Literary: Musicals Based on Classics
October 23, 2009 at 10:27 pm 1 comment
Idea Prompt for 10/24/2009
THE SOURCE: I was flipping through an old issue of MAD magazine (#100, Jan. ’66.) The article that caught my eye was titled “A Look at Future Broadway Musicals.”
WHAT WAS I THINKING… Even in 1966, Broadway was lampooned for its reliance on old familiar source material. It’s far worse today, of course.
That means that you still can score big if you can find a classic that hasn’t been copied yet.
IMAGINE… turning a great classic work into a Broadway Musical
…THE POSSIBILITIES:
Ironically, two of the classics that MAD featured in its article have already been adapted in the intervening 43 years: A Tale of Two Cities and Tarzan. That still leaves the other two examples, Julius Caesar and Moby Dick.
THE EXERCISE: Pick a classic book, perhaps something from the “classics library”… sketch out a Broadway version of the plot
NOTE: If you’d like to develop these Ideas further, just leave a Comment and share your work.
Entry filed under: literary. Tags: adaptation, Broadway, classics, Julius Caesar, Mad magazine, Moby Dick, musical.
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1.
chylde | October 28, 2009 at 9:23 am
i always liked the idea of an epic film being turned into a broadway musical:
Cleopatra
Lawrence of Arabia
Bridge over the River Kwai.