Musical Sequels?

[Broadway Style]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 2:17am

I just saw someone carrying around the sequel book to Wicked and I started wondering-- have people ever tried to make sequels of sucessful musicals?It's obviously a very popular practice in film, but has anyone tried to make Les Miz 2? or Cats 2? etc.

[Caroline-Q-or-TBoo]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 2:18am

Annie 2
Bring Back Birdie

needless to say, it doesn't work that well

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 2:23am

I don't even think Annie 2 made it to Broadway

[thevolleyballer]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 2:34am

I believe "The Boy Friend" was given a sequel -- or at least I remember reading some summary of it. I don't think that worked, either.

I think the main thing is just that a sequel doesn't work for the venue of Broadway/theatre. Although people try to make it a feasible option, theatre is just a one-of-a-kind experience, the 'one night stand' of art. Each performance is supposed to take you to another world, and for some reason, it just doesn't work to bring that world back a few years later.

I'm interested to see how Coast of Utopia will work, though. It might work out because it's concurrent, rather than years later, but at the same time, I'm still not sure.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 2:41am

"Me and My Girl" was actually a sequel, in 1937. The Bill Snibson character was played by Lupino Lane in "Twenty To One", a musical about horse racing in 1936 and was carried over into the new show.

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 2:45am

Wasn't Lorelai the sequel to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes?

[BroadwayRandy0711]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 2:47am

Hopefully the link below works, it is to an article done in August of this year about the same topic.

http://www.playbill.com/features/article/101485.html

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 9:19am

>> I believe "The Boy Friend" was given a sequel -- or at least I remember reading some summary of it. I don't think that worked, either.

No, there is a sequel to Boy Friend called "Dovirce Me, Darling", and it aint so hot.

But, please -- imagine:

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA 2: BRIDE OF THE PHANTOM, in which we find that Christine, during her days with the Phantom, slowly went mad and now wanders Paris, wreaking terror and murder!

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA 3: SON OF THE PHANTOM, in which we find out what was really going on in that sub-basement, as the love child of Christine and the Phantom wanders the Opers House, wreaking terror and murder!

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA 4: THE PHANTOM MEETS THE THREE STOOGER, in which the Phantom rises from the dead and confronts three tourists in Paris in the 1960s. Hilarity ensues.

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA 5: THE PHANTOM MEETS EVITA... No, even that's too horrible to consider.

[actor]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 9:48am

I wish they would make another Monty Python musical.

[Jon]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 10:32am

"Lorelai" is not actually a sequel - it's re-write, using most of the same songs from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The script was rewritten because Carol Channing was over 50 when she did it, so they made Lorelai older, though not musch wiser.

[thevolleyballer]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 10:47am

I wish they would make another Monty Python musical.

I do believe that well after Spamalot closes, audiences wouldn't want to see the same material revived. I think that could quite possibly be one of the ONLY shows that might work very well with a sequel.

[Trekkie2]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 10:49am

And of course, Rent 2:Condo Fever.

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 12:29pm

Les Miz 2:This time means buisness

[StephenSondheimWHOO]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 2:06pm

would you consider MArch of the Falsettos and Fallsettoland sequels?

[Jon]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 3:21pm

Falsettoland is a sequel to March of the Falsettos, of course. And I guess March of the Falsettos is a sequel to In Trousers.


We forgot all about NUNSENSE, which has had - what? - four sequels?

NUNSENSE
NUNSENSE 2
NUNSENSE 3 - SR. MARY AMNESIA'S COUNTRY JAMBOREE
NUNSNSE 4 - MESHUGAH-NUNS
NUNSENSE 5 - NUN-CRACKERS

and NUNSENSE A-MEN! - which is the original NUNSENSE done by men in drag. Updated On: 10/1/06 at 03:21 PM

[fengshuihellnyc]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 3:22pm

Andrew Llyod Weber for years has been thinking about doing a phantom of the opera continuation even rumors that he's either already written it or that pieces of it exist. The fact is that where the show stops the book still continues a bit and also there is a book by Frederick Forsyth that is a sequal to Gaston Lerouxs book.
My guess is that when phantom looses steam he will attempt to make the continuation. With the current issues he's been having its probably a bad idea. But I suppose I'm open to the idea. That is if it works on stage.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 3:24pm

Yeah, but they took March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland and brought them both to Broadway as one big musical, Falsettos.