Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Has the same source material been adapted twice?
#1Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 10:18am
The thread about Dance A Little Closer made me wonder - has a source material (book, play, movie) ever been adapted for Broadway as a flop, then re-adapted by someone else (either successfully or not)?
I would exclude The Wild Party because both were done at the same time, as well as At the Grand/Grand Hotel, since it involved some of the same creative team both times (and the first version closed out of town).
Marquise
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/1/04
#2Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 10:22amGONE WITH THE WIND comes to mind.
#2Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 10:23amThe Phantom Of The Opera
#3Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 10:24amPhantom of the Opera, but the two shows were relatively close together in time, and the Yeston one has never played Broadway.
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#4Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 10:28am
darquegk--we must have thought of it at the same time.
I would love to see a new adaptation of some unsuccessful first attempts, in addition to new works from Idiot's Delight and Elmer Gantry.
I think The Night of the Hunter is a great source material, even though the musical adaptation never made it far out of the starting gate.
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#5Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 10:33amThought of another ... Peter Pan. Two musicals.
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#6Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 11:03am
Cinderella -
R&H's and A Tale Of Cinderella.
#7Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 11:10am
If you're not including Broadway, but just musicals in general, there are tons. The Secret Garden has a couple, Cyrano de Bergerac, Little Women and Peter Pan have been adapted countless times all over the world (Cyrano twice for Broadway). Twelfth Night was adapted on Broadway for Play On and All Shook Up and Off-Broadway for Your Own Thing. Phantom of the Opera probably has about a dozen different musical adaptations. Anne of Green Gables has two, I think. Romeo and Juliet has the European spectacle popularized in the 90s and West Side Story (and unofficially, The Beautiful Game). The Boys From Syracuse and Oh, Brother! were adaptations of A Comedy of Errors, if memory serves. Hunchback of Notre Dame saw the Disney version in Berlin and Notre Dame de Paris in Europe and London. There is a popular argument that The Lion King is loosely adapted from Hamlet, so it could be shared with Rockabye Hamlet, I suppose.
And many many others, I'm sure.
angelplays
Stand-by Joined: 3/11/10
#8Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 11:22amDennis DeYoung has also done a beautiful (and imho far superior to Disney) version of Hunchback.
#9Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 11:49am
Sounds like in most (but not all) cases listed here, the source material is in the public domain. That would make it more appealing financially and less risky to adapt, since no percentages, payments, or options would need to be in place first.
Peter Pan would be the exception (so far). But its copyright has already run out in certain countries. There is actually an ongoing "argument" about whether or not it has expired in the U.S. But who wants to deny royalties to the Hospital for Sick Children in the UK? They receive all revenue from the J.M. Barrie work.
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#10Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 12:38pm
Very good posts, everyone, thanks. But I was specifically thinking about something that flopped first on Broadway (or headed for Broadway), then was adapted again by someone else.
The thing I was wondering was - would anyone dare to try to do a new, Broadway-bound musical of Idiot's Delight after the debacle of Dance A Little Closer? Or would anyone do over High Fidelity or Urban Cowboy or Madwoman of Chaillot?
#11Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 12:51pmConsidering 90% (or more) of all musicals are adaptations, then most flops would fall into that and I've no doubt we'll see more repeats, especially in the case of Shakespeare, who has probably been adapted by every entertainment medium more than any other writer. Personally, I'd love to see another shot given to Pride and Prejudice, preferably with a score by Lucy Simon.
#12Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 1:04pmThe Wild Party. However, only one made it to Broadway.
#13Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 1:44pm
The play THREE MEN ON A HORSE (by George Abbott and John Cecil Holm) opened in January 1935 and ran 835 performances - an exceptionally long run for the 1930's.
IT was adapted into a musical, BANJO EYES starring Eddie Cantor, which opened Christmas Day 1941 and ran 126 performances, closing April 12, 1942. Six months later a 4 wee revival of the original play opened. Ths musical did not get a full cast album but Eddie Cantor recorded the one hit song for Decca: "We're Having a Baby (My Baby and Me") - the song achieved wider popularity 11 years later when Desi Arnaz sang it to Lucille Ball at the end of the I LOVE LUCY episode where Lucy tells Ricky she is "enciente."
Then in 1961 the play became the source for LET IT RIDE, a flop musical that ran 68 performances. The RCA Victor cast album was released on CD by ArkvivMusic last summer after having been out of print for 45 years. Here is the Masterworks Broadway listing for it: http://www.masterworksbroadway.com/music/let-it-ride-arkiv-version
The original play can be an enjoyable old-fashioned screwball comedy. Neither musical seems to have succeeded in capturing that quality.
Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com
#14Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 1:49pm
I was just on the masterworks site yesterday (through the other thread) and ordered both Let It Ride and Jimmy.
I'm excited to hear them both.
husk_charmer
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/19/06
#15Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 1:58pm
Wizard of Oz has been adapted countless times.
And, B12B, a local theatre (who produced it off-Broadway, I think) is doing Night of the Hunter as part of their 10-11 Season.
#16Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 2:31pmDracula
#17Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 2:46pmTaz - LET IT RIDE and JIMMY are hardly overlooked gems, but each album is a source of fun even in that "OMG this is bad" way. Enjoy!!
Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com
philly03
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/07
#18Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 2:49pmA Tale of Two Cities, Jane Eyre
BDrischBDemented
Broadway Star Joined: 11/13/05
#19Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 3:07pm"Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell"... sort of...
#20Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 3:16pmWhen was Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell on Broadway? Or on stage?
#21Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 3:17pm
"And, B12B, a local theatre (who produced it off-Broadway, I think) is doing Night of the Hunter as part of their 10-11 Season."
I know it's produced regionally from time to time, but I'd like to see a better adaptation. And on Broadway please! I'll bet actors would be lining up to play the preacher, the widow, and the old woman who takes the children in (played so well in the movie by Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, and Lillian Gish, respectively).
Sondheim would have been fantastic for this, since so much of it is a psychological journey. Good/evil. Innocent/guilty. Somebody, tell him to do it! :)
The problem is that it's so rare that works are revisited for musical adaptations. Especially if the first one didn't do all that well.
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#22Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 3:21pm
BAD GAY, MR. MATT! BAY GAY!
Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell was adapted to the stage in the late 70's as CARMELINA starring one Miss Georgia Brown!
It was later adapted into the hit MAMMA MIA!
#23Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 3:23pm
Matt,
The Lerner and Lane flop Carmelina from 1979 is clearly based on the film, though the creator denied it, the general consensus is that the plot was lifted from the film.
And Mamma Mia! also takes the film's plot without giving it credit.
#24Has the same source material been adapted twice?
Posted: 5/18/10 at 3:32pm
OK, I'll bite, philly - when have A Tale of Two Cities and/or Jane Eyre had a second musical adaptation after their Broadway flops?
Or are some people only reading the title of this thread before posting?
Videos