Ideas for a new musical?

[So what...I sing]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 1:49am

Im beginning the process of writing a new musical. Only problem is...I don't know what to write about.

What should I do? Any suggestions would be helpful.

P.S. Im a new member and this is my FIRST POST...yay!

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 1:53am

No sugestions

No one can write an original musical anymore (like Drowsy!) They are all based on Movies, Books, and famous music (Jersey Boys, Mama Mia!, All Shook Up, Lennon and many more have tried and faild)

[So what...I sing]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 1:55am

I don't mind having a 'non original' story. I wouldn't mind having to read a book and creating a musical around that.

So I'll take any suggestion! Novels, Movies, short stories, poems...anything that will translate well and tell a good story!

[Wicked_fan]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 1:59am

Mean Girls the musical...

I've always wanted to see that done... it would be so damn campy.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 2:01am

Find something random. Those seem to be the best. I don't mind people borrowing from books or movies, but don't pick something so mainstream. Like Da Vinci Code = no! Harry Potter = No! However, I think something like "I Am The Cheese" would be really interesting as a musuical. It's such a great little story.

[So what...I sing]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 2:04am

I am the cheese?

that just made a spark!!!

How about The Stinky Cheeseman and the other fairly odd tales....that could be adapted into some sort of cooky Into The Woods.
Updated On: 6/20/06 at 02:04 AM

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 2:10am

Huh? Check it out. It's not about a piece of cheese. You know the little saying, "The cheese stands alone, the cheese stands alone" - that's what the title is referring to.

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 2:15am

Sorry but The Stinky Cheeseman has already been made into a musical.

Don't you need to get permission before you write a show based on a book or movie?

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 2:22am

You would need permission to perform it, but not to just write it.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 2:28am

and for suggesting something to you, should it make tons of $$$$, how much of the royalties would I receive?

And while we're at it, can I do your homework, clean your room, and heck, let me buy you a car......?

[luvliza89]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 2:32am

Elphaba, all that would be great! I know I need a break from the roughness of work. What time should I expect you?

Or do I need to write a whole musical before you'll drop by? Because if so, that's asking quite a lot...

[Elphaba]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 2:34am

lol liza.......

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 3:17am

So what...I sing check your PM's

[Fiction Writer]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 6:50am

I've said it more than once, but I'd love to see FRIED GREEN TOMATOES on stage.

[So what...I sing]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 10:49am

I would obvioulsy much rather have something SOMEWHAT original... because getting the rights to things is a hassle.

Also, I wasn't asking because I am unable to do it on my own...I was asking because I have a respect for the people here. I mean sheesh ... this is my first post and I am being ripped into for asking for advise.

[big_girls_don't_cry]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 10:54am

Make it a musical about a group of young kids trying to suceed in show biz and what it takes to become a star!

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 10:59am

um... the standard "write what you know" and "nothing is new under the sun." Just keep it simple, keep it fun, keep it semi-homemade. Also write the book first!

[So what...I sing]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 11:02am

Oh of course write the book first....Without the plot you can't underscore the emotion ... I know the drill.

how about a musical that follows a senior in high school through the struggles of transitioning to college.

there really isn't any musical that college kids can identify with.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 11:04am

There you have a seed. Grow for me!

[timmetzner]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 11:08am

I've always thought the story of Leah and Rachel in the bible was heart-breaking.

If you're not familar here's a quick synopsis:

Jacob loves Rachel but she is the younger sister. Laban, Their father promises Jacob can marry her if he works for him for 7 years. Jacob does, but on the wedding night Laban gives him Leah instead. Jacob is outraged and Laban demands he works another 7 years to marry Rachel. He does and the two are wed. But Rachel is unable to have children, so Jacob impregnantes Leah then that child becomes Rachel's and incidentally his favorite even though Leah is not allowed to be his mother. (p.s. this baby is joseph as in joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat)

I just think the story told from Leah's point of view would be so beautiful. What if she really loved Jabob? What if she thought he loved her too? How does she feel about her child? her sister? a husband that doesn't love her?

Yes i think it would be great. And the Bible is public domain so you wouldn't have to get rights.

Just a thought.

[Hawker]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 11:13am

"Heaven Can Wait"

"Working Girl"

Ferenc Molnar's "The Swan" (the playwright who wrote Liliom" which became "Carousel"). Update it. The story of a deposed Royal family and its plans to have their daughter marry one of the few remaining heirs to a throne--the plans are complicated by a poor, young tutor who falls in love with the princess, Alexandra. The movie starred Grace Kelly, Louis Jourdan, and Sir Alec Guiness.

"In America".

Lloyd Weber-like or Boubil/Shoenberg): Jean de Florette (which would comprise it as Act 1 and "Manon of the Spring" as Act II.) Shakespearean in scope about greed, revenge, and the subtle but tragic workings of fate. Some possibilities for powerful performances.

"Lonesome". The silent film classic. Act 1: It is the heyday of Coney Island ("Lunar Park") etc. A lonely bachelor who lives in a vast apartment house and who has no social life but talking to an old woman after work is finally taken out by friends. He sees a young girl only briefly who shares a similar bleak existence at a train station. She smiles. He laments his inability to approach her.


On July fourth they miraculously meet on the boardwalk of Coney Island and spend the day together. They only exchange first names and no other real details of their lives--where they live or work, etc.

They finally decide to take a ride in the tunnel of love when a fire breaks out. It is a major tragedy--like the night club fire in Boston. He survives and is lead to believe she is among the victims, some yet unidentified.

In Act II he is given some hope that she has survived but who is she? All he has is her first name. All his efforts to find her are futile and he returns to his lonely existence.

--And then there is the twist of fate that results in a happy ending. Simple, but still considered a classic.





Updated On: 6/20/06 at 11:13 AM

[So what...I sing]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 11:26am

here's a bad idea....Coyote Ugly the musical...lol

Posted: 6/20/06 at 11:29am

Is there really such a thing as an original idea. I mean pretty much everything comes from something else, so its really hard to come up with "new" or "original" ideas when most things come from other things and other ideas.

[icantbelive]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 11:29am

5 People You Meet In Heaven. That would be intresting. It would have to be a multi-million dollar show though.

[ILoveMyDictionary]

Posted: 6/20/06 at 12:38pm

I think The Exorcist would be intresting.... I doubt anyone else agrees. I always thought Family Fued the Musical would be funny.