Musicals that would have been better as plays.
Musicals that would have been better as plays.
#1Musicals that would have been better as plays.
Posted: 2/14/07 at 5:24pm
Or plays that would have been better as musicals....
Yeah.
Updated On: 2/14/07 at 05:24 PM
COOOOLkid
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/15/05
#2re: Musicals that would have been better as plays.
Posted: 2/14/07 at 5:29pmyeah.
#2re: Musicals that would have been better as plays.
Posted: 2/14/07 at 5:30pmWomen Behind Bars.
--http://www.benjaminadgate.com/
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
Thesbijean
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/9/04
ashbash1990
Broadway Star Joined: 10/15/06
#5re: Musicals that would have been better as plays.
Posted: 2/14/07 at 5:34pmJersey Boys should have been a "Play with Music"
#6re: Musicals that would have been better as plays.
Posted: 2/14/07 at 5:35pmCamelot
#7re: Musicals that would have been better as plays.
Posted: 2/14/07 at 5:36pm
Spelling Bee
I could not see this as a play. It seems like it would be boring. The music makes it what it is.
Edit: Didn't know it was based on a play, now I'm intrigued.
Updated On: 2/14/07 at 05:36 PM
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#8re: Musicals that would have been better as plays.
Posted: 2/14/07 at 5:42pmUgh I thought the songs were so arbitrary and felt like they were written as an afterthought. I later found out that it was a play first and wasn't at all surprised.
#9re: Musicals that would have been better as plays.
Posted: 2/14/07 at 5:47pmSPELLING BEE is based on the play C-R-E-P-E-S-C-U-L-E by Rebecca Feldman.
#10re: Musicals that would have been better as plays.
Posted: 2/14/07 at 5:57pm
SPRING AWAKENING.
I know, I know... hold on a second while I put on the flame retardent suit.
Okay, all done.
Look, it's a good score, no question about it. But when they open their mouths and sing, it's like we've wandered into another play altogether, not SPRING AWAKENING as written about a bunch of 19th century German kids. The score is a cute hook, but it's about as well integrated into the script as that proverbial lemon wedge wraps around a gold brick.
Yes, it's wildly successful and making oodles of money. But sorry, it doesnt work.
Heybeenfood
Broadway Star Joined: 5/15/06
#11re: Musicals that would have been better as plays.
Posted: 2/14/07 at 6:00pmI think "All About Eve" would have been a better play than "Applause."
#12re: Musicals that would have been better as plays.
Posted: 2/14/07 at 6:18pmI think LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA would have worked even better as a play.
#13re: Musicals that would have been better as plays.
Posted: 2/14/07 at 6:23pmSeanMartin, I agree about Spring Awakening.
#14re: Musicals that would have been better as plays.
Posted: 2/14/07 at 6:25pmDidn't know that SPELLING BEE was based on a play. I still can't see it. Is the play available for purcahse? I'd be interested in reading it, maybe it can change my opinion.
blaxx
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/05
#15re: Musicals that would have been better as plays.
Posted: 2/14/07 at 6:43pm
Musicals that would have been better as plays or musical adptations that didn't work?
Spring Awakening and Spelling Bee were already plays.
#16re: Musicals that would have been better as plays.
Posted: 2/14/07 at 6:58pmOh, I know that SA was originally a play. My point is that some things need to stay as plays.
eb412
Stand-by Joined: 10/10/06
#17re: Musicals that would have been better as plays.
Posted: 2/14/07 at 7:26pmi bet the play version of spelling bee is better. I have seen the documentary spellbound not to mention the movie akeelah and the bee and both are not boring at all. They are both fascinating. And even if they aren't interesting to everyone the humor of spelling bee woiuld make the whole subject matter lighter yet still have incredible and hard world of spelling! The songs in spellingbee don't grab the story line and characters do.
jonartdesigns
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/04
#18re: Musicals that would have been better as plays.
Posted: 2/14/07 at 7:29pmSweet smell of success should have been a play with music- although many of the songs are stunning others do not hold a candle
dramaqueen2
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/23/05
#19re: Musicals that would have been better as plays.
Posted: 2/14/07 at 8:37pm
i hear what you're saying about spring awakening; however, i think that the songs better clarify the story and help give deeper insight into how the characters feel. it has been said many times that the songs don't move the story forward, but give insight into the characters thoughts and feelings, sort of the way it was in more classic broadway.
while i agree spring awakening still could have done well as a play, i think that as a musical is fantastic also. i think no matter which way it would have been done, it would have been successful. but personally, i am quite glad it is a musical. =)
#20re: Musicals that would have been better as plays.
Posted: 2/14/07 at 8:42pmI respectfully disagree. The songs in Spring Awakening confuse the story and allow less time for the plot to develop the same way it did in the original drama. Also, the full adult point of view is practically non-existant in the musical, they basically are portrayed as the antagonists. Also, a lot of the play has been watered down for the musical. I really like the concept of the musical version of SA, but feel that the execution is awful.
dramaqueen2
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/23/05
#21re: Musicals that would have been better as plays.
Posted: 2/14/07 at 8:47pm
i hear you. though i am going to pick out this point you made...
"develop the same way it did in the original drama. Also, the full adult point of view is practically non-existant in the musical, they basically are portrayed as the antagonists. "
it is meant to be that way. i feel that if it were different, it would completely reverse the story. it is told through the eyes of the children, and that is the basis of the point the story makes. so often, we hear and see what the adults think and feel on many of these subjects in relation to kids, but we never actually get an in-depth on how they are taking it. in this story the adults are the antagonists and it has to be that way for the book's point get through.
to each his or her own, but i do think this is the most innovative thing on broadway currently, and absolutely love it.
i wonder now, though, have the ever taken a show and had it produced as both a musical and play? not at the same time, but at all? i know my fair lady was based on pygmalion and those two were both produced on broadway.. but the same show? hmmm..
Videos