The Clyde Fitch Report: The recent openings of two musicals—one adapted from a movie (that tiresome trend) and one the sort-of-revival of a movie adaptation—has focused a harsh spotlight on a huge problem: the updating of musical comedies that are assumed to be dated.
2 comments:
I am sooooooo tired of hearing that another revival is headed to the great white way. Like, I know that they sell really well, so they will make a ton of money for the producers. However, all I really want some new original work to be brought into the lovely commercial world. We all ready know that these old shows are really beautiful and we know will have really successful runs because they have had successful many years ago. What is so great about new shows is that they really showcase everything that the industry currently has to offer. The old shows were written for people a long time ago to connect the audiences of their respective time. Thus for some of the shows it is kind of hard to have the play be relatable to modern day audiences. This can be a problem sometimes because we have very different cultural values. At the end of the day, can I just get some new work?
Dear god, let the movie - turned - Broadway - musicals STOP. With the rare, RARE exception (such as Once, the Lion King, etc. ) these works are more cash cow than they are works of art. Revivals are the same. Unless you are telling an old story in a whole new way, there is no point to the creation beyond money. I understand that money is a hugely important part of theatre, and that producers are drawn to name brand shows because they believe they will bring in more audience members. If they think that audiences won't see new and exciting work, I saw make more exciting work. Advertise better. Every show we love was new once, and looking at shows like Hamilton and Fun Home, anyone can see that it doesn't take familiarity to make a show a commercial success. I don't need to see the millionth person playing Roxie Hart or Phantom. I want to see the shows that will go down in history. We can't find those until we start promoting more new work.
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