I haven't seen the movie in a while because I've somehow never bothered to get it on DVD and I no longer have a working VCR. But my memory is that one of the interesting moments occurs when David congratulates the understudy for doing so well, and she doesn't seem particularly happy or impressed by the praise David gives her. It's a job, it's one performance, she'll be back to being the understudy.
Speaking to the larger point you raise, there's the whole Sondheim thing about "Why? musicals," a phrase he got from Mary Rodgers, to give credit where it is due. For Rodgers and Sondheim, a musical must have an energy and vision of its own, which often involves changes to the source material. Many of the musicals commonly regarded as great make big changes to the source material. But the changes must be made with care, not just because there's less time for development. Even some of the great musicals clearly diminish the source material. Which may be why less well known source material may be smarter to use (in the long run). No one cares that Frid is a rich and interesting character in Smiles of a Summer Night, but barely more than a walk-on in the musical.
Stroman's strength is in the numbers. One reason why I ceased feeling bothered shortly into "Let's Misbehave" about the use of a famous song is because you quickly stop listening to the song. Stroman's staging takes over. The song is accompaniment to the staging, rather than the staging being accompaniment to the song, although even there it kind of helps to have seen the movie where a quick point is made of Olive being turned on by Warner's girth. This is in the staging of the song, but I'm not sure it comes through clearly without a line about it.
Despite having such famous source material, and the author of the source material writing the book and certainly being a powerful member of the team (and probably the person who makes the final decisions), it does tend to feel a lot of the time like the story is just an excuse for the numbers. This must be what Allen wanted.
The friend I was with last night (who sometimes posts here) emailed to say that he wasn't sure whose story it is. That's an interesting point. The movie is clearly David's story. Last night I thought that the show might end with "She's Funny That Way," tying up the story of David and Ellen and leaving the focus on David's journey. But the show goes on to add new stuff about a couple of the other characters and to end with a celebratory group number. I don't know how I feel about that and whether they might be wise to rethink that a bit.
I suppose that if the show is a hit, it won't matter. The great surprise is how much it seems to be Stroman's show more than Allen's.
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