Mega-Musicals

What property (book, comic, movie, etc.) do you think could make a good musical on the scale of some of the recent mega-musicals (King Kong, Spider-Man, etc.)?

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2, of course.)

I think that Moulin Rouge could work really well only if it were to be an exact translation of what was on screen. It really could be spectacular.

Bat Out of Hell
The Shining
Hocus Pocus with a Wicked sized budget
The Prince of Egypt
The Warriors

I do think megamusicals have their place and some value. And definitions depend. I don't have a lot of love for Phantom, but I like some of the tunes and I do think the original production is gorgeous and, if I'm to judge, has artistic merit (it's actually the gimmicky things like the chandelier or those f-ing fireballs that seem to cheapen what the design has otherwise really managed to do.) When you verge towards Starlight Express territory, I get more iffy, and some later shows (like London's "Time") seem just overly cynical, but as a kid I probably would have loved Starlight Express. Mind you I already loved regional productions of Oliver!

But there is a huge tradition of theatre shows, usually with music, that are primarily about spectacle--Victorian productions recreating pirate battles complete with water, or the Italian ballet from the 19th century Excelsior which was a pageant showing the progress of mankind and was derided by critics at the time but ran all over Europe for years (and was recently recreated--in part, it would be too expensive to do now all that they did back then--to much acclaim.)

And I think some megamusicals might live on, though I can't think of which. Back when the Russian Imperial Ballet premiered Petipa/Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty the Russian balletomanes largely thought it was a cheap spectacle, and largely only younger audience members (like Diaghilev) found any artistic merit in it. Ironically, it is now seen as the pinnacle of classical ballet, and of far more merit than the complex plot filled ballets, like La Bayadere or The Pharaoh's Daughter, that it has supplanted. I'm not saying any megamusical will have that legacy (boy, am I not...) But I could be wrong.

What I think would not only make a great mega musical, but a great musical overall would be Martin Scorsese's Hugo!

I would love to see how Julie Taymor could create a musical fantasy out of Life of Pi.It is the sort of piece that would appeal to Sting.Visually the stage effects could be amazing.It could almost be a male solo vocal performance[please no singing animals]with other singers in fantasy sequences also before and after the voyage.And please--no more shows that have to resort to circus tricks and flying.

With all due respect to Mr. Boles, I don't think that is what BroadwayNY2 had in mind. Brett Boles is not an established voice in the industry legitimate financial backing. He is a festival regular who writes for fun in a small Connecticut town.

I've been wanting to see a redux of The Lord of the Rings presented in a similar fashion to Wagner's Ring Cycle where one night, you see The Hobbit, one night you see Fellowship, etc.

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There's a reason Aristotle listed spectacle as less important than plot, character, thought, diction and music.

And there's an entire city in Nevada already devoted to spectacle.

Absolutely, it's less important than a good story well told. But I don't believe the existence of visual spectacle, or of shows that depend for some of their impact on the visual presentation, cheapens the art form.

darquegk,I agree with what you said that spectacle done live gets a better reaction from the audience, and well said too.

For me, the only gripe that I have regarding mega musicals, is when they use elaborate sets and costumes to make up for flaws in the book/score. A perfect example of a show that does this is Phantom. Phantom is a show that I feel has a weak book and score. But, that's not something one usually notices as they are too busy looking at the beautiful sets and costumes.

In my opinion, just because a show is a mega musical, doesn't mean that it is covering up for flaws in book or sore. A perfect example of a show that does this is Les Miserables. Les Miserables is all sung through like an opera. And, like an opera it depends totally on its beautiful score to tell the story. I feel that you can have a great production of Les Miserables without the turntable or large set, and still have a very moving and beautiful production of Les Miserables.

That is why when Les Miserables announced its 25th anniversary production, I was not one to get up in arms that they weren't using the original staging and sets. This is because they still the amazing and moving score that is vital to the story. And, that wasn't changing. Phantom on the other hand, their new tour has me a bit worried. I fear that because it's a faulty show, and because it doesn't have the same elaborate sets as on Broadway. I predict that because it doesn't have the same sets as on Broadway, it may highlight the flaws of the show that were otherwise covered by the original design. Just my two cents.

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First off, let me start out by saying that I do like Phantom, and that it is a Broadway guilty pleasure of mine. However, I feel that too many of the songs repeat themselves way to often. They are not bad songs, mind you. I just feel that at times it feels like I am hearing the same songs over and over again for two and a half hours.

ETA: I also feel that the characters are very one dimensional and at times a little bit hallow and that there isn't much in the way of character development during the show.

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Updated On: 1/6/14 at 09:49 AM