FROM MOVIES TO BROADWAY MUSICALS… and Back Again!
By Marilyn Anderson
Has Broadway turned into a big, live movie screen? So many of the recent stage shows originated as films! It’s not hard to figure out why. Productions that started as movies have a built-in audience, even before the curtain goes up the first time. So it seems less of a risk for producers – and no question, theater is a risky business! The cost of producing a Broadway play is mega-millions, and too often, audiences just don’t fill the seats. Consequently, more and more producers are finding popular old movies that can make the transition to the stage… and tell the story with music and dance.
As for me, I love the energy and excitement of seeing them come to life in the theater! And the bottom line – whether you’ve seen the movie or not – head to New York and see a Broadway Show. That’s the ticket!
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LEGALLY BLONDE the Musical – At Full Throttle Pink!
LEGALLY BLONDE the Musical – When I heard they had created a musical comedy based on the movie Legally Blonde, I was both excited and skeptical. Excited because Legally Blonde is one of my very favorite comedy movies! Skeptical because I couldn’t imagine how anyone could take the place of Reese Witherspoon in the lead of the sassy and fresh Harvard Law School heroine. Reese was sooo adorable, sooo funny, and sooo perfect for the part of Elle Woods, I didn’t think any other actress could live up to her.
Sooo, it was with great anticipation that I went to the Broadway production. But as soon as the first musical number started, my skepticism vanished. The show had an amazing energy that never stopped from beginning to end.
And Elle Woods – Wow! Laura Bell Bundy is a triple-threat actress who brings her own special style to the role, while singing and dancing up a storm. The musical numbers were rousing and fun, the costumes terrific, and the whole production simply soared.
The week I was in New York, I saw eight (yes, you read it right, eight!) shows – and Legally Blonde was my very favorite. The audience included lots of women and young girls – and they couldn’t have been more excited.
One very simple, but memorable moment was when the uniformed, shorts-clad UPS guy enters the beauty shop where Elle hangs out with her over-aged bimbo manicurist- friend, Paulette. The UPS guy takes his time walking across the stage, flashes a smile, and before he even utters a word, the audience goes wild. Who knows why, but it’s just extremely funny to watch – and such fun being part of the cheering crowd! Paulette and the UPS guy are played by real-life-husband-and-wife, Andy Karl and Orfeh, a recording star/songwriter, who belts out her numbers with power and pizzazz.
The music and lyrics are by another husband-and-wife team, Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin. With a book by Heather Hach and direction & choreography by Jerry Mitchell, Legally Blonde the Musical is a production that entertains at full throttle pink!
From Movie to Musical – Legally Blonde rates an A+.
Legally Blonde: The Musical
Palace Theatre New York
New York, NY
For tickets to Legally Blonde on Broadway, call 212-307-4100.
Theatergoers outside New York City can also call toll-free 1-800-755-4000.
www.LegallyBlondethemusical.com
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THE COLOR PURPLE Presented by Oprah Winfrey & Starring Fantasia!
THE COLOR PURPLEwas originally Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, and then the critically acclaimed Steven Spielberg movie with themes of domestic abuse, infanticide,
and racial oppression. So turning it into a musical had to be a huge challenge… but one that has worked… and worked wonderfully. The stage production retains the emotional impact while entertaining with moving and heartfelt musical numbers and talented performers.
The story is an inspiring family saga about a woman who, through love, finds the strength to triumph over adversity and discover her unique voice in the world. In the musical stage version, the story of hope and celebration of life is set to a joyous score, featuring jazz, ragtime, gospel, and blues.
My boyfriend and I were lucky enough to be in New York when American Idol winner, Fantasia, took over the starring role of Celie – and it’s impossible to think of anyone else doing it. Fantasia is unquestionably the perfect actress for the part. Quite simply, everyone needs to go to New York to see her!
At 22, Fantasia Barrino has had such an emotion-packed life that she seemed born to play this role. She went from virtual obscurity to her American Idol win in May 2004, after which she went on to break records and win awards for her singles and albums, earning more than 20 award nominations and wins, including the Grammy Awards, American Music Awards, and more. She wrote a New York Times best-selling autobiography, Life is Not a Fairy Tale, and then portrayed herself in a Lifetime television movie based on it.
It seems a “natural” for Fantasia to play Celie in “The Color Purple” – and what a thrill for audiences to see her! The other cast members are equally powerful. NaTasha Yvette Williams as Sofia and Elisabeth Withers as Shug Avery give outstanding performances, as does the entire ensemble.
What were the elements that helped bring The Color Purple to the stage? Enter Oprah Winfrey…. some twenty years ago! After reading Alice Walker’s original novel in 1982, Oprah loved it so much she would give copies to strangers. In 1985, she was nominated for an Oscar for her role as Sofia in the film. Now, Oprah is one of the producers of the musical. Other notables, Scott Sanders, Quincy Jones, Bob and Harvey Weinstein, and Nederlander Presentations are also producers.
Directed by Gary Griffin, The Color Purplewas adapted for the stage by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award® winner Marsha Norman, with music and lyrics by Grammy® Award winners Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray and choreography by Donald Byrd.
With a team like this, it’s no wonder that the show is a magnificent emotion-packed gem.
From Movie to Musical – “The Color Purple” is an A+.
THE COLOR PURPLE
Broadway Theatre
1681 Broadway (Between West 52nd and 53rd Streets)
New York NY 10019
Broadway Tickets Call 212-239-6200
“The Color Purple” will also be touring Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Tempe, Cleveland, Cinncinnati, Baltimore and Philadelphia. Check the website for dates.
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GREY GARDENS – A Riches-to-Rags Story!
This musical adaptation also came from a movie, a cult 1975 documentary of the same name. It is a fascinating, though somewhat depressing, story about an eccentric aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who were once among the brightest blueblood names in the social register, but ended up East Hampton’s most notorious recluses, living in a dilapidated 28-room mansion.
Left to right: Erin Davie, Mary Louise Wilson, Christine Ebersole, (Photos: Joan Marcus)
The production was critically acclaimed, with superb Tony-winning performances by its two stars, Christine Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson. However, it was apparently too quirky and depressing a story to hold the crowds necessary to keep it afloat on Broadway for a long run. The show closed after nine months. Still, I enjoyed and appreciated the unique and stylish presentation and intriguing bit of history of this riches-to-rags story about one of the most famous families of the U.S.
From Movie to Musical – Grey Gardens gets a B.
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YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN – It’s ALIVE! … and on Stage This Time!
The New Mel Brooks Musical, Young Frankenstein is coming to Broadway on October 11. I saw the pre-Broadway run in Seattle and thoroughly loved it. The sets and staging were incredible, the cast superb, and the story and songs – pure fun! New York seats are selling fast even before it arrives in the Big Apple. After all, it comes from the team that brought us The Producers. The book was written by Mel Brooks and Tom Meehan. The music and lyrics are by Mel Brooks, with direction and choreography by Susan Strohman.
Young Frankenstein is probably the most beloved of Mel Brooks’ movies, with a cast that included Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Marty Feldman and Peter Boyle. The actors in the musical may have a hard time being compared with the originals. So don’t compare – just enjoy! Seattle audiences went absolutely crazy for Andrea Martin in the Cloris Leachman role, Frau Blucher, and for Megan Mulally as fiancée Elizabeth, originally played by Madeline Kahn. Roger Bart plays the young Frederick Frankenstein, with Shuler Hensley as the Monster, Sutton Foster as Inga, and Christopher Fitzgerald as Igor.
Hmmm, will Blazing Saddles be next? Maybe, if we’re lucky! In the case of Young Frankenstein, Mel Brooks has created a new monster of a musical – a great one – and if you want good seats, we recommend you order your tix now.
From Movie to Musical – Young Frankenstein is a huge A.
The New Mel Brooks Musical YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
Hilton Theater
42 nd Street at 7 th Avenue
www.YoungFrankensteinTheMusical.com
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Other Movies to Stage and Back to Movies Again!
Xanadu was a much mocked-movie musical that is now getting raves on Broadway as a stage musical. I had seen the new lead, Cheyenne Jackson, in a staged reading
of Superman in Los Angeles (See back issue of Agenda) – and he is a total hottie. I haven’t seen Xanadu yet, but I’d recommend the show just to feast my eyes on him!
Another one I sadly missed was the long-runningBeauty and the Beast which went from animated movie to stage with accolades as did The Lion King. The more recent Disney Production Tarzan didn’t get quite the attention it hoped, and closed early. Nonetheless, the show, featuring music by Phil Collins, is a hit in Holland and will continue in other overseas venues.
Mary Poppins is another Disney movie-to-stage musical on Broadway now. More movies to be made into musicals? You bet. I saw Sister Act at the Pasadena Playhouse in a pre-Broadway run – and I’m hoping it makes it to New York – because it was loads of fun (See back issue ofAgenda).
One of the first screen-to-stage transitions was the 1966 It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman! – a funny and creative show which may be coming back as a revival and seems just as current today as it did then. Another early entry in the movie-to-stage transition was Little Shop of Horrors – a romp of a show based on a Roger Corman movie which continues to have fans all over the world.
And of course, there’s Hairspray – first, a John Waters movie, then a musical on stage – and now a popular musical movie starring a beloved star, John Travolta. He’s not like he was in Grease (which went from stage to movie) – and it’s not quite Saturday Night Fever, which went from movie to stage — but when “Fever” came to the stage – it didn’t go over big. On the other hand, John Travolta is about as big as we’ve ever seen him as Mama Edna Turnblad in the musical movie of Hairspray.
For a spoof of many of the musicals, head to an off-Broadway favorite, Forbidden Broadway – Rude Awakening. Providing laughs for audiences since 1982, the all-new 25th anniversary edition features outrageous costumes, hilarious roasts of Broadway’s best songs, and zany impressions by a super-talented cast.
Expect to see many more movies turning into Broadway plays, and as always, vice versa.
I just heard that The First Wives Club is in the works for a Broadway musical. Lots of women will be lining up to see that one. And you can bet on the Big Apple that I’ll be one of them!
See you there!
Marilyn
Marilyn Anderson
Romance on the Road
