The Frogs: Musical vs. Play?

[bwguyhottie]

The Frogs: Musical vs. Play?#0

Posted: 10/7/04 at 1:51am

Ok...so I know that the musical was "freely adapted" by Sondheim and "even more freely adapted" by Lane....but I have a question.

I just finished reading "The Frogs" by Aristophanes and is the gist of it essentiallyt the same? Except that Euripides and Aeschylus are replaced by Shakespeare and Shaw?

And who does Dionysus end up choosing to bring back with him in the musical version?

[HeartinNYC]

re: The Frogs: Musical vs. Play?#1

Posted: 10/7/04 at 8:21am

Spoiler Alert!
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Yes, the plot is basically the same as the original version by Aristophanes. There are a few slight character modifications in order to modernize. Euripides and Aeschylus are indeed replaced by Shakespeare and Shaw. After carefully considering both viewpoints during a debate of the mind (Shaw) and the heart (Shakespeare), Dionysus chooses to take Shakespeare back to earth with him, stating that the world needs a poet to inspire them, rather than a great thinker.

I truly loved "The Frogs" and am sad to see it close this Sunday. If you can get tickets, and you like to laugh and think, consider going. Fun score, thought-provoking, and Lane (and the rest of the cast) are all truly wonderful.

Neither a borrower nor a lender be...unless that's mine in the first place.

[Guillermo Ugarte]

re: The Frogs: Musical vs. Play?#2

Posted: 10/8/04 at 3:03pm

The principal difference in the core of the show is Aristophanes' focus on bringing awareness to and making commentary on the theatre of the day, versus the current musical version which has a political spin, focusing instead on bringing awareness to world politics and asking people to use their voice to make a difference.

It is a broader view in which Dionysos, with more than a little naviety and hopefully some nobility, tries to save the world instead of merely trying to save the theatre.

"Always smile at your enemies. It will keep them on their toes"

Updated On: 10/8/04 at 03:03 PM

[Mythus]

re: The Frogs: Musical vs. Play?#3

Posted: 10/8/04 at 6:10pm

The frogs (should be that capitalized?) also have a bigger role, themselves. They have more to do with the plot ("which, I must admit, there's not an awful lot of").