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Which plays should NEVER be turned into a musical.

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#1

Which plays should NEVER be turned into a musical.

Posted: 7/13/06 at 1:48pm

A lot of great stage plays have been turned into great musicals (and a lot of great stage plays have been turned into really awful musicals), but I thought it would be fun to ponder which plays would make the worst possible musicals (so bad, they might even be worth seeing). I'll start:

'Night Mother
#2

re: Which plays should NEVER be turned into a musical.

Posted: 7/13/06 at 1:49pm

'Night Mother would not be a horrible musical.

With the right creative team, anything is possible - and anything can be GOOD.
"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy." -Charlie Manson
#3

re: Which plays should NEVER be turned into a musical.

Posted: 7/13/06 at 1:51pm

The Pillowman- perfect just the way it is and...


Hamlet re: Which plays should NEVER be turned into a musical. Especially carrying a title like "Funny Boy"
"Are you sorry for civilization? I am sorry for it too." ~Coast of Utopia: Shipwreck
#4

re: Which plays should NEVER be turned into a musical.

Posted: 7/13/06 at 2:01pm

Katurian beat me to it. (though not surprisingly) Pillowman is brilliant and should never be touched unless its kep as is.
<------ Me and my friends with patti Lupone at my friends afterparty for her concert with audra mcdonald during the summer of 2007.
"I am sorry but it is an unjust world and virtue is only triumphant in theatricle performances" The Mikado
#6

re: Which plays should NEVER be turned into a musical.

Posted: 7/13/06 at 2:09pm

'Noises Off' is just about perfect and would never benefit from music.
"It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 20 gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg." -- Thomas Jefferson
#7

re: Which plays should NEVER be turned into a musical.

Posted: 7/13/06 at 2:11pm

Noises Off wouldnt ever benift from music but as a musical could still be really funny too. and never never touch Arsenic and Old Lace, Rumors, Man Who Came to Dinner or Crucible. They would die as musicals.
<------ Me and my friends with patti Lupone at my friends afterparty for her concert with audra mcdonald during the summer of 2007.
"I am sorry but it is an unjust world and virtue is only triumphant in theatricle performances" The Mikado
#8

re: Which plays should NEVER be turned into a musical.

Posted: 7/13/06 at 2:13pm

'Night Mother, actually, would make a great opera. Has all of the elements: grand themes, short play, wild tension and climax.

Just no puppets, Julie...
"It's not so much do what you like, as it is that you like what you do." SS

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana." GMarx
#10

re: Which plays should NEVER be turned into a musical.

Posted: 7/13/06 at 2:18pm

I think too much goes on in man who came to dinner to have music help. infact it would confuse people more methinks. Imagine, the end act 1 could be the big number by whiteside entittled "im not really crippled"
<------ Me and my friends with patti Lupone at my friends afterparty for her concert with audra mcdonald during the summer of 2007.
"I am sorry but it is an unjust world and virtue is only triumphant in theatricle performances" The Mikado
#11

re: Which plays should NEVER be turned into a musical.

Posted: 7/13/06 at 2:20pm

I don't think The Crucible would make a very good musical.
"You drank a charm to kill John Proctor's wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!" - Betty Parris to Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller's The Crucible
#12

re: Which plays should NEVER be turned into a musical.

Posted: 7/13/06 at 2:26pm

I would not want to see One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest or The Normal Heart as musicals.
"It's not for sissies, contrary to popular belief." - Tommy Tune, on musical theatre.

My avatar: Yummy, no?
#14

re: Which plays should NEVER be turned into a musical.

Posted: 7/13/06 at 2:40pm

I agree with Munk. With a lot of talent and luck, ANYTHING could work. Why limit the creative possibilities of a play, or anything, just because it doesn't seem likely to be succesful in its original form?
#16

re: Which plays should NEVER be turned into a musical.

Posted: 7/13/06 at 2:50pm

You are probably right, Munk and Funny Face. I think my original idea was what plays, on the surface, would seem to be illogical candidates to be traditional musicals. But, you are right, that instinct can often be proven wrong. I would never have thought that A Raisin in the Sun, for example, would make a good musical, but I really like Raisin, so go figure.
#17

re: Which plays should NEVER be turned into a musical.

Posted: 7/13/06 at 3:06pm

Remember, though, the piece has to "sing". You never want to stop the action for a song. The song should continue the action and emotion of the character. That's why plays like "Noises Off", which already feels like a musical, because of its inherent rhythms, wouldn't work.

The overall arch of a show should inspire the musical structure. That said, there are plenty of properties out there that would work. However, the rights...? Another issue. Another thread?
"It's not so much do what you like, as it is that you like what you do." SS

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana." GMarx
#18

re: Which plays should NEVER be turned into a musical.

Posted: 7/13/06 at 6:46pm

Speaking of singing, I think "The Trip to Bountiful" would make a great musical, if done right. I'm pretty familiar with the script, and I don't see any reason that it couldn't be cast with a (mostly) black cast and filled with a lot of Gospel-inspired music.
#19

re: Which plays should NEVER be turned into a musical.

Posted: 7/13/06 at 6:51pm

The Diary of Anne Frank



as for Noises' Off, well, if there was a version that was everytihng going wrong IN a musical, that would be good.

when ducks grow thumbs then maybe my opinion will change.
#20

re: Which plays should NEVER be turned into a musical.

Posted: 7/13/06 at 7:00pm

There's already at least one musical version of "Anne Frank"; was quite successful in the 80's. There's a CD available.

And "Drowsy" could be considered a "Noises Off" show... maybe not...

But what about "Skin of Our Teeth"?

I think it's already an opera/musical, but I could be wrong.

EDIT: Ummm, I'm stupid. I lost track of the thread. "Skin" would be a great musical. I forgot this was about plays that shouldn't be musicals. In that case... DOUBT.
"It's not so much do what you like, as it is that you like what you do." SS

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana." GMarx

Updated On: 7/13/06 at 07:00 PM

#21

re: Which plays should NEVER be turned into a musical.

Posted: 7/13/06 at 7:02pm

SHERRY was FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!
"I'm tellin' you, the only times I really feel the presence of God are when I'm having sex and during a great Broadway musical." - Nathan Lane - Jeffrey
#22

re: Which plays should NEVER be turned into a musical.

Posted: 7/13/06 at 7:28pm

Tom monster beat me to it with Doubt.

But, honestly i think "Crucible-The Musical" Could be potentially like a sweeney (By sounding like sweeney i mean "ballad of sweeney todd" and "My Friends") I even have a title for their "ballad of Sweeney Todd". "Witch Hunt". It could potentially be hardcore. By the way i am not joking my friends and i at college have discussed this

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