My Man Godfrey: The Musical

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/98887.html
Dirty Blonde's Claudia Shear to Pen Book for My Man Godfrey Musical

What do you think? It's an odd choice to be made into a musical, mostly because I feel all that's holding up the 1936 film are the performances (haven't seen the 1957), and because it's not really a bankable name to modern audiences. Then again, the article mentions that they're adapting the book, not the movie.
I'll see it, regardless.

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I have not read the original book, but after thinking about this, I think it could work very well as a musical for the reasons JustMe2 mentioned. This will be one that will need some brilliant casting and direction, though.

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I agree with the assessment regarding bankability. It's not a well known piece to modern audiences, though on second thought, that may make it appear to be "original" to some and this may end up working in it's favor.

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Wouldn't that be nice!!

This "fresh approach" to the material is definitley needed, but I fear that the theater purist crowd will immediately begin b*tching about how yet another show is being unfairly tinkered with.

This is a show I will be waiting for and watching the progress on!

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There's a lot of movies from that era that would lend themselves to the stage wonderfully. I'd like to see someone take on the Barbara Stanwyck film "Baby Face" and turn it into a musical. The montage scene of her sleeping her way to the top of the corporate offices screams out for a musical interpretation. They could use her line "See what's in this suitcase? A half a million in jewels. Someday I'll have the other half" as a tagline.

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oooooh, that is a great choice! Love that film....Mary Astor and John Barrymore steal the film in what little screen time they have.

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As my sign in name suggests, I love old movies! I think "My Man Godfrey" could work very well as a musical. It's madcap, there are opportunities for big dance numbers, and there are some great lead and supporting parts for good musical comedy actors/actresses. There's also a great romance at its center, and the message about rich vs. poor is still timeless. I think many, many people "of a certain age" will be drawn to this because they remember the movie(s). And if "The Drowsy Chaperone" can be of interest to today's audiences, so can "My Man Godfrey."

I could definitely see Rachel York playing the Carole Lombard role - the dizzy but sweet heiress who befriends the dump dwelling Godfrey, then falls in love with him. She has an elegance that lends itself to the 1930s, plus we know she can handle the comedy and music. Any thoughts on who'd be good as Godfrey, the forgotten man? He'd need to be a charismatic and strong actor - someone who could play the unassuming hobo who transforms first into the dutiful butler and then into the suave, take charge leading man. If this were a film remake, I could see George Clooney playing the role. On stage, Brent Barrett, perhaps? Or maybe Michael Hayden? Or how about Brian Stokes Mitchell? He's got that smooth, rich baritone that would suit the role.

Musical numbers could be fabulous - a big production number in the ballroom for the opening, a solo for Godfrey as he confronts the spoiled sisters at the dump, another number between the two sisters back at the ball, and so on. There can be a really silly number for the artist protege and his adoring fans, a couple of duets for the romantic couples, perhaps a song for the mother and father of the girls, and, as justme2 suggested, a boffo finale at the dump/nightclub.

I really think it will be fun to see how this evolves. I'd go see it.

lc

Charm is Rachel's middle name!

Seriously, think of how charming she is as Christine Colgate in DRS. I think she would find just the right balance between charm, daffiness, and naivete.

lc

Why?



BooBooKitty
Nell's Kitchen, NYC

Why am I glad? Or why are they working on this musical?

If it's the former, enchantedhunter, it's because it's nice to see that others share my love of these great films and also see their potential in usage for Broadway today.

If it's the later, it's because it is there.

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I just watched this last night and my only concern is that not a whole lot happens in the story. It's not like there are huge issues or complications. There's not even much action or wordplay to replace the action (such as The Philadelphia Story). It was cute and I enjoyed it, but perhaps the book has more depth from which to flesh out the story a bit more. The whole time I watched the film, I felt like I was reading Cliff's Notes. When it ended, I felt like I had only watched the previews. It was quite odd.

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