"Somewhere in Time" Headed to the Stage

[Barihunk]

Posted: 3/8/06 at 12:22pm

"Somewhere in Time" is one of my all time favorite movies. Jane Seymour (so beautiful) and Christopher Reeve (so handsome) reduce me to tears every time. This is a plot definitely suitable for musicalization - although it will be hard to imagine it without the Rachminoff 'Rhapsody' in the background. A composer/lyricist has yet to be named - any ideas? An obvious choice is Guettel but he has his plate full with "Princess Bride". How about Lucy Simon/Marsha Norman?
Broadway World.com

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/8/06 at 1:12pm

Ahrens and Flaherty might be great for this... but perhaps it's too close to "Ragtime" as far as revisiting an era. (They could go a different way artitistically, however... not necesarily writing music that evoks the early 20th century.)

I'd love for Sondheim to tackle someting like this... since it's such a psychological story as well as a "fantastic" one. Nobody gets inside an obsessed lead character's head the way he does. I'm sure it would be much darker in tone as a result, but that could work in its favor, I think.

...And then of course, there's always Jerry Herman!

"Hello, Timewarp!"

Updated On: 3/8/06 at 01:12 PM

[Barihunk]

Posted: 3/8/06 at 1:41pm

I was thinking Sondheim as well, but I think that's too much wishful thinking. The piece could almost be operatic in scope and he would really capture the mood brilliantly. (Kind of like "Passion" without the angst)

Ahrens and Flaherty are a good bet, but I think they need to move beyond the early 1900s.

Maury Yeston might be an interesting choice...

[Craig]

Posted: 3/8/06 at 1:54pm

I said it in the other post - I'll say it again.

David Friedman.

With his songs like "We Live On Borrowed Time" , "Help is on the Way" and "Listen to my Heart" - he has the passion and pathos to do the film justice

[kec]

Posted: 3/8/06 at 1:58pm

One of my all-time favorites as well. I hope whoever does the music is able to keep that one small part of the Rhapsody in there somehow...

[Cutielyricist]

Posted: 3/9/06 at 2:12am

I love this movie!! I've always tossed around the idea of it as a musical..

I want to write the songs...

lol

[sidneybruhl]

Posted: 3/9/06 at 8:15am

I really think this will make a great musical. I'd love to see Guettel write the score. I think he would be well-suited to this material.

[tophertilson]

Posted: 3/9/06 at 8:22am

You almost have to wonder why it took so long for someone to put this one on stage. It's kind of a no-brainer. I vote for Lucy Simon, too. She writes SUCH gooey, romantic music.

On a more somber note, how strangely appropriate that this news comes out on the heels of Dana Reeve's death.

TT

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 3/10/06 at 11:12pm

I've never read the book, or seen the movie, but I hope that it works out better than the musicalization of my favorite time-travel book, Jack Finney's "Time and Again".
Though that book ends with a big chase and a climatic fire, and just try doing that onstage....
The score is really quite nice though...

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/11/06 at 8:33am

It does seem natural material for musicalization. Interesting if it does come to fruition who does the score

What about Wildhorn & his lush ballads ?

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 3/11/06 at 10:36am

I'm a huge fan of writer Richard Matheson and the novel. I haven't seen the movie yet, but it does seem like a good story to be a musical. I'd see it.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 1:27pm

OH MY FREAKIN' GOD . . . I love this movie to death. I want to see it!!!

[broadwaybelter]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 2:09pm

oooh the plot sounds really interesting

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 2:20pm

We will definitely see this one

[Funny Face]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 2:57pm

Awww, I love this movie. I think it's plot is perfect for musicalization, and I think enough time has passed since the release of the movie. I thought Sondheim immediately, too. I think he could make it marvelous.
I don't see a problem with Ahrens and Flaherty, either. I'm sure they wouldn't just make a more romantic Ragtime. I think they're great musicians and would challenge themselves and create something original.

What about a cast?

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 4:13pm

For Elise, there has to be an unknown actress with STUNNING BEAUTY because, of course, Richard falls in love with her by a photograph.

For Richard, I would want an unknown as well. This is their love story and the audience needs to believe they are Richard and Elise, and not the stars playing Richard and Elise. Does that make sense?

Also, in my opinion the music should be "harsh" and current for the modern part of the play and then be "Light in the Piazza-ish" during the scenes where Richard goes back in time.

[MCfan2]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 5:49pm

It would make a nice musical, but I can't see Sondheim tackling this one. The sentimental mood of it isn't a good fit for him.

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 6:52pm

It kind of reminds me of "On A Clear Day You Can See Forever".

[BrightEyedInNYC]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 3:32pm

oh, gosh, i want to be elise!!! haha. this is one of my favorite movies. i fall asleep to the soundtrack all the time. the book is beautiful as well.

[ggersten]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 3:48pm

Why not Jason Robert Brown?
I was doing movie reviews when Somewhere in Time came out in San Francisco. When the film ended, Don McLean - not the singer/songwriter - stood up and through his tears said "I don't know about the rest of you, but that was the most romantic thing I've ever seen." Don was a large man, and this was a lasting image.

This could be a good musical - it could be lousy. What made the movie work was that Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeve were so beautiful and beautiful together that no one paid attention to the script or story. Film lets you have those close-ups. You lose that on stage - so the story/book have to carry it much more. The story is pretty thin, so the music has to be exceptional.

[BrightEyedInNYC]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 5:58pm

ggersten- you are absolutley right. what will make or break this musical is the music. i love the JRB idea.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 10:05pm

As do I. Think JRB would be perfect.

[JarNerdAV]

Posted: 7/17/06 at 12:08pm

I second the Sondheim suggestion(s). Somebody mentioned David Friedman but, as much as I like him (and love(d) Nancy Lamott performing his music) I think he has a tendency to get overly sappy and schmaltzy that would probably make Somewhere in Time the Musical unbearable. I like JRB (just saw Last Five Years in LA), but his lyrics are kind of clunky sometimes. Still, it would be interesting to see what he would do with it. If not Sondheim, I think I would go with Ahrens and Flaherty second.

[kaycee]

Posted: 7/17/06 at 4:52pm

My jaw literally dropped when I saw this. Somewhere In Time is one of my all-time favorite movies. I wonder if the rights could be obtained for the film's musical score, because it wouldn't seem like Somewhere In Time without the theme song.

[Craig]

Posted: 7/17/06 at 5:00pm

I would imagine the actual theme wouldn't be hard to use, since it's Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Op. 43, Variation XVIII.

John Barry's score is another matter of course