"Fix" a musical by giving it a new team

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/26/26 at 8:23pm

Here's a game, inspired by a brunch conversation about Beaches this morning...

Who would you hire to improve (or re-do) a flop show?

 

For BEACHES, it seems obvious to focus on creatives with experience doing shows about young women:

• SCORE: Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman (+ a few songs from the movie), with a musical style that tracks the evolution of the decades
• BOOK: Kimberly Belflower
• DIRECTOR: Jessica Stone
• LEADING LADIES: Gracie Lawrence and Helen J Shen (with no separate teenage versions)

 

Set design by anyone inventive who can give us good-looking sand and water in the beach scenes. Costumes by anyone who understands period specificity. Like Beowulf Boritt and Linda Cho.

Put it in a 1,000-seat house (like the Barrymore or Longacre) where an intimate story can thrive. Add 3 people to the onstage cast for greater age/racial diversity and less doubling. Cut the band down to 12. Charlie Rosen can stay on as orchestrator. Bette Midler gets a fat financial offer to be an honorary producer and does a few media appearances.

ALL PROBLEMS SOLVED in a fictional world!

Updated On: 4/26/26 at 08:23 PM

[Ke3]

Posted: 4/26/26 at 8:38pm

Oh this is one of my favorite games.

If &Juliet had the same exact book but songs by Alan Menken and I'd probably think it was cute.

As I said in the thread about it, if I were producing a Coyote Ugly musical, Tesori is doing the music. 

I wish Sondheim wrote the Sunset opera.

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 4/26/26 at 9:02pm

I completely agree with this BEACHES fix.

Shaiman KNOWS how to right for this style and would have been great. If they got WBMW, Think It's going to Rain Today, Otto Titsling and The Glory of Love. It would have completely felt fully realized. I would have been curious what someone like Derek McLane would have done for set design. 

I would love DOLLY the Musical to be fixed by getting Jason Howland or Des Mcanuff to take on the direction, Kristin Chenoweth to take on Dolly (or Megan Hilty a secondly), I would love David Korins for set design, and I love to have a Harvey Fierstein dramaturgical work on the book. 

[Kad]

Posted: 4/26/26 at 9:10pm

Queen of Versailles with Tesori and Tony Kushner. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/26/26 at 9:21pm

Just imagine if Sondheim had said yes to GROUNDHOG DAY.

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/26/26 at 9:31pm

Kad said: "Queen of Versailles with Tesori and Tony Kushner."

This is good.

And tell it from the perspective of the niece who comes to live with them or the house staff.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 4/26/26 at 11:21pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "Just imagine if Sondheim had said yes to GROUNDHOG DAY.

"

To be fair, I don’t think there was anything necessarily wrong with Groundhog Day.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/26/26 at 11:34pm

Theatrefanboy1 said: "I would love DOLLY the Musical to be fixed by getting Jason Howland or Des Mcanuff to take on the direction, Kristin Chenoweth to take on Dolly (or Megan Hilty a secondly), I would love David Korins for set design, and I love to have a Harvey Fierstein dramaturgical work on the book."

Did you mean a different Jason? Jason Howland is the Great Gatsby/Little Women composer? But yes, that show sounds like it has a super weird creative team for what it actually is.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 12:46am

I was thinking QoV with Weidman could be interesting, but Tesori/Kushner would work too

[Voter]

Posted: 4/27/26 at 4:37am

EDSOSLO858 said: "Just imagine if Sondheim had said yes to GROUNDHOG DAY.

"
 

Groundhog Day is incredible as is and doesn't need fixing