| re: Daily Beast: Is Broadway Brain-Dead? |
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| Posted by: |
perfectlyfrank 11:11 am EDT 03/18/14 |
| In reply to: |
re: Daily Beast: Is Broadway Brain-Dead? - charles1055 09:13 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
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I agree with you. I do think that a stage play or musical version has a better chance when the film is only a modest hit or is foreign rather than a cultural touchpoint (e.g. LA CAGE vs ROCKY). A lesser known film has name recognition but doesn't necessarily come with the expectations that a bigger hit brings.
SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT was of course a famous foreign film but it was hardly the blockbuster that ROCKY was for American audiences. That gave Sondheim and company more room to play with their stage version. But a stage version of ROCKY is pressured to include beloved moments from the film or risk backlash from audiences (imagine a ROCKY without the words "Yo, Adrian!")
Yet, there are ways around those moments too, as THE FULL MONTY musical so cleverly did with the film's most memorable "Hot Stuff" strut in the unemployment line. For the stage version they honored that famous moment but didn't mimic it exactly by moving it to the funeral section (minus the "Hot Stuff"). It worked without feeling like a carbon copy.
So, I stand that most any property can be stage worthy if it receives an inspired adaptation. But I do agree that the more beloved the film, the harder any adaptation will be to succeed. But harder doesn't mean impossible. Sometimes a bit of distance helps (42ND STREET were hits on film and stage but the stage version didn't happen for nearly 50 years after the film's release. Thus, there were no overwhelming memories or desires to mimic any particular performance.)
I understand a producers desire for "branding" but a little branding goes a long way.
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re: Daily Beast: Is Broadway Brain-Dead? - charles1055 09:13 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
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re: Daily Beast: Is Broadway Brain-Dead? - Michael_Portantiere 10:51 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
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