Thoughts for Shows About Theatre People

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 11:16am

The other day I happened to PVR the MGM musical "Words and Music" on TCM. It got me thinking about Act One, and when will it ever be on PBS...but I digress...I was thinking has there ever been a show, or talks of a show about Oscar Hammerstein, or George Gershwin, or Richard Rogers etc. and their lives or careers in the way Act One told us about Moss Hart? The only examples I can think of is "Words and Music" (which is highly fiction), and De-Lovely based on Cole Porter's life.

Do you think this could work, and is there an audience for it?

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 12:38pm

duplicate post


Updated On: 3/20/15 at 12:38 PM

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 12:42pm

George M.
Elaine Stritch At Liberty
Lovemusik


and, perhaps less responsive to your question:

Minnie's Boys
Gypsy
Chaplin
Shakespeare for My Father
Barnum
Funny Girl
The Boy From Oz
The Will Rogers Follies
Ain't Broadway Grand
Marathon 33
Harrigan 'n Hart
End of the Rainbow
A Cry of Players
Amadeus
Broadway Bound

And several plays about Edwin and or John Wilkes Booth
















Updated On: 3/25/15 at 12:42 PM

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 12:47pm

I honestly don't think there's a huge audience for it- I mean look at what little audience there was for Act One.

I think someone could dramatize Everything Was Possible, maybe even for the screen rather than the stage.

[Fantod]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 12:52pm

Upcoming Something Rotten

And I would like to see Song of Spiderman turned into a movie. With Julianne Moore as Julie Taymor.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 12:59pm

Oops! That is a huge list of shows I didn't think of. I guess, maybe, that I was thinking more alone the lines of "classic Broadway" people like the Gershwins, Hammerstein, etc, not so much the Peter Allen, Gypsy Rose Lee, etc. individuals.

Whizzer, I will agree with you that Everything Was Possible could translate to another medium. But, true: is there an audience after what Act One dealt with? I don't know. Maybe not.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 1:03pm

There was a Los Angeles production of a show based on the life/career of Lorenz Hart. It was called FALLING FOR MAKE BELIEVE. It seems like it was quite an interesting show.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 1:31pm

Part of the problem is that it can be very dull to watch a show about creatives, especially writers, because often what is most interesting is not watching them write, but what they have written.

Everything Was Possible offers a unique perspective since it is told through the eyes of an assistant rather than being a biographical narrative about Sondheim or Prince.

[ErinDillyFan]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 2:31pm

Even broadway fans didn't seem to like the backstage story on SMASH.

But, in general, I think the theater community likes self referential shows:
A Chorus Line
The Producers
Kiss Me Kate
Curtains
Annie Get Your Gun

come to mind.

[Fantod]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 2:36pm

Though those shows aren't about the creation of actual Broadway plays and musicals, but rather fictional situations. I believe the thread was originally for true stories (which I realize now makes my Something Rotten comment irrelevant)

[WOSQ]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 3:36pm

Light Up The Sky by Moss Hart takes place in a Boston hotel suite during the out of town opening of a new play.

Someone once pointed out to me that the play itself is Chekovian in that the action takes place off stage and the characters come on stage to talk about this action. Whether this is dictionary-true or not is worthy of a panel discussion.

[philly03]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 3:43pm

I actually think a musical based on a composer like Andrew Lloyd Webber could be interesting. His friendship/"public" fights with Tim Rice; falling for a chorus girl (Sarah Brightman); sort of stealing the idea of a musical for Phantom; massive flops and massive hits. You could probably even include all the Sunset Boulevard material with the divas.. but I'm guessing whoever would be writing this would be trapped to make it seem like it was a huge triumph anyway since he hasn't had a hit since.

[Fan123]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 4:57pm

Though I haven't seen any of these, they might fit the bill:

Say, Darling - stage play based on Richard Bissell's experience adapting his novel into The Pajama Game onstage
Topsy-Turvy - movie musical about Gilbert and Sullivan writing The Mikado
Till The Coulds Roll By - movie musical, fictionalised biography of Jerome Kern
Rhapsody In Blue - movie musical, fictionalised biography of George Gershwin

ETA - there was also a film version of Act One released in 1963, FWIW. Updated On: 3/20/15 at 04:57 PM

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 6:21pm

SMASH was simply poorly written.

I do admit that these shows about real people tend to be rather bland and boring, because in reality peoples lives aren't always that interesting no matter how brilliant their work is. And for some reason composers' lives tend to have too many real life cliches to where it seems hokey despite being truthful. Not to mention the "backstage" stories are soooooooo overdone.

That being said, an EVITA-esque show about ALW sounds amazing.

[Fantod]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 7:14pm

"SMASH was simply poorly written"

Understatement of the year. Some of the worst writing I've ever witnessed, and I go to the San Francisco Fringe Festival every year.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 7:18pm

I've always imagined a play about Bob Fosse/Gwen Verdon and Michael Bennet/Donna McKechnie.

Artists and muses sort of thing. No idea how it would be combined though.

[Fantod]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 7:19pm

We do have All That Jazz, a great movie that features a Bob Fosse-esque character.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 7:34pm

But the thing I imagine would focus more on the dynamics of the two choreographers and the dancers commonly referred to as their artistic muses. And the similarities/differences between the two sets.

[Jonwo]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 7:34pm

Films like Saving Mr Banks or Hitchcock which are the making of iconic films have been successful but Im not sure if a stage play about the making of a play or musical would work as well. With biomusicals like Jersey Boys and Beautiful, the songs are seamless with the story but I think a musical about ALW for example, it would be hard to integrate songs because every show was different In style.

Updated On: 3/20/15 at 07:34 PM

[lalaleeloo]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 8:05pm

A Class Act, about (and with the songs of) Ed Kleban, transferred to Broadway from Manhattan Theatre Club and ran 105 regular performances.

Does A New Brain qualify?

[laurenmwendt]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 8:47pm

I know I would gladly see any show involving Gershwin or Rodgers, however I don't know if many others would. I saw Act One twice and the majority of the audience was 30+ years old. I do think a musical about either of them would draw a larger crowd, considering their work has been heard for generations, however it still might not survive with modern audiences. (And about Act One airing - I saw the last performance were they filmed it and they said it would air in about a year - that was on June 15th.)

[NoName3]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 9:19pm

. Updated On: 3/20/15 at 09:19 PM