The Princess Bride - The Musical
 

link: Playbill News
Possibilities, possibilties. The book was great, the movie was great. Fairytales and musicals are a natural fit. But, can it work without the original actors? Of course, I haven't seen Spamalot yet, either; that would be a perfect testcase.

From everything I've heard Spamalot is great...

I am not generally a fan of musicals but could see myself going to Avenue Q, Spamalot and this...

The Wally schawn, billy crystal and andre the giant characters would be tough having anyone else play the part, but buttercup and cary elwes character could be played by anyone.. i dont think their mannerisms are so set to that actor.

it would be fun as a musical... imagine the ROUS on the great white way... they could just go into the subways to find them... :)

Hmm...

I'm not sure how I feel about this. In the last 10 years, there has been a surge of adaptations to hit Broadway, whether of movies, (The Producers, Spamalot, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Lion King, Beauty And The Beast) or of hit music (All Shook Up, Good Vibrations, Mama Mia, Movin' Out, Lennon) And the truth of the matter is that these adaptations are really very hit or miss, They're either rancid (All Shook Up and Good Vibrations) or they're completely lauded (The Lion King, The Producers ).

But in all, the truth is that these adaptations really end up being superficial. As funny as Spamalot may be, the producers and directors of these adaptations are, on some level forced to pander to the fanbase of the originals. I saw Good Vibrations on Broadway when it was still running, because the lead was a family friend. We had a long talk discussing that the show itself, the book, was pure, unadulterated shit, and that they were compltely relying on the talents of the cast (which were, admittedly, some of the best I've ever seen) and the catchyness and nostalgia of music of the Beach Boys to pull the show along and make it a hit. I can even admit that The Producers isn't the rock-solid amazing piece of theatre so many people believe it is. The music is marginal, and it really subsides on the draw power of whoever are playing the leads at any particular moment.

The truth is, going into shows like Spamalot and The Producers, of which the movies have a cult following, a large part of the fan base is there with expectations of seeing certain things from those movies, some of which can't properly be transferred to the stage, and then these die-hard fans get all hot and bothered, so, in this, the directors and actors and creators of these shows are forced to make lots of compromises. And that isn't good in a world that should strive for originality and creativity.

What it comes down to is the money. Producers are looking for a quick hit that will bring a ton of money. Broadway, with the rare exception of some brilliant shows right now (listen to Wicked, or go read Doubt or The Pillowman, or just look at stuff that's OFF Broadway) has just become a money pit, full of marginal shows.

As far as The Princess Bride is concerned... I love the movie. Love it. It's one of my all time favorites. And I'd hate to see a movie so wonderful be broken down, and compartmentalized, stripping it of what I love, throwing in some fancy songs written by a guy who just won a Tony, just so somebody can make a few bucks off of a bad adaptation. I am one of those die-hard fans who will be ripping out my hair if they do a bad job of it.

Oh yeah, and I didn't even like the score to Adam Guettel's The Light In The Piazza.

:rolleyes:

I'm going to (dis)agree with you on that. The music is marginal, but the book is solid. I saw a touring production, and I have no idea who was performing. I saw the movie once, probably 16 years ago, and only recalled the outline and a couple of key scenes. I thought the musicalization was excellent.
I'm guessing you aren't looking forward to the musical version of The Lord of the Rings, then? Ewww.....

A 65-member cast? Jesus...I don't think even the largest shows on Broadway have above, like, 30 people. Huge, 65-member casts aren't exactly fiscally sound these days.

And you're right. That news makes me want to gouge out my own eyes.

You're also right about the book for The Producers, it is actually fairly good, but for my tastes, in looking at the show, especially a musical, marginal songwriting just kills it for me. I can, on some level, maybe forgive a bad book. But bad music? In a musical?

Inconceivable!

But yes I would consider seeing it depends on what I hear the review.