Sunday, September 09, 2007
The Little Mermaid - Young Frankenstein
New York Times: "In many ways the out-of-town experiences for these two shows — the biggest high-stakes gambles of the fall season, both based on much-loved movies, both with bankloads of money and some degree of franchise reputation on the line — have been even farther apart than that."
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14 comments:
It's intresting the little ways that people take these shows out of town to work on them. Given the scathing reviews of Mermaid from last week I'm sure that they're just fine with the press being more thrown to Young Frankenstein.
I'd like to see both of these shows for entirely different reasons. Young Frankenstein b/c although I haven't seen the whole movie, the parts I did see were hysterical and the cast seems like it'll be a winner. Mermaid is just a bad idea. I think there is a possibility that maybe they could do another Beauty and the Beast, but for the most part, I just don't get why anyone would put that onstage. Who knows though, maybe they once said that about Lion King.
I agree with cfolger in that Disney keeps on putting all their classic movies on stage. They keep assuming that just because they are a classic and so loved that they must be a sell out hit on stage, for example Mary Poppins, Lion King, Tarzan, Beauty & the Beast, etc. These for the most part are all cartoons and it's hard to put a fantasy cartoon movie on to the stage. The Producers and Young Frankenstein were both movies before they were on stage however they aren't cartoons.
There is something about movies being turned into Broadway shows. As bcortright said the assumtion is that if it's a hit on the big screen then it will be on stage. But that is not always the case. Some things just are not meant to be performed in front of a live audience. And most of the times the transition doesn't work. Another problem is that if it's a show like Beauty and the Beast or any classic movie then the stage version is gonna be compared to it. Which is not what it is meant to do. It stands apart from film twin.
I imagine it must be very difficult to approach a disney animated classic and attempt it to turn it into a live experience on the stage. Most people hoping for that sort of experience just go to Disney World, where kids feel like they are practically living out their favorite Disney classics as opposed to just watching a stage. I guess I am mostly surprised that producers think it is a good idea to invest so much money in a show that is geared toward kids, when they aren't exactly the broadway show patron key demographic. I suppose some past successes prove me wrong, but some recent failures show otherwise.
yes, disney is mastering the adaptation from film to stage quite nicely but thats not to say that there would be a challenge or two along the way. it is inevitable to run into problems such as this but the people behind these designs are pros and know what it takes to help the show succeed. i think you will be hard pressed to find a truly unsuccessful disney show, show the critics may tear it up but the sales will still be there, for if it is a classic then it will remain such no matter what the medium, it is the story, not the execution that is important to most audience members.
I am keep coming back to my point I made last week about Disney shows on stage: if the show is good, audience will come (at least on broadway). Mr. Thomas Schumacher may blame their box office tragedy to the impact the original movie has on the audience, but the audience are simple-minded. The tickets don't sell, because the show is just that bad. What are the likelihood of a Disney production on the broadway last for less than a year? They should just all stop pointing fingers at each other and start think of better ways to present the works. The works like Lion King won't come for a while. Maybe the creative team in the Disney should take OSWALD with us.
i don't really know how i feel about either of these shows, though i do really want to see both of them. the cast of frankenstein i'm excited for and for mermaid i wanna see how it is pulled off because though there may be some disney musicals which I havn't liked on stage, I have always thought technically they are beautiful plus mermaid has always been one of my favorite disney movies...so we shall see but i am optimistic about what is going to be put on stage by both productions
There is something to be said about the draw Disney stage productions have for a younger audience. And we all know 6 year olds can't take themselves to the theatre, which means for every child that wants to see the show there are at least one additional ticket sold. One of the community theatre's I worked at put in huge amounts of time/effort/money into the production of the seasonal Disney show because they knew they could fill the seats very easily.
As for Young Frankenstein, I think this will be a hit or miss. It appeals to fans who love the movie more than anyone else, and surprisingly not everyone has seen it yet.
The adapatation of Young Frankenstein reminds me of Spamalot. It's hard to take a beloved cult classic and turn it into a musical. Spamalot needed a lot of work between it's try out in Chicago and what went to Broadway. I'm expecting the same from Young Frankenstein.
As for Mermaid, I think of the success of The Lion King. Part of what made the lion king so successful was that they were willing to find ways to adapt the story to tell it on stage as opposed to on the big screen. Mermaid will most likely only work if they take the same storytelling liberties in order to hit the same scope of audience.
I just want to bring up the fact that the design for the Little Mermaid is getting terrible reviews. Usually reviews for Broadway shows don't cause a lot of stir, but I've read multiple reviews knocking the costume and scenic design for the Little Mermaid. I haven't heard anything about the design for Young Frankenstein, although I'd assume that it isn't nearly as odd as TLM.
While sitting outside Spamalot this summer in NY, Joe and I had an interesting conversation about these shows, and our expectations. As a designer, Joe looked forward to seeing them becaue he knows that the story isn't terribly captivating, so he said that the set would have to make up for it, much like Lion King. On the other hand, i was, and still am, very skeptical about the success of these, and how they would rank in the world of meaningful theater. I agree with Kevin that the younger audience is a nice tactic, and really they will have an audience spanning several generations.
In one hand it is completely amazing that these two men who are financially running their respective shows are so calm (at least in the face of the press). Yet in the other had It is much easier for them since both of the shows are based on movies that are very successful and have a dedicated fan base. I hope the days of the original musical are not gone. All these musicals being based on movies is maddening. The fact that so many people are unhappy about movies becoming musicals works in the advantage of the producers. If producers turn a movie in to a musical people will go see it whether they think it’s a good idea or a horrible idea. The people who think it’s a horrible idea will sometimes go see a show just because they want to see how badly it was meets up, if at all.
bottom line:
young frankenstein was a hilarious movie. whether that will translate to a successful theatre project, we'll just have to wait to see. Mel Brooks has a history of adapting his movies to stage rather well (11 tony's. i mean, my god), but only time will tell. As for the little mermaid...c'mon guys. it's a musical about an underwater princess. Not to say that it will be bad, but come on guys. There's a reason it was a disney movie. Yes, it's a classic. But Beauty and the Beast succeeded not becuase it was visually stunning or because some incredible songwriting, it succeeded because it was a fabulous and fascinating story told incredibly well. The little mermaid...it's about a girl's struggle to find a prince charming, yada yada yada, this time it's underwater. snooooooooze.
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