Every season, we are inundated with a long list of musicals that are in development and that are based on famous source material. We speculate about their potential and wonder if they will work, often resigning ourselves to the fact that they will never live up to the movie, play or book that we adore. Sometimes, we are surprised when we enter the theatre and find that the music and lyrics, along with a fresh viewpoint, concept and/or casting choice can illuminate the piece in ways we hadn't imagined. This article is a valentine to the musicals that DID work and either captured their source material beautifully, or improved up them. I am limiting my list to pieces that I personally saw AFTER I had read the play, book or watched the movie from which they derived.
The Sky Is the Limit - Stephen Schwartz and Flight Imagery
Maybe it is because Pippin is getting ready to close on Broadway, or perhaps because it has been announced that a big-screen adaptation of the piece is in the works, or maybe it is because I generally enjoy the music and lyrics of Stephen Schwartz no matter the overall quality of the musical they derive from, but I have found myself exploring his compositions a lot lately and growing to appreciate all of the wonderful poetry and imagery therein. Schwartz blends achingly palpable emotion, heightened drama, humor, evocative elements of nature, and rich, atmospheric melodies in all of his scores that both transport the listener and illuminate their personal human experience.
Into the Woods - Film Review - Magic Beans Have Expiration Dates
I must preface this review by making my readership aware of my deep love affair with the stage musical of Into the Woods. James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim constructed a piece of theatre that was very personal for me and, through myriad viewings of the original Broadway cast, the show has become, not only an emotional outlet for me, but an important influence in how I view and respond to the world.
It is with a heavy heart, then, that I left the movie theatre this Christmas Day feeling like I was given a very uneven film treatment of Into the Woods. There is a tremendous amount to admire, but there is also a tremendous amount to disappoint. Director Rob Marshall and screenwriter Lapine, in fits and starts, have crafted an Into the Woods that is streamlined and spare, having excised much of the piece's humor, heart, and gravitas in an effort to keep the film moving.
Broadway Top-Ten Wishes for 2015
2014 has been both an exciting and disappointing year for me in regards to Broadway musicals, with shows I deeply loved closing quickly and others that I felt lacked content and artistry plugging away. For me, the hardest thing to digest was the premature departure of The Bridges of Madison County, a piece I found both musically haunting and arresting in its simplicity. We move ahead, however, and file productions like "Bridges" in our hearts and memories, to recall when we are faced with the next big musical machine void of nuance or real emotion.
With Christmas just a few days away and the New Year poised to ring in, my Top-Ten List for this week is an itemized list of my wishes for 2015 and what I hope it will hold in terms of musical theatre.