Saturday, December 01, 2007
NY theaters set stage for novel ideas
Variety: "It's a great time to be an American novelist in the New York theater. Even if you're dead. Mark Twain, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Kurt Vonnegut and William Faulkner are just some of the national literary lions whose names are decorating New York theater marquees this season."
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7 comments:
There's a fine line that a company can't cross when adapting literature for the stage. And to be honest, I think these theatres in New York are doing a good job in not crossing it. It's understandable when a production like "Gatz" causes controversy. I mean, modernizing a historic piece of literature such as "The Great Gatsby" not only detracts from it's original aesthetic, but distracts audiences into seeing something that they didn't even expect. Having the novelists along for the ride always benefits the production as well.
Finally!
Some intellectual theatre (maybe) crossing Broadway stages. Nothing against Wicked, but there are far better books out there to dramatize with far more dramatic and intellectual weight and far better stories, many of which are American Classics and have never been adapted to the stage. I don't think modernizing the Great Gatsby retracts anything from its fervor. It's an American Classic becuase of the themes, the ideas and the staetment it made about American Wealth and the American Dream, etc. If you can modernize it so that contemp audiences get a better grasp on the story, do it.
With the exception of the Great Gatsby read aloud, these shows have a shot at being great adaptations. However, they should never be considered substitutions for the real thing.
I'm wary of literary adaptations on stage, simply because I believe so strongly in the power of the written word. It's kind of like the issue of seeing the movie instead of reading the book. But I like that this article points out that this is a good way of introducing classics to audiences and hopefully leaving them wanting to discover more, be it literature or ground-breaking theatre.
I also thought it was interesting that there was so much emphasis on giving the audience what they expect. Advertising a show is such a difficult job because it deeply effects who's going to buy tickets and whether or not they actually like the play. These all sound like tricky ones to sell effectively.
Some literary texts can be adapted for the stage, but you you can never substitute one for the other. They are two different mediums and have to be remembered as such. There is a fine line you walk when adapting a book into a play and you have to remember that they are different and will require different styles and will convey ideas differently.
I think it's fine to adapt any kind of literary works to the stage. It is a great source of inspiration and if it brings in people to the theatre, that's great. I have seen an adaptation of Slaughterhouse 5 that I loved. It jumped around and was intriguing to watch.
It's important to keep in mind, that like movies, the plays don't take the place of the novels. It's just another interpretation of the story.
I think that in adapting a novel for the stage especialy in the case of classics it is important to disregard any previous physical incarnation of the piece. Cameron Macintosh is doing a musical of Gone With the Wind that is directly following the novel not the film. It was what I disliked about wicked. You had elements of the original novel mixed with the 1937 film. It didn't feel right.
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