More books of musicals should come from a "writer's room"

[BETTY22]

Posted: 10/6/22 at 3:34pm

Fascinating feature on Amber Ruffin process in Entertainment Weekly.

She says: "Matthew Lopez and I spent a lot of time with our interns and assistants and us all typing away," she recounts. "It felt like a writer's room. I do think we were onto something with that. I have to be in a writer's room most of the time. I don't think people who write musicals do that. But I'm here to tell you, they should."

Is she right? 

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 10/6/22 at 4:08pm

I mean, I feel like yes and no. "Too many cooks in the kitchen" can be problematic. However, in a highly collabortive artform so it could work.

We will also have to wait until the show opens to see if it was all worth it for the book of "Some Like It Hot".

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 10/6/22 at 5:07pm

Hope those interns got paid for their ideas…

[verywellthensigh]

Posted: 10/6/22 at 5:25pm

I was thinking the exact same thing.  I read that and was like, "A writer's room?  What is this?  A Marvel sequel?"  Not one thing about this show has felt like it came from a genuine need to create. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/6/22 at 5:36pm

It might work for some, not for others.  There is no "right" way to write, only whats right for that person.

[pethian]

Posted: 10/6/22 at 6:44pm

I would imagine that it is difficult enough for a bookwriter and a lyricist--when they are not the same person--to find a common 'voice', but a lyricist and a roomful of bookwriters? I dunno about that.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/6/22 at 6:50pm

It’s really not a bad idea. Though writing a musical already functions a little bit like a writer’s room if you have a separate composer, lyricist, bookwriter, director, and producer.

IF they could fairly determine royalties/wages and crediting, having 4-5 people working on the book could solve some of the problems of representation and parity. One person is overseeing the overall writing (like the showrunner), but then you can have multiple perspectives to write for characters of different perspectives. Because each writer brings different strengths.

The key challenge is ownership. In TV/film, you’re writing for hire. In the theatre, the authors of the show own the copyright.

We’ve seen some bad flops with a committee of bookwriters (Gettin the Band was developed out of improv, Paradise Square had people being hired and fired constantly, etc) but it’s a system that COULD work if you set out with that model as the original intention.

[pmensky]

Posted: 10/6/22 at 7:16pm

While multiple writers are used on TV series, I was under the impression that there is one head writer who will establish the plot, its arc, character descriptions, and major plot points expected to occur throughout the season. It makes sense to have a team of writers to fill in the rest when you have to produce anywhere from 8 to 22 episodes, but for a 2.5 hour play or musical, one writer should be competent enough to produce that much material. I can understand having a co-writer, but a room full of writers for that much material seems silly.

[Pashacar]

Posted: 10/7/22 at 3:11pm

I agree and like this idea. Obviously some hierarchy makes sense to ensure vision, cohesion, etc., but there are a lot of benefits to the approach for certain shows.

On a related note, I may get laughed out of here for saying this, but despite the shows's flaws, the book for Gettin' the Band Back Together was the funniest I've ever seen. When I found out it was created by a collective of professional improvisors, I wasn't surprised.

[Valentina3]

Posted: 10/7/22 at 8:35pm

A Chorus Line's first "interview night" session was practically just a writer's room...

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/7/22 at 10:08pm

pmensky said: "While multiple writers are used on TV series, I was under the impression that there is one head writer who will establish the plot, its arc, character descriptions, and major plot points expected to occur throughout the season."

Yes with a musical you would still need one writer who is the "muscle" and who could cherrypick what they'd like to use or make on-the-fly revisions.

[Rainah]

Posted: 10/9/22 at 11:42am

I find things written by committee to be often very bland. All the unique stuff gets sanded away because someone doesn't like it. 

If anything, I think the best system would be one writer and a support team. The support team can generate ideas when asked, workshop, give feedback, "yes and" and such. But the writer does all the writing.

[Jmuep2]

Posted: 10/9/22 at 11:43pm

Every TV writers room differs. I think it’s more accurate to say there is one person who has ultimate say as to what the arc, plot points and stories are for the season. Some shows will have one person who decides that. Others will have a room where the ideas come together and then one person says yay or nay. 

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Posted: 10/10/22 at 11:14am

I don’t think a writers room helps that age old musical theatre critique “the problem is the book”

What makes a book good is understanding how it synchronizes with the score.