Good Musicals with Bad Books
Good Musicals with Bad Books
Chorus Member Joined: 7/23/15
Good Musicals with Bad Books#1
Posted: 3/5/16 at 12:48pm
Can you reccomend me some famous/standard works of musical theatre that are based on bad books? Just curious because I feel like some of them has really great music and lyrics, but the books sucks (Jekyll And Hyde for example).
Good Musicals with Bad Books#3
Posted: 3/5/16 at 1:34pm
Beautiful
Good Musicals with Bad Books#4
Posted: 3/5/16 at 1:40pm
^I actually think Douglas McGrath's book is much better than what most people give him credit for.
Updated On: 3/5/16 at 01:40 PM
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/3/14
Good Musicals with Bad Books#5
Posted: 3/5/16 at 2:13pm
Not possible. A show lives and dies by its book.
Good Musicals with Bad Books#6
Posted: 3/5/16 at 2:25pm
The book for Beautiful is pretty damn bad.
Good Musicals with Bad Books#7
Posted: 3/5/16 at 2:41pm
^It apparently earned some award nominations for no reason.
Good Musicals with Bad Books#8
Posted: 3/5/16 at 2:46pm
Most of the shows Encores did in its early years had bad books- that was part of their original mission (long since abandoned).
Good Musicals with Bad Books#9
Posted: 3/5/16 at 3:32pm
.
Good Musicals with Bad Books#10
Posted: 3/5/16 at 3:48pm
I wanna play this game too, but I'm confused by the OP's question-- I think he's talking about bad literary books on which musicals are BASED, even though most of the responses are about which shows have bad libretti written by the shows' bookwriters. Two totally different animals.
Bad literary book resulting in a great musical: Isherwood's Berlin Stories that became CABARET.
Bad libretto for a great musical: Goldman's work on FOLLIES.
Good Musicals with Bad Books#11
Posted: 3/5/16 at 4:04pm
Award nominations are not the definitive way to measure the strength of a show's book.
I think the OP did mean shows with crappy books, not shows based off of crappy books.
I agree with the sentiment that if the book is bad, the show is therefore bad.
Stand-by Joined: 3/19/13
Good Musicals with Bad Books#12
Posted: 3/5/16 at 4:06pm
I'm going with bad book as in libretto.
I propose The Last Ship. Everything worked for me except the book. I thought the music and lyrics, directing, technical, performances were all excellent. The book let it down.
Good Musicals with Bad Books#13
Posted: 3/5/16 at 4:25pm
Children of Eden, Godspell, most of Stephen Schwartz's shows actually.
Good Musicals with Bad Books#14
Posted: 3/5/16 at 4:44pm
I really think that the Broadway version of Cinderella was very well reworked with all the other R&H's songs that were cut from other works and woven into it, but the book definitely has some issues. A lot of the humor is really cheesy. Also, some characters are made more interesting, (Gabrielle) and others are made...umm...(Prince Topher).
Good Musicals with Bad Books#16
Posted: 3/5/16 at 5:29pm
MadViolist said: "Can you reccomend me some famous/standard works of musical theatre that are based on bad books? Just curious because I feel like some of them has really great music and lyrics, but the books sucks (Jekyll And Hyde for example)."
OP clearly is asking for musicals that are based on books. "based on bad books"
Good Musicals with Bad Books#17
Posted: 3/5/16 at 5:54pm
I feel like The Bridges of Madison County works for either interpretation of the OP's question, actually. The novel is definitely not good, and the book of the musical has quite a few issues too, but the score carries the show above and beyond to actually be a decent show overall, IMO.
Also seconding Berlin Stories--> Cabaret.
Good Musicals with Bad Books#18
Posted: 3/5/16 at 6:25pm
Wicked the book is not a good book. While wicked the musical doesn't have a good book. Lol
Good Musicals with Bad Books#19
Posted: 3/5/16 at 6:29pm
In The Heights, Mack and Mabel, Rags and Dear World
Good Musicals with Bad Books#21
Posted: 3/5/16 at 6:34pm
Fantod said: "Not possible. A show lives and dies by its book.
"
Exactly. You can have a good musical with a mediocre score, but not a good musical with a bad book.
Good Musicals with Bad Books#22
Posted: 3/5/16 at 6:37pm
Yeah, I agree. Saying a musical is good except for its book is essentially saying, "it's good except for its structure and everything the characters say and do when they are not singing."
This is really just asking for good scores that are coupled with lackluster books.
Good Musicals with Bad Books#23
Posted: 3/5/16 at 6:37pm
Call_me_jorge said: "Wicked the book is not a good book. While wicked the musical doesn't have a good book. Lol
"
WICKED, Maguire's book, is a near-classic. One of the great books of our time. What did you read?
*****
I can't know with 100% certainty what the OP intended, but the thread title now reads "Good Musicals WITH Bad Books" (emphasis added), not "Good Musicals FROM Bad Books".
FUNNY GIRL comes close. The book is creaky and the lyrics only make sense about half the time. Yet it became a classic because of Jule Styne's music and one bravura role for a diva performer.
I'd add that all of ALW's musicals post-Rice have mediocre to bad books and lyrics. I don't think it's an accident. His Lordship wants to make sure he is the center of attention.
Updated On: 3/5/16 at 06:37 PM
Good Musicals with Bad Books#24
Posted: 3/5/16 at 6:54pm
What's with the lack of love for Isherwood? *baffled*
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