Asking for a friend of mine, who’s looking for play that has been made into a movie. Looking for something light enough for a dinner theater-type crowd (That was her response when I suggested A Streetcar Named Desire. A bit too heavy for dinner theater, she said.)
The crowd is mostly 40 and over, so plays that were made into films decades ago will be fine (anything that will draw a younger crowd will work too, though).
Thanks in advance. --J
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE comes to mind
“Red, White, and Blaine”
How about The Rocky Horror Show?
“You Can’t Take It With You” came to mind immediately hasn’t been done as much as “Arsenic and Old Lace”
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The plays suggested by **C K Dexter Haven **and ddgryphon are both quite good as choices, however, they both take relatively large casts which can be anti-community theater because often community theaters can be limited on space and adaquate actors (or at least those who can get to rehearsals).
A good small cast play that always draws a good crowd is Barefoot in the Park.
Actually, almost anything by Neil Simon will work well into your requirements. Things like Come Blow Your Horn, The Odd Couple, Plaza Suite, Biloxi Blues etc. always come off as successes. Of course, for a while there Simon was not letting any community theater groups do his plays, but that ban has been lifted.
Havey also always draws a good house, as do Blythe Spirit and Noises Off although the latter is a killer on timing and once again, is a good-sized cast and the former requires some good English accents.
Why the requirement about having been a movie, anyway?
TV
Among the not-so-obvious shows, you should consider Room Service which got turned (somehow) into a Marx Brothers movie. Like most of the older plays mentioned so far, it does have a large predominately male cast, something I always try to avoid when I do shows. There is also Luv, a three person play from the 60s that might still be funny. And The Importance of Being Earnest, which has the added attraction of being out of copyright and therefore royalty free.
Sexual Perversity in Chicago was made into the movie About Last Night . . . in 1986, with Rob Lowe. The play’s title was a little risque (I haven’t seen it) but the movie, which I have seen, was a pretty straightforward relationships-between-men-and-women type thing.
I suspect the “made into a movie” requirement is to be able to watch the movie and get ideas. All I can say to that is DON’T! Don’t allow the actors to watch the movie, either. Do YOUR version of the play, not someone else’s. Besides, movies can do things which plays cannot.
That being said, “You can’t take it with you” is a very good choice. “Noises off” requires Brit-speak (the crappy film version notwithstanding).
“Love Letters” isn’t a film, but could be great in a dinner theatre: two actors, virtually no set, virtually no technical requirements, just a great script. “Lend me a tenor” is very funny. “Forever Plaid” is a good musical choice if you have four guys who can sing. “The Fantasticks” can certainly draw them in.
How big a cast? How big a stage? Etc…
Waiting for Godot?
How about Anything Goes or The Pajama Game? Or even My Fair Lady? I’ve seen all three performed in community theater (or high-school theater).
I’d like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, myself, but don’t think I’m a dinner theater crowd.
Actually, it doesn’t necessarily have to have been made into a movie, but she’s got other more “obscure” (by the standards of the general public) plays planned and she’s looking, I think, for something more “accessible.” Just my guess anyway, didn’t really ask her for specifics.
Thanks for the suggestions. Feel free to add some more if you think of them. --J
good evening
are musicals out of the question? our local community theater has done nice versions of little shop of horrors, damn yankees, south pacific, stop the world i want to get off and west side story.
If musicals are a possibility, how about one of the “Princess shows” (named after the theater where they premiered) by P.G. Wodehouse, Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton? They have small cast and set requirements, and terrific songs. The scripts are easy to find: Very Good Eddie; Oh, Boy!; Leave It to Jane; Oh! Lady! Lady! (not a Jerry Lewis vehicle!) . . .
No, Eve, darling, not “Very Good Eddie!” On my only trip so far in life to London, my teachers chose that as our play. Not anything at the RSC, not a visiting show from Stratford, not any of the blockbusters. No, we saw “Very Good Eddie,” a show so awful that the ushers were forced to sing along to make it sound more festive.
I may have to take the Lady Eve back to my spanking mansion for a bit of what-for!
I’m afraid musicals are out of the question because of cost (royalties). She’s looking for something in the neighborhood of $70 per performance for five performances, and musicals, I’m told cost a lot more than that. Thanks for the suggestion though.
Someone asked about the size of the stage. My guess is about 20’ wide by 10’ deep; perhaps a little bit smaller. Don’t know about the cast size (yeah, I’m a lot of help, I know).
Thanks again; I’m passing on your suggestions. And yeah, Eve’s long overdue for a spanking:D .
I second this. Neil Simon is one of the greats for lighthearted plays. Just pick one that’s not too dated.
If you want one that has been made into a movie so people will recognize it, you could do the Odd Couple. Everybody knows that one.