Does every musical with a teen fan base have to be turned into a book?

[Islander_fan]

Posted: 4/26/22 at 1:58pm

There was a novelization of Dear Evan Hansen. Then, there was one of The Prom. And now, they just came out with one based on Jagged Little Pill. 
 

Maybe I am just venting here. But, do all musicals with a young adult fan base have to be turned into a young adult novel?

[suzycat]

Posted: 4/26/22 at 2:01pm

No, they don’t. But publishers have seen it as an opportunity to sell some books. Except that by the time these books actually come out (publishing is slow), the shows are already closed (DEH excluded). Maybe they’ll sell some at the merch booths on tour. 

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 8:27am

The market for YA novels and stories is really strong, with a lot of adults reading the titles. I think that anyone or any show that deals with teen issues can quickly turn around into a novel. It's just another way to get the story/production out. Really, all you're doing is paying a writer to take dialogue and make it a narritive, and include the songs lyrics at appropreite times. 

As someone who works in a school library, I can say that I have gotten a good response to the novel of "The Prom", and then hearing it was a Netflix movie got others excited. "Dear Even Hansen" has been read a few times, and the issues with the musical itself were brought up as critism of the book. 

[White_Lotus]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 8:59am

This was a common practice back in the past. There were novelizations and even comic books of popular movies, tv shows and musicals.

One of the most popular ones that is still in print is Irving Schulman’s novelization of West Side Story.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 9:18am

I don't see the problem, if you can get kids to read....AND want to see live theater - it's a win.

 

I'M not buying the books, but if my kids were in that age group, I likely would.

[MCfan2]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 9:56am

White_Lotus said: "This was a common practice back in the past. There were novelizations and even comic books of popular movies, tv shows and musicals.

One of the most popular ones that is still in print is Irving Schulman’s novelization of West Side Story."

Some of them have been really good, too. I remember the Annie novelization being very well done. 

My favorite is the novelization of My Fair Lady by Monica Dickens, great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens and a talented novelist in her own right.

[BritCrit]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 10:44am

MCfan2 said: "White_Lotus said: "This was a common practice back in the past. There were novelizations and even comic books of popular movies, tv shows and musicals.

One of the most popular ones that is still in print is Irving Schulman’s novelization of West Side Story."

Some of them have been really good, too. I remember the Annie novelization being very well done.

My favorite is the novelization of My Fair Lady by Monica Dickens, great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens and a talented novelist in her own right."

The Annie one is a curious case because it Thomas Meehan based a lot of it on his original concept for the musical by making it darker and expanding a lot of elements of the story (Annie's initial escape from the orphanage goes from being one short sequence to being several chapters). I personally prefer the lighter tone of the musical (Annie is a production that always gets most of its appeal from the songs and actors) but the literary version is still a mainstay of children's bookshops... 

[joevitus]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 10:54am

If you feel like it's a marketing device trying to sell teens a useless product, I can understand your concern, but to me, anything that gets kids, or adults, to read more is great. I had no idea there were so many novelizations of musicals, or that there was one of Annie and My Fair Lady. Really want to hunt down the Annie one, based on Brit Crit's comments. Glad to hear from FashionGuru that The Prom is well-received by it's audience.

And, yes, as Fashionguru says, YA novels are a big market. I actually think the market has shrunk a bit from where it was about a decade ago years ago (the release of John Green's The Fault in our Stars strikes me as kind of the apex of the movement), but it still seems to have a strong readership--again as Fashionguru says, both with teens and adults. 

[BritCrit]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 11:04am

joevitus said: "If you feel like it's a marketing device trying to sell teens a useless product, I can understand your concern, but to me, anything that gets kids, or adults, to read more is great. I had no idea there were so many novelizations of musicals, or that there was one of Annie and My Fair Lady. Really want to hunt down the Annie one, based on Brit Crit's comments. Glad to hear from FashionGuru that The Prom is well-received by it's audience.

And, yes, as Fashionguru says, YA novels are a big market. I actually think the market has shrunk a bit from where it was about a decade ago years ago (the release of John Green's The Fault in our Stars strikes me as kind of the apex of the movement), but it still seems to have a strong readership--again as Fashionguru says, both with teens and adults."

You can find the Annie book in the "Children's classics" section of many UK bookshops, and probably American ones too. The My Fair Lady one seems like a tougher find though...

If you can't see them in a bookshop, I suppose you could borrow them on Internet Archive. (You can definitely get the Annie novel on that, and you can also read the novelizations of the films if you're curious/nostalgic. The 1982 one is all over the place and the 2014 one is vapid, so at least they're faithful to the source material!) I think I'll go through the novelizations to see which ones they have on that site beyond Annie...

[MCfan2]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 11:12am

The My Fair Lady one is out of print, but there are used copies for sale online. That's how I got hold of it.

[BritCrit]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 11:14am

MCfan2 said: "The My Fair Ladyone is out of print, but there are used copies for sale online. That's how I got hold of it."

Any links on Internet Archive?

[MCfan2]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 11:21am

I just went and looked, and yes, it's there! Please remind me of the rules: Am I allowed to post a direct link to it here?

[David10086]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 12:55pm

I work in a college library and I have the responsibility of buying for our 'leisure reading' collection. In the past few years, I've purchased 'Dear Evan Hansen', 'The Prom' and others. 'DEH' is still one of the most circulated books in our collection - among college students (18-22) , staff and professors. The others have fallen off the radar. 

I'm just glad they are not turned into 'Graphic Novels' and students are reading words once again, and not having to be entertained with picture books in order to read. 

[Rainah]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 1:19pm

Eh, it's not like there's a limited number of books that can be published each year and we have to be choosey as to who makes the cut (the way there are only a small number of broadway theatres available each year)

I ain't gonna read them. But I've also certainly seen worse things published. 

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 1:25pm

Jagged Little Pill is an interesting one since its whole reason for existing is the Alanis songbook, which can’t be translated to a novel.

[joevitus]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 1:25pm

David10086 said: "I work in a college library and I have the responsibility of buying for our 'leisure reading' collection. In the past few years, I've purchased 'Dear Evan Hansen', 'The Prom' and others. 'DEH' is still one of the most circulated books in our collection - among college students (18-22) , staff and professors. The others have fallen off the radar.

I'm just glad they are not turned into 'Graphic Novels' and students are reading words once again, and not having to be entertained with picture books in order to read."

I'm a fan of graphic novels, but I, too, like the idea of pure text, especially for readers at that age and in this age when visual media is too often prized over text.

[joevitus]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 1:26pm

BritCrit said: "joevitus said: "If you feel like it's a marketing device trying to sell teens a useless product, I can understand your concern, but to me, anything that gets kids, or adults, to read more is great. I had no idea there were so many novelizations of musicals, or that there was one of Annie and My Fair Lady. Really want to hunt down the Annie one, based on Brit Crit's comments. Glad to hear from FashionGuru that The Prom is well-received by it's audience.

And, yes, as Fashionguru says, YA novels are a big market. I actually think the market has shrunk a bit from where it was about a decade ago years ago (the release of John Green's The Fault in our Stars strikes me as kind of the apex of the movement), but it still seems to have a strong readership--again as Fashionguru says, both with teens and adults."

You can find the Annie book in the "Children's classics" section of many UK bookshops, and probably American ones too. The My Fair Lady one seems like a tougher find though...

If you can't see them in a bookshop, I suppose you could borrow them on Internet Archive. (You can definitely get the Annie novel on that, and you can also read the novelizations of the films if you're curious/nostalgic. The 1982 one is all over the place and the 2014 one is vapid, so at least they're faithful to the source material!) I think I'll go through the novelizations to see which ones they have on that site beyond Annie..."

Thanks for this! I live in the States, but you've given me great resources to explore.

[David10086]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 8:53am

I should add 'BE MORE CHILL'  was another book I added to our college library collection a few years ago, when it first was published. It was very popular for a while, but like 'The Prom', it has since died out. Once in a great while someone will check it out. 'Dear Evan Hanson' is still in heavy rotation.  

I wonder if DEH will drop off, too, once it's B'way run comes to an end ? Or will it have more longevity with the college kids because of the story it tells ? 

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 9:02am

No one is making you read them. Why do you care?