I should begin by saying I am a composer/lyricist working, among other areas, in musical theater. I also teach writing for musical theater and have co-authored a book on the subject, and am often hired as a "show doctor" for Broadway- and off-Broadway-bound musicals in trouble.
You say: They are now based on movies or books that are well known in some circles. There are very few surprises because the viewer has seen or read it before. Where are the original works? Where is the Broadway that surprises and entertains without the audience knowing the whole story before they enter?
I was interested before in seeing this show and now you've increased my interest. I would like, however, to respond to your comment about original works of musical theater.
Most musicals have been based on pre-existing sources: straight plays (My Fair Lady is based on G.B. Shaw's Pygmalion, for example), movies (A Little Night Music is based on Smiles of a Summer Night), stories/novels (Guys and Dolls, A Fiddler on the Roof, Les Miserables), even poetry (Cats, G*d help me). Other shows are based on history (Fiorello!, Assassins [to a large extent anyway]). So-called "jukebox" (or "cover") musicals, using pre-existing pop songs with a story written around them almost always fail. (Exceptions: Mamma Mia and Jersey Boys.)
Creating a show "from scratch" is far more difficult. An author of novels and other stories can create a whole universe within the confines of the story, taking as much time (words, number of pages) as necessary to get the points across. A writer of films or straight plays has to be much more succinct, allowing us to see things a novelist has to explain. Writers of musical theater, however, don't just write a stage play or screenplay with songs. We as audience not only have to suspend disbelief that the characters in a straight play are "real," but that in a musical they're going to burst out into song at any moment (with an often unseen orchestra accompanying them!). So the story has to hang together, the characters have to be believable even in an absurd context, and their songs have to sound as naturally occurring as possible.
There are, statistically speaking, more "original" and "concept" shows in the last ten or so years than ever in the "Golden Age" of musical theater (from Show Boat to Fiddler, basically). Just three off the top of my head, Avenue Q, In the Heights, and of course A Chorus Line, stand a real chance of being considered "classic" shows down the road. (All right, Chorus Line is already considered as such but I'm talking 50 years from now.)
So, what does this all have to do with your (quoted) comment? What has been happening for the last 10-15 years is that producers/creators of musical theater have been choosing sources simply because of those sources' popularity, with little attention to how they could work not only as a stage play but as a true musical. (Carrie, anyone?) And many times a show will be produced solely because of the names of the folks involved, no matter how well they might be suited to the task or if the task is worth doing in the first place. (Spiderman...)
I'm glad that Something Rotten works for you and I look forward to seeing it myself. But please don't think that Broadway is lacking in "original" shows, but that understand that finding the right source, or the best ideas for a truly original show, are the hardest things with which creators of musical theater have to contend.
Interesting comments!
You say:
I was interested before in seeing this show and now you've increased my interest. I would like, however, to respond to your comment about original works of musical theater.
Most musicals have been based on pre-existing sources: straight plays (My Fair Lady is based on G.B. Shaw's Pygmalion, for example), movies (A Little Night Music is based on Smiles of a Summer Night), stories/novels (Guys and Dolls, A Fiddler on the Roof, Les Miserables), even poetry (Cats, G*d help me). Other shows are based on history (Fiorello!, Assassins [to a large extent anyway]). So-called "jukebox" (or "cover") musicals, using pre-existing pop songs with a story written around them almost always fail. (Exceptions: Mamma Mia and Jersey Boys.)
Creating a show "from scratch" is far more difficult. An author of novels and other stories can create a whole universe within the confines of the story, taking as much time (words, number of pages) as necessary to get the points across. A writer of films or straight plays has to be much more succinct, allowing us to see things a novelist has to explain. Writers of musical theater, however, don't just write a stage play or screenplay with songs. We as audience not only have to suspend disbelief that the characters in a straight play are "real," but that in a musical they're going to burst out into song at any moment (with an often unseen orchestra accompanying them!). So the story has to hang together, the characters have to be believable even in an absurd context, and their songs have to sound as naturally occurring as possible.
There are, statistically speaking, more "original" and "concept" shows in the last ten or so years than ever in the "Golden Age" of musical theater (from Show Boat to Fiddler, basically). Just three off the top of my head, Avenue Q, In the Heights, and of course A Chorus Line, stand a real chance of being considered "classic" shows down the road. (All right, Chorus Line is already considered as such but I'm talking 50 years from now.)
So, what does this all have to do with your (quoted) comment? What has been happening for the last 10-15 years is that producers/creators of musical theater have been choosing sources simply because of those sources' popularity, with little attention to how they could work not only as a stage play but as a true musical. (Carrie, anyone?) And many times a show will be produced solely because of the names of the folks involved, no matter how well they might be suited to the task or if the task is worth doing in the first place. (Spiderman...)
I'm glad that Something Rotten works for you and I look forward to seeing it myself. But please don't think that Broadway is lacking in "original" shows, but that understand that finding the right source, or the best ideas for a truly original show, are the hardest things with which creators of musical theater have to contend.
The rant is ended. (grin)