Novels That Could Make Great Musicals

[verywellthensigh]

Posted: 9/7/24 at 10:12pm

Whether it''s Middlemarch, Myra Breckinridge or A Little Life...list 'em here!

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 9/7/24 at 10:18pm

A Little Life musical would be an instant camp classic.

[darquegk]

Posted: 9/7/24 at 10:46pm

Jason Robert Brown should do The Green Mile or Shawshank Redemption. 

Jeanine Tesori could do a fantastic take on The Secret History.

Marc Shaiman would have a blast doing The Westing Game, though I’m not entirely sure it’s adaptable. 

[The8re phan]

Posted: 9/7/24 at 10:59pm

Tales of the City --- i still think there's a great musical in there somewhere with the right composer and a good cast

 

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 9/7/24 at 11:19pm

TotallyEffed said: "A Little Life musical would be an instant camp classic."

The novel is already a camp classic as far as I'm concerned--letting Frank Wildhorn at it would just be gilding the lily. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 9/7/24 at 11:25pm

EricMontreal22 said: "TotallyEffed said: "A Little Life musical would be an instant camp classic."

The novel is already a camp classic as far as I'm concerned--letting Frank Wildhorn at it would just be gilding the lily."


Absolutely agree. I chuckled my way through all 800 ridiculous pages.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 9/7/24 at 11:25pm

The8re phan said: "Tales of the City --- i still think there's a great musical in there somewhere with the right composer and a good cast

"

I saw one of the (LOOONG) previews in SF of the show, and remember getting massacred on here when I reported back that I thought it was a mess with a few great performances and some good songs that captured the tone right.

I think the problem with Tales will always be that part of the appeal of the work is due to its serialized format and large cast of characters with multiple simultaneous storylines.  Of course I guess you could say Les Miz had these same issues but the appeal of that musical for many is due to its grand themes.,

 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 9/8/24 at 12:03am

I’m gonna sound like a broken record, but The Devil in the White City. I think it would be kinda cool having Burnham and Holmes as a dual role. Like a Jekyll and Hyde thing?

[verywellthensigh]

Posted: 9/8/24 at 3:07pm

I think La Chiusa could do something interesting with Wide Sargasso Sea.  

[TheSassySam]

Posted: 9/8/24 at 4:40pm

I always thought Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe would make a great stage musical. 

[verywellthensigh]

Posted: 9/8/24 at 6:10pm

I always thought so, too--putting the Idgie/Ruth love story back in, of course--but then you realize that it probably has about as much incident than Les Miz so they'd either have to floor it through the stories or the show would be four hours long.  

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 9/8/24 at 6:37pm

I've always thought Carol by Patricia Highsmith (and also a beautiful film) would be really interesting to musicalize. I could see Frankel and Korie doing it but I also see it as an opera tbh. 

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 9/10/24 at 7:03pm

I don't know if it would be a musical, maybe more of a play with music, but I'd love to see extracts from The Maeve Chronicles by Elizabeth Cunningham paired with her songs from the tie-in album MaevenSongs as a theatrical evening. (And the whole thing as a limited series on one of the streamers. Sort of "Mists of Avalon goes to Jerusalem," but I dig it.)

(I'm torn on how to use it, but she once wrote a poem called "A Witch's Love Song to Christ" that I think encapsulates the vibe of the series, and so that poem's title would either be the title, subtitle, or tagline of the evening.)

Updated On: 9/10/24 at 07:03 PM

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 9/10/24 at 7:42pm

darquegk said: "Jeanine Tesori could do a fantastic take on The Secret History."

Before today, I'd never thought any of Donna Tartt's novels would work as musicals, but that idea would be Jeanine Tesori's masterpiece.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 9/10/24 at 7:52pm

TotallyEffed said: "A Little Life musical would be an instant camp classic."

A Malaysian theatre company made an unauthorized concept album 2 years ago.

It is... as every bit as insane as you could imagine.

https://open.spotify.com/album/1CAPUd4bpnLzSOpbyaORDv?si=sGvmrAFBRnmWr_8fb6DIRw

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 9/10/24 at 8:05pm

Play, not novel, but Twelve Angry Men said no one, ever, except that it happened and has gotten rave reviews everywhere it has been presented. 

[WearSunblock]

Posted: 9/10/24 at 8:09pm

I would love to see how Alex Timbers would stage The Night Circus.  It could be visually stunning...or a complete flop.  If done right, the stage design could be incredible.  I am not sure about score though...maybe a newcomer??

[jpbran]

Posted: 9/10/24 at 9:16pm

Something Wicked This Way Comes

[kdogg36]

Posted: 9/10/24 at 11:09pm

If I thought a novel could make a great musical, I'd start writing it myself rather than suggesting it to all of you.

That being said, I think Blood Meridian could make a great musical.

[darquegk]

Posted: 9/11/24 at 12:08am

Eh, there are a few I’ve tried myself, but many many more I’ve thought either I’m not the right guy, or I’d rather see someone else’s take.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 9/11/24 at 10:38am

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Wuthering Heights, music and lyrics by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice

At Swim Two Boys, music and lyrics by Maury Yeston

At Swim Two Birds, music and lyrics by David Byrne and Bjork

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 9/11/24 at 10:48am

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 9/11/24 at 12:03pm

Long Island too?

Should musicals have sequels?

[ggersten]

Posted: 9/11/24 at 12:14pm

I think there is great musical potential for A Confederacy of Dunces, with a mix of styles that reflects the New Orleans setting. Of course, the protagonist is not the most likeable empathetic person .... 

Wait! Google says there was a play version back in 2016? with Nick Offerman? 

[SeanD2]

Posted: 9/11/24 at 12:34pm

jpbran said: "Something Wicked This Way Comes"

 

There is one. It premiered in Delaware a few years ago. I saw it and it was unmemorable.