, either.

[madophelia]

Posted: 7/25/09 at 1:54pm

Did Emma end up with her step brother?

Knightly was the "guy next door," practically her brother, until she realized how jealous she was when she thought he might be interested in someone else.

Updated On: 7/25/09 at 01:54 PM

[StageManager2]

Posted: 7/25/09 at 1:58pm

Mr. Knightley was the brother of Emma's sister's husband so that would make him kinda like her brother-in-law once removed or something.